Star Marque Rising by Shami Stovall

Tightly written, succinct, stunning, and at times moving, Star Marque Rising is a fascinating read…

Clevon Demarco, a genetically modified human with his brilliant combat skills, is a small-time thug and has only one dream in his life: to leave Capital One, a shoddy space station where he has spent all his youth, and live a carefree life on any free planet. Captain Endellion Voight, captain of the notorious Star Marque is highly ambitious and has set her eyes on the position of a planet governor, a title no human has held since the superhumans won the war. She offers Demarco a position at her starship in exchange of a pardon for his past crimes. Demarco accepts the offer and join the crew at the star ship only to climb to rank of the ship’s vice captain in no time. Voight who’s determined to achieve her goal and is ready to pay any price, has no qualms indulging in various exploitations–extortion, assassinations, thefts. Demarco, a man with a flexible moral compass has no trouble bending the rules, but how much is too much and when exactly to stop? The pace of the book is fast and the characterization thorough. Without elaborate wordplay, Stovall manages to communicate the humane side of her characters. The snappish relationships between Demarco and some crew members; Lysander and Sawyer on the Star Marque is wryly depicted. The various missions they attend during their time on the star ship make for a fascinating read (as an action adventure and an intellectually stimulating premise). Since humans were the first ones to create superhumans and are now condemned to live as inferior beings forever, the continuous advancement of genetic engineering and practices raises moral questions: is it right to attempt therapeutic genetic modification in case of human genes where a defect exists? Would it be equally cruel to leave those individuals to their own means (Mara, for example)? Stovall explores these issues in an intriguing story supported by seamless writing. The novelization is solid and to the point. Two-third into the book, and the reader could sense impending doom long before the characters do, but the real significance and consequences of the approaching events will come out as a shocker. A thrilling read!