Galactic Superstar

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Humanities biggest music star amongst the superior alien races of the galaxy is back in human space. His next tour will be his biggest yet, and countless obstacles need to be overcome. Playing in front of an audience that can't breathe human atmosphere, in a different gravity, with music shifted to alien ears' frequencies. Challenges both technical and inter-personal. And then there is one big problem...

The setting is semi-hard Science Fiction. It contains speculative technology that goes beyond current scientific understanding, yet aims strongly to extrapolate rather than hand-wave, plus having explanations for its technology and consistent abilities and limitations.

The story is set in the same universe asIntergalactic, but is independent and can be read on its own. I write the story assuming that readers have not read the previous one. If you have,Galactic Superstaris set a few years after the events inIntergalactic, and a few hundred light years away.

New chapters are published as they are finished, so this will be sometimes slow and sometimes fast. If you follow, you will get notifications whenever a new chapter appears.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2025
Author: artomis

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 2
Views: 1,983

Chapters(16 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(2)

Nemo BlancRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
As someone who’s more at home with speculative fiction than social satire, I didn’t expect Galactic Superstar to hook me the way it did. This novella feels like a strange cross between a high-concept space opera and a cynical modern art gallery crawl, somehow in a good way. The world is rich without being overwhelming, and the plot, while subtle, reveals itself through layers of performance, pretense, and quiet desperation.
At the surface, we follow Francis King, a traveling musician who glides through luxury hotels and receptions like he was born for the spotlight. But underneath the suave exterior and perfectly tailored suits, there's a weariness that makes him surprisingly sympathetic. His conversations, especially with Gavin and Princess Hasnuk, cleverly show how much of success is actually performance, sometimes more offstage than on. I especially loved the deadpan meta-commentary of the Anagrargana Collective, what starts as an artsy name becomes a satire on the way modern art and identity can be fabricated wholesale, as long as it sells.
Grammatically, the prose is polished. There are minor wordiness issues and a few moments where sentences become slightly overloaded (some could be split for clarity), but overall, the style is fluid and competent. It leans on clean description and strong dialogue rather than action, and it works. The pacing is slower than typical sci-fi, but the buildup feels intentional, like watching an artist layer paint.
The ending is a satisfying blend of scheming, diplomacy, and unresolved tension. King wins, but just barely. And the shadow of his past (Niola) makes it feel like there's a deeper story left unspoken.
In short: a sharp, stylish story about artifice, power, and performing your way into power. I’d read more.
B.DanteRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
An intriguing take on the sci-fi genre through a unique musical lens.
STYLE
The writing does a solid job painting the world in vivid strokes. The tone is established early, and the descriptions effectively evoke high-tech environments and neon-drenched backdrops. It’s stylish without being overbearing.
STORY
The musical undertone in the Sci-Fi setting sets this novel apart from its contemporaries.
It’s clear the story is gearing up for something big, with branching narratives that hint at a much larger conflict. Whether those threads converge in a satisfying way remains to be seen, but the groundwork is compelling.
At the time of this review, the story is still picking up steam, so the score may rise as the plot develops and momentum builds.
CHARACTERS
King is an intriguing and competent lead. While we’ve only scratched the surface, there’s enough charisma and mystery to keep interest high.
However, Val is definitely the take-away character that grabbed my attention, promising depth and a tragic backstory.
GRAMMAR
Generally readable, but in need of another editorial pass. There are a number of small issues: missing commas, misplaced periods, and punctuation hiccups that break flow.
The use of inverted quotation marks might be a stylistic choice, but it did make some dialogue feel clunkier than it should. That said, this may also be a formatting issue specific to Royal Road on mobile, and mileage may vary.
OVERALL
A strong start with the potential to become something iconic.
If you’re after a fresh twist on the sci-fi genre—one that seamlessly blends space opera with the rhythm and edge of a metalcore biopic—Galactic Superstar hits all the right notes.