Customer Reviews

A Handful of Stars

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In "Second Star" the heroine, Star Svensdottir, oversaw the creating of the first self-supporting space habitat at L5 and led it to independence as the new nation of Terranova.

This sequel starts off with Star launching a mining expedition to the asteroids, to obtain the materials which the new colony needs. Despite being pregnant with twins, she heads off to the asteroids with 250 people and two small ships. On the way she encounters plague, blood-feuds, and other minor difficulties, but none of them can stop her.

The history presented in this book was pretty obviously not going to happen even by the time it was first published in 1991, but the author felt she had to stick with the background in "Second Star". Since then both technology and history have diverged even more drastically from the story told in the book. The history referred to in the novel includes a contact with an extraterrestial civilisation, the "Librarians," that the Soviet Union not only survived to 1992 without collapsing under its own contradictions but actually conquered Europe that year (pause for hysterical laughter) and that the world population reached 9.5 billion by the turn of the millenium. It also assumed vastly faster human expansion into space than we have actually seen.

However, none of this really spoils the story, most of which is set in space, in the early days of the exploration of the solar system, and it's stilll entirely quite possible that when we, or our children, start building habitats in space and trying to mine the asteroids, the challenges and problems they face will be like the ones in this book.

Not the greatest Sci-Fi ever written, but nevertheless an entertaining read.

A rabid Dana Stabenow fan, I had no idea she had ever written SF. Now I know why this little-known aspect of her past is little-known. Written in 1991, the sequel to "Second Star" finds Star Svendotter leading an expedition and "head(ing) out to the asteroid belt, man's last wild frontier, to make their fortune." I trudged through this book, looking for any hint of the brillant talent that produced "A Cold Day for Murder" in 1992. Nothing. I found nothing. This book's only value lies in what came after it.

I wanted to do a honest reveiw of her first book - This is the second - improves on the first - more to come . For those of you who don't know her let it be said . . . . She is gracious charming and generous . If you comment on one of her sites she replies .

Second Star was published in 1991, but obviously written a decade or more earlier. Author Dana Stabenow included Terran history that was current then, but not now.
But she tells a good story, and her literary references are astounding. From Carl Sagan to Shakespeare to tech specs from NASA, Dana seems to have read every book in the state of Alaska.
Written first person from the viewpoint of Star Svendotter, director of a space habitat in progress, the plot revolves around the day to day problems and triumphs of such a huge undertaking. Throw in a military junta by a would-be tyrant, and it's even better. At the end there is a bit of deus ex machina as a mysterious alien spaceship arrives just at the heat of the conflict. That's obviously setting up a couple of sequels.
Nope, it's not set in Alaska, though there are references. No murder mysteries, which is what Dana is famous for now. And heroine Star is downright heroic and determined. But it's a fine story, and figuring out the plentiful literary references is entertaining in itself.
After searching our Clearwater Florida libraries, I went ahead and ordered the other two sequels from Amazon. This is one series I want for my SF library.
Sandy Huff
Safety Harbor, Fl