August Kitko and the mechas from space

When the Vanguards, giant space-death robots, finally come to Earth, they have already taken out a few space colonies as well as the majority of United Earth's military. As a final farewell, Earth's elite decide to throw a party. Ardent Violet, the biggest superstar on Earth, and August Kitko, a jazz musician, have both been invited to play and immediately connect, both musically and romantically. When the Vanguards arrive ready to kill Earth's population, a strange thing happens: two of them begin to fight, and one pulls August into its chest and connects to him. Greymalkin views itself as a Traitor Vanguard because it now wants to protect humanity--with the help of August. Meanwhile, Ardent is on their own journey to save August as well as protect him and Earth when needed. White (A Big Ship at the End of the Universe, 2018) balances the elements of this space opera brilliantly in this first book in a new series, from the emotional connection between the characters to the huge plot pieces. The connection between Greymalkin and August, especially, is hilarious and endearing; they are two unlikely heroes that the reader will root for.

White (A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe) launches the Starmetal Symphony series with this music-infused space opera smash. Brilliant pianist August "Gus" Kitko is hopeless in the face of the apocalypse. It's 2657, and an alien artificial intelligence is wiping out human settlements across the universe, using extremely powerful robots called Vanguards to do its bidding. Though Gus has resigned himself to playing his piano as the Vanguards head for Earth, it turns out he may just be the planet's last hope. A group of Vanguards shocks the universe by switching sides, and one of these rebels happens to choose Gus to be its Conduit, a kind of interpreter of humanity. Together, man and machine must join up with the other Traitor Vanguards and their Conduits to make humanity's last stand on Earth. Music forms the backbone of this beautifully balanced, artistically rendered space opera, which expertly combines well-executed action with witty banter between charming characters. Fans of epic, feel-good sci-fi are sure to be wowed. Agent: Connor Goldsmith, Fuse Literary. (July)