Cooper "Coop" Douglas has been a part of many things in his past: questionable trading, Pre-salvaging (which is a kind of stealing) and conning/lying/misdirecting almost daily, but never has he stumbled upon something so big that it could change the universe forever. In THE TANGLED STARS, by Edward Willett, "Coop" has evidence that the MASTT space tunnel system that imploded and rocked the universe over a hundred years ago is beginning to reform and he wants to take advantage of it to pay off his debts and reset his status in the universe. Each plan he makes seems to not go quite right and he has to make a new plan, with each one more dangerous than the last. Can Coop, with the help from his AI enhanced cat, an old flame, and a motley crew of other pirates and criminals, prove to all of existence that the MASTT system is in the early stages of viability again and reap the benefits he so desperately yearns for, or will he get caught and imprisoned or killed in the process?
Willett has created a vibrant, intricate future with very specific details that really enrich the story. Coop is great as a lovable scoundrel who tries to do the right thing, even though can't help but be a little greedy along the way. The book settles into a rhythm, where a problem in the plan causes Coop and his group to make a new plan, then a problem arises and another new plan must be created and so on. A little repetitive, but the unique solutions and twists in the story keep it fun. Coop's old flame, Laysa Grey, is along for most of the ride and I wanted to get to know her a little better; she seemed a mystery in her motives at times and other times almost wishy-washy in her convictions. The supporting characters, human and AI both, added colorful layers to the plot throughout the book.
Willett's book is really one long mission for a man to find his way to a better life and I really enjoyed going on that mission with Coop Douglas.
Thank you to DAW, Edward Willett, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ( )

The Tangled Stars is a space opera following Coop, a thief; his cop-slash-revolutionary ex, Laysa; and Thibauld, an AI-uplifted cat, trying to make the journey from one solar system to another. On the way, they need to steal a ship that can make that journey, avoid the space-cops, and keep a loan shark with a grudge from swiping said stolen ship - sometimes all simultaneously.

Like others, the AI cat was what drew me to this book. I generally prefer my sci-fi on a TV screen rather than a book, but for a cat as a main character, I was willing to give this a try - and I'm glad I did. Willett has clearly spent a lot of time crafting the world the characters inhabit, and it keeps the reader engaged in the story throughout. I never really felt like there was a lull in the action, or that the info-dumps were too excessive. While the human characters do seem to fall into cliche at times, the story itself felt fresh and new, and that kept this from being an issue for me.

I have two complaints, one more nit-picky than the other. The first is that there is a minor amount of continuity errors. An example of this is Thibauld shrugging in one chapter, and then chapters later it is mentioned that Thibauld is a cat and thus can't shrug. There are also a lot of pop culture references and idioms, which isn't a bad thing, but it did feel a little tedious having to read about how no one knows where they came from anymore. On the same token, there are things that don't really seem to make sense in a futuristic galaxy - are Christmas tree ornaments as we know them today still the same that far into the future?

The other thing I had an issue with is the fact that, after a certain point, the book relies too heavily on the plot. I find this happens often in genres like science fiction and fantasy, and while it may not be an issue for others, as someone who generally goes for character-driven stories, it might feel a little empty in comparison, especially considering that the characters do fit pretty snugly into archetypes. However, that's probably more a reader's issue than an issue with the book itself, and I'll fully admit to that.

Altogether, though, this was a fun read, and I'm glad I picked it up. It kept me reading and entertained to the end, and - assuming this is the first in a series - I would happily pick up the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and DAW for providing a copy for review. ( )

Willett, Edward. The Tangled Stars. DAW, 2022.
Edward Willett is a journeyman freelancer with 100 titles to his credit. He has written in several genres, but science fiction is his mainstay. The Tangled Stars is the first of his works to land in my queue, but it won’t be the last. It is an unabashed, old-school space opera that has fun with all the tropes. There was a network of interstellar spacetime tunnels that allowed us to colonize several star systems, but then 127 years ago the whole shebang collapsed. We meet our hero “Coop” Cooper is wakened by Thibauld, his genetically and cybernetically enhanced cat who houses the AI of Coop’s space salvage ship Ernest Cox. There is a collision warning. What follows is an adventure with multiple spacecraft, several snarky AIs, and more Star Trek references than anyone really needs. Tangled Stars is listed as a stand-alone, but Willett has left himself plenty of room to tell more stories in this world. 4 stars. ( )