Speck of the Stars by Henry Boffin

Title: Speck of the Stars

Author: Henry Boffin

Genre: Science Fiction

Publisher: Ford Street Books

Published: 1^st September 2022

Format: Paperback

Pages: 264

Price: $18.95

Synopsis: Raised by utility robots on board the Grand Orbital Library, twelve-year-old orphan Speck’s days are spent serving the spaceship’s exotic guests. At night, he dreams of exploring the Universe.

But when a mysterious creature known only as the Starchild arrives from the fringes of deep space, everything changes.

Now, Speck must uncover the creature’s secret before it’s too late. A secret that, if unleashed, could destroy the entire Universe . . .

~*~

Speck is an orphan raised by utility robots – M-T and U-T – on the Grand Orbital Library, where he serves the exotic guests that come to visit whilst dreaming of exploring the universe. He’s given the chance to explore when the Starchild appears, and he sets out on a journey across the universe with a gang of pirates and Giddius Monk, the Gutterlings, and an assortment of space creatures, all of whom have different motives and hidden identities, to find out what the secret of the Starchild is before the universe is destroyed.

Speck is human of course, and his story takes place in a universe far from ours, in a time that feels like it could be separate from ours as well. Speck is the only human in the novel, and he must learn to communicate with the various aliens he comes across, and slowly learns that he can’t trust certain people. As someone who doesn’t often read science fiction, I think this is a nice testing book and introduction- it’s not too intense or involved, and everything fitted in well, so it didn’t feel too overwhelming for a new reader to science fiction.

This book is about the adventure and mystery, and quest to save the universe. A lot of books in this genre do this, but each does it in its own way. I think these types of stories will have common themes or tropes, but it is what the author does with them that makes the difference, that allows the story they are telling and their characters to shine through as individuals and be who they were meant to be. As Speck navigates his new world and the threat his universe and library is under, the story progresses at a good pace, allowing readers to stick with the story, and get through it in a way that works for them.

This is a great book for middle grade and young adult readers, with a male character who is not a stereotype, and fits into his world in a way that makes sense to him and those around him. It is one that I hope readers of science fiction enjoy, and that will help reluctant readers find something that they can get into as well.