Reviewed by Quirky Cat on
Starburst is the first novel in the Women of the Grey series by Carol James Marshall. It’s a twisted sort of coming of age story. The novel is one part science fiction and one part a study on human nature. Overlaying all of that is a sense of foreboding and an eerie feeling of what is to come.
The world of the Grey is not a place a human has ever had the luxury of seeing, and that’s probably for the best. Especially when one considers the women it sends out…
Warning: This novel follows several characters through the course of their lives while dealing with the introduction of something unknown and traumatic. (Again, serious spoiler warning here) One of the characters has a mental break, of sorts, and ends up raping and killing somebody during the course of the novel. It isn’t really detailed, but there’s also no doubt to be had about what he’s doing. You can see the scene coming, and can skip it if you need to (you should only have to go forward a page or two at most). What happens does come up again though, so be aware.
Starbust was a unique and truly eerie experience. Even when nothing was really happening, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak. I never felt like there was a point where things were safe or calm. It always felt like something big was about to happen. I imagine that’s how many of the characters in the novel felt, so that truly added in the disturbing sensation of the novel.
I mentioned earlier that the novel was a bit of a coming of age story, and that’s true. Lisa, one of the Women of the Grey, is in many ways an adolescent trying to find their way in life. Lisa doesn’t understand her mission, which means metaphorically and literally that she doesn’t understand her place in life. This novel is all about her trying to understand all of that, while also rebelling a bit against the parts she didn’t like so much.
There are other characters in this novel as well. In total there are five main perspectives we see from frequently, with a few others scattered throughout. The other main ones we see are all humans, and they’re all connected to Lisa in some manner. They don’t know this, and Lisa doesn’t understand the how or why of it, but it doesn’t change what’s going on.
All the humans seem…broken in some way. That’s why I said it felt like it was a study on human nature. At first, I thought Lisa was supposed to study the people that weren’t functioning the same way, and then later I thought maybe she was supposed to help them. Now I’m certain that the mission was significantly less clear than that.
This was a strong start to the series. I’m looking forward to seeing what will happen in the next two novels. Even though I have to admit that I’m also dreading it in some ways as well (in a good way that is). I know that they’re going to be just as eerie and disturbing as Starburst, if not more so.
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Reading updates
- Started reading
- 25 January, 2019: Finished reading
- 25 January, 2019: Reviewed