Stars Apart (Seven Systems #1) by Nathan Greaves

I've struggled to read for longer than 20 minutes without falling asleep for years now... Stars Apart put that streak to an end and had me back to reading for hours at a time. Loved it, can't wait for the sequels.

I literally could not put this book down until I finished it! I was so enthralled in the story and world-building that I didn't realise that several hours had passed when I finished it.

I am eagerly waiting for the next installment!

I received an advance review copy of this book for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily with no expectations placed on my feedback.

While the demands of parenthood and life generally meant I have not quite finished the book, I have largely finished it, certainly enough to gauge it and give my thoughts on it.

Nathan has written an engaging story, and it absolutely makes me keen to read further entries in the Seven Systems series. The cast of characters is engaging, even the lesser characters that enter in along the way.

The main cast is an excellent blend of quirky, flawed, but endearing, and has you rooting for them quickly, and wincing when they blunder. Even the villains are compelling. While their actions may be unforgivable, you can understand where the motivations come from and their rationalisation of it. You're not cheering the villain on, but you're certainly sympathetic as to the why, for the most part. The cast of characters is complex and fleshed out, there are no plain good and bad guys, and I think it serves the story very well.

The pacing is good throughout the story, not feeling like it gets bogged down at all, and not feeling like it becomes difficult to keep up with. The world building in the story is clear and doesn't muddy the waters at all, teaching the reader about the setting without clouding the story itself.

The setting is very attractive, enough science fiction to allow events to progress in a compelling way, at an interesting pace, but also with enough science to ground it in such a way that a reader of today can follow and understand the setting, without bogging the story down with the potential realities of space travel and interstellar existence.

All in all, Stars Apart was an entertaining read, a strong debut by Nathan Greaves, and I am certainly eager to read future entries in the series.

4.75/5 ⭐️

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you're looking to take a chance on a new sci-fi author in 2026, this is the book for you, especially if you’re a fantasy fan who occasionally dabbles in the genre like I do.

The pacing of this book kept me locked in from start to finish. Many of the characters are well thought out and have plenty of room to develop further as the series progresses. There is one character I’ve given some grace to in this first installment, whose motivations and capacity for unreliable narration frustrated me at times. It could pull my final rating down slightly if there isn’t a proper payoff in future books.

Now, to the reason I said this is an easy jump from fantasy to sci-fi: this book feels incredibly comfortable for someone who reads far more fantasy. A lot of the battle scenes, lore, and writing style are akin to the fantasy books I know and love, and the story doesn't overwhelm you with heavy science. That said, if you’re an experienced sci-fi reader who loves the classics, I do wonder how this specific style might land for you as the plot goes along.

Despite those very small nitpicks, as a debut novel, this book had everything I could’ve wanted. I can’t wait to dive back into this world in future releases.

Hello! I received an advanced copy of this book from SkyNation Publishing to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I want to start this off by saying that I wasn’t able to put this down once I started. I was hooked almost immediately by the story and will absolutely be reading Stars Apart again. Nathan Greaves has presented the first novel in what will be a highly anticipated series, based in a world in the far future of our own. I haven’t read sci-fi novels in a while, and this book felt like a perfect starting point for that re-entry into reading space adventures.

The prologue was chock full of information; some of which I found helpful to bring with me into the story, and some of it I will be hoping to be relevant as the series continues. It sets the vibe that technicality will be of the most importance, which didn’t really pan through from what I read. I felt the need to put on a Young Adult reader’s cap on, and from there I could enjoy the journey we embarked on, told from various character’s perspectives.

I want to point out that while starting a new chapter, the time stamps are what I found having to double check, as there can be some fast-paced action with multiple locations. It seems the characters are generally on the younger side, minus the scattered rugged & jaded older figure who takes on a parental role in some fashion.

I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions of the locations and truly felt like I could imagine standing there myself. While some of the characters didn’t have many physical details, others I felt like I knew them (or had someone to compare them to) and could easily place them in the setting. There also were many narrative points in the story that felt a little too close to home in the world’s current climate, making this story feel not so distant as the time stamps proved.

I won’t be giving any spoilers, but the way we are left yearning at the end of the book has me craving the second in the series already. We learn so much about the crew, their past, and are left wondering what the future means. Yearning for what else will be uncovered, what was left unexplained, and even the potential for nods to silly chirps from the main crew.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

From the very beginning of this book, I was absolutely hooked. If you're an avid fantasy reader like I am, then the jump to SciFi will be so easy with "Stars Apart." Author Greaves wrote an action packed book, with incredible worlds building and some seriously untrustworthy narrators. This book is not heavily alien focused, rather it tells the story of human descendants who have had to leave Earth due to overpopulation. Even still, the book shows the author's creativity in the lifeforms and other worlds that are encountered throughout.

I will admit there were some minor interactions that I found myself wondering what they added to the book, but Greaves does tie them in to one of the main character's stories. Once the reason becomes clear, all of those pieces just click into place. There is also plenty more to learn about the characters and worlds in future books.

"Stars Apart" is so well written and had me on the edge of my seat, and when I wasn't reading it, I wanted to be. I plan to purchase upon release so that I can reread a physical copy, while I eagerly await the next book in the series with the cliffhangers Greaves left me on.