LILY STARLING AND THE VOYAGE OF THE SALAMANDER – HOW CHRISTIAN HURST GAVE SCI-FI ITS SOUL BACK - VORAKA.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN VORAKA

Article Published on 17 July 2025 by Kelley Rose | www.vorakamag.com Christian Hurst is an award-nominated author, Creative Director, and lifelong lover of science fiction. With over 15 years of experience in advertising, branding, and content strategy, he brings a unique blend of visual storytelling and emotional nuance to his work, whether he’s launching national campaigns or building fictional galaxies.

CHRISTIAN HURST

His debut novel, Lily Starling and the Voyage of the Salamander, is a lyrical, character-driven space opera that explores identity, memory, and what it means to belong. Praised by critics for its emotional resonance and inclusive worldbuilding, Salamander blends the cosmic scale of classic sci-fi with the tenderness of coming-of-age stories. It’s been called “a cosmic hug and a gut punch”—a fitting description for a book that is at once poetic, thrilling, and deeply human.

Christian’s storytelling draws inspiration from space opera classics, character-rich shows like Star Trek and literary voices like Ursula K. Le Guin and Octavia Butler. But he also credits life itself as his greatest teacher, from his years working with top brands to the quieter moments of fostering over 50 rescue dogs alongside his wife in their Baltimore home.

Outside of writing, Christian is a father, a visual artist, and a passionate advocate for inclusive storytelling. His young son has helped him develop a masterclass-level knowledge of SpongeBob, Minecraft, and the fine art of asking “why” about everything—skills that, as it turns out, are also helpful when building imaginary worlds.

He connects deeply with readers who’ve ever felt like outsiders, misfits, or dreamers. “I don’t write chosen-one stories,” he says. “I write about people who choose who they are, sometimes despite the systems around them.”

Currently, Christian is writing Lily Starling and the Storm Riders, the highly anticipated second book in the series. He also writes essays and serialized fiction on Substack, where he shares behind-the-scenes insights, short stories, and occasional bursts of philosophy disguised as sci-fi.

Whether through books, branding, or heartfelt interviews, Christian Hurst invites readers into worlds where hope, humor, and found family shine brightest, even in the darkest parts of space. ABOUT THE BOOK

LILY STARLING AND THE VOYAGE OF THE SALAMANDER BY CHRISTIAN HURST

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Lily Starling and the Voyage of the Salamander is a sweeping, emotionally charged space opera about identity, memory, and the families we choose, even across time.

When seventeen-year-old Lily Starling finds herself alone on the streets of San Francisco in 2010, with no memory of who she is or how she got there, survival is her only instinct. All she has is a strange metal tag with her name and a restless pull toward something she can’t explain. But when a ship arrives, an actual spaceship from the future and a group of uniformed strangers claim to know her, Lily’s life is upended.

Taken aboard the Salamander, a Union starship centuries ahead of her world, Lily is told that she was once a rising officer in their ranks, brilliant, brave, and essential to a mission meant to stop an ancient threat. But something went wrong. Her memories were lost. And the threat she was trying to stop, the psionic Krythar, is closer than ever to unleashing a weapon that could unravel the fabric of history. As Lily tries to reconnect with her past, she meets a crew shaped by secrets, scars, and quiet hope. There’s Alrek, a young man who lost his home and hides a rare strength behind his stillness; Datch, an android caught in the grey space between machine and personhood; the Raath-Ka, symbiotic engineers with unexpected heart and humor; Captain Calan, worn down by duty but not yet broken; and Xynn, a fierce warrior from a culture of prejudice, whose honesty cuts deep, and may yet win Lily’s heart.

Together, they navigate volatile alliances, moral dilemmas, and dangerous truths. With each step forward, Lily begins to uncover not just the pieces of who she was, but the shape of who she might still become. But trust is hard-earned, and time is running out. As the Salamander races against a shadowy enemy and internal doubt, Lily must choose whether to reclaim her old life or forge a new one, built not on forgotten memories, but on chosen truth.

Exploring themes of selfhood, loyalty, queer identity, and the power of found family, Lily Starling and the Voyage of the Salamander blends fast-paced sci-fi action with deep emotional resonance. It’s a coming-of-age story set among the stars, for anyone who’s ever felt lost and dared to find themselves anyway.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTIAN HURST

VORAKA: How did you balance emotional depth with cosmic adventure in your debut novel?

CHRISTIAN: The emotions came first, without them, there’d be no story. I’m using pulpy space opera as the lens to explore belonging, identity, and what it means to build your own place in the universe. The balance comes from grounding every twist in the character's perspective, so readers experience the journey and the emotional stakes, alongside Lily.

VORAKA: What inspired the themes of identity and belonging in Lily Starling’s story?

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