Retribution: Book 2 (Starganauts) Paperback – May 4, 2022

I enjoyed the way the author continued to develop her characters and the world they live in through this story. There were many places where I enjoyed this book even more than the first in the series! The action and the stakes felt higher, and the personal trials of the characters spoke to my heart in a very personal way. Particularly the character of Kaity, as she wrestles with the "destiny" or "call" placed on her life and the very real questions that she has to walk through before she can fully embrace what God is asking her to do, captivated me; and I rejoiced and cried with her throughout the story. If you're looking for a fantastic adventure that transports you to the far reaches of the galaxy, yet still manages to speak truth to the inner places of your heart...then this book is definitely for you! I can't wait to read the next one.

This book picked up in the second half.Cool world -building! Really added color to the world.These books keep getting better!

I really enjoyed this sequel to The Starganauts. C.E. Stone drives home the point that challenges will follow you wherever you go, even if you seem to be in an idealic and peaceful place. There are a good many exciting battles faced by this band of Earthlings in this book, so strap on your seat belt for the ride. I really appreciate the author's reminder that Christians struggle with their relationship with God and their temptations and misconduct, and yet, they are still God's children, albeit disobedient, but still loved and cherished. I also liked the glimpse of another world, too. I am anticipating the next saga in this series. I'll try to be patient.

Are you a fan of Christian Sci-Fi? I'll be honest, unless the sci-fi in question is allegorical, I tend to not be a fan of this genre, especially if it involves other alien races existing within the same realm of the Judeo-Christian history and belief system.Still, when I was given an opportunity to read Starganauts: Retribution by C.E. Stone I was thrilled!And, while it wasn't my personal cup of tea for the reasons listed above, there is still a lot to enjoy about this novel!If you absolutely love direct Christian fiction, Sci-Fi tropes on par with Star Trek and Star Wars, and incredibly intense and epic fight scenes, then this is the book for you!Jammed packed with political strife, faith based tension, and some amazing space battles, C.E. Stone expertly weaves together a tale of mounting tension, building up to a final epic climax, and a beautiful theme of forgiveness to tie everything nicely together.What impressed me the most about this book was how strongly it reminded me of Star Trek at points, with the fun banter and the desire to connect to other worlds and alien races.However, I highly recommend reading the first novel first.There are a lot of names, alien races, and sci-fi vocabulary in this series, so it's easy to get lost if you haven't had a chance to familiarize yourself with the world in the first novel. Still, I'm super grateful that there's a complete glossary now for character, location, and vocabulary reference for the future!Also, as this is a very direct Christian sci-fi novel, there are some thematic and theological elements to note. Here is my full content disclosure:For language, apart from some PG swearing, it's fairly clean. In terms of sexual content, pornography is present, but is never glamorized or shown on screen. For thematic content, there are a few character stereotypes present. Drinking and drunkenness are present, but not overly glamorized. For theological content: the biggest thing to note is that God is an actual character in the story Whose voice is written within the fictional world. There are themes of God encouraging seeking violence over peace, and war instead of turning the other cheek. A character at one point is shamed for seeking a peaceful and humble lifestyle, and is pressured into killing other characters, because of the theme that any desire for peace is selfish. There is a strong theme of complementarianism, where the theme of wives submitting to their husbands is taken very literally. There is also a female character who does all the preaching and sermons. Themes of witnessing to alien races are also present. For violence, there are a lot of intense and epic fight scenes, but all within the PG-13 range. For this reason, I give this book a solid PG-13 rating, with a moderate spiritual warning depending on your religious beliefs.But if you're looking for a faith-filled sci-fi novel that's rich in its world building with some amazingly epic fight scenes, then this is the book for you!I hope you have a blessed day!

**Note: I received an ARC from the author, but my opinions are my own.The end of Starganauts found our heroes on a new world, Vexador. Throughout Retribution, they must grapple against the ghosts of enemies from before which threaten this new home. They are once again summoned into battle, but the fight for Vexador will take a toll on them all.Pros:+ Imaginative world building. I can tell that C.E. Stone has put a lot of thought into her world. Her biography says that she created the world when she was 10, and I think it shows. There is a lot of depth here, and she often dips into a treasure trove of knowledge to craft a story.+ Very Christian. Stone does not shy away from sharing the Gospel throughout the entire book. However, it could come across as somewhat preachy at times. It is very in-your-face, which is what some people like. But people who might prefer a subtler take might consider this a con. Either way, Stone’s heart for Christ and spreading the Gospel is evident!+ No language or sexual content. That’s pretty much self-explanatory! I would let kids of any age read this, once they expressed interest. Even though some of the characters are married, there’s never anything explicit or even implied, so far as I could tell.+ Lots of space battles. Though it takes a little while to get started, once the battles start, they don’t slow down. I think the battles will really appeal to sci-fi fans!+ Diverse set of characters. Chances are, someone will have one character they like! We get to visit a lot of people, both good and bad guys, and they all get a lot of scenes. I think Kaity, Samantha, Dudeman, Sharko, and then the villain, Grunn, are the people we spend the most time with.Cons:- There were a lot of “-ing,” telling, not showing words throughout the novel. This made the novel seem more passive than active at times. Some choices of words/dialogue distracted me as well (which is personal preference, too).- I personally felt like there were some Deus ex Machina vibes sometimes during this one. God seems to show up to move the plot along or deliver exposition at times. Which, again, this could be a pro to someone. But, since I pointed this out in the “pro” section, I felt I should point it out in the “con” section as well. :) It all boils down to your perception/preference here.- LOTS of characters (which can also be a pro!!). I usually love a large cast, and for the most parts I did, but a couple go by several different names, even within the same paragraph. Like one character is referred to by their first, middle, and last names, as well as their rank. It kind of made keeping up with them hard, especially with so many other characters to keep track of. In the future, I would love to see characters referred to by one name (well—I’m a bit more lenient with the Starganauts themselves; them switching between names was easy enough), and possibly a glossary for this immersive, expansive universe.Keep in mind, sci-fi is not my typical genre. I think, for MG Christian sci-fi readers, this will be a home run. It is very much “Christian Power Rangers in space.” If you enjoyed the first book, I would almost guarantee you will like this one, and it handles the balance between being second in a series + a standalone book well.I admire the heartfelt service to Christ that Stone puts in every single one of her books. I look forward to seeing how she continues to grow the world, the characters, and her writing style as the series progresses! ♥️