After narrowly escaping a radiation bomb planted in his dorm room on Earth, Biron Farrill is confronted with news of his father’s arrest and possible execution by the Tyranni, alien conquerors of the Nebular Kingdoms. Farrell’s father, the famous and respected Rancher of Widemos, was believed to be involved in plotting an insurrection against the Tyranni.
According to Farrill’s enigmatic acquaintance, Sander Jonti, the arrest of Farrill’s father was arranged by Hinrik V, Director of Rhodia and obsequious servant to the Tyranni. Jonti convinces Farrill to leave Earth and travel to Rhodia to seek an audience with Hinrik. He even provides Farrill with a letter of introduction, having previously worked for the Director.
Although traveling incognito, Biron is arrested and questioned aboard ship by the Tyranni Commissioner, Simok Aratap. From the commissioner, Farrill learns that his father has been executed for treason, yet he maintains his assumed identity of Biron Malaine and feigns ignorance about the Rancher of Widemos. Aratap releases Farrill but keeps him under surveillance.
On Rhodia, Hinrik orders Farrill imprisoned and contacts Aratap. Farrill quickly escapes, aided by Hinrik’s daughter, the lovely Artemisia, and his cousin, a dilettante named Gillbret. Both despise the Tyranni and yearn to leave Rhodia. After the trio steals Aratap’s ship, Gillbret regales Biron and Artemisia with a story about a mysterious “rebellion world” where ships and men were being assembled to overthrow the Tyranni. Although Gillbret is uncertain of the planet’s exact location, there is one man who might know, the Autarch of Lingane.
Upon arrival on Lingane, Biron strikes an uneasy alliance with the Autarch and together, they embark on an expedition into the Horsehead Nebula in search of the “rebellion world.”
The Stars, Like Dust is a fine interstellar adventure that moves at a steady pace but—as with many classic SF novels—lacks much in the way of character development. Despite a few clichéd, predictable plot points and occasional melodramatic dialogue, there are one or two unexpected twists that successfully fuel story tension.
In the year 2023, a revolution is brewing against the alien overlords of Earth known as the Utt. Forty years prior, after their swift and peaceful subjugation of every world government, it had been the Utt’s conclusion that most of planet’s tribulations had been the fault of men. Thus, the Utt enacted laws that made women the dominant sex. All men are required to undergo a procedure that leaves them nearsighted and are forced to wear chemically treated glasses that somehow leaves them emasculated.
Two thousand years in the future, the solar system is united under the monarchy of the Isher family. To keep the government in check and ensure against tyranny, a guild known as the Weapon Shops has for generations provided technologically advanced arms to the citizens and maintained a close watch on imperial affairs. Naturally, this arrangement often sets guild and government at odds with one another.
In this sequel to the original Cosmos, Carl Sagan again reminds us of the intrinsic human desire to wander, and expands on many of the social and scientific topics discussed in the 1980 television series and accompanying book. Here, Sagan begins with primitive humans migrating across the planet for survival as much as to push the boundaries of a given frontier. From there, Sagan offers a personal anecdote, describing the hardships of his grandparents’ life in Eastern Europe and their fretful immigration to the United States.
On Moose-Lookit Island off the coast of Maine, a reporter from The Boston Globe fails in his attempt to elicit any undocumented tales of the bizarre from Vince Teague and Dave Bowie, owners and editors of The Weekly Islander newspaper. This later sparks a conversation between the two elderly men and their lovely young intern, Stephanie McCann.