Light from Uncommon Stars is both entirely typical of my reading (characters going through it, romance main or subplots, coming to terms with one’s choices, a commitment to reading trans and non-binary authors) but also feels quite a bit outside my comfort zone. I had initially put this book on my to read list because of the 2023 Read Harder tasks asking us to read a book about a trans character by a trans author and a book from the Ignyte Awards. Then my 2023 reading year stunk and I didn’t get to it and about eight other tasks from the 2023 Read Harder Challenge.
But now we’re here and I finally got to this one. Admittedly it took me a few tries to sink into the narrative, it was heavy in a way that I wasn’t completely ready for when I first picked it up. But Ryka Aoki’s writing would not be denied, so I left it sitting on my coffee table, letting the library checkout renew twice, while I reviewed The League of Lady Poisoners, Starvation Heights, Ghost Ship, The Age of Magical Overthinking, What I Did for a Duke, A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Four Weddings to Fall in Love, Three Reasons to Run, Mickey Chambers Shakes It Up, and Do You Want to Start a Scandal.
Light from Uncommon Stars bounces between narratives as they weave themselves together. I’ve been having a difficult time trying to summarize the plot, Aoki’s writing just doesn’t want you to be able to do that. So, here’s a version of the official blurb: at the core of this story we have three women. First is Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway who is a gifted, if largely untrained, violinist. She runs across Shizuka Satomi who is known as the Queen of Hell for her icy demeanor but not the literal deal she made with a demon to get seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. When she meets Katrina, she is on the hunt for her final soul, and she can hear Katrina’s talent and knows it’ll be enough to fulfill her contract. Shizuka also meets Lan Tran, mother of four, owner and operator of a donut shop that she runs while running from Galactic War (did I mention she’s a starship captain?). None of these women expects the others and the ways in which their lives are intertwining, and what can and will be done to stop literal damnation and the ends of galaxies while pursuing the lives that best fit them and keep their loved ones safe. Like all the other sci-fi and fantasy I like the best, it is highly focused on emotions, and personhood, and for that alone four stars feels like the right rating.
Bingo Square: Celestial. Lan’s whole family and the starship replicator that runs the donut shop.
