Lucifer's Star by CT Phipps and Michael Suttkus is a thrilling science fiction adventure. Cassius Mass was once a member of the nobility and a great star pilot for the Crius Archduchy. After the loss of everyone he knew and cared for, he masked his identity and took a job as a navigator on an interstellar freight hauler. The closer he gets to the people he works with, the harder it is to keep his past buried. A series of events unravels betrayals, friendships, and a potential beginning.

CT Phipps and Michael Suttkus bring to life this world and these characters with charm, making characters that have done horrible things, characters that really shouldn't be likable, compelling enough to form a connection with. Cassius is a killer, and a lot of those he works with are too, yet I wanted to know what happened to them. It opens in battle, giving insight into the way Cassius thinks and what he experienced. It's nice to see how honest the writing is about the good and the bad of the protagonist. The characters are completely honest about their faults and their struggles, and you have to admire them for it. At its heart, Lucifer's Star is a story of redemption, from how to receive it to whether the characters even want it. It's full of twists and turns, with a hint of mystery and an intriguing premise. Each chapter leaves you begging for more. This isn't a novel you can put down easily. A perfect read for science fiction lovers!

Lucifer's Star by C.T. Phipps and Michael Suttkus is the story of a man who is trying to run away from his past, but it still catches up to him. The story follows Cassius Mass; he was once the man who was a war hero. He believed in his cause and he respected the side he fought for. He was the star pilot of Crius Archduchy and he fought for the cause; however, he soon discovered that whatever he fought for was a sham. He had to watch his nation crumble, his family and his love to serve his people disintegrate.

Ashamed of his past and the part he played in it, Cassius Mass is now surviving on drugs and alcohol to numb the pain inside him. Now he is living in a world that barely recognizes him; he has changed his name and identity and is making a living as an interstellar freight hauler. But something has changed in his life, something that he had lost all that time ago. He finds his will to fight and the people whom he wants to fight for. However, will he get the chance to do it? Can he redeem himself and build a new future?

Cassius Mass is a complex character that you will hate, love, hate and love over and over again. He is very well-developed so you cannot fault him in any way. He is very human and much like us and other people in our lives. He makes mistakes, takes responsibility for the mistakes, and works hard to redeem himself when he finds out that there is a chance for him. The story itself was well-paced and well-constructed; I loved the little details C.T. Phipps and Michael Suttkus added to Lucifer’s Star. This science-fiction read definitely has a place on my bookshelf. I absolutely loved it.

Lucifer's Star by C.T. Phipps and Michael Suttkus is not just another novel of mankind and its future! The story is built on a canvas transcending not only galactic space, but also the outer boundaries of imagination. The story begins with the chief protagonist Cassius Mass, who had been a great star pilot of the Archduchy on the planet Crius, languidly passing time as the navigator on an interstellar freight hauler, after the defeat of the Archduchy by the Commonwealth Fleet. Cassius is a wanted man, but he has concealed his true identity as a nobleman of the Crius Archduchy - disguised with a new identity and with his body and mind cybernetically enhanced to escape certain execution. His life changes in an instant when he is summoned to the bridge to be interviewed by Ida, the captain, who is a shrewd old woman known to be over 200 years of age. Ida presents him with an offer he cannot refuse – either execution or join her in a visit to the planet Shogun and in exchange have all his seized money returned for services rendered.

Cassius joins Ida and the action-packed story zooms ahead at breakneck speed. C.T. Phipps and Michael Suttkus introduce unforgettable organizations like the FSA, the Archduchy, the Commonwealth, and aliens like the Chel, the Elders, and many others into the tale as the reader turns the pages. Memorable characters and protagonists representing a wide range of beings from Bioroids to cybernetically enhanced people, AI, and deep cover agents surface and impact the story like explosions, never giving the reader a clue of what will come next. Clarissa, Isa, William, Janice, Zoe and many other protagonists arrive in extraordinary situations set in alien environments and leave indelible impressions on the reader’s mind.

Futuristic technologies which promise to be possible one day are introduced with good, plausible descriptions. Despite a plethora of situations of all kinds, ranging from love to pitched battles, the flow of the story is smooth and merges into the next scenario nicely. Dialogue is in plenty, helping the reader to associate with the protagonists. A memorable quote from the book: “Every soldier is a hero,” I said, staring at her. “The act of standing up for others makes you one.” Lucifer's Star promises to be a great future sci fi movie. Well written and certainly highly imaginative.