Published 10th November 2022 by Orbit.
From the cover of the book:
LOYALTY, LEGACY AND BETRAYAL...Princess Altagracia has lost everything. After a bloody civil war, her twin sister has claimed not just the crown of their planet Szayet but the Pearl of its prophecy, a computer that contains the immortal soul of their god. Stripped of her birthright, Altagracia prepares to flee the planet - just as Matheus Ceirran, Commander of the interstellar Empire of Ceiao, arrives in deadly pursuit. Princess Altagracia sees an opportunity to win back her planet, her god, and her throne . . . if she can win over the Commander and his distrustful right-hand officer, Anita.
But talking her way into Commander Matheus's good graces, and his bed, is only the beginning. Dealing with the most powerful man in the galaxy is almost as dangerous as war, and Altagracia is quickly torn between Matheus and the wishes of the machine god that whispers in her ear.
For Szayet's sake, and her own, Altagracia will need to become more than a princess with a silver tongue. She will have to become a queen as history has never seen before - even if it breaks an empire.
A spectacular space opera debut perfect for readers of Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice and Arkady Martine's A Memory Called Empire, inspired by the lives and loves of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar.
Emery Robin is a paralegal, recovering Californian, and sometime student of propaganda and art history living in New York City.
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Born to be queen of Szayet and bearer of the Pearl (a computer that bears the immortal soul of its God Alekso), Princess Altagracia has been usurped by her twin sister in a bloody civil war. Gracia's only hope of regaining her birthright is by getting Matheus Ceirran, Commander of the interstellar Empire of Ceiao to take her side, and fortunately he has just happened to arrive on Szayet in the company of a sizeable force and his surly right-hand officer Anita on a quest of his own.
Using her considerable charms, Gracia manoeuvres her way past her sister's defences into Ceirran's bed, but he is a dangerous man, and not easy to read. For Szayet's sake, Gracia must fashion herself into a queen like no other to achieve her ambitions, and with the help of Alekso whispering in her ear, she will do what needs to be done - even if her growing affection for Ceirran, and rather unexpectedly for Anita, is distracting her from her cause.
In The Stars Undying, Emery Robin takes the historic relationship between Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, and turns it into a retelling that is as epic as it is highly creative. Here, the lovers dance around each other in an ambitious genre-busting story that is part sci-fi space opera, and part intricate fantasy adventure, that evokes so much about the stately Roman Republic and mystical Egypt - and if that was not enough, Robin cleverly brings in an extra dimension by making this a tale which celebrates queer love stories too.
The story is told in alternating first person accounts from Gracia and Ceirran, and it is not long before we realise that both are somewhat unreliable narrators, especially Gracia, which makes it doubly delicious. There are moments in the telling of this whopper of a volume when the pace wavers a little, by getting bogged down in lengthy conversational scenes, but on the whole the action builds nicely to the inevitable climax with oodles of intrigue and chess-like move and counter-move. I absolutely loved the way Robin uses so much of the story of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra in Ceirran and Gracia, bending history to her purpose in a way that works very nicely indeed, and the suspenseful sexual tension that simmers between Gracia and Anita, in her role as an unexpected Anthony, is marvellous. Gracia is the deserving star of the show throughout though, and she draws you eye, and your emotion, the most through the twisty long-game for dominance.
The jury is still out for me on the Alekso thread to the tale, as it sometimes becomes more of a distraction from the more compelling intimacy between the three main characters in Ceirran, Gracia and Anita, but I can see exactly how and why Robin weaves this strand into the whole - it certainly provides an intriguing perspective on the historical and philosophical conflict between the warring parties, lends an interesting sci-fi kick to the proceedings, and provides a welcome injection of sardonic humour in the interactions beteeen Gracia and Alekso.
What strikes me most about this tale is its highly entertaining originality, particularly in terms of the stunning world building that Robin fashions as the backdrop that her characters play their parts against. The physical landscape is so beautifully described, but she also takes great pains to thoroughly get to grips with the political, economic, military, and spiritual elements of this world too, which is quite remarkable for a debut.
This book took me by surprise with its sheer scope and well considered depth. I sincerely hope that there is at least one follow-up adventure on the horizon, as I really want to know what happens next!
The Stars Undying is available to but now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.
Thank you to Orbit for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Compulsive Readers tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
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