STARCHILD

Exile, Book 1

By: J Washburn

Narrated by: Simon Wright

Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Flying an ancient alien spaceship, Starchild may have the key to saving the rebels. Only he wants no part of their war...until he meets her.

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Tyranny rules the galaxy.

Taiberos has crushed every hint of rebellion. Like the grip of his cybernetic hand, he maintains a relentless hold on the populace. The power he hates most is the psionic magic of the song—a force so strong it flows out as light from the eyes. People with such powers are called radiances, and Taiberos’s Witch Hunters kidnap any that surface.

As the radiances slowly vanish, so does the galaxy’s hope.

Till Kalhette Whitesun, one of the last radiances, gives a risky speech, denouncing Taiberos and the extermination of her kind. The message spreads across the galaxy like the light of a supernova. She becomes revered as the uncrowned queen, the one with the power to finally unite the people.

And then doom falls—

In the form of the crushing hand of Taiberos. He captures Kalhette, sentencing her to the darkest dungeons and imminent death.

All hope is lost.

Until a lone pilot appears. A pilot who wants nothing to do with Kalhette or her rebellion yet who may in fact be the galaxy’s last hope. A pilot whose ship, the spirit, was created by an ancient alien race. A pilot who stole that ship from Taiberos himself...

A renegade pilot named Starchild.

* * *

Get ready for a book addiction like you haven't experienced since you were a kid.

The moment you open the book, you’ll be transported away at lightspeed.

So, are you ready to take an intergalactic leap?

©2019 J Washburn (P)2023 J Washburn

More Than Just an Audiobook...

It's an audio dramatization with music, sound effects, etc. The narrator does a fantastic job and was especially engaging during character conversations. It's a lot of fun. I'm now interested to hear other works the narrator has been involved with. I would note that sometime the sound effects were a bit too loud compared to the reading of the story, so be careful with your volume.

As for the story, it's George Lucas meets Ayn Rand meets The Buddha. It's definitely reminiscent of Star Wars, but it sort of gave me the feeling I had when reading The Hunger Games. I particularly enjoyed the main character, Nak, and his sidekick, a cubed consciousness named Cup. The dialogue was fun and witty, and the story intriguing. The magic system has quite a bit of Eastern influence and is wielded by warriors passionate about political philosophy. There are many interesting perspectives I will be thinking more about. I’m looking forward to listening to the entire trilogy.

Super fun adventure sci-fi story

Washburn tells a fun story with great twists and creates a fun and exiting world in this book. The audio book is read super well making it an extra good listen