Starfire by Stuart Stockton Published by: Marcher Lord Press (2009) 502 pages Rating: 9/10 Buy it Now:

Prepare for one of the geekiest book reviews this site has ever seen.

If you're a fan of Brandilyn Collins and have read her Kanner Lake series, you probably remember an aspiring author in the story who was amiably referred to as "S-man." The S-man was constantly working on a sci-fi story with reptilian characters and was celebrating its publication in the final book of the series. The S-man was Stuart Stockton, who, in real life, has finally achieved publication of his sci-fi epic, Starfire.

And how awesome is this? I mean, sure, I probably could walk into Barnes & Noble's and search the sci-fi section until I found a story featuring intelligent dinosaur-like creatures in a world not our own. But could I find one that did the same thing with a Christian world view? I think not.

Some Christian readers will no doubt turn up their noses at this. Perhaps they believe that Christian fiction should only focus on Biblical or historical characters, along with some chaste romance. Even regular readers of Christian fantasy may raise an eyebrow at this book's concept. But why should they? They are infinite story ideas in the human mind. We were created in the image of a Creator and we delight in doing so ourselves. Fiction literature is one of those ways we can delight, and the broadening scope of Christian fiction is a great encouragement to me.

But enough of that. Let's talk about the actual book. Starfire is set on another planet featuring a race of saurns - basically intelligent dinosaur-like aliens. The main character is Rathe, a warrior who's trying to prove himself. While his only goal is to rise above his low station in life and achieve great things for the Empire, he's been chosen to do something far beyond his imagination. An ancient prophecy points to him as the on to decide a direful future. What will he choose? Will he listen to his friend's warnings of a God who cares and has a plan for his life? Or will he go his own way, the way that seems to lead to greatness for his people?

Actually, the prophecy is the only real weak point in this book. It seems like kind of a cop-out to have a prophecy that says someone will make a choice... and then detail what will happen depending on that choice. I know that the Bible does give similar warnings, but then it's about an entire people, not just one person. Maybe it's just written awkwardly. Aside from the prophecy, the rest of the book is quite enjoyable.

Perhaps I'm just showing my inner geek too much, but part of me thrills at figuring out which dinosaurs certain characters are based on. Some are obvious, with obvious names; some not so much. And combining dinosaurs with "ancient" sci-fi technology, mystical prophecies, and supernatural enemies... pure genius.

Reading this will take some work. Stockton has done exhaustive work in describing a wholly alien world, not unlike C.S. Lewis's work in his Space Trilogy. The charts and glossaries are a must for this book. Highly Recommended (but I'm probably biased).