The Blighted Stars

By: Megan E. O'Keefe

Narrated by: Ciaran Saward

Stranded on a dead planet with her mortal enemy, a spy must survive and uncover a conspiracy in the first book of an epic space opera trilogy by an award‑winning author.

She's a revolutionary. Humanity is running out of options. Habitable planets are being destroyed as quickly as they're found and Naira Sharp thinks she knows the reason why. The all-powerful Mercator family has been controlling the exploration of the universe for decades, and exploiting any materials they find along the way under the guise of helping humanity's expansion. But Naira knows the truth, and she plans to bring the whole family down from the inside.

He's the heir to the dynasty. Tarquin Mercator never wanted to run a galaxy-spanning business empire. He just wanted to study rocks and read books. But Tarquin's father has tasked him with monitoring the settlement of a new planet, and he doesn't really have a choice in the matter.

Disguised as Tarquin's new bodyguard, Naira plans to destroy the settlement ship before they make land. But neither of them expects to end up stranded on a dead planet. To survive and keep her secret, Naira will have to join forces with the man she's sworn to hate. And together they will uncover a plot that's bigger than both of them.

For more from Megan E. O'Keefe, check out:

The Protectorate
Velocity Weapon
Chaos Vector
Catalyst Gate

Critic reviews

"O’Keefe delivers a captivating exploration of identity in this smart, addictive space adventure full of intrigue, visceral danger, and deeply personal stakes. Come for the epic sci-fi action, stay for the charmingly broken characters just doing their best."—J. S. Dewes, author of The Last Watch

"Full of deftly-plotted twists and turns, The Blighted Stars is a body-hopping, zombie-popping, rock-licking thrill ride."—Emily Skrutskie, author of Bonds of Brass

"The story’s environmental themes are handled very well (O’Keefe gives the reader much to think about without sounding didactic); the characters are lively; and the writing is full of energy. A very promising series launch."—Booklist

"The Blighted Stars is everything I want in a book: lots of action, lots of character, and lots of heart. Megan E. O’Keefe delights with every page, from her stunning action sequences set on alien planets to her exploration of the twisted pathways taken by the human heart. This is space opera for the ages, wrapped in complicated and delicious layers of family and loyalty and science and love and duty. I couldn’t put it down!"—Karen Osborne, author of Architects of Memory

"Thrilling, yearning, and paranoid. This book kept me up way too late!”

—Max Gladstone, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author

"The Blighted Stars is a delightfully twisty space opera filled with unique worldbuilding and deft explorations of humanity, family, and power. Add in a dash of rebellion and a hint of romance, and I'm hooked—I can't wait for the next book!” —Jessie Mihalik, author of Hunt the Stars

"Emotional arcs and action sequences, vivid worldbuilding, and interesting explorations of body printing and corporate servitude provide an immersive story...O'Keefe's latest has the intrigue, surprises, and high stakes of her previous novels."—Library Journal

"The Blighted Stars delivers a first-in-series that's smart, incisive, and utterly gripping. Megan E. O'Keefe's masterful storytelling will draw you into a complex, brutal, yet hope-charged world, break your heart, and leave you begging for more."—Rowenna Miller, author of Torn

"Brimming with unconventional gender dynamics and shifting identities, The Blighted Stars is character-driven science fiction at its best—a taut novel with human questions at its heart."—E. J. Beaton, author of The Councillor

Loved it!!

A great SYFY with depth and an intriguing concept. The narration was absolutely perfect. I will read more of
Megan O'keefe for sure and hope there is a book 2!!

Interesting Premise

A little slow at the beginning but very enjoyable. I’d like to hear more from the ship’s AI as it achieved sentience. Narrator was very good for all but Naira’s character. She sounded like a 1930s Chicago gangster, which often took me out of the story.

Absolutely brilliant!

A wonderfully rich and layered story! A can't stop reading and listening. Yes I own both the audio and physical copies of this series.

Fresher than expected

A solid 4.5 for me. While the concept overall has been used and then some, this particular work is built around a semi-immortality framework where bodies can be printed (but minds can’t transfer infinitely) and it’s surprisingly well-developed! Generally a typical privileged-elite-discovers-the-reality-of-imperialism story, but told with skill. It pivots more firmly into the romance genre in the second half but actually managed to sell the characters enough that I found myself enjoying this even though it wasn’t what I’d bought the book for in the first place.

The narration was quite skilled although I am haunted and tormented by Saward’s pronunciation of “sikth.” I’m not sure what his accent is exactly—lived in the UK for a while and never particularly caught most of my friend’s accents with this one but I’m not sure how many regions it happens in. I ended up having to google the book to figure out if it was actually referring to a sixth planet like a number or had a fictional sci-fi name. He’s an amazing voice actor with a wide range, but that range doesn’t extend super well to various female characters, so I think I’d enjoy listening to his work more on books where women’s dialogue doesn’t make up such a big percentage. Neither of these was at all a dealbreaker, though.

Couldn’t stop listening

Great storyline sequence, pace, and well developed, unique characters. What is particularly interesting is the “living forever” system - described well, used as both security and insecurity in the characters’ minds-The narrator is perfect for this. I can’t explain it well but he does different character voices without modulating his voice too much-then the storyline itself isn’t interrupted.