3 out of 4 stars
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Citizen of Earth, by Joseph Kassabian, is a sci-fi/ fantasy story that revolves around Vincent Solaris from Detroit Area Six, following his life through his adventures as a stubborn kid till he finally gets into trouble and is sentenced to serve for three years in Earth's defense forces. Set in a world where the earth and surrounding planets are under the strict rule of the all-powerful "Chairman," Vincent was very lucky to avoid a death sentence for his crimes. En route to planet Ryklar, where Vincent was posted, he meets Fiona Olympus, a martian serving a life sentence, and they both connect romantically. The mission to Ryklar goes sideways, and Vincent and Fiona get stranded on the planet. With the help of some new alien friends, Nox and Zinvor, they hope to survive attacks from enemies and make it back to earth to warn humans about the threat posed by the Anarchs to the existence of humans.
My expectations of a fast-paced thrilling, action and suspense-filled story, on reading the book's description, were pretty much fulfilled. However, at certain points, the pace of the story slowed down and there were a few scenes I felt that were unnecessary.
The first thing I liked about Citizen of Earth would be the good work the author put into the development of the main characters. We start the story with Vincent's Citizen's day ceremony, and we are introduced to Vincent as a young, careless rulebreaker who spends most of his time drinking and smoking. Underneath that, we see someone who didn't have a lot of love growing up, as his father drove his mother away when he was younger. A similar situation could be seen with Fiona, as Martians give their firstborn up for a lifetime of servitude in the Earth's defense forces and Fiona didn't get a lot of love growing up, which translated to her addiction to smoking and drinking as well. Furthermore, another common trait shared by both characters was courage, which was why it was very easy for them to connect. It was very interesting reading as both characters grew throughout the story and I discovered more layers to their personality. It was also very easy to root for them as they embarked on their mission.
Furthermore, the author does a very good job in the action scenes, albeit overusing words like "gore" and "recoil," giving readers detailed descriptions of events and feelings as the characters battled, and including the occasional humor from the main characters to lighten up tense moments. The alien weapons and armor introduced also piqued my interest, and readers will have fun experiencing the different alien cultures the author has created, like the Rhai and Mawr. I liked that the author found a way to not overload the book with alien languages.
I found a few errors in Citizen of Earth, but they were few and far between and I got the impression that the book was well edited. This ensured that my reading was smooth and uninterrupted almost throughout the story. There wasn't much to dislike about the book. However, I have some issues with the world-building. There was no connection between the present Earth and how the Earth became one-dimensional having one supreme leader, "The Chairman." This made the story feel unrealistic at times. I would have also liked a more detailed description of the features of aliens.
Overall, Citizen of Earth was an interesting sci-fi read. The romance element was also a welcome distraction. I was a bit disappointed that I didn't encounter "The Chairman" at all throughout the story, but seeing that this is the first book in the Galaxy on Fire series, I'm sure there'll be enough time for him to make appearances in subsequent books. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The world-building issues mentioned above justify taking out a star from the rating. I wound recommend this book to lovers of sci-fi and fantasy stories. Romance fans will also enjoy following Vincent and Fiona's love story. Sex scenes are non-existent in this book, but the violence and strong language used at times indicate that the book won't be appropriate for a younger audience.
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Citizen of Earth
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