In the black

Tomlinson (Gate Crashers, 2018) is back with another crowd-pleasing, snarky, thought-provoking, character-driven tale. This new series melds military science fiction with space opera featuring a 70-year cold war on the brink of turning hot between humans and the Xre, an insect-crab hybrid species, on a far off frontier planet, and a giant corporation funding it all. The plot is not why readers will be drawn to this novel. Instead, it is the three engaging protagonists, Captain Susan Kamala, human commander of the Ansari; Derstu Thuk, commander of a Xre ship; and Tyson Abington, CEO of Agless Corp, and their overlapping points of view that allow the reader to see the conflict from three completely different perspectives. It is through their development, the stellar worldbuilding, and Tomlinson's ability to subtly, but seriously, examine the current moment using a speculative lens while still injecting humor and bounce into an old-standby subgenre that this series opener is such a compelling read. An easy suggestion for fans of John Scalzi, Catherine Asaro, or Yoon Ha Lee.

Tomlinson (Starship Repo) offers space opera fans much to chew on in this fun, fast-moving series debut, set almost 70 years after a conflict between humanity and the Xre, an intelligent alien species that resembles "the offspring of an ill-conceived union of a wasp and an Alaskan king crab." Capt. Susan Kamala and the crew of the Ansari are sent to patrol the boundary between human and Xre territory. After two of the ship's reconnaissance drones are knocked out of action within less than a month of each other, she and her crew suspect the aliens may be responsible--and their investigation leads to an encounter with the Xre that could be momentous for interspecies relationships. Meanwhile, Tyson Abington, the ultrawealthy head of Ageless Corp., finds his business under threat of both a corporate espionage scheme and a disease outbreak that may be the result of a bioweapon. Tomlinson skillfully toggles between story lines, giving impressive weight to both. The plot is more streamlined than genre fans might expect, but Tomlinson still provides enough worldbuilding to support multiple sequels. Readers are sure to be entertained. (Oct.)