Review of the Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei

I received a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review

CW’s: Violence, some course language, sexism and racism, books interrogates colonialism, especially in museums and archives.

My Rating. 4.5

Right off the bat, I liked the first few lines, I love books with academia in them (the MC is a PhD student, we need more of those in books, woman characters with grad degrees). I just find those types of characters fascinating. I liked the museum and archive setting in the beginning of the book. I can’t help but love museums, libraries, and archives. Not just as a reader, but as a historian and future librarian. I connected with Pickle in that way (that’s the most Iconic Name Ever, by the way) they just loved their job and their work so much, which was a nice comparison to Maya’s approach to her job.

Maya was an interesting character from the jump, making her imperfect and a little morally gray was a brilliant move, it made her more real. She came off as more complex and multi-dimensional, and I think that’s due to the way she was written and Kitasei’s ability for characterization. Also, Maya being in her 30s was a breath of fresh air. I love protagonists who aren’t super young, they’re easier to relate to. Also extra shout out for a grad student in her 30s!

I also want to note just how accurate the portrayal of museums and archives is. I don’t know if the author has worked in one before, but down to the guests’ questions, it’s spooky how good that portrayal was. Even Pickle as an assistant archivist was accurate. I could totally see someone like Pickle working in an archive.

The pacing was relatively okay, it wasn’t super quick-it took about 20% to get going, but I’ve read much worse where books took even longer or didn’t deliver on the plot at all.

Also, I’m loving every character so far by 22%, Wil is amazing, Medix is a cute robot companion, even if Medix is man shaped. But I love Wil already. I’m totally shipping Wil and Maya early on.

I really liked the progression of the plot and the world building. I do feel like the world building was heavier in the beginning, and there was a bit of frontloading. But I think Kitasei does a really good job with how she fleshes out the world.

As for the characters. I think their motivations and the reasons they change are really realistic, the academics are mission driven, which is really realistic. Wil, a veteran and former soldier, is also mission driven, but she also has the complexities that come with a character who has obviously seen some kind of combat or horror. She’s stubborn and can be a bit too much sometimes, but I think she, like Maya, are due complex personalities. The both of them need to be complex because we deserve more complex women who are flawed. And both Maya and Wil are flawed.

Maya’s flaws are a breath of fresh air, she’s very “Type B” and that provides a conflict and a barrier in her success in academia. Her changing motivations for being and staying in school are also really well connected to her character. She believes in her field and believes in expanding her field, she believes in preservation and education about other cultures and I think having a character in anthropology, like in a growing number of other books, is a unique job but the Sci-Fi rather than fantasy aspect provides an even more unique twist. But the way Maya approaches her work, and struggles with work is refreshing. The author allows her flaws to be academic without sacrificing the fact that she’s intellegent. She’s allowed to be closed off and guarded but still compassionate and caring. Wil is allowed to be closed off too, but simultaneously loyal and protective and driven. Kitasei’s character’s, in particular in her non-men ones, are allowed to be dynamic.

I think she does a great job with Liam too. Liam has a goal, has motivation, and has purpose. And that guides what side he’s on, even if it means risking his safety and his career. He cares about his field but also isn’t willing to sacrifice lives and cultures to do so.

The villains feel realistic, and their motivations match motivations in the real world. Plenty of museums see stealing artifacts as part of preservation of culture, and the villains of the novel are the same way. And the book doesn’t shy away from critiquing that while making dynamic villains.

I think the book provides a really good commentary on the museum and archive, and how it’s a tricky balance between education and preservation and stealing artifacts that don’t belong there. Marginalized cultures having artifacts stolen from them for the sake of preservation undoes the aim of preservation, and the Stardust Grail touches on that. Having a character driven to complete a heist not because of the money, but because she believes in restoring artifacts to their rightful owners is such a nice spin on the trope.

I’ll just have to settle for what I got at the end, I guess.