An intricate, action-packed interplanetary ride that will excite SF fans.
An SF thriller focuses on a Venusian actor who finds himself in deep trouble.
Something is rotten in colonial Venus. People are separated into castelike groups—hedonites and reformers—and Hix falls in the first category. Once a child of the Venusian slums, Hix grew up to become a famous actor with the nickname Falcon Fire. But his status is less celebrated when readers first encounter him, as he is being held prisoner on an “interplanetary transport ferry” called the Zephyr Spear, heading to Earth’s orbit for a “surface core extraction” mission. Hix is accused of multiple crimes—such as commandeering an airship—but the manslaughter charge for the death of his love, Shawna, is iffy. While Neeva, Shawna’s sister, has been primed to become “Keeper of the First Colony heritage,” she is first tasked with overseeing the case regarding Hix. Hix quickly builds a crew of prisoners aboard the Zephyr Spear,and they form a plan to travel to Venus only to end up heading directly toward Earth. Neeva, meanwhile, in the midst of her investigation, contends with hedonite bombs, a potential reformer conspiracy, and her desire to track down Mel, Hix’s beloved sister. Otto’s story is part action thriller and part outer-space police procedural, but it’s peppered with heart throughout. This is shown in the evident love between Hix and his sister—most notably, in one poignant moment between the two—and in Neeva’s affection for Shawna and her profound loss. The prose is descriptive, which aids in the author’s extensive worldbuilding. Life on Venus for these characters is fully developed through Otto’s prose, to the point where certain terminology may initially be a bit confusing to readers: “A symbiont by the name of NM-198 has gone missing in the south pole psychanthropic network.” Similarly, the story sometimes offers a multitude of characters to keep track of, which becomes a tad daunting. Still, the author’s tale is thorough and engaging. Hix manages to be a hero worth rooting for without being too cheesy or reduced to an action trope. And Neeva, particularly when Otto details her backstory with her parents, is a strong and determined character while still remaining vulnerable and flawed.
An intricate, action-packed interplanetary ride that will excite SF fans.Pub Date: March 22, 2022
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 468
Publisher: Sagis Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 11, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A cleverly titled, cozy SF romance that marks Thorne as a writer to watch.
After purchasing a dilapidated, century-old starship called the Destitute, Torian Razner discovers that the moss covering it is, in fact, a deeply sarcastic sentient computer with abandonment issues.
Torian’s sister, Celise, is dying. Determined to save her life by getting her to a distant planet with air she can breathe, Torian ignores her former captain Amelia Perrosk’s warning that it’s an impossible task (along with any romantic feelings she might have for Amelia). Using the only ionite bars she has to her name, Torian purchases an ancient, moss-covered alien starship that appears to be on its last legs, so to speak. She hardly expected the moss to be a sentient computer or for it to hold a century-old grudge against its former alien captain. Moss quickly proves itself to be acerbic, intelligent, and rightly angry after being having been left behind for 100 years by its former captain. The two form a reluctant and surprising alliance, Torian proving to Moss that not all captains are “dog-turd fungus,” and they both gradually evolve into the best versions of themselves, human or otherwise. It’s obvious from the early pages that Thorne has crafted a story tailored to fans of Becky Chambers’ Monk & Robot series and Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries. Falling somewhere between the two, this is a delightful mashup of romance, found family, and a touch of violence as Moss grapples with its feelings about its former captain and the unexpected kindness that Torian shows. Sweet without being overly saccharine, it’s a book for readers who want the adventure that comes with the vastness of outer space without its harsher realities.
A cleverly titled, cozy SF romance that marks Thorne as a writer to watch.Pub Date: July 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781250414144
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bramble Books
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
Fast-moving fun from start to finish.
A hijacked laser weapon threatens to ignite World War III.
The U.S. is testing the EAGL, or Enhanced Aerial Gunnery Laser, an airborne defense system that annihilates anything it hits. It’s so fast it “can shoot down a hundred ballistic missiles before they leave enemy territory,” it never runs out of ammunition, and it will “make ballistic missiles obsolete.” But a traitor named Ridley Wiles hijacks the plane that carries it, and he kills the crew. Radar contact is lost, and National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) salvage experts Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala undertake an urgent mission to find or destroy the EAGL before Russia or China lay their hands on it. Meanwhile, a smuggler named Ahab who specializes in dumping toxic waste is dying. He blames Kurt and Gushan, an officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and would like nothing better than to cause World War III before he dies. The action and excitement are damn near constant. The U.S. and China have begun joint operations on certain projects, and Kurt and Joe save Gushan’s life—barely—in the prologue. But Gushan’s superiors may later order him to hunt Americans down and kill them. He knows he owes his saviors a debt, but he is also loyal to his country and to the PLA, so he has a dilemma. The heroes are all that NUMA series readers have come to expect—smart, honorable, and resourceful under life-and-death pressure. They face attacks on the NUMA vessel Lyra, try to save a sinking ship, commandeer a cargo plane—Joe can fly it, but isn’t so sure about landing it—and hope Ahab doesn’t blow it out of the sky. As always in this series, the story is a high-stakes, brace-yourself adventure with admirable heroes who don’t shy away from the next challenge.
Fast-moving fun from start to finish.Pub Date: June 2, 2026
ISBN: 9798217184972
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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