Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Some Desperate Glory
Some Desperate Glory | Emily Tesh
23 posts | 15 read | 20 to read
A thrillingly told queer space opera about the wreckage of war, the family you find, and who you must become when every choice is stripped from you, Some Desperate Glory is Astounding Award Winner and Crawford Award Finalist Emily Tesh's highly anticipated debut novel. Masterful, audacious storytelling. Relentless, unsentimental, a completely wild ride.--Tamsyn Muir While we live, the enemy shall fear us. Since she was born, Kyr has trained for the day she can avenge the murder of planet Earth. Raised in the bowels of Gaea Station alongside the last scraps of humanity, she readies herself to face the Wisdom, the powerful, reality-shaping weapon that gave the majoda their victory over humanity. They are what's left. They are what must survive. Kyr is one of the best warriors of her generation, the sword of a dead planet. When Command assigns her brother to certain death and relegates her to Nursery to bear sons until she dies trying, she knows must take humanity's revenge into her own hands. Alongside her brother's brilliant but seditious friend and a lonely, captive alien, Kyr escapes from everything she's known into a universe far more complicated than she was taught and far more wondrous than she could have imagined.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
SaunteringVaguelyDownwards
post image
Pickpick

I love teaching the WWI poem "Dulce Et Decorum Est" this book gets its name from for its masterful use of poetic devices to convey a powerful critique of war, and this novel honors that message deftly. It's remarkable to watch Kyr come to terms with the fact that she has been radicalized, and that the world is nothing like she's been taught.

SaunteringVaguelyDownwards The ending reminds me so much of the Doctor Who series nine finale where Clara gets to travel the universe with Me in their own TARDIS, and I hope both Kyr and Yiso enjoy their travel just as much. 1mo
12 likes1 comment
blurb
llwheeler
post image

#bookreport another scattered week. On audio I finished Treasure Island (#1001books enjoyed more than I expected) and started Ace (enjoying as expected!)
But for ebooks... I finished a #roll100, read a bit more of my #BookSpin, started a new #1001books, and then my hold on the tagged came in so I started that.

For #weeklyforecast who knows... I have my next audio lined up, that's all.

AuthorDeniseTurney You're diving into book reading! Good for you! Plan to finish Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead this weekend 1mo
24 likes1 comment
quote
SaunteringVaguelyDownwards
post image

"The sky lit up with green subreal flashes as a Wisdom cruiser dropped out of shadowspace."

Was craving some sci-fi, and this book is delivering!

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

ShyBookOwl Sounds good! 2mo
16 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
LittlebearReads
post image
Pickpick

4.85/5 stars (or planetoids, take your pick)! This is a neat lil‘ sci-fi standalone, and my main complaint is it would‘ve been well served by about 100 more pages dedicated to exploring the motivations of the original rebellion, the mechanics of the Wisdom/shadowspace, and just some little things like that. Lastly, I am madly in love with the clever use of bits from Wilfred Owen‘s Dulce Et Decorum Est.

BookmarkTavern What a sweetheart! 💕 2mo
LittlebearReads @BookmarkTavern Thanks! That‘s my buddy James, he doesn‘t read but makes up for it in snuggles 2mo
6 likes2 comments
blurb
LittlebearReads

I‘m only about 20 pages in, and holy heck Batman. Maybe it‘s because the title seems like a clear reference to Owen‘s “Dulce Et Decorum Est” (anyone else love antiwar poetry?) but I just know this one will be a wild ride somehow.

review
Hooked_on_books
post image
Pickpick

Kyr lives on a station with the remnants of humanity after Earth was destroyed, desperate to fight for her people. But things don‘t go the way she would like. What I really dug about this book is that a couple times it went directions I wasn‘t expecting and I really like when a book does that. I found it fully absorbing.

Soubhiville Great choice for that prompt. 🙂 Hi Sleepy Bindi! 3mo
Librarybelle I think I‘m going to rely on reviews like this for this prompt - so not my usual type of reading! 3mo
See All 12 Comments
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3mo
BarbaraBB I hardly ever read books like this one but it does sound great! So for this prompt I‘ll stack it! 3mo
Ruthiella I really liked this one too! 👍 3mo
Deblovestoread Sounds good and a great prompt match, too. 💜 3mo
Crazeedi This isn't my usual type of book, but this might work! 3mo
Kristy_K This sounds interesting! Good choice for this prompt too. 3mo
Hooked_on_books @Soubhiville I have you to thank! I‘m so glad you gave me this one. Thanks you. 🤗 3mo
KarenUK Not my genre either, which is why I love these tags! Great review 💕 3mo
Soubhiville Glad you enjoyed it! You‘re welcome. 3mo
64 likes4 stack adds12 comments
review
NotCool
post image
Pickpick

I would like to write a pithy short review of this book, because it was excellent. I haven‘t read a space opera this good in awhile and I want you to read it too. If you ever read Ender‘s Game and have some thoughts, this might be for you. If you like dynamic characters who are bad at people but eventually figure out found family, this might be for you. If you like stories where humans are basically Klingons, this might be for you.

quote
NotCool
post image

“But the Wisdom is evil” said Kyr. “Not if it‘s ours,” Avi said. “Nothing‘s evil if it‘s on our side.”

blurb
Ruthiella
post image

#Two4Tuesday

1. The tagged book was possibly my favorite of November. It was a really strong debut novel.

2. All of them! But I am crossing my fingers I‘ll find time to read another Margaret Drabble. I want to explore her body of work.

Thank you for tagging me @The_Penniless_Author 😊

TheSpineView Thanks for playing!🎄📖📚 4mo
50 likes1 comment
review
Ruthiella
post image
Pickpick

My first completed book for the #NovelNovember readathon. This was a real page turner and exactly the kind of character driven sci fi that I wanted. Kyr lives a spartan existence, one of the last of a few thousand humans holding out against an alien enemy that would assimilate humanity. She was born to be a soldier in the common cause. But when she gets her first adult assignment, she begins to question everything she‘d ever been taught…

Andrew65 Excellent 👏👏👏 (edited) 4mo
65 likes3 stack adds1 comment
blurb
Ruthiella
post image

This is my currently reading stack and I‘m going to finish them ALL by the end of this #NovelNovember readathon!

Andrew65 Good luck 😁 The second person to have The Last Devil To Die on their planned reading. 4mo
tpixie Looks like great reads!! 4mo
Ruthiella @Andrew65 it‘s such a fun series. 😄 I love too that it a book I can share with my mom. 4mo
See All 6 Comments
Ruthiella @tpixie So far I‘m really enjoying them all! 👍😃 4mo
bthegood @Ruthiella just finished Last Devil to Die - loved it - love these characters - it's like visiting with friends!! Enjoy! 4mo
Ruthiella @bthegood Totally agree! The Cooper‘s Chase gang are why I love the series. 👍 4mo
64 likes6 comments
blurb
rachelsbrittain
post image

Book Riot's Best Books of 2023 So Far is here! My pick is tagged but I've already been convinced I need to read several others 😅

bookriot.com/best-books-of-2023-so-far/

ChaoticMissAdventures I always think I am so well read until these lists come out! I have read 2 and have 2 more at home to get to. Most of these I have never heard of! 9mo
rachelsbrittain @ChaoticMissAdventures if it makes you feel better I've only read 4! 9mo
BarkingMadRead I haven‘t read any of these, but I have 2 on my shelf 9mo
peanutnine I've only read one (tagged) but it was my favorite of the year so far. I've got a bunch of these on my TBR already but added a few more. Thanks for sharing! 9mo
43 likes4 comments
review
Robotswithpersonality
post image
Pickpick

That, was a LOT. Very different vibes from the Greenwood duology, obviously, but it has solidified my intention to pick up anything Emily Tesh writes in the future. Heavy sci-fi, with as much emphasis on the heavy as on the sci-fi. The author has helpfully provided a list of content warnings in the front of the book: HEED THEM. Did not know where it was going halfway through, loved that it took its time with main character arc. All the EMOTIONS!

review
Tea_and_Starstuff
post image
Pickpick

I have been *missing* toothy, well-plotted epic sci-fi, and this delivered! Earth has been destroyed, and we follow a teenager who has been trained from birth to fight. The thing that made this book so refreshing? It's so clear she's not a hero. Her people are a radical, hateful cult, and the story is a look at escaping that sort of brainwashing that feels more realistic (yes, even with the aliens) than most child-soldier stories. (1/2)

Tea_and_Starstuff I suggest looking up trigger warnings if you're a sensitive reader. But at the same time - this is a story about fighting back against those terrible things. It skated really close to some of my biggest nopes but handled it in a deft and sensitive way. Tesh is skyrocketing up my list of favorite authors. (2/2)
9mo
10 likes1 comment
review
Soubhiville
post image
Pickpick

I loved Emily Tesh‘s novellas- Silver in the Wood and Drowned Country- so I preordered this as soon as I heard about it.

Valkyr grew up in a post-Earth colony where she was raised to be a soldier for humanity. At 17 years old she‘s about to receive her adult assignment, but as her friends find out their fates she begins to see cracks in the perception of perfection her society relies on.

Queer multiverse scifi with deep political shifts. ⬇️

AmyG Book and cat match perfectly! 9mo
Soubhiville I really loved the bits of intergalactic manual interspersed in the story explaining how to understand and deal with humans. Other races see us as huge and dangerous, warlike but forgivably so, kind of “they can‘t help it, they were raised that way.” ⬇️ 9mo
Soubhiville Mind the content warnings- there‘s a lot of darkness. But Emily helps you out with a whole paragraph of warnings right at the start of the book. 9mo
Soubhiville @AmyG Igor goes perfectly with everything 🙂💕 9mo
dabbe Hello, Inspiring Igor! 🖤🐾🖤 9mo
63 likes4 stack adds5 comments
blurb
RainyDayReading
post image

Clearly “taking it easy” is something I don‘t know how to do. My goal for #20in4 is to get through as many of these as possible while working two out of the four readathon days and while having my brother visit😅 My library recently lowered the renewal limit so I need to get through these ASAP. @Andrew65

AllDebooks Lore Olympus is so good. You can read all of it on Webtoon 10mo
Andrew65 Enough there to keep you busy 😂 Best of luck and great to have you with us 😁 10mo
32 likes3 comments
review
rachelsbrittain
post image
Pickpick

This sci-fi novel does something I've never seen outside of fanfiction: create an alternate universe of itself. And it does it *well.* Val Kyr has trained all her life to defeat the aliens and their god-like artificial intelligence known as the Wisdom. But when she finally gets the chance, it goes wrong. And everything she thought she knew about humanity and aliens and war is suddenly flipped on its head.

Big TW for suicide, others in comments.

rachelsbrittain TWs: suicide, mentions of rape, mentions of forced pregnancy, child soldiers, and probably some others. It's a book that deals with some dark themes. 10mo
39 likes4 stack adds1 comment
blurb
Twainy
post image

I don‘t need everything I read to be meaningful, thought-provoking works of important literature. This was a fun sci-fi audiobook (yes a bit YA but forgivably so). I didn‘t skip my IC subscription for April on purpose & have been looking forward to the Special Edition delivery for the past month. Cool edges on all 3 sides, unique end papers, quote on front, the jacket glows like metal. I love interesting companions! ♥️♥️

Soubhiville I picked this up because I loved Silver in the Wood. Looking forward to reading it! Is that gorgeous book a special edition of the tagged? 11mo
Twainy @Soubhiville yes 😁 Illumicrate monthly subscription box. The metallic-look cover was a nice choice. 11mo
30 likes2 comments
review
Jari-chan
post image
Bailedbailed

How long does it take to DNF a book? If I'm calculating right it took me 9 pages. Might be a new record...

My guts already told me that this isn't for me, but I've enjoyed Tesh's novellas so I wanted to give this one a try too.

But after mentioning how her MC is the best in the best in this and that, introducing a stereotypical female enemy, and telling us even MORE things the MC is the best at (how old is that girl?) I'm done. Too YA for me.

TheAromaofBooks When you know you know 😂 11mo
Jari-chan @TheAromaofBooks Sure thing 😁 11mo
27 likes3 comments
review
Twainy
post image
Pickpick

🎧 This book starts with an entire paragraph of trigger warnings.

A queer, military space opera crossed with a Handmaid‘s Tale Cult.

You don‘t like the MC by design but you see her come to the realization of her reality. There‘s a fun robot sidekick.

This book started my April mood reading journey off on a sci-fi trajectory. It doesn‘t say it‘s YA but the simplicity of the plot & age of the protagonist (etc), I‘d say it was YA/NA.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Twainy Publication date - 4/11/2023. 12mo
29 likes1 comment
review
underground_bks
post image
Pickpick

An exhilarating, edge-of-your-seat ride, a tender and triumphantly queer journey, and a groundbreaking masterwork of science fiction about fascism, deradicalization, war and peace…Some Desperate Glory is destined for not only the highest heights of Best Of lists and award nominations (or there is no justice in this reality or any other!), but fierce love from fans and frenzied recommendations from readers like this one. 👽🚀🥹

39 likes2 stack adds
blurb
swishandflick
post image

Started the day with a Goodreads win 💪🏽

Read4life Great start to any day. 🤓 1y
66 likes1 stack add1 comment