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crest of the stars

Banner of the Stars: Thunder of the Empire

April 19, 2021 by Sean Gaffney

By Hiroyuki Morioka and Toshihiro Ono. Released in Japan by Hayakawa Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Giuseppe di Martino.

And so we finally catch up with Banner of the Stars, a series whose last three volumes have come out over the course of the last twenty years, so I’m not sure when the next one in the series will be. This book takes place ten years after the last one, though honestly it took the author telling me that to actually make me understand it. The Abh are long-lived and don’t really age, so there’s a certain stasis to their lives, and it makes it hard to get a real sense of time. As for this book in particular, it’s very good news for those who love long, detailed descriptions of space battles, though as always these are somewhat remote, vaguely realistic space battles taken on by dry, sarcastic space elves, so don’t expect dramatic pew pew laser fights and heroes screaming out as they are killed. What we get instead is the Abh slowly trying to take back what they lost, and to regain contact with the other half of their split Empire, which is also trying its best.

Unlike the last book, Lafier gets quite a bit to do, as she’s promoted from training the new troops (which she’s been doing since the end of the previous book) to having a fleet of her own, whose job it is to retake the capital!… wait, no, that’s not its job, much to Lafier’s irritation. Instead they’re going after a different strategic site, trying to gauge the strength of the enemy, take out the enemy, force the enemy’s leaders to surrender, and seize the day. This is not quite as easy as it sounds… but it mostly is, with the Abh winning fairly one-sidedly. The drama comes from, as I said, Lafier not being a very happy camper. She’s still inexperienced for an Abh, and knows she would not have her own fleet if she weren’t Crown Princess. She has a minder on board, with orders to relieve her of duty if she screws up. And Jint, who is still by her side, is, well, starting to look older than her.

While talking about this book on Twitter, I noted that folks who started the series reading about the adventures of Jint and Lafier, who were hoping for more scenes of them together like we saw in Crest, are probably very disappointed by now, as it’s clear that’s not remotely what the author wants to write about at the moment. It was also pointed out to me that I don’t think like an Abh, and by their standards Jint and Lafier are sickening sweethearts, which is also true, I suppose. (We do see some good shots of Sporr and Cfadiss, which is the only other relationship we see in this series anything like the one Jint and Lafier have, and I appreciated it.) That said, Lafier does think about the fact that, as the years go on, Jint is going to look older and older and she isn’t. I’m not sure that makes her happy, but not much she can do about it. Still, any furthering of the romance will likely have to wait for the end of the war.

When will that end? Well, we’re not sure, as the next book isn’t out in Japan yet. This came out in 2018. I am hoping the gap between books will be more like the 5 year gap between 5 and 6, rather than the 9-year-gap between 4 and 5. till then, this is recommended for science fiction readers who like reading about military tactics.

Filed Under: banner of the stars, crest of the stars, REVIEWS

Banner of the Stars: Destiny’s Refrain

February 27, 2021 by Sean Gaffney

By Hiroyuki Morioka and Toshihiro Ono. Released in Japan by Hayakawa Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Giuseppe di Martino.

I admit, I frequently have difficulty plowing through these books. I enjoy the plotting and characterization, but the writing is a bit on the dry side, not to mention all the bolded vocab. Usually I have a lot of banter between Jint and Lafier to hold me over, but in this book they appear less than they have in any of the others – and for good reason. If you ever looked at the massive Abh Empire and thought “wow, they seem arrogant, I wish they’d lose everything they have”, well, wish granted, my friend. We get an awful lot of dead cast members, though most of the ‘current’ younger generation, including our two leads, are fine. But it does mean that you’re reading an entire book about the downfall of an entire people, which can be… bleak. Honestly, it’s at times like this that I’m grateful for the Abh’s blase attitude towards everything, as this would be a lot worse if people were screaming and crying as they died.

Picking up right where the last book left off, it turns out that the Hania Federation has pulled a fast on the Empire (and indeed on its own negotiators), joining with the Three Nations Alliance. The Abh very quickly realize that they are screwed, and a good deal of the book is seeing them trying to evacuate to a safe haven as many people as possible while also having those in change (including the Empress, Lafier’s grandmother) nobly try to hold off the enemy as long as possible. Lafier’s brother Duhier also gets a subplot as he tries to be a soldier despite the entire world working to make sure he can never do anything productive – it would normally be funny, but we feel his frustration. As for Jint, he’s busy moving gravestones, which to the Abh are far more important than his own life or Lafier’s.

The book is not entirely a downer. Sporr makes a welcome return towards the end, as does her aide, and they’re as hilarious as ever, as she is essentially the Abh version of the princess-curled ojousama. Jint manages to talk to the old Baron who helped them escape from his son’s clutches, and there is some amusing teasing about his relationship with Lafier – literally everyone assumes that they are lovers, though if they are neither one communicates that to the reader. But for the most part this book is about last stands and picking up the pieces, and I suspect that the next book, when it comes (which is also the most recent book, having come out in 2018), will have the Abh taking on more of a freedom fighter sort of role. In the meantime, this is good space battle stuff, assuming you don’t mind the technical banter, the bolded words and, of course, the piles of death, most of which, like the Abh, is communicated to us very matter of factly.

Filed Under: banner of the stars, crest of the stars, REVIEWS

Banner of the Stars: The Screech of Space-Time

December 6, 2020 by Sean Gaffney

By Hiroyuki Morioka and Toshihiro Ono. Released in Japan by Hayakawa Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Giuseppe di Martino.

In the Afterword for this book, published in Japan in 2004, the author apologizes for taking so horribly long to write it (the previous book had come out in 2001). Which makes me wonder how the next book, which came out in 2013, is going to top that. It’s also been a while since the last volume came out in English, but that’s OK, because the reader is dropped right back into one of the main features of Banner of the Stars: Epic Space Battles. Sadly, that is a mark against it for me, as I’ll be honest: I find a lot of the space battle writing in this book tedious. It is no doubt more realistic than, say, the ‘let’s fall out of our chairs’ battles in Star Trek, but there is a certain sterility to it all. Actually, this volume has quite a few marks against it. Jin and Lafier end up playing smaller roles, which is a shame as they’re the reason I read the books. More to the point, the Abh are still just not that likeable.

As I said, a lot of this book is space battles, as it reminds us that the Abh are at war with the various human federations that vie against them. But that might change soon – one of the minor players on the other side wants to negotiate a deal that might actually shift the tide and lead to the end of the war. This is good news, despite all the Abh talking about how much they love being in battle. That said, can the deal really be trusted? It helps that the idea for the deal came about watching the way that Jint handled his own planet recently, giving everyone ideas. As for Jint and Lafier, as I said, they don’t get as much time together as before, and what little there is is more down to showing off how Jint is still trying to assimilate and not quite making it. That said, given the cliffhanger the two of them will soon have much bigger things to worry about.

As I said, I like Jint and Lafier, and I like their scenes together here, but there are simply too few of them. We get a long stretch devoted to the current Empress and her discussions with aides on whether to accept the offer they’re being handed. It’s good f you like political realism, but again shows us that the Abh, in general, are simply too blase and matter of fact about everything, and it does not make for the most scintillating writing. It reminds me of bad Star Trek books that tried to write Vulcans but fell too hard on the “logical” side. At least there’s banter, and we’re reminded that the Abh basically run on it, but that’s sometimes not enough, especially when it’s not really clear if we’re meant to see them as the enemy or the protagonists.

Fortunately, we do not have a nine-year wait for the next book to come out. Unfortunately, I get the feeling I’ll be seeing a lot more space battles in it, given the events towards the end of this book. In the meantime, more Jint and Lafier being an obvious couple but never doing anything about it, please.

Filed Under: banner of the stars, crest of the stars, REVIEWS

Banner of the Stars: Dinner With Family

June 19, 2020 by Sean Gaffney

By Hiroyuki Morioka and Toshihiro Ono. Released in Japan by Hayakawa Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Giuseppe di Martino.

This volume takes us right back to the start of the series… and also cuts its ties with it, making it clear that whatever future Jint might have, it’s not going to be on the planet he was born on, or even with the guys he hung out with in college (or its equivalent). Unfortunately, it’s hard to get past the fact that he is taking on the sins of his father in many ways. That and his future lies with Lafier, but everyone and their brother knows that, from his former crew (who he reunites with in this book) to the people who raised him (who at least reconcile with him), the latter going to far as to essentially give Lafier their blessing. As for Lafier herself, even she admits that she’s just hanging around in this book – she’s here because Jint is, but her future absolutely lies in space, and just thinking about how she would want to do things she can’t is making her envious.

The cover art has the two of them looking quite cute, and that fits with the tone of this volume. After the prison drama and watching Jint suffer last time, here there’s a breather, as he has to deal with his world, which is in rebellion once more, and harboring soldiers from the enemy. He’s also trying to accrue some staff so that he can start earning money to pay back the massive debt he’s increasing – Lafier is just fine with him borrowing more and more, but then Lafier seems to be just fine with most everything in this book. This actually becomes a bit of a character point, as when Jint tries to recruit his old friend Durin, who rejects the offer because, frankly, he finds Abh creepy. He’s not wrong, to be honest – we’ve gotten used to the Abh’s tendency to banter in the face of danger in previous books, but to those on the outside, the fact that there’s a total lack of anger or rage can be unsettling.

The other half of the book sees Sobash and the rest of Lafier’s former crew take part in a mock battle which, coincidentally, involves getting to Jint’s home system and having the battle there – its remoteness from everything being a plus. Unfortunately, Martinh decides to fire at one of the ships – which does basically no damage – and the other ship fires back what they assume s also a shot that will cause no damage – it in fact causes a fair bit, though we’re not told how much. The reason we’re not told is that the planet makes it very clear that, in exchange for returning nominally to the Empire, Jint himself has to vow to never even go near the star system again. It’s total rejection, and the fact that it’s coming from the couple who brought him up hurts a bit.

Still, by now Jint, who’s always been a bit weird, is a lot more Abh than he’d perhaps like to think – and his future is definitely in space, with Lafier, though they’re still no closer to being a real couple except that everyone except them knows they are. This also brings this ‘arc’ to an end, though we’re not getting a ‘________ of the Stars’ title change this time. As for when we’ll get the next book here… not sure. I suspect they were licensed in chunks of three, so sales may need to tick up a bit. Till then, this is a good, if low on action, volume.

Filed Under: banner of the stars, crest of the stars, REVIEWS

Banner of the Stars: What Needs Defending

March 3, 2020 by Sean Gaffney

By Hiroyuki Morioka and Toshihiro Ono. Released in Japan by Hayakawa Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Giuseppe di Martino.

I think that I’ve mentioned before that this series reminds me quite a bit of Legend of the Galactic Heroes in places. They’re both Space Operas, but more importantly, we’re meant to root for the Empire much of the time. In LOGH we have Yang Wen-Li and company to balance that out, but the enemy in Crest/Banner of the Stars rarely gets any face time at all, and so naturally we root for the Abh because they’re the POV characters, even when they’re doing things that may be seen as rather heartless or odd. And while Jint may not have been born an Abh, a lot of his emotional reactions to things, particularly in the first half of this book, is starting to feel very similar. Admittedly, he’s helped out by the situation he’s placed in, a plotline which will make the reader cry out for more space battle banter. We get a bit of that as well (thank heaven for Sporr), but for the most part this is a story about a sordid little prison planet and their rebellion.

Jint and Lafier end up coming across this planet, one of the ones in the Abh’s freshly conquered territory. It’s divided into thirds: all men, all women, and mixed, with the men given vasectomies so that the prison won’t be overrun with children. All this overseen by a warden and guards. But now there’s a rebellion, helped along by a nasty drug trade on the planet as well as the men-only group deciding that they want to go over to the women-only group and start making babies. (The novel takes an emotionally distant approach to this – the word ‘rape’ is not mentioned in the book, but it’s clearly what the men, for all their talk about fatherhood being their dream, want to do, and Jint and Lafier do make sure the women-only side of the prison is evacuated first.) All sides want to get off planet, even to other prison planets. Jint is caught in the middle… and when a revolution does come, Lafier, who is dealing with the space battle end of things, cannot stick around to save him.

As always with this series, it’s the interpersonal relationships that make it good, particularly Jint and Lafier. Little things like a near-death Jint writing poetry in Abh on the walls of where he’s hiding for Lafier to find, or the whole “Abh do not cry’ thing that’s a running thread throughout the book (and, unsurprisingly, total bullshit). By the end of the novel they’re closer than ever. And I do love the caustic yet hilarious relationship between Sporr and Cfadiss (and was very surprised at Sporr basically sacrificing a LOT to help Lafier here). That said, while I do appreciate what the author wants to do with the Abh linguistics and the space battle logistics, when the book is NOT about interpersonal relationships it can get quite boring. Sometimes it can even get annoying, particularly when one side of a group of prisoners is arguing about their inalienable rights to rape the other side.

As such, I’d call this volume more ‘variable’ than anything else, though the Jint and Lafier moments are fantastic. Next time they apparently return to his original homeworld. That should be safe and fun! But at least they’re going together.

Filed Under: banner of the stars, crest of the stars, REVIEWS

Banner of the Stars: The Ties That Bind

December 26, 2019 by Sean Gaffney

By Hiroyuki Morioka and Toshihiro Ono. Released in Japan by Hayakawa Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Giuseppe di Martino.

These are novels rather than light novels, so you don’t get cute interstitial artwork. This may be why we get this cover, with Lafier trying to look cool and captainlike while a cat is climbing on top of her. The cat is Jint’s (it’s Jint now. Don’t ask. Or rather, ask Hayakawa Publishing.), and spends much of the book wandering around places where it shouldn’t be and basically being a cat. That said, after the massive firefight that dominates the second half of the book, it’s probably for the best that the cat ends up being given a permanent home on planet. The cat also provides a different source of humor from the usual in this book, which is banter. Everyone in Banter… erm, Banner of the Stars is in a two-person team of back and forth dialogue as if they’re Nick and Nora Charles – indeed, Jint and Lafier are not nearly as caustic about it as many of the others, perhaps showing the feelings they have for each other. It’s almost Moonlighting in space.

This book takes place three years after the events of Crest of the Stars, with Jint now reunited with Lafier as her Clerk and right-hand man on her brand new ship. She’s just one of many ships that are setting out to fight the enemy, though, and we get a large amount of time devoted to space combat, things blowing up, and last-minute escapes. We meet Lafier’s crew, with Number Two Sobash, stoic Ecryua (stoic may be the wrong term given her love on Jint’s cat) and lovable drunk Samson. There’s also her Assault Unit Commander, who happens to be the sister of the guy that Lafier killed in Crest of the Stars. Sporr is still hanging around and being fabulous. And we also see Neleth and Nefeh, two twin brothers (unusual among the Abh) with a propensity towards being exceptionally weird. Everyone talks back and forth at each other like it’s His Girl Friday. Oh yes, and there’s the planet they’re fighting to conquer, which irritatingly hasn’t surrendered yet.

As I said, Jint and Lafier are also part of this, and we do get some choice banter (the thing about Lafier thinking her mother was a cat is brought up by Jint multiple times, to her displeasure). At the same time, there is a certain fatalistic quality to Jint that the reader, and Lafier, may find disturbing. Atosryua invites Lafier and Jint to a dinner to commemorate the life of her brother… the one Lafier killed… but it’s all very polite and no hard feelings. Afterwards, Jint remarks how he doesn’t have anyone who would miss him after he died anyway, and the look that Lafier gives him burns through the page and onto your fingers. She makes it more explicit later that she would miss him, dammit, but it’s fairly clear that if there is any romance going on between the two, she will need to break through a bit of his self-debasement first.

The author notes that each book in this series will be self-contained, which is probably a good thing given the first came out in 1996 and the 6th in 2018. As with Crest of the Stars, it will bury you in vocabulary, and some of the eccentricities of the characters feel like the author is being cute rather than letting it develop naturally. Still, this is a good solid start to the “second season” of Jint and Lafier.

Filed Under: banner of the stars, crest of the stars, REVIEWS

Crest of the Stars: The Return to Strange Skies

October 14, 2019 by Sean Gaffney

By Hiroyuki Morioka and Toshihiro Ono. Released in Japan by Hayakawa Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Giuseppe di Martino.

The final book of the trilogy, though not the final book in the series overall. This wraps up getting Jinto and Lafier off the planet they’ve been stranded on and back to the Abh Empire, where he can finally go to quartermaster school an she can be a pilot. In between, we get cops chasing them, soldiers chasing the, the resistance desperately trying to get them to behave like hostages, a wild chase through an amusement park with animatronic animals, space battles galore, getting shot into space in a coffin, and an epilogue that neatly wraps everything up. If there hadn’t been more of the series, you’d still be pretty satisfied. That said, I am very happy that Banner of the Stars is to follow, as I think this was the best book of the three, despite a few battle scenes that were overfilled with vocabulary, this series’ Achilles heel.

The best reason to read this third volume is the introduction of Sporr, who is essentially that princess-curled high school bully girl from every anime ever put onto a spaceship. She even does the Ojousama Laugh (TM). The back and forth between her and her beleaguered assistant is pure gold, and you also greatly enjoy it when she’s the one who rescues Lafier and it turns out they hate each other, because of course they do. Unlike most princess-curled anime girls, though, Sporr is also tactically clever, and you can tell her rank is not just for show. Speaking of ranks, I also enjoyed the scene near the end where Lafier has to go before a commission to see if she can be a full-fledged pilot. They enjoy making her twist in the wind a bit, magnifying every error she’s committed along the way before mercifully admitting that she did fine and passes. The amusement park was also a hoot, with the behavior of the robot animals possibly being the comedy high point.

As for Jinto and Lafier, they are still not quite a couple by the end of the book, but Jinto does admit he wants to spend the rest of his life by her side, and even after he’s made crew on her new spaceship, she still asks him to call her Lafier. You get the sense that for these two reserved kids, this may be as explicit as you get. They do continue to be awful at being on the lam, and it’s a relief that the comedy resistance fighters are still capable enough to take care of them. he local police force also helps. One of my favorite bits of characterization in the book was seeing Kyte, the military liaison who’s been a prick ever since he arrived on the scene, gradually loosening up, revealing backstory, becoming sympathetic… and then losing it and becoming a prick again when he sees Lafier in person. Sometimes your tragic backstory isn’t enough to redeem you. You have to actually put in the effort. He did not.

The epilogue of the book sees us jump forward three years, and I suspect Banner of the Stars will feature even more space battles than we’ve gotten already. Still, this final volume was excellent. If you can get past the tortured vocabulary, Crest of the Stars is a great space opera.

Filed Under: crest of the stars, REVIEWS

Crest of the Stars: A War Most Modest

August 21, 2019 by Sean Gaffney

By Hiroyuki Morioka and Toshihiro Ono. Released in Japan by Hayakawa Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Giuseppe di Martino.

When we left Jinto and Lafier, he was locked up in an evil Baron’s swank apartment along with the evil Baron’s sympathetic father. What follows for the next third or so of the book is a well-executed action movie, as we get escapes, chases, battles to the death, a clever use of propellant, and the two of them reunited and on their way once more. Unfortunately, it would appear that “drop Jinto off and continue on her merry way” is just not in the cards for Lafier, as the delay means that there’s now a huge war that they have to somehow get through. They’re able to evade pursuit in space, but that won’t last long, so they land on a planet that, it turns out, has just been captured by the enemy. Now they have to hide out, disguise the fact that Lafier is Abh, and try to get back off the planet and to safety. But they’re both smart kids. What could possibly go wrong?

It has to be said, the best reason to buy this volume is Jinto and Lafier’s pathetic attempt at being on the run. They are the worst wanted criminals ever, made even more silly when they hold up some joyriders and steal their car, then… hole up in the first inn they find for days at a time, thinking everyone will simply ignore them. This is very much played for laughs, though it’s more of a wry smile sort of laugh (that said, I was amused at Lafier trying subtly to convey to Jinto that she needed privacy to go to the bathroom, though I could have done without the author patting himself on the back in the afterword). By the time the resistance shows up to “kidnap” them, you’re ready to thank God that someone can save these idiot kids from themselves. Perhaps the crusty old cop who’s being forced to work with the planet’s new conquerors might help as well.

We get an origin story of the Abh here from Lafier, who’s rather matter-of-fact about it but it’s still pretty dark. There are also a few scenes away from our star couple, as we see the Empress of the Abh dealing with the human ambassadors “negotiating” with her, which goes about as well as you’d expect. You can see that the Abh are upset about Lafier’s supposed death, or at least as upset as Abh are allowed to get. And the war also seems to be coming towards them, though I suspect they won’t be so easily rescued. A lot of Japanese science-fiction has that old-fashioned space opera feel to it, and this is no exception. The Abh tend to be a fill-in for Japan at times, so it’s no surprise that they’re being shown as the good guys, but the author tries to make it clear how that appears to everyone else. It’s just the narrative sides with them.

Again, this is a good work of science fiction, and doesn’t feel like a light novel at all. It’s worth it as a real change of pace for those who are tired of isekai. Also, nice hat.

Filed Under: crest of the stars, REVIEWS

Crest of the Stars: Princess of the Empire

June 11, 2019 by Sean Gaffney

By Hiroyuki Morioka and Toshihiro Ono. Released in Japan by Hayakawa Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Giuseppe di Martino.

I was excited when I heard that this got picked up by J-Novel Club. I’d read the Tokyopop so long ago that I’d forgotten almost everything about it, but I definitely remember enjoying it. It’s old-school science fiction, the sort that not only introduces you to the main characters but also builds an entire political galaxy, delves deeply into engineering and battle terms, and also invents an entire alien language for the reader to immerse themselves in, complete with not only translations but phonetic pronunciation. It’s also a novel rather than a light novel, so aside from the cover, don’t expect any interior illustrations. As for the story itself, it takes a while to get going, but once Lafier shows up and meets Jinto, things really start to take off, and the last quarter of the book is fantastic. It also leaves you on a cliffhanger, so I’m grateful more is coming.

The book opens on the planet Martin, where the seemingly arrogant and ruthless Abh Empire has just invaded. They basically have a choice – get taken over peacefully or not peacefully. Jinto, the 10-year-old son of the planet’s leader, rapidly discovers that his father not only chooses “peacefully” but also decides to become an Abh noble and leaves the planet… which means everyone suddenly hates Jinto by association. Seven years later and a far calmer and mellower Jinto has been going to schools to learn about his new status as an Abh (albeit not by genetics) and is ready to begin life as a quartermaster. He’s met by a young woman who is, like all people born Abh, gorgeous, and who also seems stunned he doesn’t recognize her. As a result, she asks him to call her Lafier, and they get on like a house on fire. Of course, this assumes that he can make it to his new position, as suddenly the Abh are under attack by the Human Empire.

I will get a few things out of the way here. First of all, it’s Lafier with an r, which is not what I’m used to from prior releases. It didn’t take too long to get used to it, through. The same cannot be said for the vocab peppered throughout the book, which is a LOT. At the start of the book every third word seems to get its own alien term, pronunciation guide, and English equivalent, and after a while it can verge on annoying. That said, it really does help to sell the Abh as a different culture. Plus as the book goes on previous alien terms are merely put in bold type, so you don’t actually have to deal with learning the words too much. The main reason to read the book, as I said, is Jinto and Lafier. They’re both great, immediately likeable personalities, and they bounce off each other well. The last quarter of the book has them dealing with a self-serving baron (who has his own harem, something that is NOT painted as a good thing) and I can’t wait to see him get his comeuppance.

There’s also some good, moving writing here as well, particularly in the doomed space battle 2/3 in. If you want some nice chunky sci-fi with lots of alien terminology, it’s absolutely worth checking out. Just don’t let the vocab lessons get you down.

Filed Under: crest of the stars, REVIEWS

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