I saw this audiobook on Net Galley and I was immediately interested- A complex space opera with lots of political intrigue? Yes.
I was really glad to have an audiobook version, as I have had so many "eyeball" advanced reader copies lately/
This starts off strong with a pair of adventure seeking teens on Mars stumbling out into a restricted area and not fully appreciating the severity of their lark. The teens are punished and sent to a religious training order, which is really much better than what they deserve, but- they are both from high ranking families from different planets. Readers then jump between several other points of view as this Space Empire stands on the brink of rebellion. This novel is very reminiscent of Dune, so if you have been wanting more Dune (but not exactly DUNE) this could be for you. With a set up that is part Crusades, part Bridgerton, and part Roman Empire, there's a lot to occupy a reader's senses.
This was narrated by Eden Gabay. Gabay has a strong voice and I felt that the narration was excellent. It was clear, and easy to follow along with.
I wanted to love this novel, and I did start out really enjoying it. For me, the switching between points of view and also the timelines a bit made the narrative a bit more difficult to follow than I would have preferred. In addition, I found the lack of space details- for a Space Opera to be a bit unusual. Somehow Mars, Venus, and more have all solved the problems of gravity, oxygen and toxic solar wind fairly easily and characters are mostly strolling in water gardens without a care. For many readers this will not matter one bit, but it did stick out for me. Despite this, I still enjoyed this story of intrigue, scheming and dreaming and I think that it will appeal to many readers.
STATS
First Published
Pages:
Available as an Audio Book : Yes 14 hrs
Trigger Warnings: violence, murder, death, fire injury, parental death, child death, poison
(this is not a full list, read responsibly)
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