4.28/5.0 StarsRating if the Book Were a Movie: PG-13
Creative Team:
Writer: Peter Taylor
Artist: Peter Taylor
Colors: Falk Hansel
Letters: Clay Adams
Cover: Falk Hansel
Editorial Consultant: Frank Pittarese
Publisher: Pottyville Books
Ratings:
Story: 4.1 Stars
Artwork: 4.5 Stars
Cover Artwork: 4.7 Stars
Dialogue: 4.1 Stars
Mechanics: 4.0 Stars
Editing: 4.3 Stars
About the Book:
Lilu is a trucker at the Sheerwater Base on Encaladus. At any given moment she’s approximately 900 million miles away from the sun. Working in the depths of outer space has its perks when you’re a vampire. Like many outposts, Encaladus has a seedy underbelly. A place where people go to look for chemical inebriation, sex, or trouble. This has provided Lilu with a feeding ground ever since she arrived. She’s been having recurring fantasies of feeding on her friend, Beagan. Now the corporation that runs the Sheerwater Base is installing a new mayor to clean up the crime and increase productivity. It also means Lilu’s food source is going to disappear.
Reader’s Notes:
I am loving the evolution of Lilu as a person. We’ve seen her viewing any and all humans as cattle with the sole purpose of existing being for her to feed. We have seen her learn to differentiate between good and bad “cattle”. Now we see that Lilu is actually capable of caring for a human being.
Lilu viewed Beagan as nothing more than a nuisance when they first met. As time has passed Lilu has come to see that she’s a very sweet person. A bit of an airhead sometimes, but very sweet. This internal struggle Lilu is having about feeding on Beagan shows just how much she has changed. If it comes to it, will Lilu be able to go “vegan”?
Life on Sheerwater Base is the embodiment of the song “16 Tons”. With very few exceptions everyone stationed there is there because of the corporation. Some have debt that they will never be able to pay off. An attorney was stationed there for having the audacity to lose a case against the corporation. The few who aren’t there because of the corporation are there because being on a rock 800 million miles from Earth is better than the troubles with the law or family drama they left behind.
The new mayor coming to clean up crime and increase productivity is another example of this. The people at Sheerwater base are already working 18 hour shifts. At the rate the corporation is going people won’t need their quarters. They’ll be sleeping on cots on site in between shifts.
I love what Hansel has done with the artwork on this cover. The work is so vivid! Lilu is absolutely breathtaking. Depending on your perspective, the depiction of Lilu teeters on the edge between terrifying and cool. Personally, I am picking both. She looks like all the demons of Hell are about to be unleashed on some unsuspecting soul…. And I love it!
Over his past five books I have had the opportunity to see the evolution of Mr. Taylor’s artistic abilities. I must say, the second installment of “Pioneers: Blood and Stars” is his coming out party. From the first page with Lilu fantasizing about Beagan, Taylor announces his presence with authority!
As a geek on a budget I would strongly urge you to check out “Pioneers: Blood and Stars”. This is the vampire story that we all deserve. We get great character development that may have the possibility of a love interest. I promise you, Lilu won’t be sparkling if she finds herself basking in the sunlight, though.
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