These Burning Stars

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By Bethany Jacobs

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Publisher Description

WINNER OF THE 2024 PHILIP K. DICK AWARD

A dangerous cat-and-mouse quest for revenge. An empire that spans star systems, built on the bones of a genocide. A carefully hidden secret that could collapse worlds, hunted by three women with secrets of their own. This is an explosive space opera debut from one of the most powerful new voices in science fiction.

On a dusty backwater planet, occasional thief Jun Ironway has gotten her hands on the score of a lifetime: a secret that could raze the Kindom, the ruling power of the galaxy.

A star system away, preternaturally stoic Chono and brilliant hothead Esek— the two most brutal clerics of the Kindom—are tasked with hunting Jun down.

And tracking all three across the stars is a ghost from their shared past known only as Six. But what Six wants is anyone’s guess. It’s a game of manipulation and betrayal that could destroy them all. And they have no choice but to see it through.

★ “An intricate plot for revenge drives this far-future SF political thriller. An exciting start from a fresh talent.”―Kirkus (Starred Review)

★ "Readers who love smart thrillers and explosive science fiction won’t want to miss this book."―Booklist (Starred Review)

★ "A devilishly fun thrill ride ... These Burning Stars is plotted like a chess match, confident and surprising as Jacobs moves each piece thoughtfully across her board."―BookPage (Starred Review)

251 Reviews

4.0

Lex Kay

Created 1 day ago

“I actually had to take a few days to digest this book before writing my review. WOW was it good!! Massive world, tons of political intrigue, rebellion and war, unjust systems, deeply complex characters, and so much more. These Burning Stars exceeded the expectations I had going into it and I was on the absolute edge of my seat for the last half. The game of cat and mouse between the MC’s spanning for years until the ultimate culmination of the three POV’s coming together at the end in a most unexpected way was breathtaking. I’m so happy this book was picked for a book club and I need to continue on with this story asap.”

Diverse representation Morally ambiguous Multilayered Strong relationships Action-packed Clever plotting Suspenseful

Geena

Created 2 days ago

BethelAnnBooks

Created 5 days ago

“Truly clever. Totally fun. Cannot wait for the next book. I was completely immersed in this from the very beginning. The mystery was very compelling but also satisfying once it’s revealed. I thoroughly enjoyed this.”

Reviewed in:The Institute Alumni 🐺

Carrykyrie

Created 7 days ago

“This was a good one and that last 25% (approximate) was freaking crazy. It blew my mind, I did not see that huge twist coming. I sat there for a few minutes after reading it, completely surprised. I did have a hard time following along sometimes, for example I had a hard time imagining ‘casting’ and all the talk about clerics and Hands. This made it a bit hard to get into the story at first. Also, even though Esek is completely unhinged and a violent psychopath I honestly kind of enjoyed reading her chapters 🫣 I really liked seeing Chono’s inner thoughts and her relationship with Esek as well. The obsessiveness between Chono, Esek and Six was a mess but it was such an interesting dynamic, with Chono getting stuck in the middle of their crazy cat and mouse game.I’m definitely going to be reading the next book in this space opera!”

Murder Sexual assault War violence Diverse representation Dark

Lucy B. Reads

Created 7 days ago

“Damn!!! I really couldn't have chosen a better book to dive into scifi/space operas with!! Such an approachable entry point! As a scifi novice, I was worried for a while that all the scifi worldbuilding would be too much for me, and it definitely threw me into the deep end, BUT it didn't end up being so convoluted that I couldn't follow. Honestly, I was surprised by how well I was able to follow everything, once I got the hang of it. The prose of this book was nothing special; pretty basic and bare. But that's absolutely not a bad thing. Once again, as a novice, I was very grateful that, on top of all the new terminology and worldbuilding, it wasn't also flowery and pretentious. Some of the inner monologues got quite repetitive. I'm not sure we needed to bounce back and forth SO much. But that is where my criticisms end. And I do somewhat understand this choice, too, for unfolding the mystery the way it did. Speaking of the mystery. What an awesome cat-and-mouse thriller plot!! It kept me engaged from basically page 1. The use of POVs and time jumps was expertly done. I had caught on to a specific narrative choice that did eventually help me figure out one of the huge twists. But I only fully theorized it mere pages before it was revealed, so it was still exciting and not disappointing. The worldbuilding was so well-done. Despite the prose using very few outward descriptors for anything or anyone, I still got a well-rounded idea of the planets in this star system, the government and bureacracy, the history and religion and culture, the technology, etc. There is more to be unveiled in future books, to be sure, but this was an excellent introduction. One thing I absolutely loved about the worldbuilding is what I'm choosing to call the "casual queerness." Queerness was baked into the worldbuilding so seamlessly. It's almost as if... it's that easy. If humans would stop caring so much about each other's genitals. Queerness is really just a fact of life and not a problem. Jacobs imagined a flawed world, but queerness was not one of its flaws, and I appreciate her for it. Lastly, the characters. Like I said, very few outward appearance descriptors for any of them. I could barely imagine what any of them look like. But I got SUCH a strong sense of all of their inner worlds. They were all multifaceted and flawed and so, so intriguing. I cannot wait to learn more about them all. I'm going to wait as long as I can stand it to read book 2, just so I'm not waiting an interminable amount of time afterwards for book 3 to be published. But I am so so excited.”

Reviewed in:The Institute Alumni 🐺

About Bethany Jacobs

Bethany Jacobs is a former college instructor of writing and science fiction, who made the leap to education technology and now teaches tech heads how to write. She lives in Buffalo, New York with her wife and her dog and her books. These Burning Stars is her debut novel.