For centuries, the kingdom of Iraden has been protected by the god known as the Raven. He watches over his territory from atop a tower in the powerful port of Vastai. His will is enacted through the Raven’s Lease, a human ruler chosen by the god himself. His magic is sustained via the blood sacrifice that every Lease must offer. And under the Raven’s watch, the city flourishes. But the power of the Raven is weakening. A usurper has claimed the throne. The kingdom borders are tested by invaders who long for the prosperity that Vastai boasts. And they have made their own alliances with other gods. It is into this unrest that the warrior Eolo–aide to Mawat, the true Lease–arrives. And in seeking to help Mawat reclaim his city, Eolo discovers that the Raven’s Tower holds a secret. Its foundations conceal a dark history that has been waiting to reveal itself…and to set in motion a chain of events that could destroy Iraden forever. I’ll begin with an admission; I’ve not read much of Ann Leckie’s science fiction writing. The Imperial Radch trilogy entirely passed me by. Such are the trials and tribulations of a book reviewer – so…

A power-driven young woman has just one chance to secure the status she craves and regain priceless lost artifacts prized by her people. She must free their thief from a prison planet from which no one has ever returned. Ingray and her charge will return to her home world to find their planet in political turmoil, at the heart of an escalating interstellar conflict. Together, they must make a new plan to salvage Ingray’s future, her family, and her world, before they are lost to her for good. I’ll admit that sometimes I stumble a little when it comes to science fiction. Of all the different genre fiction that is out there, it’s sci-fi that is regularly my great white whale. Space battles and aliens blowing up into small piles of green goo is fine, I get that. It’s when the science fiction gets a bit more thoughtful that I tend to have problems. I remember the first time I tried to read The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F Hamilton, boy did I struggle. I could not get my head around the first chapter. The plot seemed so weird and outlandish that I just didn’t get it. I have a…