Book Review – The Outback Stars

Author: Sandra McDonald
Publisher: Tor
Binding: Hardcover
Publication Date: April 2007

I admit it, when I received the review copy of The Outback Stars by Sandra McDonald; I put it aside for three not so good reasons. My first reason for was that it was clearly science fiction and I’ve always been partial to fantasy so the fantasy books boxed with it drew me first. The second reason I procrastinated is rather silly; I hated the cover. Well, hate is a strong word; I disliked the design and the art of the cover and it just didn’t engage me at all. The third reason is also rather silly, the title brought to mind a simpleminded fool stargazing in his backyard. Add all three up and you get weeks-long procrastination. I’m sure that there is a lesson for marketers and publicists and publishers and artists somewhere in all of that but what it might be would be debatable. When I finally picked it up, having no more excuses, I was pleasantly surprised.

Lieutenant Jodenny Scott has just finished her recuperation after a space disaster and is eager to ‘get back in the saddle’ and maneuvers her way onto the Aral Sea, a ship about to embark on a months-long trip through space. Lt. Scott’s former ship, the Yangtze, exploded during a routine trip without any warning or explanation. Along with several other survivors, she spent months dealing with both the tragedy itself and her own personal injuries. She is eager to prove to herself and to others that she has not been permanently scarred by the tragedy and that she is still an asset to Team Space. Team Space happens to be the name for the militaristic organization that handles all space travel. While the name Team Space might evoke an image of the Power Rangers, in actuality they are more like a navy whose seas are comprised of the space between the planets and stars.

Once aboard the Aral Sea, she is given charge of a lowly division that has seen its share of issues and is apparently full of troublemakers. Underway Stores is her new division and Lt. Scott is determined to maximize its efficiency, improve its ratings and make its team members proud to be a part of the team. She has a difficult time of it when faced with mounds of overdue paperwork, machinery that disappears or doesn’t work properly, hypochondriacs, gamers, and dissention among her staff and in between another division and hers. Increasing her anxiety, the ship is fast approaching the point in its journey where her former ship exploded.

Matters don’t get easy for her either. Combining international smuggling, murder, ancient magical travel, love interests, spies, prophesy dreams, mythological icons and avatars, and much more, McDonald makes Lt. Jodenny Scott’s life both more difficult and more interesting than the reader ever thought it could be. While there were many portions that would have been more enjoyable had I more historical knowledge of aboriginal Australia, I found this novel to be quite entertaining. Her two main characters had true personalities, though some of the secondary characters were sadly a bit one-dimensional. Other than a few minor issues like the title and cover, this was a most pleasant journey back into science fiction for me. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in this series as there were several loose ends that need tying up.

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