Star Mother
Star Mother (Star Mother #1)
By: Charlie N. Holmberg
“I had never known true loneliness until I became a star mother.”
“You have taught me what it is to love… It is truth, it is promise, and it is sacrifice.”
Star-crossed lovers. Literally. Mixed with The One Who Lived Harry-Potter-magic-style.
Charlie Holmberg has created a world in which mortals and celestial beings interact. A world where stars power the Earth Mother. Where stars are the by-product of the Sun god and a mortal woman. A world where the Moon goddess and the Sun god war against each other.
The First Two Sentences
The first two sentences of the book are:
“I thought making love to the Sun would be the most unbearable pain I would ever experience. Giving birth to his child was far worse.”
I almost stopped reading because that did not seem like a book I wanted to read. Romance is not usually my jam, especially if we’re talking about celestial lovemaking. Pass.
But I gave it a chance and though it took a little while to get engaged with the story, I did enjoy it.
And thankfully the two or three times lovemaking is talked about, there is no detail or description except that it hurt… because of the nature of the Sun and stars. It’s a fantasy novel so you have to imagine a world where mortals and gods and demigods can be lovers.
To start the book with that sentence is a little misleading as to what the book is largely going to depict. It’s more about Ceris’s journey of being a Star Mother, of her attachment to her daughter, a star whom she cannot hold or be with, of Ceris trying to find her belonging in the world, which does involve finding her true love.
Brief Summary
Ceris Wendon’s village has been chosen to send forth a young woman to sacrifice herself to be the next star mother. A star has died and must be replaced. But a woman who births a star never survives. It is a sacrifice of honor and legacy.
Though betrothed to marry, her fiance is in love with another.
Ceris volunteers as tribute.
“Why should three hearts break, when it was needed of only one?”
Ceris and Sun do the deed.
“I knew immediately, in all my ignorance, that I was pregnant, and that a star had budded to life inside of me. And with that budding came wonder, which turned into purpose, which shifted to hope. And that hope helped illuminate the darkness that had crept over my soul.”
After 9 months, she births the star.
And against all odds, Ceris doesn’t die. She lives! Out of hundreds of star mothers, she is the One Who Lived.
When Ceris finally returns home she is shocked to find 700 years have passed and all her friends and family have long died. She sets out to find her sister’s descendants, looking for information of what happened to them and hoping she can live out her years with family, however far removed they are.
To help guide and protect her on her journey is a godling named Risteriel who is running away from something/someone.
This book is the triangular story of Ceris the Star Mother, Risteriel the ‘Trickster’, and Saiyon the Sun god. It is the story of love and sacrifice, loss and life as Ceris searches for her belonging in the world and the legacy she will leave.
Speculation
“Manage it, escape it, or grow with it. Pain, I mean…. But you can’t forget it. Even if you could, you would lose the strength it gave you. There is always strength in pain. It’s small and it’s hidden, but it’s always there.”
“She became my joy. I was never able to hold her in my arms, but she means more to me than anything. And without Him, I would not have her.”
As I was reading about Ceris having her daughter but grieving that she never got to hold her or nurse her or experience the nurturing and raising of her child, I speculated as to what possibly inspired this story. To me it felt like a story depicting the loss of a baby, a miscarriage, perhaps, and how a mother grieves that loss.
The pain that a mother goes through, but how that pain also gives strength.
Based on the Author’s Note, Holmberg does not give any indication that that was the inspiration. She talks of this story being about light and dark and how she was in a dark place and the light pulled her out.
If you were going to do a book discussion on this book, talking about the concept of light and darkness throughout the book would make for some interesting conversation.
God or god?
In a world created with gods, I can’t help but consider how Holmberg depicts these gods, the mortals’ relationship toward them, and the after life.
Here are a few quotes that stuck out to me that I’ll discuss after:
“Are you afraid, Ristriel?” “I am. But I am also free, and freedom is worth the fear.”
“Is that not what all mortals—all creatures—live for? That which brings the most happiness?”
“There is something peculiar about human beings and their need to worship. Their need to find hope outside themselves… It isn’t a bad thing, to seek hope when you cannot find it within yourself.”
“I had glimpsed the place I was meant to be, and I ached for it.”
“Were mortals so unimportant that gods and godlings alike didn’t think twice about our welfare? About what we wanted?”
“Talk with a god . . . I’d never have believed it before yesterday.”
Firstly, Holmberg went to BYU and states this in her acknowledgements: “thanks to God, who guides my paths and directs my inspiration . . . and may very well have been the One who carved the way out of darkness and pointed me toward Star Mother in the first place.” So… based on her schooling I would guess she’s Mormon but I’m not entirely sure on her theology.
I’m only wondering because the god that she creates in this book is a god who is far away and uncaring. A god who does not know all, see all, or is superior to all. Mortals do not have any relationship with the god other than to worship it and appease it with sacrifices. There is not reciprocity in terms of love or communication. There are many gods at varying levels of power in different domains.
The God of the Bible is very different. He is all-powerful, all-wise, all-knowing, and desires a relationship with His creation. He loves them and instead of mortals sacrificing to appease gods, God sacrificed himself for us, who have eternal souls, and offers us eternal life that is not based on our good works, or anything else we could offer Him. He is a God of justice, grace, mercy, and love. Talking with God is not an anomaly. He desires it of us.
And yes, human beings have a need to worship. And God has created a yearning for eternity in our hearts. We know we are not made for Earth, we are made for something more. We hope for something outside of ourselves. Whether we identify it correctly or not, we ache for heaven with our Creator. We may try to worship other things, people, or ourselves, but nothing will satisfy except He who created us for himself.
I recently read this quote from C.S. Lewis that applies well here:
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probably explanation is that we were made for another world.”
Many people live merely for happiness. But that pursuit is empty. We were made to live and worship God as our Creator, Father, Savior, and Friend. And that relationship is full of happiness and freedom.
And not fear. Perfect love casts out fear. Freedom is worth the fear? If I’m going to continue to overanalyze, then I’m going to challenge this statement. There is freedom in Christ and He overcomes our fear. ‘Freedom is worth the fear.’ This is an interesting statement to discuss.
So what’s the point of my critique? ‘It’s just a fantasy book in a created world, chill with the analysis’ you might be thinking.
I get it, and don’t get me wrong— I enjoyed the book!
But I can’t help but consider these differences and to be thankful and praise God for all of his attributes, to thank him that he is near to us, he cares for us, and he is actively working in our lives for our good.
And to her credit she says that love is truth, promise and sacrifice. Jesus is the way, the Truth, and the life. He sacrificed his life for ours and promises his righteousness and eternal life to us who receive his gift and trust in Him alone.
I’m not dissing her book, she just gave me a reason to praise my God!
Conclusion
Holmberg is a good writer. I’ve read The Paper Magician and most recently Spellbreaker. Creating worlds of magic, passion, and purpose is her specialty.
Also I was intrigued by the art aspect of this book— tapestry making— which has always been amazing to be that someone could do that!
If you like fantasy books, I think you’ll enjoy this. Once you get past those first sentences and get a few chapters in, it’s a page-turner. And it is a beautiful story.
Similar in content, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue explores the love affair between a ‘mortal’ turned eternal being and the devil. Star Mother far exceeds the power of that book in my opinion in both message, writing, and believability— if that can be a thing in the fantasy genre. (Read my really fun review of that book by clicking the link.)
I read Star Mother in like 2 days and lucky for me, I have Star Father, its sequel, waiting in the wings! Stay tuned!
**Received a copy via Amazon First Reads**
Share this book review to your social media!