''Sweet Starfire'' is a futuristic romance written by

Jayne Ann Krentz Jayne Ann Krentz, née Jayne Castle (born March 28, 1948 in Cobb, California, United States), is an American writer of romance novels. Krentz is the author of a string of ''New York Times'' bestsellers under seven different pseudonyms. Now, she ...

and released in 1986. Krentz likened the novel to a

historical romance Historical romance is a broad category of mass-market fiction focusing on romantic relationships in historical periods, which Walter Scott helped popularize in the early 19th century. Varieties Viking These books feature Vikings during the D ...

set in another world, and its success inspired her to begin writing historical romances under the pseudonym Amanda Quick.

Background

In the early 1980s, Krentz wrote several

contemporary romance Contemporary romance is a subgenre of romance novels, generally set contemporaneously with the time of its writing. The largest of the romance novel subgenres, contemporary romance novels usually reflect the mores of their time. Heroines in the c ...

s under the pen name Stephanie James. One of these, ''The Devil to Pay'', released in 1985, featured a heroine who wrote

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

novels. Readers enjoyed the small science fiction references in the story, inspiring Krentz to incorporate those elements into a romance plot.Pierce, p. 99. Before the 1980s, there was little overlap between the popular fiction genres of

romance novels A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Pr ...

and science fiction. ''

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...

'' (published in 1949) by

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalita ...

does feature a relationship set in a

dystopian A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

future. But beginning in the early 1980s,

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a ...

themes began to appear in some romances, but the novels focused primarily on the difficulties of assimilation as a conflict between the hero and heroine. Krentz's follow-up to ''The Devil to Pay'', ''Sweet Starfire'', was the first romance novel to fully embrace science fiction precepts. It launched the futuristic romance subgenre.Pierce, p. 98. The novel was initially released in 1986. It was re-released in 2002 in an omnibus edition with ''

Crystal Flame A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macrosc ...

''. Krentz credits these two novels with giving her the inspiration to write

s. She has since released more than a dozen bestselling historical romances under the pen name Amanda Quick.

Plot summary

The novel is set in a futuristic universe. The hero, Teague Severance, is captain of a starship that operates on the frontiers of the galaxy. Cidra Rainforest hires him to help her find a shrine built by the Ghosts, an alien race which has gone extinct. The shrine to hold the secret to perfect mental communion, which is highly desired among the sect to which Cidra belongs. The journey brings them to the planet Renaissance, where Teague battles an old enemy. Cidra saves his life. The duo eventually find the shrine. Cidra discovers that she is not a true member of the sect - rather than seeking mental communion at all costs, she is a fighter, wanting a good life for herself. She joins Teague's sect. By now, the protagonists are in love and prepared to spend their lives together.

Genre

''Sweet Starfire'' is in some ways a classic romance novel. While on a journey, the heroine meets a man who is the opposite of everything she thought she wanted and by the end of the novel they have fallen in love. The novel is set in a futuristic world. The plot uses several tropes common to science fiction novels. The hero's home is in a remote part of the galaxy which is still becoming used to the idea of spaceflight. He is more rugged, physical rather than intellectual. Krentz remarked that the novel is essentially a

set in a different world.

Themes

The race the protagonists seek are revealed to be extinct because they essentially gave up on the messiness of life in favor of the ideal of mental harmony. They stopped bearing children, and the race died out. The heroine expresses anger that the Ghosts essentially gave up on continuing their line. She chooses to turn her back on the sect that also favors mental harmony in favor of one that values love and families and is willing to fight for those ideals. Critic

John J. Pierce John Jeremy Pierce (born 1941) is an American science fiction editor, historian and critic. Career Pierce published the science fiction fanzine ''Renaissance'' from 1968 through 1974, and was an outspoken critic of the New Wave. In the 1 ...

attributes this

Darwinian Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that ...

philosophy to the influence of

Robert Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...

, whose books were favorites of Krentz.Pierce, p. 100.

Reception

Romantic Times ''Romantic Times'' was an American genre magazine specializing in romance novel A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and Romance (love), roma ...

'' awarded the novel 4.5 out of 5 stars. Reviewer Tara Gelsomino praised the depth of the emotional relationship that Krentz created between the protagonists and the sexual tension that simmered between them.

References

Sources

*{{cite book, last=Pierce, first=John J., title=Odd Genre: A Study in Imagination and Evolution, publisher=Greenwood Press, year=1994, via=, location=Westport, CT, isbn=0-313-26897-5 American romance novels Paranormal romance novels Romantic suspense novels 1986 American novels Works by Jayne Ann Krentz