To Flail Against Infinity: The Stargazer's War, Book 1

I only read this book because I was waiting for a different one to come out. Wanted to fill the time. Yet I was greatly impressed with the quality of the story, the world-building, the attention to detail without being overwhelmed into minutia, and a number of poignant insights the author incorporated. While there is no such thing as a perfect story, this is one of the best ones I've read in years.

One of the best books I have read in a very long while. I love how this is a different take on a cultivation story, it lends itself to a truly unique story that will have you reading late into the night. I cannot wait for the next book!

I'm very pleasantly surprised by this interesting setting for cultivation. The writing is tight, with just one or two typo's and some puzzling sentence orders.Well edited, concise, gripping at times and thrilling. The main character is fairly likeable, the supporting cast is solid. There is victory, there is well thought out tragedy and ends with a hooks enough that you're looking forward to the next book.

The start of this book irritated me to no end. Give it a bit to breath and most of the pieces come together. Good characters and good fun I tried to buy book 2 but it’s not out yet so there you go.

The book is a unique take on Qi and cultivators. Flows very well and overall a great read. I highly recommend it. Just wish the author was faster so more books could come out!

I read this first on Kindle Unlimited, for free, and then turned around and bought it outright.The writing was impactful. I cared about more than just the struggle of the main character, but everyone else around him. I felt the pain of the losses that occurred.I read sentences and then re-read them again, to appreciate their ideas, their construction, and how they came together. There are paragraphs and pages that had real _impact_, that felt like they earned their place in the pages of this book.This is a cultivation genre book. Many books in this subgenre of fantasy, same as LitRPG, are "ok." I hand out 4 and 5 stars easily because writing is hard and many authors in this tiny part of the fantasy genre are way newer and have less support structures to grow books into more than what they start out as. That's why it's shocking to me how good this book is -- how incredible I found the prose to be. It truly makes me jealous of how good of a writer Valentine is.The main character, Cal, is a snarky guy; but the author found the right balance with his attitude such that it never became a drag on the character. The side characters, while maybe not as fleshed out as Cal right now, have enough personality that I can guess how they'll feel about something before they react. I also think that if the side characters stick around long enough, they'll be as interesting and well defined as Cal is.The story's setting is interesting and really sends the genre (cultivation) down a path I don't think you will find in many other books (at least not done THIS well) -- ie: a cultivation story told in space, in a sci-fi setting. In addition, its...not quite self-aware, but definitely pokes fun at tropes within this genre and then skillfully sidesteps them (or at least Cal does, most of the time) and tries to do something different, which always feels like a breath of fresh air.I could probably go on more about this book, but I don't think I need to, or want to risk spoilers. I have nothing bad to say about this book. If you like the cultivation genre, then you OWE it to yourself to probably give this book a shot. I'll be eagerly awaiting book 2 in this series, which hopefully doesn't take an eon to arrive. I'll probably also give J.P. Valentine's other books a whirl; having liked his style of writing so much.

If you don't want the deep mysticism of cultivation, it might not be for you. If you love the internal development of the cultivator, this has it, with a wonderful storyline and characters

The story starts strong and maintains that momentum until the end. I like the characters, and the story topics are well thought out and are actually relatable. I am looking forward to the next book if there is one.

I dont normally like cultivation stories, but this is one that doesn't follow the same old script. It's got both good humour and sad moments, which makes for a very good read overall.Definetely recommended!

I’ve read space magic. I’ve read space opera. I’ve read cultivation. I don’t think I’ve ever read space cultivation. The concept is novel, but just familiar enough that it was easy to understand. Caliban is a delightfully witty and cynical narrator, with his own struggles, motivations and dreams. He is also grasping at the realization that none of them matter. My only point of critique is that plot elements seemed a little…convenient at times. Less living world, more protagonist’s story. When plans failed, there were convenient backups ready to go. Encounters all seemed to have a purpose that didn’t extend beyond their plot-points.But the story was good enough that I don’t really care. I’ll be eagerly looking out for the next one.

If you like school and sci fi setting for a cultivation story, you will love this book.The MC is likable, his benefactor is surprising and allows for enough help at the start but no to the point of being OP.His friends are well described and interesting to follow. You soon root for them. Xavier is my favourite. There is a good mix of political and growth intrigue to make you turn pages to see how it is gonna end.The world building reminded me of the expanse true tech feel. In this book space is dangerous and humanity fears it. Space Travelling is long and boring.If you liked

Interesting MC , well written. If I must find something that I don't like is the fact that it is absolutely not credible that a soulship that lived thousands of years doesn't have the info and the resources to teach basic cultivation. It appears as a mode to set another academy story.

This was an incredible book. Novel system, my favourite ship ever, a fun MC and rather likeable side characters.Please do the world a favour and read this book so that the author is encouraged to write the sequel(s?). It feels like the start of an amazing story