Any fans of space operas or science fiction and are looking for a new voice should be checking out Fortuna by Kristyn Merbeth. For fans of Becky Chambers and Catherynne Valente, this is a must-add to your TBR while you wait for the next new sci-fi thriller to be released.

This will be an abridged review as I read this book after putting it down a few times and I just don't really remember much about it anymore. It was decidedly average with no characters really sticking out or sticking with me. Others seem to have it enjoyed it so your milage may vary.

This book was fantastic. I loved the world and the world building, and these characters were really great. Nothing says a speed bump in the road like family! I just wanted to know what the heck was going on, and how Scorpia and her brother were going to fix it.

I did have a different picture of what this book would be like. I think I saw bits like smuggling operation and only home she's ever known, and thought that her and her family were some sort of rulers of a planet with a side operation of smuggling. So I was in for a surprise there!

The whole idea of humanity going into the stars to find homes, doing so, but having been on the ships so long that each ship had developed a culture, and now that they've found new homes, they don't relate with one another, well, it rings true, unfortunately. And the whole citizens of planet/lack of travel what with restrictions, it's saddening.

One thing that I really was interested in this book was the alien metal. I was concerned about it, because they have really no clue about it, and it did play a role in how things went down. I just loved how things worked out. It's not a perfect solution, and there's going to be work to be done, not to mention the threat still posing a risk. I really enjoyed how it played out in this book, and I'm excited to see how it plays out in the next!

This was a really great read, and I can't wait for the sequel! I had such a great time reading it!

The first book in Merbeth's Nova Vita Protocol space opera series.
FORTUNA is a great start to a new series. We're introduced to a couple of engaging protagonists, and a well-realized sci-fi setting. There's plenty of good action and character-building.

An engaging, promising, and accessible first book in a series. Recommended for anyone looking for a new, fun sci-fi series.

Fortuna is an interplanetary action adventure set in a system whose five habitable planets have all stopped cooperating with each other, introducing strict restrictions and xenophobic policies that make travel between them all but impossible. That's a problem if you want to be a successful smuggling family like the Kaisers, and particularly if, like Scorpia Kaiser, you were born between planets and have no citizenship anywhere. Scorpia and her family - all, thanks to the machinations of her scheming mother, born on different planets with the free movement rights that arrangement confers - run the Fortuna, a largely illegal smuggling operation which Scorpia is desperate to inherit, notwithstanding her problems with alcohol and general reliability and the claim of her older brother Corvus, who has been enlisted into a war on his own home planet for the last three years. Unfortunately, the moment she picks to make her move is the moment the system starts sliding into all-out war, and the Kaisers end up in the crossfire of something much bigger than any one of them.

Fortuna has lots of fun space tropes: a motley crew of smugglers whose hearts eventually end up in the right place, planets that are all a single unique biosphere with different global governments and cultures, a smattering of mysterious alien tech that nobody knows anything about, gun battles, space battles, breakneck runs back to the ship as the ramp lifts, a thief with a heart of gold falling for a princess, and all the mysterious cargo crates you could possibly ask for. It's not afraid to show that the stakes are high for the Kaisers, with a high bodycount and plenty of peril for the main team. There's nothing especially deep here, and Scorpia in particular is too self-destructive to be a particularly endearing protagonist, although when we start to see her from a third person perspective I found my view of her at least became more nuanced. Corvus is far from the relevant action for much of the book, but when he does dock into the main plot, things really start kicking off.  Despite this, Fortuna is a fun, tropey read that kept me entertained throughout and promises some interesting further adventures in its world.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for the early copy!

I decided to put down the novel because I did not connect with the writing style.

I received an e-galley of this book from NetGalley and Orbit in exchange for an honest review.
Fortuna lured me in by the family dynamics when space, planets, and starships are in play, rather than a 10 minute or 2 hour flight. Gotta love grounded SF, family can still be messed up and this one is really messed up. The mother figure is just *not* motherly, and I question her rationale. The point-of-views are from the oldest brother and sister - light-years apart.
I would recommend this book more for young adults. I give it 3.5 stars out of 5. A good start for a new author.

One of the best sci fi space junkie books I’ve read in ages. It’s got some wonderful characters that end up feeling like family, breath taking action sequences, massive galaxy encompassing stakes and also captures the spirit of some of my other favorite books and movies. The plot unfolds at a frenetic pace and gives the reader no time at all before they and the characters are thrown in the deep end. The writing is never slow or bogged down with too much information, the magic system is undefined but gloriously accessible and the fight scenes are really, really, ridiculously well done.

This is kind of a “motley crew randomly save the universe” type story, beautifully plotted and highly addictive. Descriptively gorgeous with an occasionally epic feel, the story fairly rocks along with lots of adventure, plenty of battles in space, a truly evil enemy and a fantastic group dynamic featuring an eclectic group of anti heroes.

Let me just break down for you my numbers which I rarely do but I spontaneously did for this novel!

Word Building 8/10
Enjoyment 10/10
Plot 8/10
Pace 9/10
Characters 10/10

*inserts excitement GIF for the next book*

I want to thank Orbit Books for providing me with a copy to read Fortuna in exchange for my open and honest review.

Imagine Momma Fratelli from Goonies is your mother and ship captain. Except your ship is in space, and you are part of a family of smugglers. Your family is spectacularly chaotic, and you are trying to save millions of people. Fortuna is this story told by author Kristyn Merbeth previously writing as author K.S Merbeth in the Wastelanders duology.

I have had my eye on this book for months. The synopsis, space opera, and family dynamics, as well as that gorgeous cover, had me sold long before copies were available to read. The cover, bright and glaring, reminds me of sunset on a desert planet with some serious Firefly vibes thrown in. Maybe Dune in space? I wasn't sure quite what to expect.

Scropia Kaiser is the second oldest of a family of 5 children and one spectacularly distant messed up mother. All Scorpia wants is to satisfy and make her mother proud and step into the boots of her older brother Corvus. Corvus had left home previously three years ago to join the Gaian military service and fight in an unwinnable war. His choice to enlist and abandon the Kaiser family is devastating to the Kaiser children and Scorpia in particular.

Corvus is finishing up his tour of service and wanting nothing more to come home to the life he has left. He is done with war and haunted by the deeds he had to do to battle in that war. It has left deep marks on his soul and a bought of PTSD that he does not know how to deal with.

Both characters have enormous hurdles to overcome. Scorpia cannot stop stepping on her own feet. She is continually screwing things up or drinking too heavily. Twice in the novel, she almost got her entire family killed due to the ramifications of her choices. There is winging it, and then there is suicidally and stupidly not thinking before your actions. Her actions were not redeemed to me because there were no offset qualities that help balance the scales. She was just a mouthy fuck up most of the story with a considerable ego and mommy issues. She would have been redeemed by the love she had for her brothers and sisters, but they were flat characters, and thus that love felt very flat and unreal.

This story is the pairing of two narratives, one told from Corvus's side while the other told from Scorpia's side. The unfortunate thing about this story is although the setting and the bare bones of the worldbuilding are there and exciting, I did not care about either character. Scorpia especially. Her decision making, alcoholism, naivete, and arrogance that is almost stupidity turned me off from her as a protagonist. Scorpia is a flawed character, as all people are imperfect, but there needs to be a point to her choices and chaos, including her addiction to alcohol. It is difficult to explain, but it almost seemed like her addiction lacked authenticity. It did not ring true. She was an alcoholic, not someone addicted to sweets. Alcoholism is a real thing and can be devastating, it isn't something for pratfalls or rim shots. Corvus was a much cooler character. In the beginning, his brooding and aloofness were annoying, but as the story continued, the brooding led to some character growth and change. He fleshed out into a three-dimensional character.

With the difficult time I had connecting with the characters, the slow down of the plot and pacing destroyed my enjoyment of the book. It became a slog, which was unfortunate because it had such tremendous promise. I love the idea of a dysfunctional band of smugglers who happen to be family run by a matriarch - Very Firefly. But something did not cinch together, and the depth and love of the characters I would need to become emotionally invested in the story never became deeper than a superficial level. For example, Scropia's brother and sisters were nothing more than cardboard cutouts for most of the story. I know the familial connection was supposed to be there and implied by the author, but it never connected.

As far as the enjoyment level of this story, at about the 60% mark, I almost DNF'ed, which would have been a shame because the author brought everything together nicely in the last 20% of the book. The last 20% ended up being fun and not quite what I had imagined. I liked the spin she put on it and opening it up for the next book in the series, which is why I gave this a lukewarm 3 stars. I won't be continuing this story as I don't think I am the right audience, however much like other recent books I have read this book will find the right audience. I could imagine a considerable bunch of love for it, which is excellent. Every story will find it's readers.

Either way, come because of the gorgeous cover, and the synopsis is neat and stay for that last 20%.

I love this book. I enjoy reading for Scorpia and Corvus point of view and how the siblings doing everything they can to protect their family. Cant wait for the sequel. I recommend this book for people who want to get into a science fiction novels.

I had trouble with the writing style on this one. There was enough action and it fits into the space opera genre well, but the internal dialogue felt a bit forced and made it difficult for me to engage with the characters. It has all the right stuff, I just didn't feel connected with their stories after the first couple of chapters. Thank you for the chance to review!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This book is available now.

Oh dear. I wanted to like this book, I really did. I’m a big fan of smuggling in stories in general, and especially in space (blame the incredible show Firefly). Unfortunately, this book was a giant resounding “meh” from me.

I can’t pinpoint anything really wrong with the book, it just didn’t keep my attention. The characters weren’t all that engaging, and Scorpia annoyed me. She was immature to the point of obnoxiousness. Corvus was okay, but not all that fantastic a character either.

If I don’t enjoy the characters in a book, the writing itself needs to be incredible to keep me invested. The writing was fine, but nothing to write home about. This is my first book by this author and, honestly, I can’t say I’m going to go out of my way to read any others she’s written.

I’ll say that this is just a case of the book not fitting the reader. It happens. I hope other readers find it more interesting than I did. I gave up 60% in.

From a young age the five Kaiser siblings have been instilled with the idea that you can only count on your family. In a family of smugglers, it’s pretty sound advice. That is, until oldest brother Corvus abandons them to fight in the civil war on his home planet of Titan.

At least, that’s how Scorpia Kaiser felt the day her older brother left without so much as a goodbye. But in the three years of his absence, Scorpia has taken over the captain’s seat, and she’s gunning for running the whole smuggling operation once their controlling and manipulative mother deigns to hand it over to her.

Except their mother has taken up a new mysterious job that leads the family right back to Titan, and Corvus. When the job goes completely, and unexpectedly, off the rails, Scorpia, Corvus, along with their siblings Lyre, Andromeda, and Apollo will have to learn how to trust one another again, and work together as a family, if they want to avoid a war of intergalactic proportions.

From the onset it’s clear that family will be the most important aspect of this story and, I’m assuming, this series. The point of view shifts between Corvus and Scorpia and, for the most part, I understand why Kristyn Merbeth made this decision. I believe that Corvus’s leaving impacted Scorpia the most – even if she’d would never outright admit that—as they were closest in age to one another.

The thing is, I just didn’t feel like we delved as far into the family dynamic as we should have. Trust me, there’s plenty to unpack about the Kaisers, there’s no way we could have gotten through it all in just this one book, but to put Corvus and Scorpia front and center and not fully deal with their issues in a more head-on way left me feeling a bit unsatisfied.

It takes a good chunk of setting up the world and the family before Corvus and Scorpia are even in the same space together. The anticipation for these two to come face to face after three years with no contact drives much of the first part of the book. When they do meet up again, they basically avoid the much-needed clearing of the air required to happen so they can actually work together cohesively. Otherwise it’s basically them running circles around each other. The good news is that when they do make some headway, those are the best parts of the book hands down.

I would say potentially Fortuna is a good setup and more will come, but I really want siblings Lyre, Apollo, and Andromeda to get their own time in the spotlight. If that happens, I fear the potential for other issues to get swept under the rug. It’s just one of those things we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out.

As far as the rest of the world, Kristyn Merbeth gives an interesting future that has an even more tantalizing history as to how it came to be. Complete with alien creatures who are seemingly extinct, but whose presence is still deftly felt throughout the galaxy. I look forward to—in addition to the family stuff—exploring this more in the next book as well.

Despite feeling like the story could have gone a little further with the siblings, I’m holding out hope we’ll get a good continuation with the next book. Plus, mysterious alien lifeforms!

Rating: ★★★☆☆+

Synopsis

Fortuna launches a new space opera trilogy that will hook you from the first crash landing.

Scorpia Kaiser has always stood in Corvus’s shadow until the day her older brother abandons their family to participate in a profitless war. However, becoming the heir to her mother’s smuggling operation is not an easy transition for the always rebellious, usually reckless, and occasionally drunk pilot of the Fortuna, an aging cargo ship and the only home Scorpia has ever known.

But when a deal turns deadly and Corvus returns from the war, Scorpia’s plans to take over the family business are interrupted, and the Kaiser siblings are forced to make a choice: take responsibility for their family’s involvement in a devastating massacre or lay low and hope it blows over.

Too bad Scorpia was never any good at staying out of a fight.

Perfect for fans of Becky Chambers and Catherynne M. Valente, Fortuna introduces a dazzling new voice in science fiction.

Review

Thanks to the publisher and author for an advance reading copy of Fortuna (Nova Vita Protocol #1) in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this ARC did not influence my thoughts or opinions on the novel.

Fortuna is a promising start to this new space opera trilogy, but not without a few bumps in the road. The premise ultimately hooked me into picking this one up, but the execution is slightly different than what I was expecting. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. There is plenty to like here and plenty more to look forward to in the sequels.

How can you not want to read about a family of space smugglers? Especially with a rebellious and alcoholic heir that can’t seem to get on track, and with her brother back in the picture after a three (3) year absence, getting on track is the least of Scorpia’s worries. Mix that with an overbearing mother who has been abusive and negligent most of their lives, though is the head and heart of the operation, and you have a pretty messed up family prior to the smuggling operations.

Unfortunately, these relationships are mostly surface with not a lot of depth, which I believe led me to feel a large disconnect with the characters.

Scorpia, at times, felt way to juvenile a character with the responsibilities handed to her, and given her age. I get that she enjoys alcohol and that plays a big role in her actions, but there are a few times where you are just left scratching your head and asking “Do people really act like that?” Not to say I don’t see that on the daily with social media, so maybe it just becoming a norm for mid-twenties people to act carelessly. On the other hand, Corvus is dealing with PTSD from the war he has since returned from, and his actions are fairly in-line with a vet, but again, are a little too top of the water and the illness is there to continue moving the plot along.

Don’t come into Fortuna expecting a ton of space battles or chases. This is more of a politically driven story with a family drama syrup and revenge cherry on top. It is an engaging read that will definitely appeal to fans of science fiction and space operas, but without the immense world-building and galactic warfare.

FORTUNA, by Kristyn Merbeth, is about a family (the Kaisers) of ethically questionable traders/smugglers who live on a ship called the Fortuna. In this this epic space novel, the reader finds the family in flux, the mother of the group is looking towards retirement, the oldest daughter, Scorpia, eyes taking over the ship and the business, but being an impulsive drunk holds her back. A surprise return of the eldest child, Corvus, makes line of succession even more complicated and the rest of the family has mixed feels about both of them. All the while, a intergalactic conflict is brewing and Kaisers are thrust into the middle of it. The question quickly becomes, can the family put aside their personal issues with each other and unite together to save the universe?
Merbeth has creating a fascinatingly complicated family dynamic; the mother has children from most of the major planets and therefore the family and their ship has the unique ability to interact more planets than most. More importantly, the family has a little of everything within it: brains, brawn, cunning, leadership, etc. The family construct bears out a lot of fun moments and very real and relatable problems, even though the book takes place in futuristic space. Keeping the plot properly hidden, I will say that while there seems to be a slow down in the middle of the book, but overall the plot is interesting and has several twists and reveals that keep the reader intrigued. As the book builds to the climax, the reader can't help but pull for the family to save the universe, much like we pull for Han Solo, who while he comes from questionable background, the Kaisers and Han Solo have good hearts and want the right side to win.
FORTUNA is an exciting and one of a kind space saga and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Fortuna (The Nova Vita Protocol Book 1) by Kristyn Merbeth 11/5/19 (Orbit)

A small ship with a dodgy crew skirting the law is pretty much standard sf fare, but Kristyn Merveth’s debut novel ups that stake a bit by making them a family of criminals, run by a hard-nosed mom, which is largely incapable of making sensible decisions. Scorpia, the pilot, thought she had a lock on taking over the family business someday, despite her predilection for flying drunk and making really bad decisions, but when her older brother Corvus, who had abandoned the family for a career as a soldier comes back, it looks like that plan is toast. Ultimately the author gives them something outside themselves to worry about when the crew becomes involved in triggering a genocidal war, and Corvus, Scorpia, and the family deal with some harsh realities.

Fortuna is an uneven debut but shows promise. I found it hard to connect with the characters in the beginning, but once they gelled, I was glad to have stuck with it. Fans of Catherynne M. Valente (Space Opera) should find this engaging and we can look forward to watching the author develop.

4.2 / 5 ✪

Fortuna is the space opera debut from Wastelanders author Kristyn Merbeth. This one has been on my radar for a while, only partly due to its absolutely beautiful cover. Two siblings, separated by time and space, reunite at the turning point of all things.

Scorpia Kaiser once stood in her elder brother’s shadow. But when three years prior, he abandoned their family to fight in the war on his home world, she hoped this would change. Three years, and Scorpia now only has one thought—becoming the new heir apparent of the family business and owner of its ship, Fortuna. It’s not a fancy ship—aged, battle-scarred, space-worn—but it’s the only home Scorpia’s ever known, and the only one she ever wants.

Three years prior Corvus Kaiser was abandoned on Titan, his home world, to fight in an unwinnable war. A war that he very much suspects will eventually claim his life. But recent events have changed his mind on this. In a split-second decision he calls his family, summoning them to his aid. But now faced with the choice of whether to leave or stay he must make a difficult decision between the team he never wanted and the family that doesn’t want him back.

Between the two of them there’s enough chaos to go around, but the universe seems dead-set on raising the stakes. Soon the Kaisers and Fortuna are in the middle of a war—one that may very well cost them their lives.

Fortuna is told using dual-1st person POV chapters—one following Scorpia and the other Corvus—which alternate every chapter. Initially, I found this impossible. In fact, I would read three of Scorpia’s then go back and do three or so of Corvus’s. But then the two reached the same point and place in time and—actually, it wasn’t as bad as I expected.

There’re only a couple other books I’ve read that had this format. The Girl the Sea Gave Back (by Adrienne Young) featured the same alternating man-woman 1PPOVs and I kept getting confused and lost between characters. In Iron Gold (by Pierce Brown), there are three POVs all 1P, that alternate around. I stopped this one for much the same reasons—confusion, mixing up characters, etc. Fortuna is the same, but not. I… don’t really know how to describe it. Maybe it’s because the characters are in close proximity for 2/3 of the book. Maybe it’s because they’re similar. Maybe it’s because the chapters are longer. But it didn’t bother me as much. I mean, it still bothered me, just less.

In the Afterword, Merbeth mentions that she added Corvus’s POV on the advice of her editor. Now, I dunno if this was doing him in 1P, alternating his chapters, or whatnot, but it seems to have payed off. I absolutely loved both of their stories—barring the end. The end (the final showdown, if you will) fairly well sucked. The outcome was never in question, and it was as if the author was trying to inject drama wherever possible. Which is a shame, considering the rest of the text is a treasure. While both Corvus and Scorpia have their own individual storylines, they share the main quite well. And while Scorpia tied all her threads off quite nicely, Corvus pretty much just took a flamethrower to his. Gradually, over the course of the book, though.

TL;DR

Fortuna was quite a treat. Kristyn Merbeth has weaved herself a masterful tale, one that I can’t wait to see more of. The writing, description and characters were all top-notch, and at no point did I lament reading one character’s chapter to get to the next. While the ending does have its issues, the post-showdown section manages to tie everything together rather nicely, leaving me with only a few loose ends to worry after. The divide between Corvus and Scorpia helps tell their story, something that their interconnection is more the better for. It helped me feel so much more for them, humanize them, almost made them seem like real siblings, even.

I definitely recommend Fortuna. And I can’t wait to see more from Kristyn Merbeth!

The Kaiser family is my new favorite space family.

I read Fortuna as an eARC from NetGalley, so thank you for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

Space. A family of smugglers. Political drama. How could I resist reading Fortuna with this sort of content?

Fortuna follows the story of the Kaisers, particularly the eldest two, Scorpia and Corvus, who follow in their Momma’s footsteps to be ruthless smugglers. After a job goes south, the Kaisers must decide once and for all how far they are willing to go for family.

The characters are all so strong in this book. Scorpia and Corvus are the main points of view in Fortuna, but the other three of the Kaiser brood are just as well developed that you feel you know them all personally. Because of the two points of view in the story, you also get to see the family through different eyes, and you end up learning more about everyone because of the expanded point of view. I was about to try to pick a favorite Kaiser, but then realized I simply can’t. Even Pol, who gets the least amount of time in the story, is someone you become attached to (maybe we will see more of Pol in book 2??)

The world building was also very strong in Fortuna. The amount of detail about how each of these planets in the solar system are vastly different, was great, and the different human cultures that developed are fascinating. I love there are no aliens officially in the story, just humans. I think it makes this story even stronger.

Book two is already being teased as well, and I cannot wait until I get more stories about the Kaisers.

Fortuna will keep you on the edge of your seat. Be prepared to lose track of time as you read this book!

Fortuna’s premise snagged me in an instant – a whole family of space smugglers! Devastating massacres! A young, roguish captain vying for power! How could I resist? Yet, while it didn’t disappoint… neither did it impress. Advertised as “Perfect for fans of Becky Chambers and Catherynne M. Valente,” I came in expecting both a fascinating, non-conventional setting combined with a cast of truly lovable and kind characters. Ultimately, the characters were decent, the setting cliche, and the plot mostly straightforward and with a few straggling ends. Many interesting ideas, such as recovery from child abuse/neglect, were only touched on briefly at best and stranded high and dry at worst.

The story is told across two point of view characters: Scorpia and Corvus Kaiser. Scorpia is in her mid-twenties, an alcoholic, and has a severely inflated sense of her own capabilities. It’s rare to see female characters who aren’t even slightly sympathetic, so this was somewhat refreshing; however, it also meant I struggled to connect with her in a meaningful way. Corvus, her brother, is closer to thirty and bears all the scars of a soldier.

Within the first few chapters, Scorpia attempts to smuggle an illegal plant from the jungle planet, Deva, across the solar system to the desert planet, Gaia. Naturally, this goes horrifically wrong. Fortunately, her mother, captain of the titular Fortuna, manages to get her out of trouble by cutting a deal with the planet’s leader. From here, Scorpia’s decisions continue to be out of touch and predicated on the idea that everything will go perfectly to plan. As the book progresses, the character growth seems to exist not in her learning from her plans and developing actual tactical knowledge… but rather from her plans somehow starting to work, despite still being the same hare-brained style shenanigans she was doing from the very beginning. Her schemes are ones I would expect from a teenager, not a mid-twenties adult. Her character felt incredibly juvenile given her age and the quest that is thrust upon her.

‘“Whoa, whoa, this is yours,” I say, pushing it back. My heart is starting to hammer. I’m majorly screwed if I get caught here, especially without my family to back me up. Plants from Deva are a class-one contraband item on Gaia. If I’m caught with one, there’s only one punishment: death. Off-worlders don’t even have a legal right to a trial. “You just bought it. It belongs to you.”
“We haven’t finalized the deal!” Shey protests, sending the box sliding back across the table. “
We were about to.” Push.
“You’re the criminal, you take it!” Push.
“I’m an off-worlder, you take it!”’

Corvus, on the flip side, is characterized early on as “the smart one.” Scorpia spends a great deal of time trying to prove she’s just as good as him, which… again, feels quite juvenile. Corvus is battling his own demons, and his little sister is the least of his worries. His home planet, Titan, is locked in a civil war with no end in sight, and he has just completed his three years of mandatory service. He struggles with PTSD and the attitudes imparted on him by their abusive mother. Unfortunately, I did not find this to be a particularly good portrayal of PTSD; often, it seemed more like a convenient plot device than a sympathetic and knowledgeable example of a serious and real mental illness.

‘“I don’t want to die here.” His cheeks flush with shame. Only on Titan would that admission be said with such a self-loathing expression. “I don’t want to be another death in a never-ending war.” He looks down. “And I will be, if I stay. A fifty-fifty chance would be miles better than what I have here.”’

I would have liked to see more screen time for the other members of the family: Lyre, Andromeda, and Apollo. Andromeda and Apollo are the family’s muscle – they’re twins, and they’re always spoiling for a fight. Often, they felt more like cardboard cut-outs than actual people, which was disappointing given that I felt their points of view would be interesting. Their shared dynamic would have been fun to explore. Similarly, Lyre is the quiet, younger sister. She is the mechanic and seems to be the kindest of the family. Although towards the end she’s given a very small bit of characterization, she doesn’t have much of an arc.

Their mother, Auriga, is rarely described despite playing a major part in the story. She abused all five of her children both physically and emotionally. Again, this is not explored in a meaningful way. While Scorpia has a small come-to-God moment where she attempts to break the cycle of abuse, it’s not something that is acknowledged on a larger scale. Auriga hit them, withheld affection, and created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. She pitted her children against one another such that they felt she was the only constant in her lives. This could have made for an intensely emotional and interesting story… if only it had been fleshed out and expanded upon.

The setting, too, suffered from being half-baked. One of my pet peeves in space operas and science fiction is when a planet is reduced to a single biome and a single government. Fortuna heavily leaned on this trope: Deva, the jungle planet. Titan, the ice planet. Gaia, the desert planet. Nibiru, the ocean planet… etc etc. It gets old real fast. Gaia is mentioned as being tidally locked, yet we’re expected to believe that the full face of the planet with sunlight is habitable. Quite frankly, the whole book easily could have taken place on just one planet with airships instead of spaceships and with the current planets being countries. It would have been much more believable and significantly less cliche.

The political aspects of the plot often end up drifting away at loose ends. On Titan, one of the premier generals seeks to recruit Corvus to commit treason in order to end the war. Spoiler: this goes absolutely nowhere. Many key plot points also beggar belief – am I really supposed to expect that Scorpia somehow became romantically involved with the son of a rival smuggler captain and sneaks away every time they have a martial engagement for some steamy sex? I’m just not convinced – and I’m really not convinced the Fortuna’s crew of six somehow manages to never lose a single soul in any of these battles given that the other ship has a crew of at least thirty or more pirates. There are many instances such as this which feel engineered to advance the plot at the expense of believability.

‘A shocking amount of dead pirates are piled in the cargo bay in front of her, none even close to reaching her. Their bodies are so thoroughly riddled with holes that Momma’s weapon must have been at work. Bile rises in my throat at the sight. Usually, our skirmishes don’t end with quite so many bodies, but it seems Momma really wasn’t screwing around this time.’

Throughout the novel, the remnants of a former civilization, Primus, and the dangers of the weapons they left behind feature heavily. Each planet has a varying attitude towards Primus tech: some look on it with distrust, while others embrace it. I was eager to learn more about the Primus civilization, especially when Corvus encounters one of their spaceships in the first few chapters. The ship is organic with a beating pulse, and we all know how dear to my heart good squishy scifi is. However, this is the only up close and personal view of Primus tech the reader is allowed.

‘There, dangling from the ceiling, is the power source I’ve been seeking. Slim black cords snake into it from both sides and from above, holding it in suspension. With each pulse of the orb, the cords shiver, a movement that travels down their lengths and continues to ripple through the walls and ceiling. The room is moving around me, pulsing in tune with the power source, like it’s the ship’s ancient, still-beating heart. When another, larger pulse occurs, the orb glows so brightly I have to cover my eyes.’

Had this been a debut novel, I would have been willing to cut Kristyn Merbeth a bit more slack. Although this is her first foray into science fiction, Merbeth has also written a post-apocalyptic trilogy. I expected just a bit more from a seasoned author than I received in Fortuna.

Thank you to Orbit for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

DNF at 10%. I just couldn’t connect with this book. It might have just been bad timing for my brain and this story, but it is what it is.