(cache)Read Reviews of Some Desperate Glory (Paperback) by Emily Tesh

“Outstanding space opera adventure...”

For those of you who are interested in such things, the title of this science fiction timeshift adventure is taken from Wilfred Owen’s poem ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ describing a gas attack in WWI in terrible detail. The final four lines read thus:
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est
Pro patria mori.

It’s a wonderful poem, I urge you to look it up if you don’t know it. And the subject matter and sentiment is absolutely spot on for the tenor of this story.

Gaea Station is one of the final holdouts for humanity that remains true to our species, now our home planet has been blown up by the alien’s sentient governing A.I., the Wisdom. Although there are traitors who have thrown in their lot with the majo who are responsible for killing fourteen billion human beings, Gaea is still raising children with the warbreed genetic strain. So they are bigger, faster, deadlier than the average human and committed to revenging themselves upon those who destroyed our world and its military might. And one of the most committed and loyal is Kyr, who is determined to serve by training the hardest. After all, she has a point to prove – her elder sister fled the station in a disgraceful act of disloyalty. This is where Kyr is at the start of the book.

And from then on, she finds herself confronted with nasty truths that increasingly undermine this version of her life and her ultimate aims. It forces her to act in ways that would have been unthinkable only a short time previously… And yes – this is familiar and oft-trodden territory for sci fi space opera adventures. But rarely have I seen it done so well. While Kyr is a teenager, I really like how her sexuality is handled. It makes perfect sense that she is so incredibly committed, she has locked down her aberrant sexual desires. For starters, like every other youngster on the station, she is malnourished and worked incredibly hard. She doesn’t have the time or inclination to start wondering why she isn’t remotely attracted to any of the boys and men training alongside her – other than to feel resentment at their inbuilt extra strength. This is a refreshing change from so many books dealing with youngsters in dire circumstances, where they constantly are examining and acting on their sexual desires, no matter the dangers they are being exposed to.

The other characters are also vividly portrayed with perception and depth, so I found myself rooting even for obnoxiously clever Avi, who does something terrible. The storytelling is fabulous – the descriptions of the station and the nearest planet are wonderful and this book reminded me all over again just why I LOVE science fiction so much! My one sorrow… it’s a standalone, so I won’t have another slice of this world through the eyes of Kyr. Very highly recommended for fans of superb science fiction adventure. While I obtained an arc of Some Desperate Glory from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
10/10

Paperback edition

By Sarah Higbee

This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.

3rd May 2023

Helpful? Upvote 16

“Magnificent”

"While Earth's children live, the enemy shall fear us".

This is a wonderful book.

Following Kyr, a young woman growing up in a remote space colony, Gaea, which has a very militaristic culture, we learn about a wider universe. About Earth, destroyed by alien attackers. About the humans - the last remnant living on that rock, and the aliens - all conquering, under the aegis of "the Wisdom", a mysterious force or intelligence that guides entire peoples, entire planets.

Kyr is one of the best warriors of her generation, genetically enhanced for warfare, trained remorselessly to avenge Earth, and now hoping for an assignment to one of the military wings of her people. Imagine her horror when instead she's assigned to the Nursery - facing a future bearing a child every two years to replenish Gaea's population. A future where she's offered as a privilege to the fighting men. Appalled at the prospect, Kyr takes her fate into her own hands and sets out on a self-defined mission to wage terror against those she perceives as traitors and collaborators. Because, no, the inhabitants of Gaea aren't actually the only humans left...

Emily Tesh produces a miracle of characterisation with Kyr. She is, frankly, a very unlikable charcetsr - the perfect little soldier, fanatical and devoted to the cause. She's disliked by her messmates, moody, committed, totally un self-aware. Yet you'd have to have a heart of stone not to sympathise with her, faced with a duty - the one duty - she simply can't bear. It seems she's been totally betrayed by the culture she hero-worships, and while the reader will soon spot just how rotten a culture that is, Kyr is conditioned, no radicalised, to serve it so the only way she can rationalise her rebellion is to commit to a higher cause, almost greedily seeking death for glory.

That's the jumping off point for a remarkable journey of self-discovery, change and growth, in which Kyr discovers far more about the truth behind Gaea, about the paradox of the Wisdom, and about the variety of people who occupy the universe. It's an affirming journey in which we can recognise and celebrate Kyr's true qualities (beyond simply the supersoldier thing). She will need those qualities as all she's ever known is thrown into the melting pot and strange new worlds emerge.

This is far from a simplistic tale of good vs bad (whether gentle, innocent aliens faced by human colonisers, or hapless humans menaced by monsters from space). It raises questions (on multiple levels) about the role of the individual vs the collective, about personal freedom, about just what constitutes personhood - and about giving up on long nurtured revenge. At heart, perhaps, it is about duty and about that moment when one is forced to think for onself and really, really consider what duty means.

All that, and this is a book of glorious prose with a driving, urgent pace in service of a rattling good story. Really a book you won't want to put down till you reach the last page.

Hardback edition

By Blue Book Balloon

This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.

20th April 2023

Helpful? Upvote 16

“Accessible, Compelling, Thoughtful Sci-Fi”

A compelling, thoughtful dystopian sci-fi on what it means to possess infinite knowledge, and the price of that gift, Some Desperate Glory kept me completely hooked with its twisty, unpredictable plot and unique characters. A high recommend to anyone looking for an accessible space-faring adventure that also navigates the complexity of life and the human condition.

Paperback edition

By Clara at Barnet

This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.

28th February 2024

Helpful? Upvote 14

Recommended by the reviewer

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“Unpredictable take on predictable space opera”

Emily Tesh made her name with two historical romantic fantasy novellas, Silver In The Wood and Drowned Country, which together do not add up to the page count of Some Desperate Glory; seeing her move to novel-writing was always going to be fascinating. That she also moved genres into space opera only adds to the intrigue. What she has written is a fascinating piece of work, combining traditional space opera concerns - humanity's place in an inhabited universe, the imperialist and violent history of humanity - with a smart take on the child-soldier trope seen in books like Ender's Game.
Some Desperate Glory is, in many ways, an obvious book; it telegraphs, even without the trigger warnings (extensive and accurate), where it will go from the start: revelations are seeded openly, secrets set up to be revealed so blatantly the reader can guess the secrets, and so on. That Tesh keeps the reader interested despite this obviousness is a real skill: we know what she's going to do, but how Some Desperate Glory will do it is the question we want answers to. That part of the answer is a brilliant play on another old favourite of science fiction, time travel, is icing on the cake.
What makes the book hang together is its narrative voice, a close-third following of Valkyr, the protagonist; an indoctrinated child soldier of the last human outpost fighting a galactic war that is over, in the wake of Earth's destruction. She is a fanatic, brought up by what is essentially a cult (reminiscent of accounts of Sparta); and deeply unlikable as a protagonist, as a result of her cruel fanaticism, at the start of the novel. And yet Tesh's achievement is to make us sympathise with her even as we question her, to find her initial flatness interesting; and as such keep us reading the novel.
Some Desperate Glory is at times a little obvious, but the ways Tesh uses and subverts that obviousness are really well crafted; an absolutely fantastic novel.

Hardback edition

By D Franklin (Glasgow Argyle St)

This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.

14th April 2023

Helpful? Upvote 10

“Space Opera with an unexpected twist!”

Some Desperate Glory is a wonderful new space opera, with many unexpected twists that cement the book as one of my favourite debuts of 2023. The story mostly takes place on Gaea station, a last outpost of humanity after the majo destruction of earth, determined to keep fighting the alien threat. Our lead character is Kyr, a young warrior with exemplary training scores who has sacrificed all of her time (and friendships) in the name of the cause. She therefore finds herself at a crossroads when her formal adult assignment is to the Nursery, permanently away from the front lines, while her brother is assigned to a suicide mission with no hope of return.

Some Desperate Glory is truly is a book of two halves with the second half taking a direction I was not expecting. It would be all too easy to spoil chunks of the book if I go into too much detail, so instead I’ll simply describe it as a wholly unexpected rug-pull that makes you re-examine what you’ve already read. In retrospect, I have a lot of respect for whoever managed to write a blurb that describes the book without dropping a single hint as to where the plot will go! I’m super impressed with Kyr as a character, because of her character progression over the course of the novel. At the beginning, I found her inherently unlikeable, and was a little concerned for the rest of the book since I found myself disagreeing with a lot of her actions and viewpoints. Were the book to progress in a predictable manner, this would be a major downside for the novel for me; however, because of the unexpected turn the book takes, it justified the character’s motives very well, and made me see her in a different light with a lot more sympathy.

Paperback edition

By Bookseller Adam, Lichfield

This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.

8th November 2023

Helpful? Upvote 8

“The best sci-fi novel I've read all year!”

This is an absolutely stunning novel - I loved everything about it!

Valkyr, the main character, is brilliantly realised and she genuinely grows as a person. I can't really go into many plot details without revealing spoilers, but this is a truly incredible sci-fi novel. It has a propulsive plot with plenty of twists and turns, but it has real depth and emotion too and I think I'll be rereading this again and again in the future.

I received a free advanced copy of this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and I'm so glad I had the chance to read this amazing story!

Hardback edition

By Helen at Scarborough

This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.

24th May 2023

Helpful? Upvote 8

Recommended by the reviewer

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“Epic!”

I am still reeling from howe much I loved this book! Sci Fi was the first genre I fell in love with but recently I haven't read much that I've liked. I was lucky enough to be sent an advanced copy of Some Desperate Glory, which I hadn't heard of beforehand, and reading the blurb it sounded like just my kind of book.

Kyr is a brilliant MC. The growth she goes through is incredible as she realises all is not what it seems on Gaea station and decides to fight for what is right instead. Kyr kind of sucks for a good proportion of this book, but I definitely related to her - I've been her before. There are some tough issues brought up in this book, and it didn't always make for nice reading, but ET dealt with them flawlessly.

I also really enjoyed that this book wasn't romance focused - don't get me wrong, I enjoy it, but a lot of the times authors have romances overshadow their story and it was a refreshing change.

Hardback edition

By Lara Martin

This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.

7th April 2023

Helpful? Upvote 8

“Incredible read”

All her life, Kyr has been bred and trained for war against the alien race that destroyed Earth. Living on an isolated space station where cadets graduate into various programmes like Nursery (very Handmaid’s Tale) or one of the combat wings, Kyr is blindsided when her assignment places her into Nursery.
This sets her on a path to prove she is worthy of fighting the war as she chases after her awol brother with a captured alien, and an ambitious systems tech with nefarious plans of his own in tow.
This book is an incredible read with twists and turns throughout. It raises questions on the nature of vengeance and humanity, how are people defined, and how the actions of a few define attitudes towards an entire race.
It does contain sensitive subject matter, including references to rape, racism, and homophobia, but Tesh deftly weaves these into the narrative as a way to highlight social injustices, it’s never heavy handed.

Paperback edition

By Grace

This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.

1st May 2024

Helpful? Upvote 7

“Blown Away”

Kyr has lived her whole life on a makeshift base in space with the remains of humanity after Earth was destroyed before she was born. The whole time, she has prepared as a soldier to face the enemy, who are still out there. Until the day everything changes and she discovers she may not really know the whole story ...

This was such a brilliant science fiction story! Kyr is a conflicted character but that just makes her all the more interesting to read. And the non stop action plot (with bits of slightly incomprehensible technology thrown in) makes for a wild ride. Would definitely recommend for anybody who enjoys a good space epic!

Paperback edition

By Liv Burrell

This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.

13th April 2023

Helpful? Upvote 6

“Just hits different!”

So theres alot of elements to this book, but kerping it spoiler free I’ll say this; This is one of my favourite sci-fi books in rescent years.

It strikes the perfect balance. It gets the best out of the space opera structure without ever become indulgent or losing its premise. The pacing and plot perfectly balance each other so well it makes for such a addictive read.

There are some trigger warnings at the front that give you the heads up on certain plot points, but I think each serves its purpose, and is never handled without a measure of care.

5 stars.

Paperback edition

By Dean from Douglas

This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.

6th June 2025

Helpful? Upvote 4

Reviews: Some Desperate Glory (10)

“Outstanding space opera adventure...”

“Magnificent”

“Accessible, Compelling, Thoughtful Sci-Fi”

Recommended by the reviewer

“Unpredictable take on predictable space opera”

“Space Opera with an unexpected twist!”

“The best sci-fi novel I've read all year!”

Recommended by the reviewer

“Epic!”

“Incredible read”

“Blown Away”

“Just hits different!”