Unexploded remnants

Gallagher (Flotation Device) serves up a short but explosive novella about the last human remaining in the galaxy. In 1967, trans woman Alice stumbled upon the stargate network and fell "through the rabbit hole" into outer space. She watched from afar as her home planet died from climate change and war, but was able to extend her life by transporting through galaxies, making a living as a scavenger. Now, while combing through a market that serves countless species of aliens a unique variety of goods to trade, she comes across an item she doesn't quite understand. Possession of it, however, gets her chased through the market by a pack of Delosi, militaristic extraterrestrials who resemble elves, so she knows she has something valuable on her hands. After narrowly evading capture, Alice makes it to a safe house and works out what she's found: it's a weapon controlled by a human consciousness that has been trapped in its data core for thousands of years and harbors a grudge against the society it left. Alice names the data core Gunn. As she's pursued by parties that want to use Gunn for evil, she searches for a means to set the consciousness free. The impressive worldbuilding, replete with myriad references to Alice in Wonderland, could easily sustain a much longer adventure. Readers are sure to be sucked in. (June)

DEBUT In her first novella, Gallagher, who is trans, imbues her work with questions of identity and connection. In a far-flung outer-space market, human Alice acquires an unusual item that makes her the target of an unknown group that's determined to take her new purchase from her at any cost. The item, which Alice calls Gunn, is the last control unit for a vast war machine left over from a conflict that ended two civilizations ago. But Gunn isn't just another artificial intelligence; they were a civilian artist once, and Alice is convinced that on some level Gunn is still capable of returning to a normal life. As Alice and Gunn are pursued across time and space, Alice has to reckon with Gunn's abilities and whether they can leave behind the war they were built to fight. VERDICT An ambitious debut that delivers high-stakes action sequences and intriguing characters.--Lydia Fletcher