To Avenge a Fallen Star

While on a mission to avenge her sister’s murder and spark a political revolution, a young woman learns that she might be a pawn in someone else’s game in Quinn’s SF series starter.

Living conditions in the underground city of Perileos on the planet Reva are squalid, but there’s a way out: securing a position on the Oranos Space Station by succeeding in a grueling competition known as the Trials. Now that Gemma Proctor is 20, the medic-turned-miner is eligible to take part, but getting out of Perileos isn’t her top priority—revenge is. Three years earlier, her older sister, Nadine, was murdered after the Trials by Rami Vidar, the game master and director of Zion, the tower fortress where the Trials take place. Gemma’s been preparing for the Trials, trained by Reymond, the leader of rebel group The Dissent. Before she embarks on the Trials’ first challenge—a midnight hike from Perileos to Zion—Reymond gives her a potent poison, hidden in a ring, to kill Rami, whose murder is meant to serve as a catalyst for an uprising against the oppressive United Planetary Systems’ government. All Gemma needs to do is pass the Trials and get close enough to Rami to drop the substance in his drink. Gemma is determined to fulfill her mission with her teammates—Imara, Hawk, Colton, and Christian (with whom she becomes romantically involved)—but later, her world is turned upside down when she learns some unexpected truths. Over the course of Quinn’s novel, Gemma’s justice-driven arc is compelling and sympathetic. The supporting characters are engaging and diverse, although readers may find occasional passages problematic, such as repeated descriptions of Imara, who has Indian heritage, as having “russet brown” skin. The novel’s most notable aspect is Quinn’s well-developed worldbuilding, showcased through richly detailed descriptions of buildings, wildlife, interplanetary politics, and technology, such as a communications device: “A tiny, flexible piece of electroglass sat directly upon her cornea, through which any visual messages appeared. Any auditory messages spoke directly through the biochip behind her ear.”

An often bold SF novel about radicalization, resilience, and friendship.