The Stardust Grail, Yume Kitasei
The Stardust Grail, Yume Kitasei
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The Stardust Grail
A Novel

Author: Yume Kitasei

Narrator: Katharine Chin

Unabridged: 11 hr 40 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/11/2024

Synopsis

Save one world. Doom her own.

Maya Hoshimoto was once the best art thief in the galaxy. For ten years, she returned stolen artifacts to alien civilizations—until a disastrous job forced her into hiding. Now she just wants to enjoy a quiet life as a graduate student of anthropology, but she’s haunted by persistent and disturbing visions of the future.

Then an old friend comes to her with a job she can’t refuse: find a powerful object that could save an alien species from extinction. Except no one has seen it in living memory, and they aren’t the only ones hunting for it.

Maya sets out on a breakneck quest through a universe teeming with strange life and ancient ruins. But the farther she goes, the more her visions cast a dark shadow over her team of friends new and old. Someone will betray her along the way. Worse yet, in choosing to save one species, she may condemn humanity and Earth itself.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

About Yume Kitasei

Yume Kitasei is the author of The Deep Sky and The Stardust Grail. She is Japanese and American and grew up in a space between two cultures—the same space where her stories reside. She lives in Brooklyn with two cats, Boondoggle and Filibuster. Her stories have appeared in publications including New England Review, Catapult, SmokeLong Quarterly, and Baltimore Review.

Reviews

Goodreads review by EmmaSkies

4.25 stars An absolute delight of a sci-fi novel. Yes, it's a heist book, but it's also a lot more than that in ways that I'm just going to let you figure out as you read because it's such a fun ride to take. The pacing in this book is great. I'm in the midst of a gnarly reading slump where it feels......more

Goodreads review by Mai

API Month You had me at anti-colonial space heist. I find the colonization of worlds fascinating, as surely humans aren't the only beings out there. Maya Hoshimoto didn't grow up on Earth, but a mostly Japanese populated colony world. She is infected, which is mentioned often, but not really in a wow......more

Goodreads review by Samantha

4.5 Come for the heist novel stay for the contemplations of existence and morality. The Stardust Grail was so much more than I expected it to be. In this book, we follow ex-art thief Maya who is essentially hiding in graduate school after a heist goes very, very wrong. Despite efforts to leave her pa......more

Goodreads review by John

The Galaxy's greatest art thief turned grad student holds the fate of two worlds in her hands...... Book Information The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei is a 320-page sci-fi novel with a publication date of June 11, 2024. The audio version of the book is narrated by Katharine Chin and spans 13 hours.......more

Quotes

ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Lithub, Bookshop.org, The Messenger, The Nerd Daily

"Kitasei’s outstanding sophomore outing clears the high bar she set in The Deep Sky, combining a high-stakes space adventure with exquisitely crafted worldbuilding and plausibly imagined interspecies communication." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Broad in scope, covering everything from the rise and fall of alien civilizations to what it means to be a person, this is a luminous work, vacillating between the highs and lows of human experience and how they might translate across alien worlds." —Kirkus, starred review

"Kitasei writes an emotional roller coaster of a space quest, highlighting friendship, family, and the ostracism of those believed to be different. The prose is as intimate as the universe is wide." —Library Journal

"Come to The Stardust Grail for Indiana Jones-style outer space heist adventure, stay for the sensitively drawn characters and thoughtful exploration of other forms of life far beyond our own—Yume Kitasei's second novel is an engaging, fascinating story that you don't want to miss." —Veronica Roth, New York Times bestselling author of Chosen Ones

"The Stardust Grail is a puzzle box of a book, one that invites readers into an ambitious and endlessly imaginative adventure. A strange, surreal, and startlingly tender glimpse into worlds beyond our own." —Grace D. Li, New York Times bestselling author of Portrait of a Thief

"The Stardust Grail is a boisterous journey, rife with protean planets, intriguing spaceports, and remarkable life forms. The stakes are high. The characters are engaging and delightful. The plot is fast-paced and action-packed. But at its core, the book is also an exploration of understanding, forgiveness, and the importance of being true to our friends, and ourselves. For any fan of space adventures, this book is a must-read.” —Emily Jane, USA Today bestselling author of On Earth as it Is on Television

Awards

  • NPR Best Book of the Year
  • Esquire Magazine Best Books of the Year
  • Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year
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