Having read the majority of Glynn Stewart's books i found this one as enjoyable as ever.
What he does best is reasonably light space opera that drags you in and makes you want to keep reading. Not too much science or techobabble that will bog you (or the story) down
Characters are developed enough that they are relatable and give depth to a story that is a nice balance of world building and action.
In typical S/F way the ending sets us up nicely for what will be the next part in the series, which i am very much looking forward to enjoying.

Thank you very much for allowing me the please of reading this early!!

This ARC was provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Exile starts in the middle of a revolution started by Admiral Gallant against the dictatorial regime/the Confederacy run by his mother. The revolution fails and Admiral Gallant. along with his revolutionaries and anyone who so much as hints at disagreeing with his mother's Confederacy, is banished to a system away from the reaches of the Confederacy. There, the Admiral must start a civilisation made up for revolutionaries and dissidents from scratch using the materials they brought with them and come face to face with the realisation that their new world, Exilium, is not what it seems.

I really, really enjoyed this book. Admiral Gallant pulled me in from the first mention of his name in the blurb. An Admiral opposing his own mother's regime on moral grounds and orchestrating a revolution to free his people, featuring a space fleet and exile into the unknown reaches of the universe? Yes, please!

The best way to review this book is to address it in parts, as the events in it progress. The book starts with the revolution reaching its climax, and it is very well executed. We follow the perspective of Gallant and other leaders of the revolution. I liked the variety of characters. An actress popular across several planets working undercover as the main organiser of a revolution, an Admiral opposing his own mother, along with all the supporters of their cause, made for a decent-sized cast. I had a little problem with the portrayal of Admiral Gallant's mother. She was ruthless and cruel, all in the name of protecting the Confederacy. However, despite all this, she did not kill any of the revolutionaries and instead exiled them to a system far enough away to ensure no future encounters with the Confederacy along with colony ships and a small military escort. That seemed a little merciful to me, despite the constant reveals of the lack of firepower or supplies she provided to Gallant's exiled people. This was a small problem I had with this part of the book, but it certainly did not detract from the overall plot.

The next part involved starting a civilisation from scratch on a completely new planet. I really enjoyed the way all sorts of little and big problems arose during this part. They were all handled and shown very well. I was hoping to see a little more of space pirates (because that's cool). Things picked up again when the first signs of terraforming were detected on the planet. This part was very exciting to read about.

The last bit would be a spoiler but let's just say that I didn't think I would ever enjoy READING about space battles but this book definitely proved me wrong.

I wish the characters were developed a little bit more, but the main cast definitely was. I especially enjoyed the contrast between Admiral Gallant and Father James' personalities and found it interesting how their pacifist and militaristic tendencies clashed but stemmed from the same desire to ensure the survival of Exilium's people.

The aliens in this book were advanced and quite mysterious. I don't know if a second book is planned after this, but the ending certainly leaves room for one.

The writing was simple and to the point. No purple prose or anything unnecessary like that, a breath of fresh air from the fantasy series I'd been reading earlier. That said, the technology was explained in just the right amount. There was no info-dumping involved and the author did not treat his readers like idiots. I thoroughly enjoyed working through the slightly more technical passages, they definitely kept me hooked and did not at any point bore me.

The pacing was another plus point. This book is only 310 pages or so and yet it managed to fit so much into it without anything feeling rushed or incomplete.

Overall, I really enjoyed this read and will definitely check out other works by this author.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
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Short review on Litsy

ARC provided by publisher and NetGalley.
I really enjoyed this book and will be checking out other works by this author, The main characters were well-developed and their motivations were shown very well.
I was surprised to find myself enjoying the space battles. The aliens were well thought-out and quite mysterious. The pacing was impeccable. There was no info-dumping and the technical passages were not boring at all.
Overall rating: 4.5/5 stars