- mollyfennig
Review of Fallen Love by Alex Stargazer
Fallen Love by Alex Stargazer
This review is special since I had the honor of beta reading an earlier version. Overall, while I don’t read much science fiction anymore, this is a well-crafted book that is high in tension and male-male romance in a way that has demonstrated the growth of Alex Stargazer as a writer. The book should be out February 1st on Amazon.
4/5 stars.
The premise
There are many kinds of monster that walk the Earth. Some are ugly. Others speak beautiful words through forked tongues. But the worst possess the grace of angels, and the hearts of demons…
Upperclassman Conall is rich, impeccably dressed, and set for a prestigious career in the Party hierarchy. He doesn’t lack for anything—except, maybe, love.
When he finds Mark, alone, abandoned and hurt, he doesn’t expect one act of kindness to alter the course of his life forever. There is more to Mark than Conall can even dream of. The beautiful, vulnerable boy Conall knows is not human. A dark power lies within Mark—it can make him immortal… but love might be the price.
My review
Others have remarked that the book is slow to get going but is surprisingly great once it does and I agree. The writing has leveled up significantly since the beta copy. The style is more consistent and self-assured meanwhile the dialogue is more realistic and the characters more compelling. The slowness to get going is likely a combination of things, including a natural byproduct of sci fi’s need to world build and the lack of apparent conflict right away. This is something I struggle with as well, but is balanced by the tension later on.
In true fantasy style, the politics and world-building in the book serve as a critique of politics and social structures in the real world. Sometimes this was successful and other times felt cliche.
All in all, I commend the growth in writing and look forward to more in the future.
Kickstarter
Per Alex’s request, I am including the link to the book’s kickstarter here. Since it is a self-published book, the funds go towards all publishing costs including cover art, any editing, ads, etc that normally is paid for by a traditional publisher.