Ocean's Echo by Everina Maxwell

Ocean's Echo

by Everina Maxwell

Ocean's Echo is a stand-alone space adventure about a bond that will change the fate of worlds, set in the same universe as Everina Maxwell's hit debut, Winter's Orbit.

Rich socialite, inveterate flirt, and walking disaster Tennalhin Halkana can read minds. Tennal, like all neuromodified “readers,” is a security threat on his own. But when controlled, readers are a rare asset. Not only can they read minds, but they can navigate chaotic space, the maelstroms surrounding the gateway to the wider universe.

Conscripted into the military under dubious circumstances, Tennal is placed into the care of Lieutenant Surit Yeni, a duty-bound soldier, principled leader, and the son of a notorious traitor general. Whereas Tennal can read minds, Surit can influence them. Like all other neuromodified “architects,” he can impose his will onto others, and he’s under orders to control Tennal by merging their minds.

Surit accepted a suspicious promotion-track request out of desperation, but he refuses to go through with his illegal orders to sync and control an unconsenting Tennal. So they lie: They fake a sync bond and plan Tennal's escape.

Their best chance arrives with a salvage-retrieval mission into chaotic space—to the very neuromodifcation lab that Surit's traitor mother destroyed twenty years ago. And among the rubble is a treasure both terrible and unimaginably powerful, one that upends a decades-old power struggle, and begins a war.

Tennal and Surit can no longer abandon their unit or their world. The only way to avoid life under full military control is to complete the very sync they've been faking.

Can two unwilling weapons of war bring about peace?

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on

5 of 5 stars

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Book Summary:

Tennalhin Halkana can read minds but only surface thoughts. In society, that makes him a bit of a black sheep – something he's learned to embrace. He's been out in the world, doing his best to avoid his family and the consequences of his actions. Right up until they hit him with the weight of a train, now, he's been forcefully conscripted and faces a forced sync with an architect.

Surit Yeni is the architect in question. While readers like Tennalhin can read minds, architects can influence them. As the son of a traitor general, Surit has worked hard to improve his reputation. As such, he knows every rule and follows them to the T. So it'll come as quite a surprise when he finds a way to bend those rules to protect Tennalhin.

“Society isn't something you can just snap your fingers and change.”

My Review:

Oh wow. I loved Winter's Orbit and have been looking forward to Ocean's Echo. It did not disappoint! For those wondering, while Ocean's Echo is a sequel, there is no requirement to read Winter's Orbit first (though you should read it, you know, for fun).

There is SO MUCH going on in this tale. We have conscription, readers, architects, politics, aliens, and I know I'm forgetting to list about half a dozen things. It's a complicated foundation for what turns out to be one hell of an emotional roller coaster. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

The two perspectives of this tale (Tennalhin and Surit) are so perfect. They're vastly different from one another, but you know what they say, opposites attract. Honestly, I'm not sure I can say that I had a favorite POV – they complement each other perfectly.

Read Ocean's Echo if you're looking for a complex political science fiction novel with aliens and romantic elements. It will not disappoint.

Highlights
LGBT
M/M Romance
Space Opera
Psychic-enhanced space travel
Sequel
Multiple POV

Trigger Warnings:
Drug use
Loss of Autonomy via mind control
Conscription

Thanks to Tor Books and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 1 January, 2023: Finished reading
  • 1 January, 2023: Reviewed