This review was first published by Booklist on January 1, 2022.

The Sisters of the Order of St. Rita are on the run in a new ship, hiding from the Earth Central Governance after the tragic events at Phoyongsa III. Their new Mother Superior is wilting under her new responsibilities, everyone is on edge, and no one knows what to do next. Then a new postulant requests to join the order, a sister’s past catches up to her, and the seed of anti-Earth revolution begins to blossom as rumors of the sisters’ actions spread through the outer systems. The sisters must decide their next move or have it forced on them. At the core of this story lies the struggle to maintain faith in the face of betrayal and disillusionment. People hide secrets, which change who they seem to be. The call to welcome strangers with open arms can present grave dangers. The desire for safety opposes the responsibility to act. Finding a path through the morass, a way to do the right thing, is complicated and messy. Rather’s follow-up to Sisters of the Vast Black (2019) is a deeply honest and empathic parable for our times.

This review was first published by Booklist on January 1, 2022.

Commander Hardy, Admiral McClennan, Seph, Princess Alessia, and their crews struck a decisive blow against the Sturm, but the war is just beginning. Humanity in the Greater Volume has been decimated, and the group is left searching for survivors to build an army to stand against an overwhelming enemy. But the Sturm may not be the most dangerous foe they face, as human greed and shortsightedness threaten to scuttle alliances before they can even start. The second entry in Birmingham’s Cruel Stars series (after The Cruel Stars, 2019) boasts all the best elements of its predecessor: absorbing conflicts with high stakes and believable antagonists, complex characters with rich relationships and effective emotional depth, and Birmingham’s magnificent world building. Whereas the first book was slightly marred by its overreliance on coincidence to set up the climax, that’s not the case this time, which makes it the stronger tale—and readers will be left craving the next one. This is a delightful military space adventure that runs at full tilt.

This review was first published by Booklist on January 1, 2022.

Expendables die. A lot. They’re people whose bodies and minds are stored and replicated as often as necessary. They do the deadly jobs that no one else can do. Mickey Barnes, an amateur historian and layabout, signed up to be an Expendable on a new colony ship to get away from some problems on his home planet. Now on his seventh incarnation, he’s left for dead on a mission on his new planet, but he survives—and now there are two of him. Duplicates aren’t allowed, though, so they need to hide their dual existence. And Mickey7 is the only one who knows that the local life-forms are sentient, and only he can avert an all-out war. Mickey7 is a fast-paced, character-driven, amusing romp of a tale. The concept is compelling and well developed, along with the backstory of how humanity spread out among the stars. Ashton crafts interesting characters and lets their relationships take center stage, and his world building is solid. This is an excellent choice for anyone who enjoys smart and funny science fiction.

This review was first published by Booklist on November 1, 2021.

**STARRED REVIEW** Leviathan Falls picks up where Tiamat’s Wrath (2019) left off: the Laconian Empire defeated, Teresa Duarte onboard the Rocinante with Holden and crew, and the ancient enemy of the gate builders seeking ways to destroy reality itself. The final installment of Corey’s Expanse series is its strongest yet. It’s a thrill ride of a tale, boasting the same kinetic momentum of the first book, with the highest possible stakes and profound emotional resonance. The story is masterfully paced and structured, filled to bursting with some of the genre’s best world building. One of the central themes is how individual selfishness sabotages the greater good. It’s easy to read this as a commentary on current real-world circumstances, but it is elevated into an exploration of universal truths. This book illustrates the greatest strength of speculative fiction: to imagine unique circumstances as strange mirrors to help us see ourselves more truly. Corey maintains an impressive balance between unflinching realism and hope, with no illusions about the myriad faults of humanity, but still holds a fundamental belief in the essential worthiness of people. This is a deeply satisfying and fitting conclusion to one of the best space opera series in many years.