The Forbidden Stars

The Forbidden Stars is the third book in Tim Pratt’s excellent Axiom series of space opera sci-fi.


These books have picked up and hijacked some classic sci- fi plot devices and tropes – and taken them for a joy-ride. The Forbidden Stars is no different and it makes for a fun read.

A story of a found family fighting to protect everything and everyone they hold dear in the universe from an existential threat to all things – using more than a few explosives along the way – Reading The Forbidden Stars was joyous as I had missed following the adventures of the main characters.

With every book in this series, Tim Pratt has steadily levelled up his worldbuilding and expanded upon the previous works.

The Forbidden Stars ends with a satisfactory ending but leaves plenty of scope for more stories within the worlds of the series – and I for one hope there will be more to come.

Definitely one for fans of Becky Chambers Wayfarer series.

4.5 out of 5.

The Forbidden Stars will be available from 8th October 2019. (This review is based upon an uncorrected proof kindly provided by the publisher, Angry Robot, through Netgalley.)

I missed the others in the series, but enjoyed this one. I'll have circle back. This is fun, and had good dialog, a decent space opera plot, and expected action.

I really appreciate the advanced copy for review!!

A space opera heist caper, where the target is an entire solar system, and the mark is a group of fascist aliens (servants of Mythos-esque, godlike, ancient malevolent aliens, who are sleeping but not dead).

Because it was structured as a heist, and because it was so enjoyable, I forgave the ease with which the tiny crew achieved everything they set out to do. The third time the main progagonist went in alone into a facility full of enemies, this time almost literally with her hands tied behind her back, rather than being put off by the over-the-top unlikeliness I just thought, "Oh, it's like when Miles Vorkosigan goes into the prison camp, naked and alone, and you know that it's <i>everyone else</i> that's in trouble. This will be cool to watch play out."

The banter and snark are fun, the stakes are high enough to keep up some tension without ever dragging the story into the dark, and overall it's a good ride.

I've read the first of the trilogy, but not the second; I didn't find that caused me any confusion, but I will go back and read the second one, because I enjoy these books so much.

Excellent end to the trilogy with tons of the Callie action and adventure you'd expect. It's a beautiful thing to have fun space opera be so effortlessly diverse.

I keep having to play catch up with books, I am very grateful to have been given a copy to read but nothing but now I have to go buy the previous books! This was a really enjoyable book that gave me hours of pleasure bin the reading

This is not the 1st book in this series ……………….but is the 1st I have read and what an enjoyable Space Opera it turns out to be .
This was a heist with a difference ………………. in this case its an entire Solar System .........… with a mark with a difference- Fascist Aliens .
How such a small group can take on and beat the odds takes some believing but that just added to my enjoyment .
There is plenty of tension , the pace is fast and the humorous banter makes for an great read .

I will certainly be going back to read the previous books in this series - a perfect way to spend a few hours .

I was given an ARC of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Thrilling story, great plot and characters that keep you guessing right til the end. Great for fans of this genre. Really enjoyable.

It was a fun read and I loved it!
I don't usually start a series at the end and now I will surely read the other instalments as I want to learn more about the world building and this amazing series.
It's an engrossing and entertaining read, it's like meeting again a lot of classic tropes of a space opera and seeing them through new eyes. They look exciting and renewed.
I'll surely read other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

The third book in this space opera science fiction series where a small ragtag crew of humans and one friendly alien are out to stop some distinctly unfriendly aliens from destroying the human race if not the universe. Almost non-stop action, but it's not just a series of battles - the clever ideas of the scrappy crew is really what saves the day time and again as the book goes on. I think this is the final book in the series, and if so it wraps things up in an entertaining and satisfying way - though it leaves the door slightly open for more adventures featuring the crew of the White Raven, and I definitely would read more if they come to pass!

The Forbidden Stars by Tim Pratt is third in the Axiom space opera series. Like the previous books, it is banter-tastic, and has a lot of clever solutions to life-threatening problems as Our Heroes try to rescue colonists who’ve been lost for a hundred years without dooming the rest of humanity in the process. I didn’t like it as much as the first book, when everything was delightfully new, but I did think it was a satisfying end to the trilogy. CW: major character death.

Humanity was given access to a greater section of the universe when an alien race gave us access to 29 wormholes, bringing humans to twenty-nine new star systems. What the alien race never mentioned was that another race of beings, now known as the Axiom, controlled every other system in the galaxy. The Axiom are an aggressive, dominating race, but fortunately they've been asleep since humans gone out to the new systems.

When communication from the 29th wormhole/system has gone silent most assume it the result of internal strife. But Captain Callie and her crew of White Raven have heard that there might be something else happening at 29 - something that would be much more devastating to humanity - and so they pay a visit and discover humans who have been grafted with all manner of additional and strange limbs and other parts. The Axiom, it seems, are awake and running a human harvesting facility and making plans to attack full force.

This is the third book in author Tim Pratt's The Axiom series, and just as with the first two, I found this to be some really fun space opera. In my review of the previous book I mentioned that the stakes were about as high as they could get and having high stakes was a key ingredient in space opera. Now, of course, I see that the stakes could get higher ... and do.

There are some twists and turns along the way in this book. Just as we think we know someone and how they will react, they tend to surprise us. Some people will step up and make some life or death choices.

One of the things that stood out to me here is the action level. Pratt ramps up the actions and we have some all-out slug fests that are really page-turning. High on threat level, high on action, with characters who are flawed heroes - just what we need in some really exciting sci-fi.

Looking for a good book? Tim Pratt's The Forbidden Stars is the third in his Axiom series. This one is a fast-paced thriller with mad-scientist-like aliens bent on taking over the universe.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.