Blurb:
It’s 2090: the last outpost of freedom is the moon, the best defense against technology is magic, and the only hope for humankind rests in the hands of the Star Children.
Twins Cassidy and Torr must save Earth from a ruthless enemy at a time when the only force more powerful than alien technology is magic. Moon Deeds launches the siblings’ journey across the galaxy, where they must learn their power as the Star Children, claim their shamanic heritage, and battle dark forces that threaten humankind.
The Star Children Saga follows Cassidy and Torr as they slowly awaken to their destiny as the twin Star Children, born every millennium to reconnect with the source of all life. They come to discover the sheer enormity of their task: to find our ancestors on a lost planet across the galaxy and save humanity from a spiraling descent into darkness. The powers they must wield to accomplish this task are truly frightening and put at risk everything they love.
Come along with 20-year-old twins Cassidy and Torr, who inherited deeds to land parcels on the moon. They want to use their moon deeds to get off Earth and escape a brutal dictatorship. But first they must unlock their shaman powers.
A rollicking yet poignant adventure in the not too distant future, when we have colonized the moon and nearly lost Earth to a dictatorship. Only the shamans remain free, plus the lucky ones who escaped to the moon.
Review:
Moon Deeds is an ambitious science-fantasy space opera, that follows twins Cassidy and Torr. With strong world-building and an intriguing magic system, the mix of dystopian science fiction and fantasy elements are blended together into a convincing narrative.
Let me begin with what I really enjoyed and what worked well for me. The world-building is extremely detailed. There is a clear sense of place with vivid descriptions of the landscape and people. I particularly appreciated the descriptions of life on the moon, which felt authentic. The near-future history of Earth is presented in such a way that it feels real, particularly at the start of the book. It was like reading news stories and history of real events. The believability, of this aspect of the story, drew me in from the first couple of paragraphs; I felt immediately immersed in this near-dystopian future of our own planet. The magic of the world and the prophecy of the star children is very interesting, and as our understanding grows throughout the story, it develops alongside the characters.
A couple of things didn’t work so well for me. I felt that some of the characters’ reactions to the high-stake situations were a little immature at times. As a result, I found that I couldn’t connect emotionally with the characters as much as I would have wanted. The pacing was a little sporadic at times, which I found a bit of a distraction. Consequently, I didn’t always feel the sense of jeopardy that the characters were obviously facing throughout the story. I would also have liked more time spent on the moon, as I felt the story was really starting to take off (pun intended) when the action shifted to the lunar landscape.
This book will be extremely popular with fans of science fiction and fantasy alike. The ideas and scope of the story are well established, with an extremely interesting magic system. The world is richly developed and vividly described – a future Earth that is recognisable, so we can instantly relate to the surroundings, and easily imagine the dystopia that the author has created. The colonised moon, that is so believable in the way it is described – from the craters to the dusty refugee camp, and the Mos Eisley-like port that is filled with ‘scum and villainy’ – is something that will hopefully be explored further in the next book in the series.
If you are looking for a story that successfully blends genres within a realistic future world, following twin siblings on a journey of self-discovery, who are prophesised to be the chosen ones, then this book is for you. Moon Deeds is a launch pad, for a series that holds much promise, for more action, danger, and magic, on the moon and beyond!
Thank you for taking the time to read my review.
Thanks, Craig, for a very thorough and fair review. I always enjoy reading thoughtful analysis of my works of fiction.
-Palmer