Review - These Burning Stars (The Kindom Trilogy, #1) by Bethany Jacobs

 

Title: These Burning Stars (The Kindom Trilogy, #1)

Author: Bethany Jacobs

Pages: 465

Publisher: Orbit

Release Date: 17th October 2023

Blurb from Goodreads:

A dangerous cat-and-mouse quest for revenge. An empire that spans star systems, built on the bones of a genocide. A carefully hidden secret that could collapse worlds, hunted by three women with secrets of their own. All collide in this twisty, explosive space opera debut, perfect for readers of Arkady Martine and Kameron Hurley.

Jun Ironway—hacker, con artist, and occasional thief—has gotten her hands on a piece of contraband that could set her up for proof that implicates the powerful Nightfoot family in a planet-wide genocide seventy-five years ago. The Nightfoots control the precious sevite that fuels interplanetary travel through three star systems. And someone is sure to pay handsomely for anything that could break their hold.

Of course, anything valuable is also dangerous. The Kindom, the ruling power of the star systems, is inextricably tied up in the Nightfoots’ monopoly—and they can’t afford to let Jun expose the truth. They task two of their most brutal clerics with hunting her preternaturally stoic Chono, and brilliant hothead Esek, who also happens to be the heir to the Nightfoot empire.

But Chono and Esek are haunted in turn by a figure from their shared past, known only as Six. What Six truly wants is anyone’s guess. And the closer they get to finding Jun, the surer Chono is that Six is manipulating them all.

​It's a game that could destroy their lives and devastate the stars. And they have no choice but to see it through to the end.

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My Review:

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK*

In an empire that stretches across the stars, there is a deadly secret that could bring everything tumbling down.

Esek Nightfoot is dangerous and bends the rules to her liking. She is the heir to the family that owns possibly the most important resource there is - sevite, which allows interplanetary travel.

Cleric Chono was trained by Esek and has a complicated history with Esek, and her obsession with finding an illusive person called Six.

A hacker called Jun Ironway obtains information that threatens the Nightfoot family, and is on the run from Esek.

Will Jun evade her hunters?

Can Esek prevent her family's reputation being ruined?

I love a good sci-fi novel, and I liked that this one sounded political.

There were three protagonists - Esek, who was often unlikeable but a complex character; Chono, who was probably my favourite, but I did like Jun, and I felt sorry for the her and Chono.

The setting and world-building were interesting, and very detailed. There was a lot of information at the beginning of the story, and it felt a little like I'd been thrown into the deep-end.

The plot took a while to get going, and once it did things did get more interesting. However, I was never gripped, and the book felt a lot longer than it actually was. I did lose interest a few times throughout, but there were events that did make me re-engage with the story, and want to find out what happened next.

I probably won't read the sequels as I didn't feel that invested in what was happening. However, I would be interested in seeing what else the author writes next.

I'm disappointed that I didn't enjoy this more, but, unfortunately, it felt a bit messy to me.

Overall, this was a mixed read.