Back in 2020 I posted about space opera and Kate Elliott’s novel, Unconquerable Sun — which I highly recommended. It’s been a very long wait for the next book in the series, but I’m pleased to report that Furious Heaven was published last month in the USA and honestly, I think it’s even more impressive than book one.

I so admire the way Kate Elliott can imagine such a diversity of scenes and cultures, imbuing them with all the detail to make them feel real, while not bogging down the story with needlessly extended descriptions. But much more than that, her ability to create a wide variety of characters with complex internal lives is so impressive to me — and to do this in a wide-ranging novel that plays out on multiple stages from many points of view . . . well, simply put, this series deserves far more attention than it looks to have garnered so far.

I do wonder how much the list price of these novels has affected their renown. Tor puts high prices on their books — even the ebooks. Are most readers reluctant to spend $16 for a new novel? I’d really like to know, because if books sell well at that price, maybe I should be charging more for my own? 😉

For myself, I didn’t buy the print or the ebook edition. Instead, I used an Audible credit to get the audiobook version. The narration is very well done. That said, I suspect the story would be easier to follow in print — but if audio is your thing, go for it!

Below are affiliate links to Amazon, but you can find these books at your favorite bookstore or online vendor:
Unconquerable Sun
Furious Heaven

Posted on: Friday, May 19th, 2023 at 2:26 pm
Categories: Reading, Recommended Reading.