K. B. Wagers

Behind the Throne begins K. B. Wagers's action-packed science fiction adventure, with a heroine as rebellious as Han Solo, as savvy as Leia, and as skilled as Rey. Hail Bristol has made a name for herself as one of the most fearsome gunrunners in the galaxy. But she can't escape her past forever: twenty years ago, she was a runaway princess of the Indranan Empire. Now, her mother's people have finally come to bring her home. But when Hail is dragged back to her Indrana to take her rightful place as the only remaining heir, she finds that trading her ship for a palace is her most dangerous move yet. In a world where the only safe options are fight or flight, Hail must rule. "Excellent SF adventure debut." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review The Indranan WarBehind the ThroneAfter the CrownBeyond the Empire

Behind the Throne

Sarah Escorsa

Actual rating: 2.5 stars 

So here I was, suffering from the dreary side effects of a Slightly Deadly In Between IA Rerererereads Mini Book Slump (SDIBIARMBS™) and not knowing what piece of crap book to DNF pick up next. Feeling most adventurous and stuff, I boldly decided to dive into the frightfully vast expanse of my TBR shelf and came upon this seemingly refreshing piece of Sci-Fi-ness. "Seemingly" being the operative word here. Okay, so it's not that the book wasn't vaguely entertaining and stuff, but invigoratingly stimulating it definitely was not. As for the Sci-Fi-ness of it…Highly debatable it is. But let's not get ahead of our little selves here. Besides, I am in quite the lenient mood today, so I shall focus on the positive aspects of the book first. There aren't that many, anyway, so you won't have to wait long before we get to the juicy, crappy stuff. You are quite welcome.

➽ Part I: The Yay Stuff.

The really cool thing about this story? It is based on Hindu culture. Ha! The supposedly kick-ass lead is actually and quite absolutely Indian, too! Imagine that! Ergo, no Wholeheartedly White Whiteboard Whiteness (WWWW™) to be had here! And that in itself is gloriously fresh and stimulating and titillating and stuff.

 

So glad you approve, Gregor. Good doggie.

Yay Stuff #2, this society is a matriarchal one! Begone feeble men! We have no use for you useless bunch here! Well except for the, um, technical stuff, obviously. Okay, so the puny males in the story aren't that completely worthless but they don't have a say in shit anything and that it pretty stupendous, if you ask me. To be disgustingly honest, though, I have to say that the whole matriarchal business felt kind of forced. Girl power is decidedly wonderlicious, but it's nothing more than a gimmick here, somehow. As in, it's the latest cool thing to have women ruthlessly rule over hopelessly pathetic males *innocently waves at her testosterone-clad friends*, so let's go with that! Ergo, it feels bloody shrimping contrived. And revoltingly politically correct. Ew ew ew, yuck yuck yuck and stuff. Wait a second. I was supposed to talk about this book in a positive light in this section, wasn't I? Right. Thought so. Okay. Sure. I can do that, too. No problem. Let's get back to the good stuff! *tries very hard to think of something positive to say. Exoskeleton nearly explodes from the excruciatingly painful exertion. Gives up and grabs a drink of an alcoholic nature* Well, would you look at that! No more good stuff to talk about! Such a terrible, terrible shame this is.



➽ Part II: The Hell Nay Stuff.

First of all, believe the hype blurb thou shalt not. So this is supposed to be a space opera. Allegedly filled to the brim with "action-packed space opera exploits."



It's funny, I was under the silly impression that "action-packed space opera exploits" were somehow supposed to involve, you know, action and also, you know, spaceship battles and stuff. But I was apparently very wrong. Who am I to know, anyway? I am naught but a clueless (if slightly nefarious) shrimp, after all. But anyway. Not only is this story a failed space opera wannabe, it is also a "Star Wars-style science fiction adventure!" With a female Han Solo! 



I have an opinion about this but it's obviously very wrong again so I won't bother sharing it with you and stuff. Then again maybe I will. Star Wars? A female Han Solo? Seriously? I think even bloody shrimping Darth Vader feels deeply insulted here, and you know how he usually feels about Rebel scum. The supposedly "quick, sarcastic and lethal" Hailimi Bristol is a decaf Ewok at best. I mean, come on, the chick spends her time either crying or being on the brink of tears. Okay, so she does other, more proactive stuff sometimes: she whimpers, she has wonderfully entertaining pity-parties and she occasionally whines, too! But hey, it's not all bad. She giggles like a thirteen year old schoolgirl as well. What an eyeroll-worthy drama queen ass-kicking darling she is. And as beautifully caustic as a newborn dinoflagellate too! Watch out, Kate Daniels! Hailimi Bristol is coming for you!



I have a feeling His Furriness thinks Kate is not about to be replaced. I wonder why. The throes of young love, I imagine.

And what of the deliciously intriguing "courtly conspiracies" mentioned in the mouth-watering blurb, you ask? Surely they must be as delightfully backstabby as the whole Black Company series put together, you inquire? Do you really want me to answer that? I don't think you really want me to answer that. I mean, I'm pretty sure you do not want me to get ever so slightly pissed off, which would probably result in my unleashing my homicidally murderous babies on the world, which would in turn result in instant annihilation of all life on the planet (and its surrounding neighborhoods). So, what will it be? Want to satisfy your pointless curiosity? Want to die post haste? 



Right. Just as I thought. Good call. You get to live another day. Lucky you and stuff.

All in all, and after giving it much harrowing thought, one might end up being of the wrong opinion that this is naught but Blah Blah Blah-Esque Crappy Urban Fantasy (BBBECUF™) disguised as 
  "action-packed space opera exploits."
 Science Fiction. All in all, one's wrong opinion might be not entirely wrong.

» And the Moral of this Some Blurb Writing People Should Be Super Fearless and Heroic and Actually Consider Reading the Book They Have to Blurb About Oh Wow the Sheer Audacity of it All Crappy Non Review (SBWPSBSFaHaACRtBTHtBAOWtSAoiACNR™) is: want to read decaf, gluten-free, relatively sloppy UF in a space setting Science Fiction? Then by all means, read this book. Do NOT want to read decaf, gluten-free, relatively sloppy UF in a space setting Science Fiction? Then by all means, stay the fish away from it.



[Pre-review nonsense]

The blurb says: A gun smuggler inherits the throne in this Star Wars-style science fiction adventure from debut author K. B. Wagers.

I say:

 

➽ Full The Blurb for this Book Thou Shalt Not Trust Crappy Non Review (TBftBTSNTCNR™) to come.

Sheila

This was a fun debut! Accessible soft sci-fi very much in the same vein as Star Wars, but with more brown people :D Matriarchies in space! Definitely more fun to read than the regular run-of-the-mill stuff, and is a treat for any and all readers that read for the characters. Hailimi is a great no-nonsense MC who experiences a whole host of emotions & faces a plethora of problems head-on. Even the side characters (in particular, Emmory and Zin) are written with care & it's hard not to get attached by the end. ;~;

With the book 2 preview at the end of this book, I'll certainly be following up on this series for more Hailimi!

"Excellent SF adventure debut." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review Hail Bristol has made a name for herself in the galaxy for everything except what she was born to do: rule the Indranan Empire. When she is dragged back to her home planet to take her rightful place as the only remaining heir, she finds that trading her ship for a palace is her most dangerous move yet. The Indranan WarBehind the ThroneAfter the Crown

Bryan Alexander

Some books are easy reads. Others are even easier to get through. This is one of those books that gently sets you down on a soft couch, makes a soothing drink and sets it at your elbow, plays relaxing music in the background, fluffs your pillow, and murmurs into your ear: "You are right to read this. You deserve it. Don't feel bad. It's a good thing. Smile. Have some popcorn. Shut down that brain. Ssssshhhhhh."

Behind the Throne looks like a space opera and a story of intrigue, but really isn't either. It concerns the heir to an interstellar empire who, after a time slumming as a gunrunner, is summoned to succeed the empress. 99% of the novel is that succession, meaning our heroine meets people, is sometimes shot at, swears unimaginatively, has repetitive conversations with indistinguishable characters, and emits some ideas we're told are brilliant and that nobody else has thought of.

I made it through the book by dint of two reasons. First, our local sf book club read it, and I wanted to participate. Second, two worldbuilding ideas peeped forth from the narrative tedium. Women run the space empire and it's somewhat Indian in culture. I had hopes that these ideas would become interesting, but they never did. The matriarchy (it's called that) doesn't matter; you could randomly assign genders to nearly any character without changing a thing. Indian culture doesn't matter; it just means a few Indian names for things, plus a couple of Indian outfits worn by the heroine.

I wasted time reading this book, and feel sad as a result. So let me identify one point of potentially broader interest. The novel's protagonist is aristocracy, the heir to the throne. This is not a problem, politically, as we are encouraged to cheer her on as she ascends. We learn, briefly, of a few people who think empires aren't necessarily the best way to organize human relations, but they are thrust to one side and are probably villains.

This kind of pseudo-feudal imagination has long run through American science fiction, and it fascinates me. Why do we long to impose the ancien régime upon the future? Rarely is this done thoughtfully, as when in Dune Frank Herbert imagined a social structure predicated on certain technological structures (The Mote in God's Eye does something similar). Instead, American sf typically dreams of a cod-medieval future as a way to express our long-standing longing for aristocracy. Our lower-case-r republicanism never fully uprooted out colonial heritage, as can be seen from the American South's feudal landowning to today's celebrity culture.

A book like Behind the Throne exemplifies this. Our heroine is simply awesome, clever, wronged in just the right ways, and deserving of power. The narrative allows no other position. Instead, it festoons that politics with a few world-building dollops and then invites us to enjoy the jockeying for power among aristocrats.

Keep an eye on this kind of sf politics. You'll see more. But avoid this book.

Michael Cowell

Kevin Finlayson

Laura

Meet Hail: Captain. Gunrunner. Fugitive. Quick, sarcastic, and lethal, Hailimi Bristol doesn't suffer fools gladly. She has made a name for herself in the galaxy for everything except what she was born to do: rule the Indranan Empire. That is, until two Trackers drag her back to her home planet to take her rightful place as the only remaining heir. But trading her ship for a palace has more dangers than Hail could have anticipated. Caught in a web of plots and assassination attempts, Hail can't do the one thing she did twenty years ago: run away. She'll have to figure out who murdered her sisters if she wants to survive. A gun smuggler inherits the throne in this Star Wars-style science fiction adventure from debut author K. B. Wagers. Full of action-packed space opera exploits and courtly conspiracy - not to mention an all-out galactic war - Behind the Throne will please fans of James S. A Corey, Becky Chambers and Lois McMaster Bujold, or anyone who wonders what would happen if a rogue like Han Solo were handed the keys to an empire . . .

Behind the Throne

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