Heavenbreaker

Wolf (Send Me Their Souls) launches a new duology with this breathtaking epic, masterfully weaving threads of science fiction, fantasy, horror, romance, and mystery into a propulsive coming-of-age story. Six hellish months after the noble father that Synali Woster never met murdered her mother, she finally gets her revenge. It takes a lot of maneuvering for Synali, the child of the squalid Low Ward section of a massive, stratified space station, to get at her father, the Duke of Hauteclare, and she flees the crime scene via one of the giant mech suits that the station’s knights ride into jousting tournaments in space, prepared to go out in a blaze of glory surrounded by rabid fans of the sport. But then something odd happens: she doesn’t lose her match. Her unexpected skills as a mech driver catch the eye of a nobleman from a different house who claims to know of seven other coconspirators who were involved in her mother’s death and offers her a deal: for each joust she wins in his family’s name, he’ll take one of them out. Swept into a whirlwind of intrigue and reluctantly drawn into the elite world of riders, Synali must decide who she can trust. Wolf balances the unflinching action with evocative worldbuilding, considerate characterization, and a thoughtful exploration of the hope found in quiet places. This astonishes. Agent: Caitlin Blasdell, Liza Dawson Assoc. (May)

Correction: A previous version of this review incorrectly stated that the book is the first in a planned trilogy.