Starbreaker: Volume 4

Starbreaker

By: Luke Chmilenko

Narrated by: Neil Hellegers

“Quake thee with thy tyrant’s gift.

Soulless flesh bars paths you seek.

Blossom wide the heart of stone.

Starbreaker awaken what lies beneath.”

—Prophecy of Aion Origin

The Blood Now Calls to Sylvas

The unimaginable has happened. Sylvas has taken in War, Blood, and Strife and bound it to his heart. A feat that has seen the Empyrean Alliance plucking him from the comforts of the Ardent and pulling back the veil that once masked everything. Now, for the first time ever, Sylvas can see his place in the galaxy, standing between the threats that seek to unmake it.

And make no mistake, they do seek to unmake it.

©2025 Luke Chmilenko (P)2025 Audible, Inc.

The MC is a skizoid of his own making

From book 1, the MC had a nervous breakdown due to his traumatic part in the death of his world along with his sardonic love interest, Sylvas created a split personality of her in his mind as a way of coping with horrors he witnessed. This was an interesting aspect of the series until book 4 where his ghost in a cranium rebelled and wanted body-sharing rights which, Sylvas obliged, if reluctantly. This was a bit off-putting since she wasn't the personification of his girlfriend but one he constructed based on his limited interactions with her. So, Slyvas is now allowing this self-imagined second self switch to a female persona of his imagination. This makes the MC mentally unstable and changes the whole relationship and, not in a good way.

The actual story follows a somewhat predictable trajectory but with the addition of another mentor-character and another addition late in the novel.

I will probably continue the series, at least for another book but the whole duality personality aspect is making Slyvas much less interesting.

Neil Hellegers' performance kept me listening even through the Sylvas' mental lapses.

Finally

Author is finally coming into his own with world structure and character development. It’s getting good! And come on, Neil H. Is one of the most underrated narrators in the business.

Why?

I’ve loved all the books up to this point. Overall I am content with the story going the way it has, it’s grown and the power of the characters is fascinating! The world that has been created is so interesting as well.

Sadly not all is good. The paradigm that brought Mira or a version of her back to haunt Sylvas every waking thought is a great annoyance. Especially now that she gains control. This is very unsettling and off putting. She basically forced her way into being him and then takes actions that are antagonistic. Overall I am very much against this latest decision and probably won’t continue the books if this is to be a common theme. This split personality and obvious mental illness is not something I want to waste my time with.

Voice acting was good though.