A young pilot risks everything to save his best friend—the man he trusts most and might even love—only to learn that his friend is secretly the heir to a brutal galactic empire.
“An exciting space opera full of action and adventure that explores the bonds of loyalty and love, and what happens when they are stretched to their limits.”—Rebecca Roanhorse, Nebula and Hugo award–winning author of Trail of Lightning
Ettian’s life was shattered when the merciless Umber Empire invaded his world. He’s spent seven years putting himself back together under its rule, joining an Umber military academy and becoming the best pilot in his class. Even better, he’s met Gal—his exasperating and infuriatingly enticing roommate who’s made the academy feel like a new home.
But when dozens of classmates spring an assassination plot on Gal, a devastating secret comes to light: Gal is the heir to the Umber Empire. Ettian barely manages to save his best friend and flee the compromised academy unscathed, rattled that Gal stands to inherit the empire that broke him, and that there are still people willing to fight back against Umber rule.
As they piece together a way to deliver Gal safely to his throne, Ettian finds himself torn in half by an impossible choice. Does he save the man who’s won his heart and trust that Gal’s goodness could transform the empire? Or does he throw his lot in with the brewing rebellion and fight to take back what’s rightfully theirs?
Praise for Bonds of Brass
“Skrutskie’s Bonds of Brass is a high-octane galactic adventure replete with heart, drama, and a keen edge of pain.”—Caitlin Starling, author of The Luminous Dead
“Full of breathless action and dazzling characters, Bonds of Brass is space opera at its most exciting.”—Adam Christopher, author of Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town
I've not got a rating for this because of how I feel about it.
Okay, so I have really, really mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand, the science fiction part of it was good: I liked the worldbuilding (especially the naming conventions), I liked the face pace, I thought it read like a good book with great crossover appeal.
On the other hand. On the other hand. The fact that the main character, who is Black and whose home system was invaded by the power hungry colonial empire and (don't uncover unless you want a massive spoiler) is the literal heir to his home empire, was so loyal to the invaders and the heir to the Umber empire with so little questioning of his feelings about this did not sit well at all with me. Nuh-uh. Time and again, he put his people on the line for a boy, and one who, while certainly not as bad as his mother, didn't have any issues using Ettian's people to get to where he wanted to be. Again, spoiler warning: I really did not like how Ettian was so willing to use the resistance they found while in hiding to help Gal. It felt so so wrong to me. This could have gone so many ways that would have been so much better.
TL;DR: I liked the sci-fi part of the book, and this alone would have made it a proper 4 star read for me. However, I had issues with how Emily Skrustkie tried to clumsily make this into a discussion about empires and race, and feel like this is something that authors of colour should have the opportunity to do instead of a white woman. The more and more I think about this book, the more it irks me.
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April 23rd: Nooooooo
RTC
Reading updates
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Started reading
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23 April, 2020:
Finished reading
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23 April, 2020:
Reviewed