Starfinder-John Marco

Starfinder
John Marco
Daw, May 2009, $24.95
ISBN 9780756405519

Tired of unchecked adult supervision holding them back, especially her family’s political power, teenagers Moth and Fiona flee from the highest city in the world Calio where anyone can become anything except their elders hold the young back. Leaving the city on top of the mountain, they climb across the foggy Reach until they reach a strange land with strange beings.

The Skylords greet the outsiders with hostility. They also realize Moth carries a gizmo that once belonged to them until a traitor fearing their growing power stole and hid it. They want their device back even as Moth remains ignorant how to utilize it. Making matters worse for the teens, Fiona’s grandfather, the governor of Calio, arrives in a dirigible warship that the Skylords attack with their flying minions as they reject sharing the skies with anyone especially lowlife humans.

The attitudes of Moth and Fiona make each an endearing realistic thirteen years old as they want to be treated by their elders as adults with the accountability of tweeners so when that fails to pass, they run away. Their adventures in the Reach are exciting especially when they encounter the malevolent Skylords. However, so much side plotting occurs that fans will have difficulty keeping track of the prime focus. Still this rambling fantasy sets up the Skylords saga in which young adult readers will want to follow the escapades of those two teen courageous explorers.

Harriet Klausner