"The Native Star" is a fun, relatively lightweight read that I enjoyed far more than I expected to. (I'd read somewhere that it was awful and a friend told me she hadn't liked it, but by that point I'd already bought my copy, so...) The relationship arcs are subtle and intriguing, as is the idea of credomancy (where popular belief literally affects who is possible of what and by what means). There's a strong pro-environmental moral in here, but I rather liked how it was portrayed. Those who believed in TNS's "climate change" responded in the same dismissive way that many non-believers in our world do. That's another thing Hobson is really, really good at: showing us true reactions, motions and/or things I could point to and say, "Yes, I've seen someone say that about climate change," or "Yes, men have said that same thing to me before," etc. For all the magic and the far-away world of post-Civil War America, mostly everything was relateable. All in all, I'm glad I bought it and its sequel, "The Hidden Goddess," at the same time. I have every intention of diving right into the second book as well as (at some point in the future) returning to reread TNS. I really liked this book a lot--I'm not sure why it has such a low score here. I thought it was a unique and well-built world, and I loved all the thought and detail that went into describing the magic systems. It felt like a very realized world that could have occurred if magic existed at this time in American history, and I appreciated the made-up vocabulary that lent believability to this world.This book is definitely one to savor; I might have appreciated it a little more if I hadn't rushed through the ending in one sitting. The book has it's faults, but I loved the world, the characters, and the adventure, so I was entirely invested. I would recommend this book to people who love the fantasy genre, especially world-building, and who want a romance/adventure. I think younger readers (i.e. teens/young adult) will generally be satisfied and I would recommend this book to them.
What do You think about Native Star (2000)?
Loved this book! Weird West & Steampunk mixed with magic and a touch of romance!
—Is1
4-4.5Enjoyable and good. A bit slow paced but you get used to it.
—annette
This one was pretty flat, with bonus noble savage stereotyping.
—Kailey
