An interesting independently published ebook, The Stars Came Back is a tale of space adventure with distinct military, political and moral themes. Stylistically, it occupies an unusual dialogue-heavy space somewhere between a novel and a screenplay; the author has mentioned that he originally wrote it as a screenplay and as it grew in length the style adjusted somewhat. Though written in a manner reminiscent of a Heinlein juvenile, it is not a coming-of-age tale; almost all of the characters are adults, though they still have room to grow and change.
It could perhaps be argued that it is a story of societal coming of age, but if so, it would only be the beginning of such a story.
The book has several flaws, most of which are pretty much par for the course with an independent ebook. The origin of the story as a screenplay is obvious, and frankly, the whole story would benefit from a rewrite to be consistently one style or the other. The conclusion of the story doesn’t really conclude at all; there’s a natural stopping point, followed by another shorter story that comes to it’s own stopping point without actually concluding. It’s fairly obvious from chapter divisions that the structure was intended as a two-hour pilot and a one-hour normal episode. A good rewrite would restructure those elements to flow more naturally.
That said, it’s easy to overlook those details and get caught up in the story, which is a rare combination of easy reading and philosophical depth. Properly polished, this could become a classic. Lacking that last bit, however, it remains an enjoyable story well worth your time.
