The Actual Star

A Novel

By: Monica Byrne

Narrated by: Carolina Hoyos, Kareem Ferguson, Gisela Chipe

Length: 19 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas meets Octavia Butler's Earthseed series, as acclaimed author Monica Byrne (The Girl in the Road) spins a brilliant multigenerational saga spanning two thousand years, from the collapse of the ancient Maya to a far-future utopia on the brink of civil war.

The Actual Star takes listeners on a journey over thousands of years and six continents—collapsing three separate timelines into one cave in the Belizean jungle.

An epic saga of three reincarnated souls, this novel demonstrates the entanglements of tradition and progress, sister and stranger, love and hate. The book jumps forward and backward in time among a pair of twins who ruled a Maya kingdom, a young American on a trip of self-discovery, and two dangerous charismatics in a conflict that will determine the fate of the few humans left on Earth after massive climate change.

In each era, age-old questions about existence and belonging and identity converge deep underground. Because only in complete darkness can one truly see the stars.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Monica Byrne (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

maybe I'm daft, but I did not get how it ended

It took some time to get into it with the jumping around, but it was good. And then it ended. It didn't seem like an end. It didn't make much sense. Maybe I'm to empirically minded to get it.

masterpiece time spanning epic

masterpiece is the best word I can come. it ties together 3 different epochs past present and future as if they were intimately connected through the timeless non-western mythos of the mayan worldview and calendar

Speculative fiction enters a whole new dimension

What this book accomplishes in three separate storylines across 2,000 years is mind blowing. The connectivity of the separate stories is electric, the narrative swims tantalizingly close, like the stories will arc, but they stay true to their pathways. Speculative fiction is rich even without such a solid historical foundation, in layering a world 1,000 years from now on the archeological backbone of what we know of the ancient Maya and the reckless abandon of Capitalism and Populism in the here and now, the author has built an entirely plausible future for humans and the planet and their relationship to it. I would’ve read each of these as a separate book bit together they take speculative fiction to a whole new dimension.

Excellent Time Hopping Mindbender

The Actual Star is a brain-bender and was not an easy read for me. It consists of three separate but interwoven story threads set in three different eras which come together (sort of) at the end in an epic conclusion that makes sense (kind of). You know you are in for a ride when your book comes with a 17-page glossary of terms for the in-the-future portion of the novel. This hefty book was a little intimidating at first glance.

The novel jumps around between the three different periods but begins in 1012, set in a Mayan kingdom in Belize. A royal brother and sister set of twins are preparing to rule their kingdom but face difficulties as there are rumors of rebellion and the climate is changing, and their and the surrounding kingdoms are in decline due to this. The twins’ beloved younger sister is also featured in this section. She takes mushrooms early on and begins to have visions and plays an important role as this storyline progresses. We are introduced to a nearby sacred cave, supposedly a portal to the Mayan underworld, which ultimately becomes a central part of all three timelines.

A thousand years later in 2012 in the fictional city of Anoong, Minnesota a young half-Belizean lady, Leah, who was conceived by her mother there on a missionary trip, plans to travel to Belize to explore her roots and tour the mythical cave. She befriends two of the cave tour guides, who happen to be twin brothers, and hijinks ensue. She becomes infatuated with the cave and longs to explore past what the official government tours allow.

Sidenote: the fictional city of Anoong, Minnesota is located near the real city of St. Cloud, close to where I live. It was funny to read her bumming around town and when she drove to MSP to fly to Belize she would’ve rolled right through my town. Nitpick: Leah and her boyfriend drive out on the ice-covered Mississippi River near St. Cloud in the winter to make out. There is no way a car drives out on the Mississippi River in my neck of the woods in the winter! The ice never gets thick enough to support a motor vehicle as the water underneath is always moving. An easy fix to this would’ve been to have Leah and her boyfriend drive out on to the ice of any area lake. Most lakes have ice fishing houses on them and many have trucks criss-crossing them once the ice is thick enough as roads come right off boat landings. Been there, done that.

Yet another thousand years later in 3012 an outspoken member of society, Niloux, finds herself in hot water as she is questioning the sacred beliefs of her culture, particularly the divinity of St. Leah (the woman from 2012!). This is the part of the novel that requires the aforementioned glossary. The world building in this second is complex and mind-blowing. I know I didn’t understand all of it. In 3012 human society is reeling from the effects of climate change. Population levels have plummeted and civilization has become nomadic and religious, centered on the worship of St. Leah and the two Belizian cave guides. There is some really cool tech. Niloux travels to the Mayan cave from the Middle East in hopes of proving her theory and disproving the overriding religious beliefs of her culture.

It all sounds crazy but it works. I really enjoyed this novel. It was epic. The scope was vast. The main characters are interesting and well fleshed-out. I couldn’t wait to see how the author was going to tie this all together. The ending was confusing and I’m not sure if I fully understood it but I can’t stop thinking about it. I'm going to read more about this book in upcoming days.

A Masterpiece

I don't have enough words for how impressed I am by this book. The author interweaves three epochs - a Mayan past, a contemporary present set in 2012, and a far future in 3012. Every voice, every character, every detail was so distinct. The world-building of the future was wonderfully done. I wish I could sit down with someone and talk it all through because there was so much to absorb and enjoy. It was a little hard to get into the future sequences at the start because there is a heavy mix of Spanish - which I don't know - and made-up words, which I think all would be easier to understand in print. I let that wash past me and over time I picked up more. I was so glad I didn't let that stop me because the world she envisions offers so much to consider. I marvel at the author's creativity. I'll definitely be re-reading in print so I can pick up what I missed in the audio version and savor all the details. The narrators are fantastic. They each have to voice multiple parts and do it expertly. There's a lot of humor in the book and the narration let that come through in ways I really appreciated. I will say that the book comes with a trigger warning about cutting. There are entire hours of narration where cutting isn't an issue, or at most a passing reference, but there are some scenes that could be upsetting. I had a couple of moments where I had to jump ahead 15 or 30 seconds because it was too much for me to listen, but that was enough. It was the same as though maybe in a written book, there might be a couple of pages a reader has to skim due to personal squeamishness.

Another comment - I think this book is categorized as science fiction, but people who don't usually like science fiction shouldn't let that discourage them. The science fiction element is just the vision of what the future could be. Really the book is a literary masterwork on humanity, spirituality, and the ties that bind us. I hope this review encourages someone to read the book! It truly is extraordinary.

stunning story telling, transcendant

structurally gorgeous story. keeps you hooked start to finish. every detail matters and is woven together masterfully
the performance is excellent
highly entertaining and engrossing

Best Audio Book So Far

The three eras of this book were so well delivered by the voices of three artists. Their characterizations did honor to this excellently crafted novel by Monica Byrne. I read the book first, then listed to this audio book with my spouse.

Echoes of Cloud Atlas

Rich, provocative and fully realized. It was a slow start for me, but I really into it a third way through, leaving me with a lot of deeply mined themes to reflect on.

Incredibly creative, still processing

Wow. I'm not sure how to describe this book. Science fiction braided with anthropology, told through 3 story lines: ancient, present day, and future Maya. The stories seem unrelated and unique, but each have a thread, theme, or phrase that ties them together, often through time and space. I have never ready anything like this, it was incredible!

Notes: some of the themes are a bit graphic (cw: self harm, sex)

The crafting of this book was amazing.

I saw that it was like Octavia Butler and automatically said let's try. I was not disappointed. As others who did not finish or we're lost with story development or character development for the first few hours I felt a similar sense of loss. However, I have learned that it takes time for me to learn the landscape so I continued and I am so glad I did.

I loved the 3 time periods and the generations of characters and their evolving personalities. The god development was interesting and the perceived utopian/religious society was interestingly developed in the first generation lost and found by the second and revived very differently in the last thousand years.

I also enjoyed how the research of the Mayan culture was interwoven to appear to be a true telling of the “lost” Mayan culture.

The book is worth your time and patience.