Archangel

This series launch hits the sweet spot with a truly alien setting, a well-developed future culture, and a thoughtful, talented heroine. Vashti Loren—hunter, naturalist, mother, and the widow of a revered explorer—is a settler on Ubastis, a fertile, lush world where settlement has been intensely restricted to prevent the environmental collapse that ruined Earth and its other colonies. Tensions are rising between those who would protect Ubastis against further colonization and those who want to open it up to widespread settlement. As Vashti considers her role in the coming conflict, she confronts the wounds of her past through uncomfortable interactions with a bioengineered super-soldier similar to the one who murdered her husband. Reed is a skilled storyteller and the world of Ubastis is a vivid creation, with a Muslim culture that is simply part of the overall setting rather than a driver of the plot. Vashti is a troubled, fascinating protagonist whose story ends on a cliffhanger, with greater battles for the fate of Ubastis and her own family yet to come. (May)