Star Splitter

By: Matthew J. Kirby

Narrated by: Jennifer Jill Araya, Cory Myler

A 2024 Edgar Award Nominee!

Survival and self-determination collide in this haunting, pulse-pounding science fiction novel from Edgar Award-winning author Matthew J. Kirby that spans both space and time.

“An intense, read-in-one-sitting kind of ride.″—Kirkus, starred review

2199. Deep-space exploration is a reality and teleportation is routine. But this time something has gone very, very wrong. Seventeen-year-old Jessica Mathers wakes up in a lander that’s crashed onto the surface of Carver 1061c, a desolate, post-extinction planet fourteen light-years from Earth. The planet she was supposed to be viewing from a ship orbiting far above.

The corridors of the empty lander are covered in bloody hand prints; the machines are silent and dark. And outside, in the alien dirt, there are fresh graves carefully marked with names she doesn’t recognize. Now Jessica must unravel the mystery of the destruction all around her—and the questionable intentions of a familiar stranger.

©2023 Matthew J. Kirby (P)2023 Listening Library

Critic reviews

A Best Fiction for Young Adults selection • A Kirkus Best Book of the Year • A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year • A Core Excellence in Young Adult Science Fiction selection

“A twisty mystery of partial truths and unexpected reveals.″—BCCB

“The expertly juggled storyline nurtures a tension that blossoms into a palpable sense of dread as the downright spooky nature of the disaster is explored. Themes of identity hit hard, as they come with high stakes. An intense, read-in-one-sitting kind of ride.”—Kirkus, starred review

“Dual timelines imbued with believable hard science, harrowing action, and strong characterizations permeate Kirby’s breakneck adventure. Questions of personhood are skillfully elevated, explored against an inventive future backdrop in which cloning is the norm and the potential consequences of deceptively simple-sounding procedures come at high costs.”—Publishers Weekly

Theme Without Substance

I’m not a huge Sci-Fi fan to begin with, but I found this book and the back and forth time jumps mixed with a myriad of other issues to corrupt this book and manipulate it into something entirely unlikeable.

Great story & narration

I really enjoyed the performance of how this was told. I could picture everything clearly and felt like a great movie with plenty of twists and turns. Couldn’t stop listening after the first half hour.

Interesting story: how much do your experiences define who you are

Back and forth timeline wasn’t too confusing to follow though you put stuff together much sooner than the final reveal. The main protagonists have daddy/mommy issues so you feel for them but they definitely make frustrating decisions. There was a lot action both in space and on a new alien planet which was great and the overall theme of what makes you YOU was a nice

Narrator was competent and paced the reading well. Ending was good, left me wanting a little more on the mysteries of the planet though

Really interesting and good!

I really enjoyed this book! It has hints of horror, and for a YA book this really scared me in places. I normally don’t get scared for books, but this one had me white knuckling my steering wheel while driving!