"Mason Stark has a problem with minding his own business. This worked to his advantage when he stole back his world from the alien Tremist. Now Mason is called upon to use that very curiosity as a spy at the Tremist school for soldiers. At least his best friend, Merrin, daughter of the Tremist king, is there to keep an eye on him. Mason's bound to find trouble, but with the Tremist working on a secret weapon, trouble may come looking for him instead.
In this stellar follow-up to The Planet Thieves, Dan Krokos imbues The Black Stars with all the tension and action that made his first middle-grade novel a gripping tale."
"The Planet Thieves is the first thrilling installment of a middle-grade series by Dan Krokos.
Two weeks ago, thirteen-year-old Mason Stark and seventeen of his fellow cadets from the Academy for Earth Space Command boarded the SS Egypt. The trip was supposed to be a short routine voyage to log their required space time for summer quarter.
But routine goes out the airlock when they're attacked by the Tremist, an alien race who have been at war with humanity for the last sixty years.
With the captain and crew dead, injured, or taken prisoner, Mason and the cadets are all that's left to warn the ESC. And soon they find out exactly why the Tremist chose this ship to attack: the Egypt is carrying a weapon that could change the war forever.
Now Mason will have to lead the cadets in a daring assault to take back the ship, rescue the survivors, and recover the weapon—before there isn't a war left to fight."