Essa Hansen

'AN EXCEPTIONAL DEBUT . . . READS LIKE A BECKY CHAMBERS NOVEL CROSSED WITH FIREFLY' Michael Mammay, author of Planetside 'A SUCKER PUNCH TO THE SENSES . . . A KILLER STORY WITH REAL HEART AND SOUL' Alastair Reynolds In this dark, dangerous, roller coaster of a debut, a young man sets out on a single-minded quest for revenge across a breathtaking multiverse filled with aliens, mind-bending tech, and ships beyond his wildest imagining. Essa Hansen's is a bold new voice for the next generation of science fiction readers. Caiden's planet is destroyed. His family gone. And, his only hope for survival is a crew of misfit aliens and a mysterious ship that seems to have a soul and a universe of its own. Together they will show him that the universe is much bigger, much more advanced, and much more mysterious than Caiden had ever imagined. But the universe hides dangers as well, and soon Caiden has his own plans. He vows to do anything it takes to get revenge on the slavers who murdered his people and took away his home. To destroy their regime, he must infiltrate and dismantle them from the inside, or die trying. From one of the most exciting new voices in science fiction comes Nophek Gloss - an action-packed space adventure perfect for fans of Star Wars, Children of Time and The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. *Finalist for r/Fantasy Stabby Awards for Best Debut!* One of the most highly praised science fiction debuts of the year: 'Gripping and inventive, Nophek Gloss will delight even as it breaks your heart' Megan E. O'Keefe, award-winning author of Velocity Weapon 'A strong, rollercoaster of a debut' Gareth L. Powell, author of The Embers of War 'Bursting with strange characters and powerful SF action' Rob Boffard, author of Adrift 'This is space opera firing on all cylinders, and a must-read' Jeremy Szal, author of Stormblood

The exceptional, thrilling space opera debut

Nophek Gloss

Sahi K

I had heard quite a bit about this in my blogging circle because everyone seemed to enjoy it but I also realized that most of them were hardcore sci-fi readers, so I thought this one wouldn’t be for me. But I couldn’t resist buying it when it was on sale and also requested the arc for its sequel. So I started reading this on the cusp of the new year because I wanted to try something different, and it definitely was a great way to welcome 2022.

I always try and do those things on the first day of the year which I think I’ll want to do more of in the rest of the year (it’s just a silly sentiment I’ve heard since my childhood). So I technically shouldn’t have read this pretty dark sci-fi at this time, but I didn’t bother to read the blurb, so didn’t even realize what I was getting into. The writing is beautiful in its own way, giving just enough details for everything so that we can fill the rest of it with our imaginations. It’s not overly descriptive but there were some scenes (beginning right in the first chapter) which just evoked all kinds of horrific feelings and while I was scared, there was no way I could put it down. It’s also a hard sci-fi book with multiverses and myriad of alien species and lots of advanced technology, and it did take me some time to understand it (and probably didn’t for a lot of it too), but I was also too engrossed that I almost finished it in a single sitting. The pacing can feel relaxed at times but it’s always followed by terror inducing fast paced action and chase sequences and I had a great time envisioning it all in my head. 

I also can’t deny that it was the themes that the author explores which held my deepest attention all throughout. We see what grief and loss can do to a person, and how not processing this trauma can morph into being reckless and hurtful (both towards oneself and others). The author also shows us how trauma can suddenly force a person to grow up (both literally and metaphorically) even if their mind isn’t ready to face the realities of being an adult. The author also creates a world which felt pretty queernormative and I loved the exploration of gender fluidity while also discussing the good and bad reasons for wanting body augmentation. The found family aspects of the story are also very strong and it was a source of hope amidst a very grim story. 

Caiden (or Winn) is a young 14 year old who loses everything in the span of a few hours and is suddenly thrust into a multiverse he doesn’t understand and a reality he didn’t know he was a part of. But what he does know is that he wants revenge upon those who are responsible for his loss and is single minded in his goal towards achieving that. While there were many moments where I wanted to force some sense into him, he was also very easy to sympathize with. He is a very good, sweet and compassionate person by nature but finds these qualities of his as not useful in a brutal world, and especially in his path for vengeance. And the suffering he endures for the sake of his goal just made me distraught and I wanted to give him a hug and protect him from this world. 

Each of the members of the found family he encounters are unique - sweet and nurturing and prickly and mysterious - but they all care in their own ways and I loved watching each of their individual as well as group dynamics. His childhood friend/sister Leta has a small physical presence in the book but is always at the back of his head and plays a major part as his invisible conscience and wisdom. Threi is an intriguing antagonist whose motives you understand at times, even believe he might not be too bad, but at other times I just wanted to strangle him. I have a feeling we have more to see of his bad side. I don’t wanna go into spoilery details of the other antagonists and alien species but just know that every single one of them is compelling and extremely well written. 

Ultimately, this is a surprise addition to my read pile and I have to give all the credit to the engaging writing and immersive world that the author has created. While hard sci-fi fans will find all the intriguing sciency details they love in these pages, readers like me will love the brilliant characterizations and relationship dynamics, along with its very strong themes of grief, revenge, humanity and found family. So whatever kind of SFF reader you are, do give this one a try. And now that I have the sequel, I’m excited to get to it soon.

When a young man's planet is destroyed, he sets out on a single-minded quest for revenge across the galaxy in Nophek Gloss, the first book in this epic space opera trilogy by debut author Essa Hansen, for fans of Revenger and Children of Time. Caiden's planet is destroyed. His family gone. And, his only hope for survival is a crew of misfit aliens and a mysterious ship that seems to have a soul and a universe of its own. Together they will show him that the universe is much bigger, much more advanced, and much more mysterious than Caiden had ever imagined. But the universe hides dangers as well, and soon Caiden has his own plans. He vows to do anything it takes to get revenge on the slavers who murdered his people and took away his home. To destroy their regime, he must infiltrate and dismantle them from the inside, or die trying.

Sunyi Dean

Caveat: This is not your usual book review; I've included some "behind the scenes" musings for once. If you prefer my usual reviews, this may not be your cup of tea. Okay, caveats out of the way--let's go!

There's a lot of mutual back-scratching (praise my book, and I'll praise your book!) which goes on in publishing, both self and trade. I don't mean this in a derogatory sense, because it comes from a good place: earnest writers genuinely trying to help out other writer buddies. 

But I mention it here because I think, if I don't, my review will look suspect. By way of explanation, I'm one of Essa's critique partners, and under normal circumstances I would fully expect anyone reading this review to roll their eyes and say, "Of COURSE you think it's good!" 

The thing is, it's actually the other way around. 

NOPHEK GLOSS won me over on its own merits, all while being massively at a disadvantage.

Let me explain further--let's rewind three years. I was still 29, and muddling painfully through my first (truly terrible) novel. It was finished, but not very good, and I was struggling to find beta reader swaps for it. Beta reader swaps are where you contact another writer, usually someone you don't know, and agree to critique each other's books. The critique process is important for everyone, because humans learn best through teaching; when you critique others' work, you're teaching yourself to get better, too, as well as benefiting from fresh eyes on your MS. 

But the problem with beta swap partners is they're often not very good experiences. Either you're a novice, or the other person is, or you both are, or your critique styles just don't match--hundreds of things that can go wrong, meaning one or both writers abandons the swap. Think about dating online: it's probably a bit like that, but far more annoying and far less rewarding. 

My early beta swap experiences were pretty terrible. The books I was swapping for appalled me. I'm sure my book appalled other people, too. 

Somehow, I blundered into Essa. We were in lot of the same FB groups: trawling for betas, asking questions, sometimes giving advice; we both wrote "speculative fiction" and aspired to have a literary edge. (Whether we achieve that or not, I leave to readers to decide.) Eventually--to cut a lot of pointless detail short--we ended up swapping books. 

The book I swapped for was, of course, Nophek Gloss. 

I started reading. This was pretty good! I kept reading, page after page, making my way through the chapters, leaving notes or nitpicks as they struck me, musing on sections, asking questions. 

Even after a couple chapters in, I'd already had the realisation that this was the first manuscript I'd ever beta-read which felt like a real book. Like it could actually get picked up and produced by a publisher. The quality of the writing, the micro tension, the descriptions, the ideas, the characters and characterisations; you could just FEEL it. 

This book was going to make it. 

That very early version of NOPHEK was only 22 chapters long, and much less polished than the novel you are about to embark on (assuming you are reading this review first, that is.) Through the following three years, as we queried agents, swapped more critiques, wrote different books, rewrote old books, and found rep, Essa continued working on NOPHEK to make the novel more refined and eloquent. All the same qualities that early draft had were still present, just expanded and magnified. 

In short, I don't rate the book highly because I know its author; I know its author, because I rated the book highly. 

And therefore, when I say that my review is unbiased, I am genuinely being truthful. 

For the novel itself, I will simply say that NOPHEK GLOSS is--to me--a coming of age (bildungsroman) story which is pitched at adults, rather than teens. It explores the effects of growing up too fast--literally, thanks to technology--in response to trauma, and the psychological cost of suppressing pain or loss in pursuit of our goals. 


And yes, there are lots of other cool things too: the bubble universe stuff, the sheer variety of alien culture and life, the creative and playful interaction with biotech, the ship that creates universes, etc etc. But I will leave most of that for readers to discover, if they wish. There are many surprises and I'd feel bad spoiling them in-depth. 

I hope that you will find Nophek Gloss as surprising and delightful as I first did, all those years ago.


PS - this is not available for sale yet. I read an ARC of the recent version, in addition to earlier versions. 

PPS - For those interested in rep, the MC is written as ace-spec, and one of the supporting characters is neurodivergent (#ownvoices ND.) Some very good trans and nb rep throughout, too.

Nophek Gloss The exceptional, thrilling space opera debut

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