“It was stupid not to live your life to the fullest when you could die tomorrow, and I sure as shit wasn’t about to take hell for that from some macho skullhead idiot.”

This was fun! I think I might have had even more fun with it by audio, or hard copy, but all my library had was the e-book. I don’t know why, but I have a really hard time maintaining focus on e-books if they’re not romance. Anyway, hard copy or audio for the sequels, most definitely.

Devi was a fun protagonist. She is extremely good at her job, and she is very ambitious. She wants to be a Devastator, the most elite fighters on her homeworld of Paradox. And she doesn’t want to wait until she’s old, especially since armored mercenaries like herself don’t usually live long enough to get resumes long enough to get them a chance at becoming a Devastator. So a friend of hers points her in the direction of the Glorious Fool, and her captain, Brian Caldswell. One tour on his ship is dangerous enough (he’s rumored to be cursed, he goes through so many security personnel) to get her noticed. The hazard pay will also probably make her rich.

But of course first she has to survive first. And weird shit starts happening pretty much immediately. A giant bird is the pilot of the ship. The captain’s daughter doesn’t speak, just plays chess all day long. The cook is very mysteriously and violently un-cooklike (and very handsome). The doctor is an alien whose race eats humans. It’s fun stuff.

I mostly just enjoyed Devi’s fresh perspective, which was sex positive, and allowed her to do traditionally male coded activities without pointing it out at all. This is just a world where ladies in space can be super badasses if they want.

The book ends on a cliffhanger, though (well, sort of ). So you’re not going to get a full arc here, which you should know going in. There’s clearly stuff that won’t be wrapped up until the third book.

Read Harder Challenge 2018: A sci-fi novel with a female protagonist by a female author.