Light from Uncommon Stars
by Ryka Aoki
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A defiantly joyful adventure set in California's San Gabriel Valley, with cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and queer alien courtship over fresh-made donuts. Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six. When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka's ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She's found her final show more candidate. But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn't have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan's kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul's worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline. As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found. -- show lessTags
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A family of aliens have traveled light years to escape a devastating war and are running a donut shop in the San Gabriel Valley. An older Japanese woman, who is a virtuoso violinist whom no one has heard play in many, many years, is buying back her soul by handing over the souls of her students to the demon who has hers. An Italian woman runs an instrument repair shop but doubts her abilities because the family trade secrets were only handed down from father to son. And a young transgender runaway with an extraordinary musical talent will bring them all together, changing all their lives as she struggles to find her own place in the universe and the strength to believe she deserves it.
So good. So very, very good. Unbelievably good. show more Strange and quirky and funny and gut-punching and just so, so good. The entire time I was reading I felt as if the story were just barely in my control; at first I had no idea how the characters could ever come together and share a plot, and then once they did I had no idea how they’d resolve what needed to be resolved in a way that would account for who they appeared to be and who they clearly wanted to be/were heading toward being. And then in the final hour it all just comes together so beautifully. You’ll be rooting for everyone and wanting to hug each one. It’s beautifully strange and weirdly wonderful and terrifically twisty in the end. show less
So good. So very, very good. Unbelievably good. show more Strange and quirky and funny and gut-punching and just so, so good. The entire time I was reading I felt as if the story were just barely in my control; at first I had no idea how the characters could ever come together and share a plot, and then once they did I had no idea how they’d resolve what needed to be resolved in a way that would account for who they appeared to be and who they clearly wanted to be/were heading toward being. And then in the final hour it all just comes together so beautifully. You’ll be rooting for everyone and wanting to hug each one. It’s beautifully strange and weirdly wonderful and terrifically twisty in the end. show less
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I borrowed this from Kindle Unlimited on ebook.
Thoughts: This is one of the odder books I have read. I thought I was starting some sort of sci fi read, and it kind of is that, but it is so much more too. There is an ex-violin player cursed to send souls to hell, an alien running to Earth to protect her family by getting them set up to run a donut shop, a violin maker who is plagued by her family past, and a transgender runaway trying just to get people to accept her for who she is. It was a lot, but I was impressed with how seamlessly the story was woven together and by how hard this was to put down. It is a very different story, and I was impressed by how unique it was. I loved the ending show more as well.
The story follows three main characters. Katrina Nguyen is transgender and has runaway from an abusive home; she is incredibly talented at playing violin but struggling to make ends meet. Shuzuka Satomi is looking for her last victim; she made a deal with the devil and has delivered six of the seven souls she promised. Lan Tran is trying to run a donut shop, which is tougher than it sounds since she is an alien refugee fleeing a war and she is trying to provide for her whole family. All three women become entangled together, and things don't turn out how any of them expect.
The writing is very well done and flows well. We jump between three main different viewpoints (with a couple others thrown in), but the story never feels fractured or hard to follow. This was a story that kept me interested and guessing; I struggled to put it down. I have honestly been struggling a bit with finding books that really grab me; sometimes, everything I read seems like something else I have already read. This book stood out from the crowd by being unique and different as well as thought-provoking and entertaining.
I really loved everything about this book. The characters have a lot of depth and are interesting; the story had a lot of different threads and they are masterfully woven together; and I just never knew what was going to happen next, so the story kept me interested.
There are heavy themes here around being people cruel to things/people they don't understand (especially regarding people from a different background, women, or people with different sexuality) and around being true to yourself and finding a family and place where you belong. They were addressed very thoughtfully and wrapped in with an intriguing story.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I really loved this strange book about donuts, aliens, music, and souls. This was very well written, had excellent characters, and a unique storyline that was masterfully woven together. I would recommend this if the synopsis sounds intriguing to you and will definitely keep my eye out for future books by Aoki. show less
Thoughts: This is one of the odder books I have read. I thought I was starting some sort of sci fi read, and it kind of is that, but it is so much more too. There is an ex-violin player cursed to send souls to hell, an alien running to Earth to protect her family by getting them set up to run a donut shop, a violin maker who is plagued by her family past, and a transgender runaway trying just to get people to accept her for who she is. It was a lot, but I was impressed with how seamlessly the story was woven together and by how hard this was to put down. It is a very different story, and I was impressed by how unique it was. I loved the ending show more as well.
The story follows three main characters. Katrina Nguyen is transgender and has runaway from an abusive home; she is incredibly talented at playing violin but struggling to make ends meet. Shuzuka Satomi is looking for her last victim; she made a deal with the devil and has delivered six of the seven souls she promised. Lan Tran is trying to run a donut shop, which is tougher than it sounds since she is an alien refugee fleeing a war and she is trying to provide for her whole family. All three women become entangled together, and things don't turn out how any of them expect.
The writing is very well done and flows well. We jump between three main different viewpoints (with a couple others thrown in), but the story never feels fractured or hard to follow. This was a story that kept me interested and guessing; I struggled to put it down. I have honestly been struggling a bit with finding books that really grab me; sometimes, everything I read seems like something else I have already read. This book stood out from the crowd by being unique and different as well as thought-provoking and entertaining.
I really loved everything about this book. The characters have a lot of depth and are interesting; the story had a lot of different threads and they are masterfully woven together; and I just never knew what was going to happen next, so the story kept me interested.
There are heavy themes here around being people cruel to things/people they don't understand (especially regarding people from a different background, women, or people with different sexuality) and around being true to yourself and finding a family and place where you belong. They were addressed very thoughtfully and wrapped in with an intriguing story.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I really loved this strange book about donuts, aliens, music, and souls. This was very well written, had excellent characters, and a unique storyline that was masterfully woven together. I would recommend this if the synopsis sounds intriguing to you and will definitely keep my eye out for future books by Aoki. show less
Every so often, one comes across a book that reads like a beautiful musical composition and like music it can be difficult to fully encapsulate the feelings of warmth, tenderness, tragedy, and sorrow it evokes because it resonates with each person differently and at different times in their life. It feels timeless and classic in a way that can be difficult to articulate because the more you sit with it, the more it changes and you just know on subsequent reading or listening, you will derive entirely new things from it. Ryka Aoki’s Light from Uncommon Stars is written in a style that dances from moment to moment and character to character in a way that at times feels playfully and deliberately contrasting and at others sensually show more intermingles its characters together like a resplendent sonata. It is Bartok’s Sonata for Solo Violin that speaks to two of its main characters in very different ways and echoes across the pages from the opening conflicting, almost fracturing Tempo di ciaccona to the fleeting fugue, the flowing painful beauty of the Melodia to the somewhat mystifying and satisfying Presto. Make no mistake, Aoki’s book is nothing short of magical.
You’re not only going to find demons here that are reminiscent of Gaiman and Pratchett’s Crowley, replete with unexpected moments of levity, but a family fleeing a galactic war and the Endplague that will sooner or later come for us all. Transgendered Katrina Nguyen unknowingly stumbles into this setting while fleeing an abusive home. She’s been broken by a world that has stolen her confidence and power at every turn. Her experiences and journey are nothing short of harrowing and heartbreakingly common.
Among all the characters, there are tragic, heartfelt themes of different forms of pain and doubt sown by a world that often does not care to understand the damage it can so casually inflict upon people who are different-than – Othered by a society that seems to have no place for them. The learned defenses of each character clash brilliantly against each other like a “frenzied froth of sprinkle fireworks” in a duck pond. This is a story about characters struggling to heal, discovering their own voice, and establishing their own legacy.
One journey of discovery begins with being stuck on a California freeway having to pee so badly her bladder might literally explode and the bonding power of delicious, fresh donuts baked by immigrant aliens. Enter Shizuka Satomi, Queen of Hell. In many ways this is Shizuka’s story. She once had the evocative power to touch people’s hearts with transcendent music played on her exquisite Guarneri violin with a Hell-cursed dogwood bow. She has sold her soul to a demon and the only way to get it back is to provide Hell with seven deliciously tortured souls. She’s given them six prodigies and she’s got her formidable Miranda Priestly gaze set upon Katrina as the last. Shizuka’s stumbling, growing relationship with the captain of the alien crew, Lan Tran, her companion Astrid’s steadfast caring through cooking, and Katrina’s influence help them all find ways to heal themselves and each other.
This is a book to experience with all your senses from lush descriptions of food that will have you craving them to the evocative, heartfelt language and power of music to touch people’s souls. A violin is the perfect vessel for the lessons to be learned from this story. Aoki reminds us it is not the strings that make a violin sing but the reverberating echoes of sound through its hollow spaces that give a memorable and powerful voice to the violinist. This is very much true of all her characters along their journeys to carve out a place in this world together.
Among many talents, Ryka Aoki is also a composer, pianist, and violinist. Her love of music shines through every page like a light from an uncommon star. She is keen to remind us that “you can always, always rewrite your song”. The Light from Uncommon Stars can help light the way out of dark places through the power of its narrative. I have little doubt many readers will be searching out her numerous references to classical musicians and composers to listen to while they dwell on the depths of this story. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to make a trip to the donut shop while listening to some Alondra de la Parra.
** Thank you lucky, glittery stars and Tor Books for the advanced reader copy from a Twitter contest! This is my honest, unbiased review ** show less
You’re not only going to find demons here that are reminiscent of Gaiman and Pratchett’s Crowley, replete with unexpected moments of levity, but a family fleeing a galactic war and the Endplague that will sooner or later come for us all. Transgendered Katrina Nguyen unknowingly stumbles into this setting while fleeing an abusive home. She’s been broken by a world that has stolen her confidence and power at every turn. Her experiences and journey are nothing short of harrowing and heartbreakingly common.
Among all the characters, there are tragic, heartfelt themes of different forms of pain and doubt sown by a world that often does not care to understand the damage it can so casually inflict upon people who are different-than – Othered by a society that seems to have no place for them. The learned defenses of each character clash brilliantly against each other like a “frenzied froth of sprinkle fireworks” in a duck pond. This is a story about characters struggling to heal, discovering their own voice, and establishing their own legacy.
One journey of discovery begins with being stuck on a California freeway having to pee so badly her bladder might literally explode and the bonding power of delicious, fresh donuts baked by immigrant aliens. Enter Shizuka Satomi, Queen of Hell. In many ways this is Shizuka’s story. She once had the evocative power to touch people’s hearts with transcendent music played on her exquisite Guarneri violin with a Hell-cursed dogwood bow. She has sold her soul to a demon and the only way to get it back is to provide Hell with seven deliciously tortured souls. She’s given them six prodigies and she’s got her formidable Miranda Priestly gaze set upon Katrina as the last. Shizuka’s stumbling, growing relationship with the captain of the alien crew, Lan Tran, her companion Astrid’s steadfast caring through cooking, and Katrina’s influence help them all find ways to heal themselves and each other.
This is a book to experience with all your senses from lush descriptions of food that will have you craving them to the evocative, heartfelt language and power of music to touch people’s souls. A violin is the perfect vessel for the lessons to be learned from this story. Aoki reminds us it is not the strings that make a violin sing but the reverberating echoes of sound through its hollow spaces that give a memorable and powerful voice to the violinist. This is very much true of all her characters along their journeys to carve out a place in this world together.
Among many talents, Ryka Aoki is also a composer, pianist, and violinist. Her love of music shines through every page like a light from an uncommon star. She is keen to remind us that “you can always, always rewrite your song”. The Light from Uncommon Stars can help light the way out of dark places through the power of its narrative. I have little doubt many readers will be searching out her numerous references to classical musicians and composers to listen to while they dwell on the depths of this story. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to make a trip to the donut shop while listening to some Alondra de la Parra.
** Thank you lucky, glittery stars and Tor Books for the advanced reader copy from a Twitter contest! This is my honest, unbiased review ** show less
After running away from an abusive father and her family's disavowal of the trans identity, Katrina is left with nothing but her violin. Luckily she is overheard playing in a park by a woman who takes her in and helps her hone her talent. Unluckily, this teacher has made a Faustian deal with the devil to deliver violinists' souls to hell, and Katrina is the last required. Meanwhile, an alien family has set up shop in an LA doughnut shop with inventions they hope will save the universe. The intersection of these characters is at times hilarious, at others poignant, and readers can't help but care what Katrina's fate will be.
A symphony-musician friend of mine has said that, if faced with a choice between precision and expression, to always choose expression; Ryka Aoki chooses expression in this novel and nails it.
This book interweaves elements and themes that would seem dissimilar, even discordant, at first look (it's no accident that a key musical piece featured in the last Act is a Bartók sonata) but it all comes together very satisfyingly, almost seamlessly. Part SF, aliens-among-us tale and part urban fantasy-horror story about demons and souls, it's combined into a slice-of-life drama that's equally sitcom and human rights manifesto. That sounds terrible, but it's not: even more, I can see a need for stories that remind us that musical performance and show more baked goods are transcendent forms of healing. Despite minor flaws in execution, "Light From Uncommon Stars" delights, illuminates, and restores hope from start to finish. It also really makes me want an apple fritter. show less
This book interweaves elements and themes that would seem dissimilar, even discordant, at first look (it's no accident that a key musical piece featured in the last Act is a Bartók sonata) but it all comes together very satisfyingly, almost seamlessly. Part SF, aliens-among-us tale and part urban fantasy-horror story about demons and souls, it's combined into a slice-of-life drama that's equally sitcom and human rights manifesto. That sounds terrible, but it's not: even more, I can see a need for stories that remind us that musical performance and show more baked goods are transcendent forms of healing. Despite minor flaws in execution, "Light From Uncommon Stars" delights, illuminates, and restores hope from start to finish. It also really makes me want an apple fritter. show less
This is kind of a crazy quilt of a book, combining disparate elements that sound, in isolation, that they wouldn't fit together: a deal with the devil, violin prodigies, transgender issues, alien refugees, interstellar travel. But it all fits together somehow, albeit sometimes awkwardly. The author has a very strong vision and voice here, and I think it's that, more than anything else, that makes this book work, and work it does; this was an outstanding book. I felt that it lost its way and meandered a bit around the 3/4 mark, but the ending came together very nicely, in ways that were somehow both unexpected and inevitable, and quite satisfying. The trans part of the storyline is what I found most affecting, and inspiring; Katrina is show more such an endearing character. The charm factor in this book is very high, occasionally crossing over into overly-cutesy, but mostly resisting that urge. There are just so many warm and wonderful elements ... loved this book! show less
An abused trans girl runs away with her beloved violin, becomes a talented violinist through an extremely kind female instructor who looks to send her soul to hell but falls in love with a female alien. I really like this book despite the short abuse scenes and the whole Hell and demons angle. The weirdness and transcendence is what saved it. Plus it was extra deep to me because I not only play the violin but my husband is the luthier who made my violin. So I appreciated all the music, violin technique, and luthier references.
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"Readers prepared for the emotionally difficult scenes will find a beautiful, satisfying story of redemption and families of choice."
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Contains
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Light from Uncommon Stars
- Original title
- Light from uncommon Stars
- Original publication date
- 2021-09-28
- Important places
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Epigraph
- People think selling one's soul for music is as simple as "Sign this contract and - poof! - you're a genius!"
Were it that easy, the world would be awash in transcendent song. Obviously, this is not so.
Souls are cheap.... (show all) The trick is finding the right soul. - Dedication
- For Katrina, and Katrinas everywhere
- First words
- Shhh... Yes, it hurt. It was definitely not just a bruise. Yes, she was scared. Her throat was raw from screaming.
— Chapter 1 - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)We begin.
- Blurbers
- Klune, T. J.; Scalzi, John; Anders, Charlie Jane; Nagamutsu, Sequoia; Gladstone, Max; Lyons, Jenn
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 813.6
- Canonical LCC
- PS3601.O38
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Statistics
- Members
- 1,912
- Popularity
- 11,195
- Reviews
- 100
- Rating
- (4.06)
- Languages
- English, German, Italian
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 4