astronomy

Stars and Bones

Stars and Bones is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Stars and Bones rather than just read about it. In short: Stars and Bones is a science fiction novel by British writer Gareth L. Powell.

Key takeaways

Stars and Bones belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Stars and Bones to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Stars and Bones from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Stars and Bones is a science fiction novel by British writer Gareth L. Powell. It was first published in the United Kingdom in March 2022 by Titan Books, and is the first book of Powell's Continuance series. Stars and Bones is about the Thousand Arks of the Continuance, a fleet of sentient starships that are home to the entire human population who had been evicted from Earth by an alien intelligence known as the Benevolence, for slowly destroying their planet. Stars and Bones was nominated for the 2023 British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel.

Plot summary The Benevolence, an alien intelligence that observes and catalogues life in the galaxy, noted with disapproval the way humans on Earth were slowly destroying their world. To save the planet, the Benevolence constructed a thousand sentient spaceships or arks, and filled them with the entire human population. Each ark is an artificial world with Earth-like environments, and their inhabitants are provided with all they need in terms of provisions, equipment and resources. Seventy-five years later, the arks are adrift amongst the stars. Scout ships fan out ahead of the fleet to check for any threats or opportunities. The scouts also investigate planetary systems they pass for any signs of life and potential colonisation. But a visit to a planet called Candidate-623 stirs an unseen alien force which destroys the scout ship and dismembers its crew. After locating the scout ship's home base, the force begins to infiltrate and infect the arks, one by one.

Background Powell said in an interview that the idea behind Stars and Bones came from a comment he made to someone on climate change about "how good it would be if aliens came and sorted it all out for us." This led him to consider what could happen if something like that really did happen. Powell cited Iain Banks, Samuel R. Delany, Ann Leckie and Peter F. Hamilton as influences for the book's technology, and Michael Moorcock, Becky Chambers, Ursula K. Le Guin and Octavia E. Butler for the characters. Powell explained that he chose to set the story 75 years in the future "because I felt that was the farthest I could push it before the effects of climate change altered society beyond all recognition. And also because I wanted to make sure it was far enough from today that I'd be safely dead and gone before my predictions were proved false."

Critical reception In a review of Stars and Bones in Booklist, David Pitt wrote "[w]ith a strong heroine, some really imaginative supporting characters ... and a story that packs a serious emotional wallop, the novel spotlights Powell's gifts for character-building and plotting." Pitt added that with Powell having won several best-novel awards for some of his previous works, "it wouldn't be surprising to see this one getting a nomination, too." In a starred review, Publishers Weekly stated: "Powell balances plot, action, and character development perfectly. This promising start will especially appeal to James S. A. Corey fans." Writing in GeekDad, Robin Brooks described Stars and Bones as "a hi-concept monster thriller" with an unexpected "human core". He said the book's characters, including the ships' AIs, "are well-realized and interesting people". He called Eryn "a great narrator", and added that she is "a trademark Powell character", namely "[s]trong, independent, and sarcastic". Brooks concluded that "Powell shows himself to be the master of pace and setting, with great sci-fi concepts and impeccable dialogue."

References

External links Stars and Bones homepage Stars and Bones at Titan Books Stars and Bones title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Stars and Bones at FantasticFiction

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Stars and Bones

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Stars and Bones claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Stars and Bones before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Stars and Bones ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Stars and Bones

In research: Stars and Bones appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Stars and Bones in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Stars and Bones is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2020s horror novels, 2022 British novels, 2022 English-language novels, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Stars and Bones outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Stars and Bones in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Stars and Bones means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Stars and Bones out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Stars and Bones in simple terms?

Stars and Bones is a science fiction novel by British writer Gareth L. Powell.

Why does Stars and Bones matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Stars and Bones?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Stars and Bones.