#gahhh how do people even write long reviews? i can only do excited noises or it turns out too dry as this one did i fear :(

[gellavonhamster]

Book review: Sailing by Carina’s Star by Katie Crabb

Something fearful and feral scorches the center of his chest. Something old. Something that belonged to the man he was long ago. The man he tamped down and buried. He thought that man was ash, burned away by the miracle of his new life.

I don’t usually keep track of when one book or another comes out, but one of the 2023 releases I was really looking forward to is part two of The Constellation Trilogy by @kcrabb88 - and having now finished it, I can say it was certainly worth the wait. 

The story picks up several years after the events of Sailing by Orion’s Star, the fates of the characters introduced in part one now firmly interwoven, with René, Frantz, and Auden all grown up and on the crew of Danso and Abeni, and Jerome realizing that his separate searches for René and Danso are merging into one. More characters are joining the main cast, and those who remember the fic this book once was or simply enjoy Les Mis can expect to see more vaguely familiar faces (and I definitely was happy to meet all of them!). I’m saying “vaguely” because all the characters who originated in Les Mis, while still retaining enough features of their prototypes for this book to feel like a tribute - but not a retelling - are very much their own, without any knowledge of what inspired them needed to appreciate them. The original characters also remain compelling - Astra Delacroix, this unbreakable lady of many secrets, continues to own my heart - and there is a number of cameos by real historical figures, most notably Blackbeard (needs no introduction) and Sam Bellamy, another pirate likened to Robin Hood.

Speaking of the characters, all of them can be roughly divided into two generations, with Jerome at the edge of both the older generation and the younger, similarly to how he’s tied both to the law and the piracy. What the older generation is preoccupied with the most in this book is protection of the younger generation - some are trying to keep their children safe without robbing them of their freedom, while some are failing to see that the kind of protection they’re ready to offer is a danger in itself. Meanwhile, the younger generation is dealing with the legacy of the older one - preserving and expanding it in some cases, trying to disentangle themselves from it in other. Family, both biological and chosen, is ever at the core of this trilogy, which I appreciate as someone who enjoys complex, troubled familial dynamics in fiction. And, of course, there’s plenty of sailing, spying, sword-fighting, daring escapes, true friendship, and the most torturous cliffhanger I’ve come across in a while. The ending of part one was like, well, I’m leaving these characters on a good note, see you later, while the ending of part two makes me wish to read part three right now, preferably in one sitting, because damn, I need to know what happens next! 

All in all, this continues to be a wonderful journey, and I’m excited for whatever appears on the horizon next.