In principle, this is the sort of "New Model" space opera that I should be reading. In practice, though I liked the main character, and there was an adequate level of detail, I had two major issues. One, I just didn't find some of Enitan's personal relationships plausible. Two, I thought that the history and politics of the imperial conflict which ultimately drives the plot could have been better developed. Having damned with faint praise, I would like to compliment the author on their first novel from a leading publishing house, and I will be considering their work in the future. ( )

When her sibling is taken away, Enitan volunteers herself as a hostage to the Vaalbaran empire, where she hopes to discover what happened to to Xiang. While traveling to the capital, the Splinter, she is asked to spy for the Ominirish Republic, an entity who just had a treaty but expects more war from Vaalbaran, who already took over Enitan's homeland of Koriko.

If you enjoy speculative political intrigue, this is a good one to add to the list. The author has a lot to say about empire and colonialism, museums and stealing from other cultures. And sometimes, when it's set in a world that's not our own, outside of our own experiences, people will listen and ponder when they otherwise may not. That being said, it is a debut, and it's not a perfect read, either. Those themes are pretty transparent to the point of being on the nose and repetitive. And occasionally I'd be reading along and tripped up by a plot point or location. It was occasionally my fault in mixing up a character's name (there are a lot, and the Dramatis Personae at the beginning doesn't actually list them all), but I think sometimes it was just an awkward transition that I expect will get cleaned up as the author writes more. If she does, I will be very interested in seeing where she goes from here. ( )