This first book in a feminist space opera duology follows seven resistance fighters who will free the galaxy from the ruthless Tholosian Empire–or die trying.When Eris faked her death, she thought she had left her old life as the heir to the galaxy’s most ruthless empire behind. But her recruitment by the Novantaen Resistance, an organization opposed to the empire’s voracious expansion, throws … expansion, throws her right back into the fray.
Eris has been assigned a new mission: to infiltrate a spaceship ferrying deadly cargo and return the intelligence gathered to the Resistance. But her partner for the mission, mechanic and hotshot pilot Cloelia, bears an old grudge against Eris, making an already difficult infiltration even more complicated.
When they find the ship, they discover more than they bargained for: three fugitives with firsthand knowledge of the corrupt empire’s inner workings.
Together, these women possess the knowledge and capabilities to bring the empire to its knees. But the clock is ticking: the new heir to the empire plans to disrupt a peace summit with the only remaining alien empire, ensuring the empire’s continued expansion. If they can find a way to stop him, they will save the galaxy. If they can’t, millions may die.
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This was a great book. An evil Empire where people are genetically coded before birth for appointed tasks and controlled by an AI that stops them from questioning anything; a constant war over natural resources and a possible genocide of the last alien race; and the resistance standing between them. Five young women from very different backgrounds, who each have managed to escape the Empire, have to return there in order to stop a sinister plot, and the only way to do it is to bring the key to the extinction with them. Stakes are high from the start and they only get higher.
I liked the book from the first page. The pacing is good, with fairly short chapters and constant motion. The five women each have their POV chapters, both past and present, giving a reader a good sense of what has formed them and brought them where they currently are. I liked them all, though some more than others. There were difficult moral questions brought up: Eris and Nyx are ruthlessly conditioned super-soldiers who killed without emotions for the Empire, and now that they’ve finally stopped, they have to weigh the possibility of an extinction of an alien race against the good of the galaxy. Add to that the group dynamics among the women, none of whom really know how to interact without the AI, and secrets they’re keeping from one another — Eris especially — and the book becomes unputdownable.
The worldbuilding is good. It doesn’t get hung-up on details like faster than light space travel or genetic manipulation, or the many details that make it ‘science’ fiction. The characters are familiar with their world and the reader is simply taken along. That goes for the minority representation too. There is no unnecessary commentary on women loving women or one character being trans, for example, giving the reader a notion that it’s how things are naturally in that universe — not minority at all — making it natural for the reader too. Excellently done.
I received a NetGalley copy in exchange for an honest review.
Seven Devils was a fantastic read following a group of characters who work together to bring down a corrupt regime.
After faking her death to escape life as heir to the galaxy’s most brutal empire, Eris thought she was finally free. But it doesn’t take long for her to become involved in the Novantaen Resistance, a group determined to stop the empire no matter what. Her newest mission is simple, gather intelligence about the cargo being carried on one of the empire’s spaceships and return to the resistance with the information. But Eris and Cloelia, her partner on the mission, are in for a surprise when they board the ship and find three fugitives with the knowledge to take down the empire. Together the group has the ability to stop the empire in it’s tracks but if they can’t pull it off, millions may die.
The main group in this book consists of seven characters and we follow four POVs throughout the book. I liked that each character was unique and that the characters didn’t all blend together as can sometimes happen with a large cast. Our group includes royalty, a mechanic, a courtesan, a soldier, a hacker, a rebellion leader, and a pilot for the empire. I liked the friendships that developed within the group and how ready they were to lay everything on the line to help each other, even when they didn’t like each other. Everyone has their role within the group and I liked how well they worked together, trusting each other to do their part.
The world the authors created was incredibly interesting and I found myself wanting to learn more about the history of the empire. We get some flashbacks to Eris’s past showing some of the innerworkings of the empire and I particularly enjoyed these chapters. Throughout the book, the characters travel to a number of locations within the galaxy and I thought the decision to keep the group moving around was a great choice as it helped the pacing of the story. The tension in the book increases drastically as we get closer to the end and the group puts their plan into motion. The ending surprised me as there were several things I didn’t see coming. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing where things pick up in Seven Mercies and how the events at the end of the book affect the group.
Overall Seven Devils was a fast-paced read that had me pulled in from start to finish. I highly recommend the book if you’re looking for a great sci-fi and I can’t wait to read the sequel when it releases next year.