Starlite, by Jonathan Latt, is a space opera science fiction novel with a healthy dose of humor. The tone is closer to Guardians of the Galaxy than Star Wars. The story centers around Bevil Cyrex, a young man from a good family who spends more time flying through space in his beloved spaceship than staying at home with his loving family whose main concern is to find him a mate. On one of his space adventures, he stumbles upon an old space station hotel called The Starlite. It’s been abandoned but Bevil is amazed to find it in great shape. He decides to make The Starlite his new home. This new project brings Bevil lots of joy, new friends, and a newfound purpose in life. It also brings trouble in the form of killer space pirates and military troops that see the strategic value of owning such a place. Becoming the owner of The Starlite was the easy part. Now, Bevil has to keep everyone else from stealing it from him or, even worse, blasting the place to smithereens.

Starlite is an absolute joy to read. Author Jonathan Latt has the special ability of combining exciting action with intelligent science and peppering it all with humor. Not only is the story fun from start to finish, but it’s also unpredictable. It’s full of twists and turns that kept me guessing and anxious to see what would happen next. As much as I loved the unique storyline, I’d have to say the shining achievement in Starlite is its colorful and very creative cast of characters. There were no cookie-cutter characters in this story at all. Everyone from the main cast to supporting characters was well fleshed out with distinct personalities and quirks. There is even a love story squeezed into the proceedings that avoids the typical traps found in most action-adventure novels. This one, between Bevil and Tess, felt fresh and it added another layer of depth to the plot. I highly recommend Starlite for a fun, action-packed, sci-fi tale that’s unlike anything else out there.