NetGalley Archives - Made of Stardust and Stubbornness

“The Iron Garden Sutra” Review

Posted on September 14, 2025October 2, 2025 by Jen

“The Iron Garden Sutra” by A.D. Sui

Vessel Iris has devoted himself to the Starlit Order, performing funeral rites for the dead across the galaxy, guiding souls back into the Infinite Light. Despite the comfort he wants to believe he brings to the dead, his relationships with his fellow Vessels are distant at best, leaving him reliant on his AI implant for companionship.

The spaceship Counsel of Nicaea has been lost for more than a thousand years. A relic of Earth’s dying past, humanity took the ship to the stars on a multi-generation journey to find another habitable planet yet never reached its destination. Its sudden appearance has attracted a team of academics eager to investigate its archeological history. And Iris has been assigned to bring peace to the crew’s long departed souls.

Carpeted in moss and intertwined with vines, Nicaea is more forest than ship. But Nicaea’s plant life isn’t the only sentience to have survived in the past millennia. Something onboard is stalking the explorers one by one. And Iris with his AI enhancement may be their only hope for survival. . .

Review

This was such a great read! I really loved the worldbuilding and the character developments throughout the book. Iris was such an interesting character to get know along with his AI companion. It’s interesting reading about a character having an AI companion considering what’s going on today but I liked the way the author handled the whole situation. I really liked the way Iris ended up developing various connections and relationships with everyone in the group (especially one character). I really enjoyed the way various histories of the characters ended up being told as they got to know each other.

I thought the balance of character development and solving the actual mystery of the ship was well done. Things happened in a way that necessitated characters talking to each other in a way that made sense. The potential story of that happened on the ship in the past is all too realistic given how generational knowledge is lost over the years. The way everything worked out was also interesting. I did wish for confirmation on one plot, but it’s okay that it was not shown. I also liked the way a specific relationship developed and the way things played out even if the ending felt too abrupt. I did think it made sense given the rest of the story that whatever might happen next was not the focus of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Erewhon Books and A.D. Sui for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Details

The cover of the book is yellow with two circles with various spheres on top in orbit around a space station with multiple modules. Below the circles is a triangular shape with a human skull over it and red vines growing around it. The title is written one word on each line down the center with the author's name at the bottom.

Author’s Website: A.D. Sui
Publisher / Date: Erewhon Books, February 2026
Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
Page Count: 384
Completen Date: September 14, 2025

“The Jovian Madrigals” Review

Posted on August 11, 2024October 7, 2024 by Jen

“The Jovian Madrigals” by Janneke de Beer

At the edge of forever, we will not recognize ourselves.

It’s 2193, almost a century since scientists on Callisto discovered immortality. Every year, the Party sends a group of Earth’s best and brightest to receive this immortality. No one ever comes back.

Four people are making the journey to Callisto to receive immortality. Padraig, a brilliant physicist, dying of cancer. Cassandra, an orphan from the irradiated ruins of New York. Jocasta, a veteran of the Yugoslav Wars. Gautier, whose presence on Callisto no one will adequately explain. Immortality is meant to change them for the better. But once they’re on Callisto, what happens when they just want to go home?

Review

In general I enjoyed this book – the characters and world building were interesting. I liked the way the stories of the four characters were mostly independent which seemed to work well for the book. A character in the book describes a madrigal as “four voices, each singing their own song, intertwining occasionally” and that’s exactly how the book went. Though, I have to say the blurb for the book only gives a small part of what the book is about. The plot was complex and full of additional details that I was not expecting. I did feel some things were more confusing than they needed to be. While many events had answers in the end others seemingly did not. I also wasn’t entirely sure about the motivations of some of the characters, with Cassandra’s story line being the most confusing.

Thank you to NetGalley, Owlish Publishing and Janneke de Beer for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Details

Author’s Website: Janneke de Beer
Publisher / Date: Owlish Publishing October 15, 2024
Genre: Science Fiction
Page Count: 438
Completion Date: August 11, 2024

“Loka” Review

Posted on June 4, 2024October 9, 2024 by Jen

“Loka” (The Alloy Era No. 2) by S. B. Divya

Akshaya is the hybrid daughter of a human mother and an alloy, a genetically engineered posthuman―and she’s the future of life on the planet Meru. But not if the determined Akshaya can help it. Before choosing where her future lies, she wants to circumnavigate the most historic orb in the universe―the birthplace of humanity: Earth.

Akshaya’s parents reluctantly agree to her anthropological challenge―one with no assistance from alloy devices, transport, or wary alloys themselves who manage humanity and the regions of Earth called Loka. It’s just Akshaya; her equally bold best friend, Somya; and a carefully planned itinerary threading continent by continent across a wondrous terrain of things she’s never seen: blue skies, sunrises, snowcapped mountains, and roiling oceans.

As the adventure unfolds, the travelers discover love and new friendships, but they also learn the risks of a planet that’s not entirely welcoming. On this trek―rapturous, dangerous, and life-changing―Akshaya will discover what human existence really means.

Review

This was a great book. It was a very quick read and I enjoyed reading Akshaya and Somya’s adventure around the world. Akshaya is a very typical teenager who wants to be able to make her own choices about everything and not feel forced to conform to what her mother wants for her. Both she and her mother have a lot to learn and do so throughout the course of the book. I really enjoyed the additional aspects of how disability was used. Like her mother Akshaya has sickle cell anemia and must figure out how to work with it on Earth where it’s more disabling than it would be on Meru due to different conditions. The entire story is about self discovery and figuring out where you belong in the universe.

While this book is a sequel to the previous book “Meru” – Akshaya’s parents are two of the main characters from that book – “Loka” works well enough as a standalone novel. I think anyone could read it without having read the first book. Though some plot points might be helpful to know for additional context.

Thank you to NetGalley, 47North and S.B. Divya for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “Loka”.

Book Details

The cover shows a person and a small machine that looks somewhat like a dog in a valley between cliff sides with large patches of green up the sides. The two figures are in the distance standing on a rock looking upwards at the blue sky visible outside of the valley. The book title is written from top to bottom one letter at a time and the author's name is at the very top.

Author’s Website: S. B. Divya
Publisher / Date: 47North, August 2024
Genre: Science Fiction
Page Count: 367
Completion Date: June 4, 2024