Review of "Under Fortunate Stars" by Ren Hutchings

I received an ARC of this book from Solaris in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a big space opera fan, and the genre has hit some spectacular highs over the last few years (my love for Yoon Ha Lee and Arkady Martine's works in particular is well-documented here). Under Fortunate Stars tells a more standard story, of the kind that might be found in a Star Trek two-parter, but tells it well, with rich worldbuilding, tense action scenes, and a classic cast of characters that I always enjoy reading about. Readers experienced with time-loop stories will figure out the mystery at the book's center without too much trouble, which leaves room to appreciate how Hutchings plays on the tropes of space opera to deliver an entertaining ride. Despite the tagline "Fortunate Five," the duo of Keeven Jereth and Eldric Leesongronski are at the core of the story, a classic pairing of smooth-talking Han Solo type and laconic...well, he's better-dressed and more intelligent than Chewbacca for sure! As both of their pasts unspool over the second half of the book (in much more satisfying fashion than Disney's attempt in Solo), Hutchings adds some depth to what could easily have been two-dimensional outlines. Eldric in particular is given much more personality in his flashbacks than he exhibits in most of the present-day scenes, and I found myself wishing that any of the other main characters could have had the insight we readers possess into the man behind the "mathematical genius" he bills himself as. The supporting cast--both the remainder of the Fortunate Five, and the present-day crew of the Gallion--are a little more loosely sketched, though one scene with Eldric and the Gallion's chief engineer Uma Ozakka, stands out as a non-flashback highlight of the book. Under Fortunate Stars blends the fish-out-of-water elements of time travel with a classic lost-in-space plot, peppered with creative turns of phrase like "grey destruct" and "Jaxong drive" (weirdly satisfying to read, and even more satisfying to say out loud) that lend added flavor to the story. While the broad strokes are familiar, it's these details, and the occasional twist along the way, that kept me reading without ever feeling spoiled by my own genre savvy. The book's quieter moments shine even brighter and offer a lot of promise for Hutchings's future work. I will certainly be on the lookout to see what comes next!

Four out of five stars. A classic space opera featuring everything I know and love about the genre.