Distantly Falling Stars, by Berengaria Di Rossi
Distantly Falling Stars by Berengaria Di Rossi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
How do I review the novella of a (Goodreads) friend? “Never again” or “very, very carefully” immediately came to my mind when I pondered reading Berengaria Di Rossi’s “Distantly Falling Stars”. Especially since Berengaria with a down-to-earth attitude, sensible reviews and interesting reads as well as – obviously – an impeccable taste in (Goodreads) friends, has long earned my respect.
So it was with a healthy portion of trepidation that I started reading this – and quickly started breathing freely because, thankfully, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this short novella.
Seti, a “puny scribe” from ancient Egypt is forced on an expedition to recover some “distantly falling stars” in a race against (or possibly negotiating with) the Babylonians.
There are some supernatural aspects which I usually don’t like but these made sense in the setting of the novella and weren’t too intrusive. The story itself was short and suspenseful – I wouldn’t label it as a thriller, contrary to the blurb’s description but it definitely quickly captured my interest and never lost it.
This is made even easier by Berengaria’s clear, concise, and unadorned writing style and a very clear idea of the intended direction of the story.
I was also a bit worried about the “Bronze punk” part of the blurb but that was also completely unfounded: I found amusement in the inclusion of ships with turbines in ancient Egypt but since all of these devices felt like natural parts of the story and not – as they often do elsewhere – like forced extensions in order to make a story appeal more to modern readers, I wasn’t bothered at all but rather entertained.
Since this can be read for free on Wattpad, there’s no reason not to give it a read!
Five out of five stars for an unblemished delight of a story.
