Review: The Last Flight of the Starleap by Simon Panneton
Ghosts. Space exploration. A soaring defeat decades ago. The Last Flight of the Starleap sounds like a thrilling story, but... what does S.J Stone think of it?
Ghosts. Space exploration. A soaring defeat decades ago. Though the ghosts can’t take on daring missions, Elle— a young 12-year-old— however, could if only they were to tell her how. But with the stakes so high, could she really? And if so, how?
The Last Flight of The Starleap by Simon Panneton holds a daring premise, but is this stellar sci-fi novel any good? Our guest,
thinks so, and he’s hear to present his thoughts.But before we transition to his review, you can follow or subscribe to SJ right here on Substack. Or you can find his website and social media: Threads, Instagram, and Tumblr.
Lastly, here’s a full synopsis of The Last Flight of the Starleap, and where you can order the book:
On a lonely hilltop, under a star-filled sky, a 12-year-old orphan named Ellie quietly sits next to a ghost and says nothing for a very long time.
She does not recognize Star Captain. How could she? No one on Earth knows who he is. To the rest of the universe? Star Captain and his wife Alpha Girl were once legends. They were saver of worlds. Fearless space-explorers. Adventurers! Swashbucklers!
But that was decades ago...
Today all that’s left of the great Star Captain is a glimmering echo, a fraction, a shadow, a ghost haunted by the tragic outcome of his last, failed mission.
His arch-nemesis has defeated him.
His wife is held captive in a remote, impenetrable prison.
His spaceship, the fabled Starleap, is out of his reach.
He is lost.
Ghosts, after all, cannot mount daring rescue missions, they cannot pilot spaceships, they cannot fight, and they cannot save their loved ones, no matter how badly they may want to.
But I could, Ellie will say, if you show me how...
When a sad little girl goes from running away from home to becoming the Universe’s next most fantastic heroine, you must suspend some disbelief, but that’s what fiction is all about. Take an ordinary person, preferably someone struggling with life, and thrust them into an adventure of a lifetime (or several lifetimes), and see how they respond.
In “The Last Flight of the StarLeap,” Ellie responds -- does she ever!
The saddest, most excitable 12-year-old you’ve ever seen launches herself into the Universe with the help of a 40-year ghost, a self-aware spaceship, a giant bear, an elk, and a singular goal -- save someone she’s never met by completing a list of impossible tasks in amazing places she’s never been with a host of people she hardly knows because love is the most important thing in existence, and she is willing to do anything to make sure that others feel the connection she’s hopelessly lost.
Buckle up. Starleap is an epic in a lot of ways. Not only are Ellie and her newest bestie Zachary, the ghost and former hero of the Universe, faced with impossible-upon-impossible odds, but the journey is long. Life is hard, and it’s especially hard when you’re a 12-year-old girl who just lost her parents, discovered animals can talk, spaceships exist and the Universe is full of amazing people, spectacular places, and a particular level of kindness she’s never experienced on Earth.
Ellie and Zachary are a super team, and not just because they’ve decided they will be -- because they need each other more than they know. They struggle with their own problems, including self-doubt, fear, anger, and occasionally hopelessness, but their journey to overcome all obstacles for love gives them a singular focus that burns away all the pain.
I’ve mentioned love a lot here, but I don’t want anyone to think this is a sappy love story. This is an epic adventure that literally spans the Universe, and the places you visit and things you see Ellie and Zachary do are among the most creative things I’ve ever seen in reading fiction for multiple decades. In the end, however, Ellie proves that there’s really only one force in the Universe that can overcome anything, and it’s not her -- it’s love. So, stash a few tissues in a flat pocket for the final bit, and go find out what happens when the Starleap gets its newest pilot, even if she’s not old enough to drive.
Thanks again to
for allowing us to feature your review of Starleap on BookStack! Being able to bring new attention to as many stories and voices is at the very core of what BookStack is about. As a reminder, S.J has a website, Threads, Instagram, and Tumblr. But, he’s also here on Substack, too! (Hence all the mentions). So if you’d like to show our esteemed guest your support, go ahead and give him a subscribe.
Or if you’d like to support what BookStack is — a directory and publication dedicated to helping you discover new indie reads, or your next favorite author. Go ahead and hit our subscribe button. And if you want one of your own posts or reviews to be featured, go fill out our post submission form.
We accept: Author spotlights/interviews, Book reviews/discussions, News (Giveaways, book releases, arcs, sales, etc…), short stories, poems, and essays. See the form for more information.
 | A guest post by
|