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Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings

 

Title: Under Fortunate Stars

Author: Ren Hutchings

Genre: Science Fiction/ Space Opera

Published: 5/10/22 by Rebellion/ Solaris


Fleeing the final days of the generations-long war with the alien Felen, smuggler Jereth Keeven's freighter the Jonah breaks down in a strange rift in deep space, with little chance of rescue—until they encounter the research vessel Gallion, which claims to be from 152 years in the future.

The Gallion's chief engineer Uma Ozakka has always been fascinated with the past, especially the tale of the Fortunate Five, who ended the war with the Felen. When the Gallion rescues a run-down junk freighter, Ozakka is shocked to recognize the Five's legendary ship—and the Five's famed leader, Eldric Leesongronski, among the crew.

But nothing else about Leesongronski and his crewmates seems to match up with the historical record. With their ships running out of power in the rift, more than the lives of both crews may be at stake. Goodreads

 I received a copy for review through NetGalley.

Under Fortunate Stars is a fantastic debut space opera novel that has it all. It has space travel, time travel, aliens, and political intrigue. This novel also has great characters. We get to read from several characters points of view across the two ships lost in space. The plot is fast paced, and full of intriguing elements. Information is revealed at just the right times to maximize the impact. There are three different timelines to follow, but they never become confusing since they are labeled at the beginning of each chapter. This was an ambitious novel that was executed really well. Fun, fast paced, with a lot of interesting ideas to think about. 

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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