How do you write a review for an on-gonig series? How do you write a review for a series admitted by the author to be his life's work (and evidently he took it literally - he's going to milk it for his whole life so what's a 10 year hiatus?)

Five Star Stories is as much an avenue expression for Nagano Mamoru as a work he produces. Imagine expand one's imagination as much as you can, settings with time lines in tens of thousands of years, beings akin to gods and you have the canvass that is the Five Star Stories. There's love, betrayals, tragedies and comedy. Sweeping landscapes, Mortar Headds with graceful lines and elegant movements adorn the pages.

The Joker star cluster consists of 4 planetary systems with the fifth that orbit and intersect the others every many years. Remenants of an ancient inter-glactic empire, the many nations that exists now uses large bio-mechnical machines called Mortar Headds in war. These are in turn only pilotable by headliners, those who inherit a trace of the genes of the super soldiers of the long lost empire, and their fatima partners - humanoid androids that act as an interface between the headliners and the Motar Headds.

Each book consists of mini-stories of the inhabitants of the Joker Star Cluster. Wars, espisonage, rebellions abound. Five Star Stories, is simply stories of the headliners and their fatima partners, until the end of their age.

I cannot give anything but a 10, because there's no other way. At times parts can be inconsistent (the series has been running since the early 80's) as the vast collection of settings can be confusing even for the author. This is however not a plot driven work - instead, entrust with Nagano to reveal bits and pieces about the legends of fatimas and their masters.