Some Desperate Glory

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 Some Desperate Glory, by Emily Tesh

On a small asteroid, a tiny remnant of humanity cling to their ideology.  Earth was destroyed in the Majo War, and most of the human survivors live on one world of the massive, peaceful, and multispecies Majoda civilization that is managed by the Wisdom, a millenia-old transdimensional artificial intelligence.  But on Gaea Station, these survivors live an extremely Spartan existence dedicated to revenge.

Valkyr has spent her life training as a soldier, just like her twin brother Mags, just like every Gaean child.  Now her group is up for assignment; each girl will be given a lifetime job in a section of Gaea to keep it running.  Kyr and her brother, as warbreeds, are excellent soldiers and both expect to be assigned as such, but Mags doesn't want it and Kyr discovers that she's expected to spend her life bearing children in Nursery, what with her valuable genetics and all.  The capture of a majo serves as the catalyst that turns Kyr, the perfect indoctrinated child soldier, into a runaway who finds that she's been lied to her entire life.

The story contains three, THREE timelines!  Explorations of every side of the story, including some extras.  Why was Earth destroyed, and what if it wasn't?  What to do when the foundations of your life crumble?  All sorts of stuff.  Wow, what a ride.

A very good story.  Lots to think about.  I found this book because Emily Tesh is one of the hosts of the Eight Days of Diana Wynne Jones podcast!


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