The Cure for Stars is the second book in the Sphere Trilogy written by Nasim Odin. As the second book in the series, you must absolutely read the first entry if you want to be able to follow the story. The Cure for Stars starts off right where we left at the end of The Sphere of Destiny. Our hero, Al-Khidr, has escaped the Hall of Stars on planet Lyra and has been flung through time and space via a wormhole back to Earth. However, he soon discovers that this is not the same Earth he left behind. Time has jumped forward and the Egypt he arrives in is being invaded by Napoleon. To add to Al-Khidr’s troubles his nemesis Hatathor has followed him through the wormhole. His own sphere is lost and now Hatathor is hunting him down not just for revenge but also as a means to get back home to Lyra. However, Al-Khidr is a man of his word. He made a promise to the Lyran’s to help them cure the Mutmut disease and he will stop at nothing to achieve his goal. This time round he is assisted by Estelle, a beautiful naturalist who may just have the botanical knowledge Al-Khidr needs to achieve his goals.

The Cure for Stars has everything I loved about the first book, but it feels like Odin has grown as a writer this time round and writes with more confidence. Al-Khidr is a hero who prefers to use his brains over brawn. The book includes much more dialogue than the first as Al-Khidr uses his knowledge of religion and politics to talk his way out of trouble. This does not mean there is a shortage of action, however. Hatathor is the antithesis Al-Khidr, he kills first and asks questions later. The book utilizes multiple narrators and the parts following Hatathor can be a violent fever dream. Hatathor isn’t always the immoral monster he first appears and diving into his twisted psyche is one of my favorite parts of the book. If anything, Hatathor is so well written he makes Al-Khidr feel a little dull and puritanical. I also much preferred Nefertiti to Estelle. Unfortunately, Nefertiti doesn’t make an appearance here. Al-Khidr’s fledgling romance with Estelle also feels out of character when not long ago he was mooning ever Nefertiti.

Once again the writing itself is descriptive but simple, creating an engaging adventure that is easy to follow. The story moves at a quick pace, and there is a lot of story to tell and no time to waste, but I would have enjoyed a bit slower pace. Odin’s dedication to research and world building however steal the show. This is still a refreshing mixture of Arabic culture/history and science fiction unlike any other book I have read.

The story is exhilarating, the setting is captivating and the addition of Hatathor makes this entry a little darker, violent and fun.

Pages: | ASIN: B099DGLWWN