This novel, Tesh's first, is tremendous, in the sense of being huge, wide-ranging, and astounding. At first glance, it appears to simply be a space opera starring a human teen, Valkyr, who has been bred for warfare. Only a few humans remain after the destruction of Earth, and she's being trained to wreak revenge on the civilization that destroyed our planet. A common starting point for a sci-fi adventure novel, but it becomes so much more, not just touching on common tropes, but venturing into important societal issues, such as gender, sacrifice, religion, power, loyalty, and love. Although the protagonist is a teen, this is an adult novel in every way.
The novel is a finalist for the 2024 Hugo Award, and it is my pick for the best of the bunch, edging out other worthy entries (including this year's Nebula winner, "The Saint of Bright Doors"), for its incredible world building, despite a claustrophobic setting in a hidden colony within an asteroid, where desperate humans hide and plot.
I think fans of the late Iain M. Banks will find a worthy successor in Tesh. The alien race that has defeated Earth is governed by a powerful artificial intelligence called the Wisdom, and although Valkyr at first seeks its destruction, she and her alien counterpart ultimately undergo multiple dimension and time shifts in order to "get it over with." They learn from their mistakes about who to trust and how to make the world a better place, but suffer so many heartbreaks.
After the novel's end, Tesh offers a reading list that includes books explaining topics such as fascism, authoritariansim (e.g., North Korea), and quasi-religeous movements such as Scientology, and how these take hold in society. I always find it interesting when authors cite their inspirations in a reading list. I'm thinking of Alastair Gray's "bibliography" for his SF masterpiece, "Lanark." Tesh even mentions the Lord of the Rings and the battle against evil.
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