Kindle Edition Download from Smashwords (eBook) Amazon And the Stars Will Sing Category:  Science Fiction ISBN-10:  B0075G7GEA Type: Fiction Pages: 100 Copyright: Feb 2, 2012 In the far future, travel is made possible by controlled wormholes made in the fabric of space-time. Crystal, a young woman freshly graduated from university, finds herself on her first job aboard the base-ship 'Crossing Paths'. Workplace politics and a romance make it complicated. The last thing she needs are the frightening errors beginning to crop up on her maps...  In the far future, travel is made possible by controlled wormholes made in the fabric of space-time. Crystal, a young woman freshly graduated from university, finds herself on her first job aboard the base-ship 'Crossing Paths'. Workplace politics and a romance make it complicated. The last thing she needs are the frightening errors beginning to crop up on her maps... Excerpt "I knew we were safe enough; we had entered the kitchen’s back door, and about a hundred of us were hiding in there. A hundred waited as backup at the hind doors of the kitchen and another hundred waited before the doors. Remembering that gave me some form of confidence, but not much. From where we were, we could see the pirates and the floor. I was unprepared for what I saw in the cafeteria, and my nerves were badly shaken. As I gripped the gun, it began to slide through my sweaty palms..."

4.0 out of 5 stars The Sci-Fi Diaries,
'And The Stars Will Sing' is an action-packed sci-fi novella, told in diary format by a young woman named Crystal.

My first thought on finishing this novella was that it would appeal very well to a YA audience. I think teenagers would enjoy the way it's told as well as the characters and the story, as would sci-fi fans looking for something a little different in the genre.

Crystal's voice completely captivated my attention and kept me hooked throughout. Browne has a real skill for creating new worlds that are so different from the norm, yet so believable and compelling. In between the main action, there are snatches of humour, conflicts between the characters & a realistic romance that takes centre stage for a bit.

At times it felt as if the characters were a little younger than they were meant to be - I'm not sure if this was maybe intentional though - which is another reason I think YA readers would be attracted to this book. This wasn't a major thing, just something noticed occasionally while I was reading. It doesn't impair the story in any way.

If you like sci-fi, or enjoy an action-packed adventure read, you should pick up this book. I really enjoyed it and will be looking forward to Browne's next book.

5.0 out of 5 stars An Engaging and Skillfully-Constructed Novella
I don't read much science fiction these days. I find a lot of the books in the genre too derivative, sitting on the shoulders of the great science fiction writers of yore. I particularly get frustrated with the lack of attention to basic psychology, and hence to my mind a lot of character motivations and actions have no credibility or depth to them.

Sci-fi novels written in the first person have an additional challenge inasmuch as the technologies and worlds described by the narrator would be familiar to them while being unfamiliar to us. This presents the writer with a technical difficulty of conveying to the reader what is different to them without undermining the narrator's credibility. Imagine the situation of a current-day narrator describing a journey by train. Exactly HOW fascinated would that person be with how the carriage was laid out or the technology of railway tracks? The answer is not very, particularly if they'd already travelled by train hundreds of times before.

I am pleased to say that Michelle Browne handles these structural issues with apparent ease while engaging her readers in a compelling narrative along the way. The descriptions of the future are handled almost as asides (which is as it should be) without getting in the way of the story.

Ms Browne's narrator, Crystal Weiss - a copper haired Martian - is a delightfully snarky creation. "Glass" as she is known to her workmates is difficult, argumentative and with an offbeat sense of humour. By way of a diary, Weiss records her experiences as a mapper on a deep space project to create a wormhole for interstellar travel.

Without getting into spoiler territory, I will say there is plenty going on to engage the reader's attention. The only nit-pick I had with the storyline was a credibility issue as to why internal transporters would be left operational in a particular circumstance (I'm not going into detail on this, as it would give too much away).

The writing style is sparse and spiky, as befits the storyteller herself.

Well done, Michelle Browne. "And the Stars Will Sing" gets my vote for novella of the year, regardless of genre.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wormholes, aliens, and space pirates, need I say more?
I met the author Michelle Browne in my social media ramblings. She's a snarky, interesting girl, which pretty much describes her writing.

I have read A LOT of sci-fi novels and short stories. I subscribe to Analog magazine and enjoy every issue of it. This novella could easily have been a miniseries in Analog. It's top notch sci-fi. She has an easy-flowing narrative style in first person, essentially a woman's diary of her unusual work assignment aboard a wormhole mapping space vessel.

As the plot unfolds, the vessel receives a series of threatening messages from an unnamed source. The threat: If they continue their work on wormholes in that sector, they'll pay the price with their lives. The mapping isn't going well, unexplainable wormhole anomalies pop up where they shouldn't be. Something is definitely not right. Amidst this setting, our heroine is falling in love with a coworker, very much against ship regulations. Overall, it was a very interesting, creative, and entertaining read. My inner sci-fi nerd crept out from under its shell to smile.

I found it fascinating they actually map out and create or repair wormholes through space for interstellar highways. And the various different alien races that interact, sharing meals, relating to one another, bridging massive gaps of culture and language to find common ground. My only complaint is that it should have been longer. I would really like to see a full length novel of this quality sci-fi from Michelle Browne.