So, we come to the last Once Upon a Con series post. The newest book – Bookish and the Beast is out now. You have no more excuses not to pick up these geeky contemporary retellings.

Today I am focusing on the thing that connects them all.

Starfield

…and because I’m a geek here’s everything we know so far…

This post contains spoilers … you have been warned.

Starfield is a fictional cult science fiction TV show that spawned its own convention – ExcelsiCon, and is now getting a movie reboot (Starfield and sequel Starfield: Resonance and ?third film).

Each ‘Part’ in the each of books is proceeded by a snippet from Starfield.

In Geekerella – main character Elle’s father founded ExcelsiCon years ago and the story revolves around a cosplay competition with tickets to the Cosplay Ball and a meet and greet with the reboot’s star as the prize.

In Princess and the Fangirl – fangirl Imogen takes the place of Starfield star Jessica at her convention appearances which she tries to find out who is leaking the sequel’s script.

In Bookish and the Beast – a love story starts at the masked ExcelsiCon ball but the main story takes place elsewhere. In a library .. that has a complete Starfield collection.

Starfield Characters (and actors – current/original series)

Federation Prince Carmindor – Darien Freeman/David Singh

Black hair, chocolate eyes, brown skin, Blue uniform with brass buttons, shoulder pads with tassels, tails, and the Federation starwing insignia on the lapel, polished black leather boots, and gold crown of stars. Genetically enhanced with bones made of titanium. Heir to the throne of stars (?).

Princess Amara Avonrose – Jessica Stone/Natalia Ford/Ellen North (pilot)

Red hair in an Anorian braid, green eyes, (Galaxy Dress – glitter and dark purple dress – rich plum, soft and silky -yards and yards of it, like it could be made from the midnight sky and Starshine glass heels and gloves)

Starbright General Ambrose Sond – Vance Reigns/the late Arthur Boise

Long White-blond hair braided down one shoulder, pointed yet human cheekbones, gloved hands, golden eyebrows and sky blue eyes. Zealot of the Path of the Sun. Molten golden trousers. Lights embedded in his cape blink and sparkle, neon-yellow piping underneath his Noxian uniform (despite not being Noxian)

The Nox King – Robert Thomas Eddington/ ?

Black cape, giant ears, insignia of religion on shoulder. Amara’s father

Euci (Eucinedes) – Calvin Rolfe/Carl Thompson

Shark teeth. Carmindor’s wisecracking best friend/sidekick/navigator of the Prospero

CLE-o – not mentioned in reboot/Kiki Sanchez

A small robot

Zorine – casting not mentioned

Six armed, green skinned lesbian Llotivan with red eyes. Amara’s childhood best friend.

Noxian General casting not mentioned

Female

Obscura – not mentioned in reboot

Villain

Vexel Day – not mentioned in reboot

Villain

Ingarians – race of aliens mentioned in script

Voltures – race of aliens mentioned in script

Starfield Setting/Locations

Prospero – Carmindor’s starship

Skystalker – Ambrose’s ship

The Noxian Empire

Plylantha – Princess Amara’s home planet – purple and blue and green “a pearl of a World”

Metron – the South Side is meant to be good

Avaril Nebula

Arteysa Galaxy and its frozen tundra

Galactic Six and its moons

Velaris Six

Ziondur

Helix Nebula

Andomeda

Andromeda Earth – homewarld of the Federation

Mars Two

The Black Nebula – world sucking abyss

Starfield Exclamations

Look to the Stars. Aim. Ignite (said by Carmindor)

The universe/horizon is wide. And I have a kingdom to rule. (Said by Amara)

Look to the stars and chase your destiny.

I hear the observation deck is nice this time of year. Only on the south side of Metron.

Starflame – used in place of a swear

Noxballs – I think you can guess when you’d use this one

Sol – god.

The Promise-sworn – the Federation salute (pointer and pinky fingers out, middle two together, thumb down) – You and I are made of stars

ah’blen/ah’blena – m/f/ term of endearment – my heart/my other half

Earthenders – what people from the stars call anyone who prefers a planet (staying in one place forever, stuck in their narrow ways)

Stargunners – Starfield fans

Starcrush Me

Wabba Wabba (Not sure what this is but it is referred to in the context of coral ‘Wabba Wabba flakes”and Do you wanna Wabba Wabba with me!)

The Brinx Devastation – presumably part of the Starless Wars

The Federation – galactic government

Nox Knights

Joke: How do you get a one armed Nox out of a tree? You wave at it!!!

Supreme Intergalactic Empress/Highness

Solar Flux Capacitor

Calibrating guns

Path of the Sun – cult believes in harnessing the Black Nebula to become a god.

Music

Amara’s Waltz

Starfield Theme Song “Ignite the Stars”

Look to the Stars! Look to the stars and see! Find out where you belong! And fight for it, fight for it, fight for love in s Starfield. A star field, a star field of light.

And we reach the stars, the stars, forever in the stars, the stars

Reach into the stars with me, fly with me, forever …

“If I can’t Love her” – Ending song

Starfield Books/Novelisations ‘extended Universe Saga’

The Starless Throne by Sophie Jenkins (To atone for the crimsoned of the Twelfth Order, Ambrose Sond escapes his lifelong imprisonment in the Mines of Mourning and is sent careening into plot that may destroy not only the Federation but everything he once loathed – until he finds a reason to protect it. Amara wears a golden dress on page 347).

12 The Cassius Sun

37 Starfield, A Shot in the Dark by Almira Ender

73 The Noxian Guilt Series

The Star Brigade

In the Night Abyss

Starfield Forvever

The Broken Throne

To Nox and Goodnight

The Last Carmindor (final book before reboot)

Starfield: Resonance companion novel

Book titles mentioned but ? Starfield ones

Thrawn

Black Spire Bloodline

Heir to the Empire

Aftermath

Starfield Original TV episode titles

Elle suggests watching them in Chronological order rather than screening order – Ep 3, then 1, then 12, then 22 (Amara hates Carmindor, the Federation and the Interglactic Peace Treaty. She wants to make her father proud – then you see her redemption arc).

Ep 5 (The one where the general’s sawed off horns looked like boobs on his head according to Sage)

Ep 10 (The one with Carmindor in the shower)

Ep 13 “The Queen of Nothing” (The one where Carmindor and Amara first meet, and Amara has a braid in her hair)

Ep 14 “Better Space Than Never”

Ep 26 (The one where Carmindor was mind warped by a Nox)

Ep 16 (The one where the Nox king doesn’t wear a cape)

Ep 33 “A Nox to Remember” (The one with Amara’s coronation, a ball and kissing)

Ep 34 (The one where the Nox invaded District Elevan and Carmindor and Amara joined forces)

Ep 41 “Worse Than Death”

Ep 43 “From Amara with Love”/ “The Last Turn of Time” (depending on which book you read)

Ep 53 (The only episode in which Carmindor smiled)

Ep 54 ‘Black Nebula” (The episode Stargunners say didn’t happen)

Unnamed Ep (The one where Euci becomes possessed by the Balu’atho, an ancient Noxian blade, and goes bonkers)

Three Ep arc where Amara can’t be conscripted to the Path of the Sun because of her part Noxian lineage. Saves Carmindor from its depths and traps Sond is a cryogenic chamber.

If you loved the Once Upon a Con series here’s what to read next:

Unconventional and Theatrical by Maggie Harcourt – the UK’s version of Once Upon a Con with its own fictionalised franchise – Piecekeepers.

Fangirl and its spin off Carry On/Carry On Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell. Fangirl even gets a mention in Bookish and the Beast.

The Fandom and The Fandom Rising by Anna Day – in this series the characters even get transported to their fictional fandom’s world “The Gallows Dance”.

I have everything crossed for more spin off series based on the author’s own ‘in-story’ fictional worlds.

In the meantime…

Look to the Stars.

Aim.

Ignite!