Lucifer's Star by Michael Suttkus Narrator: Eric Burns
Series: Lucifer's Star #1
Published by Crossroad Press on May 17, 2017
Genres: Space Opera
Pages: 298
Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
Format: Audiobook
Source: Author
Goodreads
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From the bestselling author of The Rules of Supervillainy:
Cassius Mass was the greatest star pilot of the Crius Archduchy. He fought fiercely for his cause, only to watch his nation fall to the Interstellar Commonwealth. It was only after that he realized the side he'd been fighting for was the wrong one. Now a semi-functional navigator on an interstellar freight hauler, he tries to hide who he was and escape his past. Unfortunately, some things refuse to stay buried and he ends up conscripted by the very people who destroyed his homeland.
LUCIFER'S STAR is the first novel of the Lucifer's Star series, a dark science fiction space opera set in a world of aliens, war, politics, and slavery.
I’m a huge fan of C.T. Phipps, so I was excited to try this new-to-me space opera. I do like science fiction, though I don’t read it as much as fantasy. This story follows Cassius Mass, a great star pilot for the Crius Archduchy. He’s hailed as a hero by some and a war criminal by others. Now he’s hiding under a different name.
In this world, there are clones and robots that are very human-like. There is even a woman who is able to pass as human and does for a while. It is really hard to know who is what, with the clones and humanoid-like robots, not to mention spies. Even when you think you know something about someone, you learn something else.
I really liked Cassius. He was able to look back at his actions and know he did some pretty horrible things during the war and does what he can to make up for some of those deeds. He knows he can never make up for the large number of lives he took. He takes a memory drug to help him “forget” his past. There is also a lot of drinking.
If you like stories that are twisty-turny, this is a fun story for you to try. It seemed like I learned something new about a different character in each chapter. I never knew what was going to happen next. I don’t want to go more into the story, because I really like to avoid spoilers.
I have to say, my favorite part of this story is the characters. I just love the characters that Phipps develops. They are just so relatable, real, fun and likable. If you’ve never tried Phipps, I highly recommend him.
Narration:
This was my first time listening to Eric Burns. I really liked his narration of this story. It has a fairly large cast and he didn’t do a bad job with all the characters. Each had a pretty distinctive voice. I think his female voices could’ve been a little bit better, but not bad overall. Those voices became the voices of the characters. I would definitely listen to him read another book at some time.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About C.T. Phipps
C.T. Phipps is a lifelong student of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. An avid tabletop gamer, he discovered this passion led him to write and turned him into a lifelong geek. He is a regular reviewer at The United Federation of Charles and the author of Agent G, Cthulhu Armageddon, The Red Room series, Lucifer’s Star, Straight Outta Fangton, and The Supervillainy Saga.
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I started listening to audiobooks when a new book in a series was coming out and I wanted to get a refresher, but didn’t have time to read all the books (I think it was Anita Blake). I fell in love. I stayed with strictly re-reading books that I’d already read for a long time. I eventually tried an audiobook for something that I hadn’t read first and was hooked there too. Now, I listen to audio for both re-reads and first time. I have some series that I’ve given up reading and only listen. I try to get any many books/audiobooks from the library to help save on my budget. Books on CD and the newer digital downloads from the library really allow me to listen more. I then purchase my favorites (because who can wait in line for your favorite book??) and less mainstream books from Audible or some other online retailer.
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sounds interesting. i have been reading more scifi in the past year. it’s always a good thing when i can get involved with the characters, wanting to know what happens to them
I’m off and on with sci-fi. I have been reading more of it lately. I hope you get a chance to try this sometime soon.
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart
Does C.T. Phipps ever sleep? I think he has a new book every time I look. This sounds really good and I do know he writes great characters.
This is from his backlist, it is a few years old. But, yes, he does go write pretty quickly though. Yow won’t hear me complain about it.
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart
I need to try this author. It’s been some time since I read this genre and I do enjoy it.
I really love this author. I’ve read a ton of different books from him. I hope you give him a try.
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart
I started his Supervillians series and it has been fun so far. This looks like another winner.
I’m so glad that you started this Supervillian series and are enjoying it. This series (at least as far as book one is concerned) doesn’t have as much humor and pop culture in it, but still a lot of fun.
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart
I’m a big fan of scifi so I want to get to this series sometime. I have too many books I really want to read at the moment.
I have the same thing, and I’ve been stuck in the Mercyverse so far this year. LOL
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart
So what makes a story a “space opera” versus a “sci-fi” set in space? Are they the same? This sounds good. I’ll have to give it a try sometime. Thanks!
Space opera is science fiction/fantasy that has a focus on big epic battles, mysticism, and characters like Star Wars. I’m so glad Melanie liked this one.
I’m glad you came to my rescue there. Because I’ve never really searched for the exact difference between the two. I knew that Star Wars was a Space Opera, but I never knew exactly why. I really enjoyed these characters.
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart
I’m glad he answered, because I’ve never been exactly sure. I knew that Star Wars was considered a Space Opera, but I never knew exactly why.