2023 space-operatic SF. Earth was destroyed in the great war, and its
survivors scrape by on Gaea Station, an asteroid powered by the last
salvaged warships. Kyr, a genetically enhanced "warbreed", has spent
her life training for a chance to avenge the fourteen billion dead…
"While Earth's children live, the enemy shall fear us."
And if you think that starts to sound a bit like propaganda…
well, yes. Some of what's going on here is the process of
deradicalisation seen from the inside. Some of it is an examination of
the process of deriving an ethical approach to the world, something
everyone has to do if they aren't going to rely on a religion or
equivalent to do it for them, but something that's rarely discussed in
practice.
Alas, going into any sort of detail would be a major spoiler, so I
shan't.
I got a strong stylistic impression of Kate Elliott's Sun
Chronicles, though this book sticks with a single tight third-person
viewpoint. Kyr is not a pleasant person, particularly at the beginning
of the book, but Tesh is a trustworthy author, not someone who simply
assumes that casual cruelty is an inevitable part of being a hero.
Nobody has all the answers, but maybe some of them are gradually
moving towards that state, which is all one can really ask.
Great stuff. I'll look for more by Tesh. (Two fantasy novellas,
apparently.)
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