Bikers in space. Union revolution on a mining planet. Witches with planetary powers. Hard-bitten heroine with a heart of gold... no actual wolves.

I think it's a space opera, and it's full of grit. I liked it, I'm not sure I want to look for the sequel yet because it was a bit of a commitment to read, and i have a strong suspicion that some of the characters I like are going to perish. Merde. ( )

Gritty and funny and weird with really fantastic characters and fascinating world building. Will definitely read more of the series, and I recommend it if you've read/liked the short story And You Shall Know Her by the Trail of Dead by Brooke Bolander. Also if you're a fan of Gideon the Ninth, I think you'd like Hob a lot. ( )

A great read, an intriguing world and characters who I hope to see again! ( )

Give me union politics in a corporate dystopia and set it on a low-tech planet with conflicted fire witches and you're off to a good start. Add in found family, with a focus on healing an estranged sisterly relationship and I've poured a cuppa and settled in for the ride.

And what a ride it is. Because space westerns are fun, dammit. It’s a joy to see familiar Wild West tropes repackaged and served up as the plot careers from one set piece to the next: expect a doctor to be snatched (bonus: he’s actually a trainee horse doctor vet), a train job to be staged, and lawmen with a secret agenda. About the only thing that was missing was a high-stakes card game (but hey, I’ve not read the sequel yet).

This could be a pitch black tale – not least because our protagonists are anti-heroes at best, who aren’t above doing objectively terrible things – but it’s told with such panache it feels more like a romp.

Full review ( )

THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD I WANNA SCREAM

Seriously. SERIOUSLY! My 2018 reading has started with a GIANT AMAZING BANG.

I picked this book up on a whim and I'm so glad I did. This book is EVERYTHING I LOVE all at once, a SciFi/Western/Fantasy romp through a strange and fascinating world where labor, politics, bandits, technology, and found family all intersect.

Hob, the MC, is AMAZING. She is a powerful, reckless woman who never once demeans other women. She has a deep and abiding friendship with another woman, Mag, who is also powerful in a different but no less important way. There's very little (almost no) romance. Violence against women is threatened but it's never graphic, never violent-just-for-shock-value. The characters are all treated with an immense respect by the author; they act in ways that make sense, and even when they screw up it's real and you understand why. There's grittiness here but it's balanced by a tough, deep-running love for family, friends, fellow workers, and the planet itself.

I can't recommend this book enough. If you like westerns, sci-fi, weird worlds and weirder magic, found family, complex and compelling women characters, and a galaxy of mysteries and conspiracies, this book is for you.

NOW I NEED THE SEQUEL ( )