Skip to content

VOID STAR

Written By:

Andrew Marshall
void-star

Irina is a specialised interpreter, her advanced mental implant allows her to interface with AIs and ascertain their thinking for the companies that use them, and she becomes driven to uncover a secret after seeing something she shouldn’t have. Kern is a thief, street fighter and hit man living in spartan poverty, who goes on the run after stealing some advanced tech. Thales is the son of a Brazilian political family who fled the country after an assassination attempt, and after a chance encounter becomes driven to find the answers to personal questions nagging at him.

 

Void Star’s story takes some concentration to properly follow, as it’s a while before the three plot threads start to intersect and it becomes clear how they fit together. Each tale is interesting enough on its own, but everything becomes far more compelling once it coalesces into a single narrative as the multiple tendrils weave together.

 

The setting is a kind of proto-cyberpunk, existing at the point not long after society began the descent that ends in the anarchic hopelessness seen in the likes of Neuromancer, a book of which there are echoes throughout the story. Through the eyes of the three main characters we see the various aspects of the gradually decaying world, from the towers of conglomerate businessmen with more money than they could ever use, to the destitution of the downtrodden who starve forgotten in slums circling the city’s periphery.

 

Although it may seem intended to evoke dramatic sci-fi ambiguity, the novel’s title actually refers to void*, a computer programming function with mutable potential. In much the same way, the events of the story force the three protagonists to fully realise the extent of what they are capable of, in both the physical and metaphysical worlds. Their specific skills complement and augment those of the others, reinforcing the idea that people are stronger when striving for a common goal rather than working in isolation, like the processes of a computer program operating in tandem to achieve the desired output.

 

Void Star asks questions about what it truly means to be human, specifically whether we are merely the collective sum of our memories or also something more than that. In an age of technology advancing almost as fast as our ability to comprehend it, the novel’s transhumanist themes become less far-fetched with each passing year, making it a concept that we may soon need to seriously consider.

 

VOID STAR / AUTHOR: ZACHARY MASON / PUBLISHER: JONATHAN CAPE / RELEASE DATE: 27TH APRIL


Andrew Marshall

You May Also Like...

chinese remake of anaconda drops trailer

ANACONDA Trailer Grants First Look At Remake Of 1997 Horror Flick

Three sequels and a spinoff-crossover film wasn’t enough for the 1997 creature feature Anaconda, which not only has a new movie in development, but is getting a Chinese remake! From
Read More
black widow star scarlett johansson in talks to lead new universal jurassic world film

Scarlett Johansson In Talks To Join JURASSIC WORLD Film

Another MCU star appears to be taking up the reins for Universal’s new Jurassic World movie: two-time Oscar nominee Scarlett Johansson is reportedly in talks to lead the franchise that
Read More

Exclusive Reveal! Titan Comics to Deliver Prehistoric Hysterics in First 2 DUMB DINOS Collection

Titan Comics have exclusively revealed to STARBURST that they’re gearing up to publish the first-ever collection of the hilarious cult digital comic strip 2 Dumb Dinos, and we’re not the
Read More

New Dates For Lovecraftian Key of Dreams

Key of Dreams has announced new spaces for its titular immersive luxury horror event. The critically acclaimed company is known for its overnight experiences that dunk you into a strange
Read More

FAB Café to Host Free Film Screening of New Indie Comedy SECRETS OF A WALLABY BOY

We’re well known for our championing of truly independent filmmakers here at STARBURST, so it’s doubly exciting to be writing about one of our own! After joining the crew in
Read More
colin farrell returns as oswald cobblepot in the penguin series trailer

Colin Farrell Returns In THE PENGUIN Trailer

Colin Farrell returns as Gotham City’s answer to Tony Soprano in the first trailer for Max series The Penguin, which spins out of the world of the 2022 DC film
Read More