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Light From Uncommon Stars

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About this listen

"Cindy Kay masterfully narrates this unique audiobook, which combines a variety of genres to tell a moving story of self-acceptance and finding safety even in the bleakest of times." - AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award review

Good Omens
meets The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet in Ryka Aoki's Light From Uncommon Stars, a defiantly joyful adventure set in California's San Gabriel Valley, with cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and queer alien courtship over fresh-made donuts.


Hugo Award Finalist
A National Bestseller
Indie Next Pick
New York Public Library Top 10 Book of 2021
A Kirkus Best Book of 2021
A Barnes & Noble Best Science Fiction Book of 2021
2022 Alex Award Winner

2022 Stonewall Book Award Winner

Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six.

When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka's ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She's found her final candidate.

But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn't have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan's kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul's worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline.

As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.

Adventure Fiction Literature & Fiction Science Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Interstellar Solar System
All stars
Most relevant
Very absorbing, unusual premise, compelling characters, beautifully read. I enjoyed it from start to finish.

An Interstellar Love Story with Donuts & Demons

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Wholesome and inspirational. The characters are well rounded and the story is very well structured. The various plot lines are beautifully woven together and it just works: it shouldn’t but it really does. This is the first time I’ve read a book by Ryka Aoki and I cannot wait to read more of her work.

Best book I ever read

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I love that the author attempted a multifaceted storyline, with an imaginative plot and some unusually creative writing. The narrator was excellent and her quiet tone of voice added an interesting undercurrent of tension that worked well with the story.

The frustrating thing was the portrayal of Katrina as a 'shivering chihuahua' with very little character development. I also found referring to a male (who hasn't physically transitioned) as she/her/female to be somewhat confusing.

Imaginative but a tad frustrating

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Good solid writing that that doesn't quite live up to its excellent premise, but still tells a wholesome story of love, loss, demonic performance.

Donuts, and Daemons, and Runaways, oh my!

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I cant work out why they included the space alien story arc, it somehow detracted from the novel. apart from that, it's great.

enjoyed it

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