Publisher: Self Published
Written By: Nathan Burton
RRP: £4.00 / $5.25 (Paperback) | £2.00 / $2.51 (Kindle)
Reviewed by: Sebastian J. Brook
Review Posted: 22nd February 2021
From the stunning cover, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Tales Of The Starmen: Volume 1, by Nathan Burton was a graphic novel, but this is in fact a short but punchy space saga.
The story focuses on two brothers; Helion and Eckron, who, despite their disparity, must fulfil their royal duties.
There is a great variety of pacing here; we go from a vicious space fight to a street race in Kingson, Jamaica. Both these scenes act as stark metaphors for the differences between the two brothers. One just wants to win a race (Helion) and the other wants to ascend the Nova Throne (Eckron). That being said, there are more to the characters than their differences - particularly Eckron. Sure, he is unlikeable and power hungry, but, rather geniusly, there's a redeemable side to him that you discover near the end of the book. One particular line we loved from Eckron near the end, was as follows:
‘He said he wanted to be like me. Perhaps I should make some effort to be more like him.’
For a story so short, there's actually some decent character development, and whilst the cast of characters are relatively small, each have purpose and place within the narrative. We also love the diversity; this is very much a black-centric royal family and outside of the likes of Black Panther or Coming To America, its fantastic to have a black royal family represented in literary form for us Science Fiction fans.
It is clear that the author is a SciFi fan - and a well-seasoned one at that. There are hints of Star Wars and even The Fifth Element here, but Burton makes Tales Of The Starmen very much his own.
Whilst this is Volume 1 of a proposed series, it also acts as a satisfying conclusion. For those who hate cliffhangers, you can rest assured of a stress-free ending. Whenever Volume 2 does come out, it will mark a new chapter in this fun, gripping, pleasantly manageable saga.
+ Tales Of The Starmen: Volume 1 is Out Now!
+ Buy this book from Amazon.co.uk!
+ Buy this book from Amazon.com!
+ Follow @Nattybe96 (Nathan Burton) on Twitter.
