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Reviewed by K T Bowes for Readers' Favorite
I loved Stars and Soil by Dax Murray. The exquisite world-building provides a smorgasbord of characters that any epic fantasy reader will adore. Dax Murray creates a convincing universe with unrivaled details of the political factions, the religious pressures, and cultural expectations, topped off with a believable need for societal change. The main character is a prosperous business manager with a huge social conscience. Traumatized by the death of her magical wife, she sees the suffering of her community and desires a fairer structure. In a world unbalanced by the greed of the rich and the power-hungry clergy, the common folk become collateral damage. Caitlin is called to stand in the gap and redress the inequalities, by becoming a friend to royalty and a spy for the poor. But she walks a dangerous tightrope, and one wrong step will take her to the gallows. Because friends might be enemies and everyone but Caitlin has an agenda.
Dax Murray paints an incredible portrait of an LGBTQ+ world, which is entirely inclusive. It’s tastefully presented with love and personal choice at the heart. The novel's theme is sacrifice, based on Caitlin’s tendency to martyr herself for the causes of those she loves. She is pulled in every direction but her own, and her journey through the plot brings her to a place where she can pick up her mantle and advocate for her future. Written in the third person, present tense, the novel displays great emotional intelligence through Caitlin’s struggle and her ability to create meaningful relationships. The author creates perfect descriptions of emotional disassociation during trauma and scatters stunning wisdom throughout the beautifully crafted dialogue. My favorite line in Stars and Soil is where Caitlin says, “I know, but the cost of a beautiful tomorrow should not be such a sorrowful today.” This is a great novel for the socially accepting and open-minded reader.
