These Burning Stars

Jacobs debuts with a solid, plot-driven space opera, the first in a series. The three Hands of the Kindom control the star system of Treble: Clerics, responsible for religion; Secretaries, responsible for law; and Cloaksaan, responsible for enforcement. Ruthless Cleric Esek Nightfoot has left many enemies in her wake, including Jun Ironway, whose family Esek exterminated to cover up the Nightfoot family’s involvement in a past genocide. Since then, Jun has grown into an expert hacker, and she’s determined to exact her revenge by exposing Esek’s crimes. As Esek and fellow Cleric Chono hunt Jun down, their mission is complicated by a figure from their mutual past: the enigmatic Six, a promising former classmate of Chono’s who caught Esek’s attention as a potential future Novitiate—until it all went horribly and mysteriously wrong. Since then, Esek has repeatedly tried and failed to kill Six, and as Chono becomes convinced that Six is somehow involved in Jun’s revenge quest, Chono’s loyalties are tested. The resulting multiplayer cat-and-mouse game is intricately plotted and tightly paced with a satisfying ending that sets the stage nicely for the next installment. Space opera fans will eat this up. Agent: Bridget Smith, JABberwocky. (Oct.)