Some Desperate Glory

Some Desperate Glory is a space opera set after Earth's destruction. Gaea Station, home to a radical group of warbreed humans, has pitted itself against the majo race, the ones who annihilated their homeland. Without spoiling anything, the novel is a whirlwind of moral turmoil, intergalactic politics, and the Wisdom's immense power over all of existence.

Valkyr, our ornery and entitled protagonist, is tough to love but easy to understand. While there were times I wanted to throttle her for being so short-sighted and petty, I often felt she desperately needed a hug. Mags and Avi were fun characters, and I believe their presence really rounded out Valkyr's dominating personality. However, Yiso (the majo prisoner), was my absolute favorite of them all.

It took me about 100 pages to really get into the story, but after that I was hooked. The novel is formatted into five parts, and by the false peak, I couldn't put it down. The science behind the tech is wonky, fascinating, and certainly absurdist if given much thought... but it's still done with finesse and ingenuity.

I recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys space operas, crazy space tech, or complicated friendships.

From time to time, humanity is gifted the formation of a writer of such unimaginable capability and spirit that their work may reorient our past and reshape our future. Science fiction has had no shortage of such writers: Verne, Asimov, Le Guin, to name only a few — and now Tesh.

While this is her debut novel, it is obvious that Emily Tesh has refined her craft for much longer than the writing of one novel. This book is a finely-wrought masterwork with the precision and efficiency of Traviss, the soul and insight of Le Guin, and a creativity and compassion all her own. I cannot wait to delve into her prior work and to see what she creates next.

Heed the content warning at the beginning of this book, though it's not as bad as it could be. But if you have any interest in antifascist military sci-fi, in what it means to fight injustice in a hopeless world, or just a good damn book, give it a read.

And if, by some twist of fate, Emily Tesh ever reads this review: thank you. I didn't even realize there was still a Gaea inside me, and now I know what to do about it.