People love an underdog story: A hero or scrappy gang of misfits prevailing in opposition to practically insurmountable odds. But in Some Desperate Glory, creator Emily Tesh takes this trope in a darkish course, illustrating how single-minded zealotry can spiral into overt fascism.
Some Desperate Glory follows Kyr, a woman born into an extremist human sect residing on the fringes of recognized house. In Tesh’s universe, humanity achieved interstellar journey and encountered the majoda, an alien confederacy dominated by an interdimensional, reality-warping synthetic intelligence generally known as the Wisdom. Earth tore via the majoda’s navy, and in response, the Wisdom had the majoda deploy a weapon that destroyed the planet. Completely damaged and scattered, most of the remaining people submitted to majoda rule.
But the individuals who stay on Gaea Station, the place Kyr was born, have dubbed themselves the saviors of humanity. Children and adults alike hone their our bodies and minds so as to turn into the avenging angels of their destroyed planet. Joy and rest are luxuries, because the admirals ruling Gaea Station demand their folks give the whole lot to maintain the trigger alive. In their mid-teens, persons are assigned to everlasting roles, which could be something from fight service, to upkeep to maintain the station afloat, to bearing sons within the Nursery to maintain the group provided with troopers. It’s as abhorrent as it’s absolute, however Kyr thinks this technique is righteous, a necessity of the continued conflict in opposition to the majoda.
Emily Tesh’s new protagonist is something however likable—and that’s the purpose.
Tesh describes Gaea Station in impressively revolting element with out shedding deal with Kyr’s progress as a personality. A gifted and devoted warrior, Kyr finds herself at odds along with her cultural programming when she is assigned to the Nursery. And after her brother leaves the station beneath mysterious circumstances, she defies her orders and takes off after him, a quest that thrusts her into the broader universe. She meets an alien for the primary time and begins a grueling journey to peel again years of programming. As she learns extra about the remaining of the universe, Kyr realizes she should confront the sinister underbelly of the shiny, nationalistic Gaea Station, which is starting to look increasingly like a cult.
While closely invested in Kyr’s private wrestle to search out that means and objective, Some Desperate Glory can also be rife with wealthy settings and historical past. The majoda are fascinatingly inhuman, composed of refreshingly distinct alien species. (Don’t fear, there aren’t any “They’re basically humans but their skin is blue” races on this story.) Tesh takes readers on a wild tour via her universe, defying any expectations they might have primarily based on the setting and characters in shocking and distinctive methods.
An examination of the risks of unchecked nationalism, Some Desperate Glory will resonate with readers on the lookout for messy morality and antihero redemption arcs.
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