CHILDREN OF SOLO

In Moore’s SF/fantasy series starter, a space pirate must complete a final mission to pay off a debt, but the ensuing heist only leads to more difficulties.

All Capt. Adi Crestone wants is to pay off what she owes to the Blood Queen and reunite with her son, 15-year-old Lucas, on the planet Tyre. She has just one last mission before she is set free: to steal the Thalian pleasure yacht Sidereal and recover the rare star key that’s hidden in its depths. However, it turns out that the artifact is far more powerful than Adi could have imagined and she realizes she’s in over her head. Upon arriving on Xys, a moon that orbits the gas giant Solo, she’s ambushed by members of a rival gang who steal the artifact. Before long, each of the moon’s warring gangs makes a bid for the item, and the arrival of a “void mage”—a follower of the emperor—forces Adi to team up with her surviving crewmates; her onetime captive, the noble Theo Vanguard; and her former lover Rehka in her quest to recover the key. Meanwhile, a young boy named Ion flees to Xys to join up with Adi’s crew and pursue action and adventure. Moore’s new series starts strong in this thrilling and action-packed entry which features a wide array of various genre elements, including swashbuckling pirates, interplanetary travel, political machinations, aethereal and astral magic, and even dragons. However, the story’s most impressive aspect is its complex worldbuilding, centered on a vast array of moons governed by a goddess and the many different species inhabiting them. This tightly woven narrative delivers a high-octane adventure with extreme stakes, but it’s the unforgettable characters that leave a lasting impact. That said, the novel seems to lose steam in its final pages, with much of the post-battle action feeling better suited to a sequel.

A fresh, dynamic debut that lays the groundwork for a promising series.