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Distantly Falling Stars
Seti, a civil servant at the Office of Information, is selected by the government for an important mission to retrieve a cluster of 'fallen stars' with very special, and very secret, properties.
But why has he, a lowly clerk, ambitionless and without influence as he is, been chosen? And just who wants these particular stars so much they'd murder for them?
As Seti becomes more and more involved in the machinations of shadowy figures, he realises he has his own personal mission to fulfil. A mission that has nothing to do with the one he was selected for.
This bronzepunk adventure is free-to-read on Wattpad.
But why has he, a lowly clerk, ambitionless and without influence as he is, been chosen? And just who wants these particular stars so much they'd murder for them?
As Seti becomes more and more involved in the machinations of shadowy figures, he realises he has his own personal mission to fulfil. A mission that has nothing to do with the one he was selected for.
This bronzepunk adventure is free-to-read on Wattpad.
- GenresScience Fiction
42 pages, ebook
Published January 1, 2019
12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 30, 2023
How do I review the novella of a (Goodreads) friend? “Never again” or “very, very carefully” immediately came to my mind when I pondered reading Berengaria Di Rossi's “Distantly Falling Stars”. Especially since Berengaria with a down-to-earth attitude, sensible reviews and interesting reads as well as - obviously - an impeccable taste in (Goodreads) friends, has long earned my respect.
So it was with a healthy portion of trepidation that I started reading this - and quickly started breathing freely because, thankfully, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this short novella.
Seti, a “puny scribe” from ancient Egypt is forced on an expedition to recover some “distantly falling stars” in a race against (or possibly negotiating with) the Babylonians.
There are some supernatural aspects which I usually don’t like but these made sense in the setting of the novella and weren’t too intrusive. The story itself was short and suspenseful - I wouldn't label it as a thriller, contrary to the blurb's description but it definitely quickly captured my interest and never lost it.
This is made even easier by Berengaria’s clear, concise, and unadorned writing style and a very clear idea of the intended direction of the story.
I was also a bit worried about the “Bronze punk” part of the blurb but that was also completely unfounded: I found amusement in the inclusion of ships with turbines in ancient Egypt but since all of these devices felt like natural parts of the story and not - as they often do elsewhere - like forced extensions in order to make a story appeal more to modern readers, I wasn’t bothered at all but rather entertained.
Since this can be read for free on Wattpad, there’s no reason not to give it a read!
Five out of five stars for an unblemished delight of a story.
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Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam
So it was with a healthy portion of trepidation that I started reading this - and quickly started breathing freely because, thankfully, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this short novella.
Seti, a “puny scribe” from ancient Egypt is forced on an expedition to recover some “distantly falling stars” in a race against (or possibly negotiating with) the Babylonians.
There are some supernatural aspects which I usually don’t like but these made sense in the setting of the novella and weren’t too intrusive. The story itself was short and suspenseful - I wouldn't label it as a thriller, contrary to the blurb's description but it definitely quickly captured my interest and never lost it.
This is made even easier by Berengaria’s clear, concise, and unadorned writing style and a very clear idea of the intended direction of the story.
I was also a bit worried about the “Bronze punk” part of the blurb but that was also completely unfounded: I found amusement in the inclusion of ships with turbines in ancient Egypt but since all of these devices felt like natural parts of the story and not - as they often do elsewhere - like forced extensions in order to make a story appeal more to modern readers, I wasn’t bothered at all but rather entertained.
Since this can be read for free on Wattpad, there’s no reason not to give it a read!
Five out of five stars for an unblemished delight of a story.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Mastodon | Instagram | Pinterest | Medium | Matrix | Tumblr
Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam
February 14, 2022
A mere scribe in Ancient Egypt is thrust into a top secret mission after catching the wink of an oracle. But why him?
Seti must navigate his own metaphoric journey against the current of stronger and more potent forces. The stakes are high. One mis-step and he could end up mince meat. Who can he trust?
This story artfully took me on a personal tour of Ancient Eqypt. The rich descriptions of the people and places down to their wigs and structures felt so real. What a time to be alive. Unless you’re a slave of course.
I liked the mystery and clues provided by the author. I was constantly guessing my way through the pages trying to figure it all out.
This book would appeal to many types of readers, especially to those who like history and mysteries. I recommend it!
Seti must navigate his own metaphoric journey against the current of stronger and more potent forces. The stakes are high. One mis-step and he could end up mince meat. Who can he trust?
This story artfully took me on a personal tour of Ancient Eqypt. The rich descriptions of the people and places down to their wigs and structures felt so real. What a time to be alive. Unless you’re a slave of course.
I liked the mystery and clues provided by the author. I was constantly guessing my way through the pages trying to figure it all out.
This book would appeal to many types of readers, especially to those who like history and mysteries. I recommend it!
December 20, 2025
Having read other fiction by Di Rossi, I had no concerns that I would be disappointed by this novella. “Bronzepunk” (or steampunk or any other kind of punk) is not normally a genre I would be drawn to, but I was confident I’d be in good hands.
What I hadn’t expected was to be drawn into the story so quickly and completely! Di Rossi’s depiction of ancient Egypt, enhanced by the “punk” elements, was spot on. The setting was both backdrop to the story and the focus of the story, and neither got in the way of the other. I once heard someone praise Dickens with the comment that “he may take three pages to describe a teapot, but in the end, you really know that teapot.”
No need for three pages to describe any artifact in this story. All the objects, people and environments came across smoothly and naturalistically. It wasn’t difficult to get a handle on the protagonist, the “puny scribe”, Seti, or any of the other characters.
And I loved Seti! A man seemingly selected at random for a secret mission, he determines fairly readily that he is to be a pawn. It takes longer for the full nature of the mission and his role in it to become clear, but he’s a clever guy with some special gifts and makes his way through.
It’s easy to give 5 stars to this one. As with other writings by Di Rossi, it’s beautifully self-contained with no loose ends or unintended ambiguities.
What I hadn’t expected was to be drawn into the story so quickly and completely! Di Rossi’s depiction of ancient Egypt, enhanced by the “punk” elements, was spot on. The setting was both backdrop to the story and the focus of the story, and neither got in the way of the other. I once heard someone praise Dickens with the comment that “he may take three pages to describe a teapot, but in the end, you really know that teapot.”
No need for three pages to describe any artifact in this story. All the objects, people and environments came across smoothly and naturalistically. It wasn’t difficult to get a handle on the protagonist, the “puny scribe”, Seti, or any of the other characters.
And I loved Seti! A man seemingly selected at random for a secret mission, he determines fairly readily that he is to be a pawn. It takes longer for the full nature of the mission and his role in it to become clear, but he’s a clever guy with some special gifts and makes his way through.
It’s easy to give 5 stars to this one. As with other writings by Di Rossi, it’s beautifully self-contained with no loose ends or unintended ambiguities.
February 24, 2022
Wow, a very interesting and exciting work of what I might call Egypt-influenced fantasy, with a wonderful sense of mystery and wonder about it, as is found in the best work of this type. It brought me back to a lot of the magical fiction I read in the past (I have a pretty large collection of it), mostly work from the 1920s to 1940s, many with similar Egyptian themes.
These types of stories are difficult to pull off, mostly because of timing issues, but the pacing was excellent and so were the descriptions, there was never a boring or cringy moment, nothing fell too far into the sort of cliches that these types of books can have, it was consistently surprising and interesting. The main character of Seti is well-drawn, and his own mystery as to his fate becomes one of the reader's as well. I particularly liked the Egyptian magical color - the opening part of the book with the mysterious ball hovering in the air was the best part of the book, as was anything else related to this type of element.
Di Rossi's Wattpad prize for this work (against a lot of competition) was well-deserved, and one would hope this work would be taken in by a publisher for a wider distribution, and it stands up as well (if not better) than most of the work of its type one finds in the popular fiction sections of bookstores. It's not very long, and a nice little treat for an interested reader. Brava.
July 25, 2025
It is good to be underestimated... Or is it?
Berengaria Di Rossi's Distantly Falling Stars is a free story on Wattpad, that won the grand prize in a contest. It's described as a novella, but at 21,000 words, I'm inclined to call it, oxymoronically, a long short story. I don't really know what Wattpad is, and this is, as far as I know, the only Wattpad story I have ever read. It's a Bronzepunk story. If, like me, you have never heard of Bronzepunk, you will appreciate Di Rossi's explanation
The story, broadly speaking, is a familiar one. Our hero is Seti, an ordinary scribe whose job is to transcribe reports coming into a sort of information ministry, collect all the information, and make sense of it. He is a common man. He is drafted by powerful people related to Pharaoh to play a part in their schemes. They intend him to be the typical mushroom: keep him in the dark and feed him what mushrooms are fed.
But Seti is smarter than the plotters expect.
This is an old story: the fool whom powerful people try to take advantage of, but who turns out not to be such a fool as he appears. It's one I usually enjoy, and did in this case. If I have a complaint, it is that I didn't really understand the plots and counterplots that form the background for Seti's story.
Blog review.
Berengaria Di Rossi's Distantly Falling Stars is a free story on Wattpad, that won the grand prize in a contest. It's described as a novella, but at 21,000 words, I'm inclined to call it, oxymoronically, a long short story. I don't really know what Wattpad is, and this is, as far as I know, the only Wattpad story I have ever read. It's a Bronzepunk story. If, like me, you have never heard of Bronzepunk, you will appreciate Di Rossi's explanation
Bronze Punk is technology-based sci-fi set in Ancient Egypt. The plot and characters of this story are historically accurate to the time period (12th dynasty, Middle Kingdom), but the story features magic and a more advanced technology than they actually had at the time.(Apparently one cannot copy and paste from a Wattpad page -- very annoying.) So Bronzepunk is to Bronze Age Egypt as steampunk is to Industrial Revolution England.
The story, broadly speaking, is a familiar one. Our hero is Seti, an ordinary scribe whose job is to transcribe reports coming into a sort of information ministry, collect all the information, and make sense of it. He is a common man. He is drafted by powerful people related to Pharaoh to play a part in their schemes. They intend him to be the typical mushroom: keep him in the dark and feed him what mushrooms are fed.
But Seti is smarter than the plotters expect.
This is an old story: the fool whom powerful people try to take advantage of, but who turns out not to be such a fool as he appears. It's one I usually enjoy, and did in this case. If I have a complaint, it is that I didn't really understand the plots and counterplots that form the background for Seti's story.
Blog review.
February 12, 2022
This is a very short read and move at a good pace. I was definitely intrigued to read what would happen next. The ending IMO should have been left as a cliffhanger, it wraps up the book but I think it took the easy way out. Ancient Egypt, falling stars, gods/goddesses and humans interacting, destiny, This definitely has the possibility to be a series of books.
I had so many questions, after the main character was thrown over board the ship, why didn't the ruling class ever have him report back to the palace? Wouldn't they want a debrief? Why didn't they give him riches for finding the stars? Why didn't they want him back in the palace since he was a sensitive? Who attacked their boat?
I had so many questions, after the main character was thrown over board the ship, why didn't the ruling class ever have him report back to the palace? Wouldn't they want a debrief? Why didn't they give him riches for finding the stars? Why didn't they want him back in the palace since he was a sensitive? Who attacked their boat?
March 2, 2022
Distantly Falling Stars is an excellent fantasy novella set in an alternate ancient Egypt where gods/goddesses still exist. Di Rossi did her homework quite well on ancient Egypt and had great attention to details that I never knew existed. The story has great twists and turns to it and an ending that I really didn't expect but enjoyed none the less.
Di Rossi has a great talent for writing and I expect to see her win many more contests. I would love to see a full length novel from her too.
Di Rossi has a great talent for writing and I expect to see her win many more contests. I would love to see a full length novel from her too.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews