Empress of Forever -- Max Gladstone -- 2019

 

Our Heroine, a software baron (who actually knows how to code -- talk about science fiction!), flees dark forces in a near-future Earth only to be yanked into a strange universe populated with highly evolved, cyberneticly enhanced human-like races. The action gallops along briskly in a strange and original setting. It's pure Space Opera with an evil Empress, a marauding galaxy-consuming alien entity, and rivals who hurl titanic energies against each other. One action sequence follows another as our Heroine and her allies are battered, bruised, and tortured, miraculously recover, then move on to another girl, another weird planet. But before concluding in the somewhat underwhelming final conflict, our Heroine learns to overcome her selfish, controlling tendencies and place her trust in the ability and loyalty of the odd collection of friends she's gathered during her journey.

It's an enjoyable and well-written tale, but it runs a little long. Shaving off 20% probably wouldn't have hurt it one bit. Also, the reveal of two main interconnected mysteries (one of those already a cliche by publication date) will probably be guessed by the reader early on. But if you're a fan of galaxy-hopping planet-busting Space Opera (think "Star Wars" as scripted by William S. Burroughs), give it a try.



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