Title: Seven Devils (Seven Devils, #1)
Author: Elizabeth May and Laura Lam
Pages: 449
Publisher: Gollancz
Release Date: 6th August 2020
Blurb from Goodreads:
This
first book in a feminist space opera duology follows seven resistance
fighters who will free the galaxy from the ruthless Tholosian
Empire--or die trying.
When Eris faked her death, she thought she had left her old life
as the heir to the galaxy's most ruthless empire behind. But her
recruitment by the Novantaen Resistance, an organization opposed to
the empire's voracious expansion, throws her right back into the
fray.
Eris has been assigned a new mission: to infiltrate a spaceship
ferrying deadly cargo and return the intelligence gathered to the
Resistance. But her partner for the mission, mechanic and hotshot
pilot Cloelia, bears an old grudge against Eris, making an already
difficult infiltration even more complicated.
When they find the ship, they discover more than they bargained
for: three fugitives with firsthand knowledge of the corrupt empire's
inner workings.
Together, these women possess the knowledge and capabilities to
bring the empire to its knees. But the clock is ticking: the new heir
to the empire plans to disrupt a peace summit with the only remaining
alien empire, ensuring the empire's continued expansion. If they can
find a way to stop him, they will save the galaxy. If they can't,
millions may die.
My Review:
*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley*
Eris fought and
murdered her way to become the heir of a brutal galactic empire. But
then she faked her death and started working for the Novantaen
Resistance.
Eris's new mission
to slip onboard a spaceship and find out what the cargo is means she
will have to work with her former friend Cloelia, who hates Eris with
a passion.
When Eris and Clo
find three women who want to escape from the empire on the ship, they
discover a plot that could lead to the deaths of millions.
Can the women work
together to stop the new heir to the empire?
Can they bring
themselves to go back to the very empire they just escaped from?
When I heard that
Laura Lam and Elizabeth May had co-written a sci-fi book that was
pitched as Mad Max in space, I immediately wanted to read it.
I liked all of the
main characters, who were all very different people and had been
through a lot, but Eris was the one whose chapters I looked forward
to the most. She was an intriguing character and, despite all the bad
things she had done, I couldn't help but like her because she was
trying to be better.
The setting was
interesting, as were the concepts in the book such as the One - an AI
that the head of the empire used to control the citizens. It was a
bit scary how much the One influenced people, and just how deep the
programming went.
The villain of the
book, Damocles, was Eris's brother and the new heir. He was very easy
to hate, especially after a certain thing he does towards the end of
the book. Some villains can be quite two-dimensional, but with
Damocles I could really feel his motivation.
There was a lot of
diversity, which I liked.
The plot was
interesting and held my attention. Sometimes longer books can drag
for me, but in this case I didn't have any issues with the pacing.
While I did guess a few of the plot twists, there were some I didn't
see coming.
I enjoyed reading
the different points of view and, despite there being quite a lot of
them, it didn't feel like there were too many.
I also liked that
some of the chapters were set in the past, so we get to find out more
about the characters.
The writing style
was easy to follow and I didn't feel like there were any info-dumps
or times when I had no idea what was going on.
While I wasn't
gripped or blown away by the book, I found Seven Devils to be an
enjoyable read.
Overall, this was an
enjoyable read that I would recommend.
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