The Cruel Stars
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
The Cruel Stars (The Cruel Stars, Book 1) by John Birmingham
Hits the ground running in a barrage of action & comedy. 💥🤣
I’ll be honest, I’m not a “well-read” person. I never took writing classes, and I couldn’t tell you the rules of worldbuilding or character arcs. But I know what I like, and what I like is action. Call me uncultured or shallow, but give me a story that drags me along at a million miles an hour, and I’m happy. The Cruel Stars delivers exactly that.
The book follows six main characters, each introduced in the opening six chapters. Once that’s done? All hell breaks loose, and for about half the book it’s wall-to-wall action.
Now, when I say “all hell breaks loose,” I mean instantly. One moment everything’s normal, people going about their day, and the next: gunfire, explosions, and people trying to eat each other. It’s so abrupt it almost feels like you missed a page. At first it’s confusing, but I think that’s the point: the chaos hits the reader with the same shock it hits the characters.
The one real downside, though, is the heavy use of unexplained sci-fi terms and acronyms. You’re often just expected to know what they mean, or piece it together through context. It reminded me of English slang: these aren’t real words, this isn’t a real sentence… but somehow, you get it.
On the flip side, the humor is fantastic. McLennan’s banter with his AI partner Hero (easily my favorite), Seph’s “screw it” attitude, and Booker’s ongoing struggle to find a new body, there’s comedy everywhere. And when the action pauses, the laughs take over. The scene where all the protagonists finally meet is pure gold: a chaotic, hilarious clash of personalities.
Bottom line: this book is fast, explosive, and funny. I can’t wait to dive into the sequel.
