Genre: Sci-Fi, Space Opera, Dystopian
Reviewer: Lucy
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About The Book
Django had everything he ever wanted… now he’s lost it all.
When Django uncovered an unexpected truth, he didn’t know it would end the lives of nearly everyone he cares about. Left only with his sister, his best friend and an uncle who has some unhinged ideas about what might exist outside of the space station Eclipse, he must follow the truth where it leads – even if it leaves him with nothing.
Mikka can’t escape her dubious past… and now must answer for past sins.
Mikka thought she had left her life as a notorious space pirate behind to care for her ailing mother, but the past comes knocking after her ship, the Redemption, answers a cryptic distress call.
Forced to face a deal she made with the devil years ago, Mikka has no choice but to step back into her old life and make another hesitant pact… with an eccentric pirate.
Django and Mikka’s paths collide as they embark on a journey that will shape the fate of a civilization built on half-truths and the backs of others. Rumors of civil war circulate through the Syndicate’s orbital empire, catching both Django and Mikka in the crossfire — where the stakes are far higher than they realize.
Neither is prepared. Neither is willing. But they will no longer be able to ignore the truth.
Eclipse is the explosive first book in the epic Fractured Orbit series. Perfect for fans of Red Rising, The Expanse and Firefly, ECLIPSE is an epic space adventure that’s part space opera, part dystopia. A dual POV, fast-paced read that’s filled with unlikely heroes, space pirates, and non-stop heart-pounding action!
The Review
This is a very well-constructed book, from the excellent writing to the riveting plot. There’s also exceptional world building and strong character development wrapped up in a solid plot. Eclipse delivers a new twist on a post-apocalyptic world in the construct of a classic science fiction novel.
The Earth was damaged by the Climate Wars and everyone was forced to evacuate to space stations and lunar colonies until the world could be healed. But on the orbital space station Eclipse, Django stumbles upon a horrifying truth. And in Django, the author has created an unlikely hero. He’s barely eighteen and is an underfed, scraggly farmer who knows about crops and not much else. This unlikely hero stumbles into an adventure he could never have imagined.
While Django is discovering the truth, former pirate Mikka is forced to work with people she doesn’t trust in order to save her mother, and herself. She wants nothing more than to scrape out a living on a tough world, and to try to outlive her past.
Steuernagel throws his characters into difficult situations, with barely enough hope to get through them. They are scrappy and scruffy, and not prepared for what is coming. The world they live in is harsh, with a stark divide between the haves and have-nots. Corporate greed has left millions stranded away from their home planet, and countless others have died to keep the secrets of the rich ruling class.
This was a fabulous book. Even when I suspected what was coming next, I was horrified to find out that I was correct. The breadth and depth of the deception and destruction caused by corrupt governments and corporate greed is staggering, and the element of realism makes it so very disturbing.
This is my first experience with anything by Steuernagel, but I’m definitely looking forward to other works by this author.
The Reviewer
I’m an avid reader who loves pretty much all genres except math textbooks. As a kid, my parents exposed me to everything from fairies, hobbits, and dragons to the biographies of interesting people around the world, interspersed with poetry, plays, and music. Into adulthood, I spent a lot of years with my nose buried in various textbooks. Now, I read whatever grabs my fancy.
