I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
August Kitko and the Mechas from Space by Alex White Published by Orbit on July 12, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Science Fiction / Action & Adventure, Fiction / Science Fiction / Alien Contact, Fiction / Science Fiction / Space Exploration, Fiction / Science Fiction / Space Opera
Pages: 464
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Netgalley
When an army of giant robot AIs threatens to devastate Earth, a virtuoso pianist becomes humanity's last hope in this bold, lightning-paced, technicolor space opera series from the author of A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe.
Jazz pianist Gus Kitko expected to spend his final moments on Earth playing piano at the greatest goodbye party of all time, and maybe kissing rockstar Ardent Violet, before the last of humanity is wiped out forever by the Vanguards--ultra-powerful robots from the dark heart of space, hell-bent on destroying humanity for reasons none can divine.
But when the Vanguards arrive, the unthinkable happens--the mecha that should be killing Gus instead saves him. Suddenly, Gus's swan song becomes humanity's encore, as he is chosen to join a small group of traitorous Vanguards and their pilots dedicated to saving humanity.
This book starts out as DON’T LOOK UP and continues into more of a PACIFIC RIM BUT MUSICAL. Actually, it kind of feels like the video game REIGNS: BEYOND, which is a game about being a rockstar in space. It’s a dual-POV book and there is a lot going on, and one of them is a nonbinary rockstar named ARDENT VIOLET, which, wow. Wish I had picked that name. I said there is a lot going on, but I think it’s all working together well, making it a symphony of a book. If you liked Premee Mohammed’s BENEATH THE RISING series, I think you’ll really like this. Four stars. Booksweet link. Storygraph link.
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