Customer Reviews

The Star King (Star Series, Book 1)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As a hopeless romantic about flying, I needed to check out the media buzz surrounding Susan Grant--an elite pilot (U.S. Air Force and now global 747s)who writes highly-original, exotic, and steamy adventures about aviatrix heroines.

It's not just buzz. Grant is the real deal, and performs aerobatics of the heart like no other author.

The pacy, passionate Star King concerns Jas, a no-nonsense USAF fighter pilot struck by a missile and forced to leave her jet the hard way by ejecting to earth. Hurt on an arrid desert, she prepares for anything but what occurs--a transcendent encounter with another wounded warrior. His name is Rom, a starfighter pilot from a distant universe. Now this golden demigod lies dying with the awful knowledge that he has just killed his brother in the skeleton of their burning ship, beaten by an enemy warlord. Painfully, Jas and Rom save each other, with a shared passion that will leave you limp. Is it real, or just the theater of Jas' delerious mind?

You won't know where you are at every minute in this book, but that's a very good thing because you're in skilled hands.

Abruptly, twenty years later, Jas' youthful fire has been extinguished. Now she's a dutiful mother stung by divorce who long ago gave up victory rolls in an F16 for a minivan, a surprisingly-talented artist who paints promising but only half-finished paintings. Then earth receives visitors from an advanced civilization. Among them, Rom re-appears, and Jas' real life could begin--if her golden, aristocratic ET weren't as hardened as Rick Blaine in Casablanca, by cruel fortune and a fruitless search over time and space for the mythic desert angel who once saved him.

How Grant brings Jas and Rom together, and the glory is definitely in her details, can involve sly humor (e.g. in Rom's world, all the men stand when a woman enters the room and, as a lover, he admires the artistry of her stretch marks.) But she's also capable of snap-turning you from light-as-a-feather giddy to a sudden plunge into emotional despair. You will not guess the twists and turns before they unfold, but you will root mightily for this couple to survive and fulfill the promise of their long-ago stolen moment in time.

This is just a wonderful novel that combines passion and writerly control in a fresh new way. I hope Rom has more family, because you can feel a series here.

I was up until 1:30am Christmas Eve, not wrapping presents but finishing The Star King. Susan Grant's first book, Once A Pirate is a delightful frolic in the sun; this story touches the depths of human emotion.

The Star King starts with a bang, literally, as Jasmine Hamilton fights to keep her F-16 fighter plane in the air. Shot down by friendly fire over the hot Iraqi desert, she has an out of body experience that leaves her awash with unexplainable emotion.

Rom B'kah's otherworldly perspective of the unusual woman with dark hair is one of meeting his destiny. He is in the midst of a battle of galactic proportions with life-threatening injuries and has just witnessed his brother's death. Her presence both encourages and dooms him, he survives because of her but the physical ramifications of lingering too long in a hostile environment make him an outcast from his family.

Susan's interpretation of an alien arrival into earth's politics is refreshing--for example no one automatically speaks our languages. And this story is above all a ROMANCE. She doesn't bog us down with boring technical data about how things work or lengthly descriptions of weird life forms with antenna eyes and suction cup fingers. Readers will find The Star King a very satisfying read with plenty of adventure, excitement and soul-searing love. I highly recommend The Star King and believe readers of any genre of romantic fiction will be enchanted.

I have never read science fiction, always believing that they had little or no romance or interaction between the characters. Not so with THE STAR KING. This book captivated me as no book has done in a long time. It flowed beautifully. I lived and breathed this story, visited every planet, saw every color, and experienced every emotion. I felt the passion between Rom and Jas and I fell totally, completely,and unabashedly in love with Rom. I hated to see this story end, and look forward to the sequel. The writing is crisp, dialogue easy to understand, the humor is wonderful, and it's filled with sexual tension! The story is fast paced, yet the technology doesn't get in the way of the romance. When the action and adventure culminated in a wonderfully emotional and very surprising ending, I had goose bumps all over from it!

Don't let your reluctance to read a science fiction book keep you from experiencing this beautifully written and emotionally heartwarming love story. This is a must read for all lovers of romance and science fiction alike!

THE STAR KING Susan Grant Lovespell/Perfect Heroes December 2000

THE STAR KING by Susan Grant is a marvelous peek into one view of what the not so distant future could hold. Space travel, optimism and above all, romance!

On Earth, Lieutenant Jasmine Boswell is a fighter pilot struggling for her life after being mistakenly shot down by friendly fire. On Balkanor, Romlijhian (Rom) B'kah, has also been shot down and is dying of radiation poisoning. These two meet in a vision that helps sustain them until help appears. Twenty years later, even tho she has been divorced and has grown children, Jasmine is still haunted by the vision she believes is a dream. Rom is also haunted, but believes the vision is reality and hunts for Jasmine through the universe.

Rom, is a trader. After being cast off by his family years before during the war that almost cost his life, he has wondered through the universe trading goods, helping those less fortunate and looking for Jasimine. When he lands on Earth, Jasmine sees him on televison as part of the trading delegation. She doesn't understand why he would be in her dream or why she is compelled to see him again; but she dons her old uniform and infiltrates the Air Force base that houses the space ships and stows away on Rom's ship. Jasmine and Rom have quite a time adjusting to each other's customs and way of life. Trust does not come easily even tho they are physically drawn to each other. Rom's old adversary reappears and Jasmine does everything she can to help Rom eliminate this threat to his planet.

THE STAR KING is advertised as an `aviation romance'. It is a science fiction romance. When aliens land on earth with trading ventures in mind, to me, that is science fiction. The main focus is, of course, romance. The true life mating between two adults destined to be together Science fiction romance is a new venue for Susan Grant. Her previous book ONCE A PIRATE was an attention riveting time travel. Both genres were done very well, but since my personal preference is for romantic science fiction, I only hope she will continue to write science fiction romance, especially focusing on the mature characters that appeal so greatly in this story. THE STAR KING will attract science fiction readers of Anne McCaffery and Andre Norton since it is a natural bridge for romance readers who like fiction, futuristics, or science fiction. The sequel THE STAR PRINCE is eagerly awaited. Reviewed by Vicki Patterson

Time and space pause, bringing two people from vastly different worlds together for only moments. Air Force Lieutenant Jasmine Boswell believes she's been shot down over the Saudi Arabian Desert. Prince Romlijhian B'Kah has just witnessed his brother's plane exploding when a vision of what he believes to be an angel saves his life. For a moment, soul mates meet and recognize the profound implications, only to be wrenched away. Later each believes that their meeting was only a hallucination.

Nine years later, an alien nation contacts earth to establish trade relations. A glimpse of one of the aliens on television brings instant recognition to Jas. She immediately arranges a six-month absence and smuggles onto the airbase where Rom's star craft is about to launch. Jas is divorced, her life missing something, and she longs to seek answers in the stars. Rom has been disowned from the royal family and is making his living as minor smuggler. As their worlds collide, Jas and Rom struggle with their painful pasts, their growing love and an encroaching evil that threatens to destroy the galaxy.

With masterful creativity, author Susan Grant combines science fiction, romance, and nail-biting suspense in STAR KING. Her sexy hero Rom combines sensual pleasure with admiration for stretch marks, making him every woman's fantasy. Jas is a likewise wonderful heroine, with grown children, maturity and a love of adventure. Secondary characters and exotic locations becomes a source of humor and depth. For example, Grant exploits the unusual and the common with a deft touch with a three hundred pound bodyguard named Muffin and a running joke regarding beer. Indeed, the exhilarating plot keeps the pages turning, making STAR KING a keeper. Very highly recommended.

Rom B'kah was fighting for the freedom of the galaxy when on the day twenty years ago when his brother died and he was disowned by his family. As he was lying injured, he saw a vision of the most beautiful woman that he had ever laid eyes on. He knew she was an angel, for no one in the galaxy had hair as black as hers. Her words stayed with him 'crush the darkness' as did the heat of her kiss. Then he was captured, and abandoned by his angel. When he killed his enemy, he thought he would go home in triumph, but instead he went home in disgrace.

Jasmine Hamilton was a pilot with the Airforce on the fateful day that her plane was shot down over Saudi Arabia. Suddenly she was dreaming that she was in a world that couldn't possible exsist. With ships flying overhead that she had never seen and a wounded warrior that looked like no man she had ever seen, Jas knew that she was hallucinating. For years after she returned to conciousness, she could never forget the man that she shared such a heated kiss for, nor how he asked her to not leave him.

Now Rom and Jas have found each other again. Through some undefined quirk of nature Jas knew this vistor to Earth from another galaxy. Together they embark on a journey that will pull the reader in with its' emotion and hold you spellbound with its' magic. There is still a galaxy that is in danger of a deadly threat and the heads of eight families that don't agree. Jas and Rom fight to bring freedom and safety to the galaxy that Rom loves and fighting for the love they feel for each other.

The heroine of THE STAR KING, Jasmine Boswell Hamilton, is a former pilot turned artist now living in Arizona, the divorced mother of twin teenagers. She has had visions of a mysterious man ever since an accident which halted her Air Force career years previously. When aliens visit earth, Jasmine, tired of putting her life on hold, decides what she needs is a bit of adventure and talks her way onto the airship piloted by the man from her vision, Romlijhian B'kah - a man who has been an outcast from his family, the rulers of the planet Sienna, ever since a tragedy nineteen years earlier.

A more sensual hero than Rom would be hard to find in any romance. Readers will also love Jas - an over 40 heroine with a less-than-perfect body which Rom finds very sexy.

Even if you or you haven't read a science fiction or aviation romance before, this is a story which truly proves love is timeless and I encourage you to give THE STAR KING a try. Trust me, it's a book difficult to put down once begun. Readers will be chomping at the bit for THE STAR PRINCE in 2001.

I am a science-fiction fan, first and foremost, but I also enjoy a good romance now and again. So when I first discovered the sub-genre of futuristic romance, I was delighted. What could be better, I thought? Quite a lot, apparently. I have almost always been disappointed with these types of books, the plots generally being far too lame and hackneyed for me to enjoy them.

Not so with "The Star King"! This book was like a breath of fresh air. The characters are thoroughly enjoyable, the writing crisp and fresh, and the plot did not disappoint me! This author knows something about world-building. The universe she created in this novel feels multi-layered and real; Ms. Grant even paid attention to things like the language barrier and religion.

Science-fiction fans -- if you're expecting a new and original science-fictional premise, then you should look elsewhere. However, if you're looking for a well-told tale with plenty of romance and adventure, then this is the book for you.

Futuristic romance fans -- All I can say to you is, buy this book immediately! It has everything I've ever wanted in a futuristic romance: excitement, a destined love, exotic locales, wonderful characters, and a well-thought-out universe to play in. Read this one; you won't regret it.

As a hopeless romantic about flying, I needed to check out the media buzz surrounding Susan Grant--an elite pilot (U.S. Air Force and now global 747s)who writes highly-original, exotic, and
steamy adventures about aviatrix heroines.

It's not just buzz. Grant is the real deal, and performs aerobatics of the heart like no other author.

The pacy, passionate Star King concerns Jas, a no-nonsense USAF fighter pilot struck by a missile and forced to leave her jet the hard way by ejecting to earth. Hurt on an arrid desert, she prepares for anything but what occurs--a transcendent encounter with another wounded warrior. His name is Rom, a starfighter pilot from a distant universe.

Now this golden demigod lies dying with the awful knowledge that he has just killed his brother in the skeleton of their burning ship, beaten by an enemy warlord. Painfully, Jas and Rom save each other, with a shared passion that will leave you limp. Is it real, or just the theater of Jas' delerious mind?

You won't know where you are at every minute in this book, but that's a very good thing because you're in skilled hands.

Abruptly, twenty years later, Jas' youthful fire has been extinguished. Now she's a dutiful mother stung by divorce who long ago gave up victory rolls in an F16 for a minivan, a surprisingly-talented artist who paints promising but only half-finished paintings.

Then earth receives visitors from an advanced civilization. Among them, Rom re-appears, and Jas' real life could begin--if her golden, aristocratic ET weren't as hardened as Rick Blaine in Casablanca, by cruel fortune and a fruitless search over time and space for the mythic desert angel who once saved him.

How Grant brings Jas and Rom together, and the glory is definitely in her details, can involve sly humor (e.g. in Rom's world, all the men stand when a woman enters the room and, as a lover, he admires the artistry of her stretch marks.) But she's also capable of snap-turning you from light-as-a-feather giddy to a sudden plunge into emotional despair.

You will not guess the twists and turns before they unfold, but you will root mightily for this couple to survive and fulfill the promise of their long-ago stolen moment in time.

This is just a wonderful novel that combines passion and writerly control in a fresh new way. I hope Rom has more family, because you can feel a series here.

I am always impressed by this author's original take on things, her avoidance of cliches and her wonderful imagination. She didn't fail me here. There were so many neat "alien" things in this book, a very clever, well-thought-out world. The story was fascinating and exciting and very intense with an ending that was was brilliant and romantically poignant.

Star King is a magical, unique book and I highly recommend it.