Goodbye to the Sun is scifi poker match between two excellent competitors.
The Blurb: Tucked away in the blue sands of Kol 2, the Motes are on the brink of cultural collapse. Razor, a bold and daring pilot, leads a last-ditch gambit against their local oppressors, the Targitians. The plan – abduct visiting Ambassador Keen Draden and use him as a bargaining chip to restore her people’s independence in the Sagittarius Arm. But when the operation unravels, Razor is forced to renegotiate terms with the arrogant diplomat.
Light years away on Heroon a radical resistance blossoms. The alluring rainforest planet haunts Keen. All his problems started there during the Patent War, but it’s where Razor’s troubles may find a solution. The moral tide ebbs, exposing an impossible choice that links their futures together more tragically than they ever thought possible.
I’m so happy to be returning to a read from The Storytellers on Tour. Thank you to Timy and Justine for bringing us these great titles and authors!
My Take: There are so many thing that I liked about this novel… but I’m going to boil it down to three aspects that kept me reading.
1. The Battle of Wits: Razor and the Motes vs. Keen. Each has a number of motivators and hidden agendas that keeps the clash hot. There’s the external factors of survival and politics and the internal egos and history that binds these foes together. No hands will be tipped and the wild cards unknown. It’s a fascinating back and forth between two strong personalities.
2. The Setting: Nevair’s descriptions of space and ships and the natural elements is tangible from the start. The vacuum of space and the roaring engines of a ship in combat. The blowing sands and the whipping storms that create the divide between the rebels and the Targitians. (The tech is fun too. Great imaginative writing all around.)
3. Cultural Etiquette: An ambassador with secrets is kidnapped and demands are made. There is still etiquette that is required: from gender acknowledgment to the actual terms to be dealt. The reader is allowed into each POV, but from different parts of the timeline. This is not jarring or difficult to follow, but this shift creates a very satisfying mystery of animosity and rivalry.
I felt a little Star Trek flavor in the presentation of this book. The politics and the focus on the past conflicts created an excellent opportunity for me to feel both the immediate concerns of the characters as well as the big-picture forces weighing on the universe.
4 1/2 stars out of 5
Thank you to Storytellers On Tour and the author for an advanced copy for review.
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