WyrdStar

WyrdStar is the self-publishing imprint for Steph Bennion, a writer, musician and civil servant in Westminster, born and bred in the Black Country but now living in Hastings, England. Her science-fiction stories are written as a reaction to the dearth of alternative heroes amidst bookshelves swamped by tales of the supernatural.

WyrdStar has also published works by other authors: the speculative fiction anthologies WYRD WORLDS and WYRD WORLDS II; and two volumes of political verse by London poet Lallafa Jeltz.

Website: http://www.wyrdstar.co.uk
Twitter: @WyrdStar
Facebook: Facebook profile
Blog: http://www.wyrdstar.co.uk/news.html

http://www.wyrdstar.co.uk/shop.html

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...and 11 more

• Marlowe and the Spacewoman on Feb. 02, 2012
  
  This was an entertaining read! The action is fast-paced and the humour well thought out - it put me in mind of the 'Stainless Steel Rat' books of Harry Harrison. The twist at ending came a bit out of the blue, but set up the promised sequel quite nicely.
  
• The Waggoner on Feb. 09, 2012
  
  I picked this book out of nostalgia for the English Midlands, particularly as it’s been a while since I’ve read anything set in my native Black Country. This was an entertaining read and is clearly written on the back of a lot of research; though this often resulted in some paragraphs reading like encyclopaedia entries. The episodic story has a nice pace and the book offers an interesting glimpse into life in the industrial Midlands during the canal-building mania (and later railways) of the industrial revolution. It is however somewhat lacking in drama, as the family that the story follows ultimate enjoy a fairly cosy existence considering the harsh reality of life for the working class at that time!
  
• Smallworld: A Science Fiction Adventure Comedy on March 03, 2012
  
  This was an entertaining read, albeit not the comedy I'd expected from reading the blurb. Nor does it really work as a novel, as it reads more like a collection of (long) short stories strung together and linked by virtue of a shared cast and setting. The writing is good and there are moments of very clever (and often bizarre) humour - I particularly liked the escape from the penitentiary through psychoanalysis and Helen of Troy's personality inside a killing-machine robot (both of which appeared in the final story) - yet many of the supporting cast were too one-dimensional to care about and I frequently forgot who was who. However, the science-fiction setting was fun and obviously well thought-out; I just wish the author had done the same with more of the myriad of characters involved along the way. In summary, I did enjoy it and would have been happy to spend money on this.
  
• The Navigator (Awash In Starlight) on April 01, 2012
  
  This is a very interesting read, full of ideas and with a highly-unusual narrator figure to provide a god-like point of view. Other reviews have outlined the story so I won't go into details, but the tale was refreshingly different and the main character Kego was imagined well. Some of the humour was a bit hit and miss (the 'comical' names of some of the people mentioned didn't fit well with the general style) and it did often seem as if the robots had more personalty than the humans - though I accept the author did deliberately play on this theme at times. If this had been properly edited, polished and proofed I would not have hesitated to give it a solid four stars; unfortunately it isn't, so I can't. Having said that, the story and the philosophies within were strong enough to keep me reading despite the distracting typos, so credit where it's due.
  
• Living through Hope! on Aug. 01, 2012
  
  I found this a real page-turner. The trials and tribulations of the main character Bridget brought on a whole raft of emotions (I was close to tears at one point) and I was so glad that it ended exactly the way I thought it deserved to. Some of the historical details, such as the incredibly-lowly status of women in the nineteenth century, I found quite sobering. Being a Black Country lass myself I was enthralled by the descriptions of old Wednesbury and Walsall, the canals and the pits. Good stuff!
  
• One Last Quest on Aug. 20, 2012
  
  This was very funny in places and contains some clever parodies on the fantasy genre (plus some non-too subtle digs at capitalism). I hovered between giving this three or four stars, but in the end I felt the story glossed over why the main villain was acting the way he was, plus the conclusion of the tale came about far too quickly.
  
• The Gaslight Volumes of Will Pocket: Vol I: Turnkey on Sep. 29, 2012
  
  This book was an enjoyable read. The alternate history to explain the steampunk elements was convincing and once I'd got used to the interesting framing device for the first-person narrative the story flowed well, albeit with rather odd dream sequences. This tale is essentially a rolicking adventure-cum-romance, with the former handled better than the latter. There are some wonderfully bizarre characters in the mix, plus the usual steampunk airships and other weird and wonderful devices. Unfortunately, I failed to warm to Pocket, the 'hero' of the story, who acted the selfish cowardly idiot through much of the book - which is fine in the right context (George MacDonald Fraser's Harry Flashman or Terry Pratchett's Rincewind comes to mind), but it felt odd that such a character would have so many far more able people falling over themselves and risking their lives to help him at every turn. In that vein, the book makes too much use of chance to save the hero's neck. The other big problem I had was with 'New London', the descriptions of which show no attempt to relate it to the real London at all. London is not one of those cities where it is easy to obliterate the past (there's still bits the Romans left behind in the present-day version) and it would have been nice if the author had recognised this. Yet there are some fun adventures and some genuinely-hilarious moments in this book, so steampunk fans will find a lot to like. And the perforated spoon in the hat? I instantly thought it was a set-up for an 'absinth-minded' joke to appear at some point, but it didn't! One last little note on formatting - the wide line spacing looked odd on my Kobo and paragraph indents were occasionally missing, but no typos!
  
• The Rock Star in the Mirror (or, How David Bowie Ruined My Life) on Nov. 28, 2012
  
  An entertaining little read. The premise was somewhat reminiscent of the Woody Allen film Play It Again, Sam. I expected the second half of the story to develop further than it did, but it provided a fun distraction during a particularly tedious train journey to Sheffield. [Goodreads rating: 3 stars = 'I liked it'.]
  
• The Santa Claus Gang on April 20, 2013
  
  I've missed Marlowe and Nina. This is a very entertaining short story of a futuristic sleuth and his kick-ass spacewoman bodyguard and should be read by everyone who has a sense of humour and likes sci-fi.
  
• The Creative Process on June 07, 2013
  
  Loved this! A delightful, slightly macabre, head-spinning tale of the fine line between inspiration and insanity (well, that's how I read it), all in just a dozen pages. I have a new favourite author.
  
• Green, A Short Story on June 07, 2013
  
  Nicely-written, thought-provoking sideways look at race/class issues.
  
• Jethabel on Nov. 28, 2013
  
  I really liked this. The book blurb is deceptive: this is a story of survival, set upon a not-quite derelict alien spacecraft. And when I say alien, the eponymous ship Jethabel is one of the most intriguing settings I've come across in a while. (Imagine the ancient alien ship at the start of the movie Alien, only drifting in space and somehow organic and alive!) The book has lots of interesting touches and well-rounded characters, though it took me a while to get to grips with the numerous protagonists involved. The ending was a little abrupt and an obvious set-up for a sequel, but it wasn't an annoying cliff-hanger. Worth a read if you like military sci-fi, or even 'Big Dumb Object' tales.
  
• Interpretive Dance at 65 MPH on Dec. 27, 2013
  
  I must admit it was the title that drew me in. Strange, oddly compelling and a little bit disjointed (it needs an editor's touch), but that sort-of works given the theme of transgender angst. There's quite a mix of themes in this short tale and I loved the bits about the unloved novel.
  
• Balloons of the Apocalypse on Jan. 08, 2015
  
  I loved the first book, Marlowe and the Spacewoman, so eagerly snapped up this sequel as soon as I spotted it was out (which was some time after it was published - book promotion doesn't seem to be the author's strong point!). Balloons of the Apocalypse sees the return of sleuth Marlowe, sidekick Nina and most of the villains and supporting characters from the first novel. The setting is a futuristic yet down-trodded America, where the 'Big Fed' has fallen and the land is ruled by city states. The novel has a wonderfully-inventive storyline involving a Beethoven-worshipping cult, with many twists and turns. The humour is less evident than in the first book but this is still a good, fun read. Minor quibbles were that the ebook formatting wasn't brilliant (varying text sizes and non-justified paragraphs) and I think the chapters would have benefited from scene breaks at appropriate points. I look forward to the next one...
  
• The Szuiltan Alliance on Oct. 03, 2015
  
  I read this a while ago, forgot to post a review, came back to see if the sequel was out and decided to put my omission right. I've been searching Smashwords for decent indie space opera for a while and this is certainly one of the better ones. At heart, it is a political thriller, with overtones of military sci-fi, strange aliens, religious conflicts and a whole heap of complicated personal relationships. Most of the large number of cast are pleasingly well-rounded characters, though there were a few who were not particularly memorable, which led to a bit of head-scratching when they reappeared. The few improbable plot devices were resolved by the twist at the end, which though not entirely unexpected was nevertheless effective.
  
• Writing on the Wall: Lola's Story on Feb. 13, 2019
  
  I liked this a lot - I wish there was more (it's very short), though it could do use an editor's touch. An entertaining slice-of-life about a transgender woman artist and her dalliances with the local police. It reminded me a lot of Maupin's 'Tales of the City' books.