The premise of Some Desperate Glory intrigued me, and I had hoped it would live up to the hype. The story felt like it fit the YA genre with how it dealt with issues (way to simplistic/basic). And if it was actually marketed for YA, then I would have less issues with how the author dealt with race/gender/fascism. That alone turned me off. There’s a seen later on in the story where I had a wtf moment, ‘did she really just do/ask that?’ So. I feel like folks in different age groups and maturity will definitely comprehend this story a bit differently. This just had too many cringe moments for me.

What I did enjoy the world building and space odyssey feel. I liked the actual plot of the story, but there was just too much in the questionable actions of the MC and how the author handled it.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

2.5 stars

I have a few thoughts about this book, but I will start off by saying that I loved the writing in this book. Any issues that I have are not with the writing, but the plot itself. I need to read more of Emily Tesh’s work!

There are a lot of things about Some Desperate Glory that I was excited about: a space colony with cult vibes, girl friendship, fun family dynamics, and a redemption arc.

I was not a huge fan of Kyr in this book, and I know that it was purposeful and because of indoctrination, but I couldn’t get myself to look past it. I felt bad for everyone around her, and even though she realized the reality of her situation, I don’t think she got any better. She never really apologized for anything.

The time traveling, multiverse part of the story was surprising to me, but it took me out of the story when, about 1/3 through, it started all over. And then once again, about 2/3 in. I did like the idea of it, but didn’t really vibe with how it ended up. And queer space opera? No, that’s not quite right.

I know there’s a few criticisms, but I do recommend this book to my science fiction lovers. Some may love it more than I did, and I always recommend stories like this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tordotcom for the chance to read this advanced review copy.

CW for suicide, violence, child abuse, murder, genocide, blood, xenophobia, sexism, homophobia, racism, bullying, sexual assault, rape (implied, not on page), suicidal thoughts, and ableism

Months after finishing this book, I'm finally returning on the eve of its publication to say a whole lot of nothing, ultimately.

I'll start by giving immense credit to Emily Tesh's ability to hit emotional beats, keep me invested in a thoroughly unlikable character, and to write engaging combat scenes.

That said: while fast paced and action packed, this science fantasy bites off more than it really seems able to chew. The young tone read more like YA than its intended adult and the book's attempt to tackle a laundry list of social issues through the aggravatingly and regressively cult-like environment of Gaea Station was both underwhelming in its execution and pulled focus from what was already a fairly busy narrative.

As in the Greenhollow Duology, Tesh's prose is strong and her care for her main character (and a favourite side character or two) is apparent. I only wish that in this vastly bigger and broader setting, more care had been afforded to fleshing out characters other than Kyr and into giving the over all narrative a little more maturity.

Despite adoring Emily Tesh’s Some Desperate Glory, I’ve put off reviewing it for months because I don’t know quite how to review it. If I talk about the plot beyond what you can read in the jacket copy, it takes away from the experience of reading it; this is one of those books where I believe the less you know going in, the better the experience will be.

Instead, I will say that protagonist Kyr almost certainly will infuriate you. She is, bluntly, a fascist asshole programmed in a misogynistic, transphobic, homophobic organization. If you’re anything like me, the book will go interminably slow until about the midpoint. You will wonder how much more of Kyr’s radicalized awfulness you can take. But swiftly, suddenly, and surprisingly seamlessly, the direction of the novel pivots. Tesh unfolds a complex, gut-wrenching journey that ultimately makes Some Desperate Glory an early contender for my favourite novels of 2023.

Queer space opera is a favourite of mine. In particular, I love queer space opera that digs into the comparatively infinitesimal forces of individual lives when compared to the vastness of galaxies—how single individuals can shape the trajectory of an entire universe… or not. Some Desperate Glory delivers that in superb fashion with a novel that stands out in my memory months and months down the line.

Thank you to Tordotcom and NetGalley for an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got an eGalley of this book through NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: I absolutely loved this book from the very beginning to the very end. Previous to reading this book I had read Tesh's "Greenhollow Duology" and really loved it. This book was very different from the Greenhollow books, this is science fiction/space opera setting. However, it touches on many similar themes and was beautifully written.

The book follows Kyr, a battle breed human born on Gaea Station. When Earth was destroyed by the majoda, Gaea Station stood as a last line of defense protecting the humans that were left from the aftermath. Kyr has trained all her life to command a dreadnought and attack the enemy; then suddenly she finds she's been regulated to Nursery duty. Command feels it is more important for her to use her battle breed gene pool to breed more humans than to use her hard-earned battle skills. Kyr starts to rebel against the Gaea Station doctrine and ends up taking things into her own hands to discover the truth behind Gaea Station.

I think the synopsis gives too much away. I didn't read it before I picked up this book and was seriously stressed about what assignment Kyr would get, although this does happen pretty early in the story. I loved watching Kyr grow throughout the book; she has to overcome a lifetime of brainwashing and really stretch her mind and beliefs to do what she needs to do.

This book is full of amazing characters trying to understand the huge worlds around them and make sense of their own militant upbringing. All of the characters are incredibly well done and engaging to read about.

The world-building here is phenomenal. Most of the universe is run by an entity called The Wisdom and all of the majoda are in sync with it. Although, things become much more complicated than that as Kyr starts to unravel the truth behind humanity's relationship with the rest of the galaxy.

There is quite a bit of action here and some visiting other worlds and meeting other species. I loved the creativity and description in these scenes; it was so much fun to meet these new alien races and visit these new worlds. Tesh did a fantastic job creating them and making them come alive for the reader.

This book was a wonderful balance of unique world-building, amazing characters, action, conspiracy, and mystery. This book does an excellent job of wrapping things up but I would love to see more books set in this world and see what the future has in store for Kyr.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I loved everything about this book. This book only made me love Tesh as a writer even more. This is so different from the Greenhollow Duology but still so completely amazing. If you enjoy sci-fi, space opera reads that focus on what it means to be human in a crazy alien universe I would definitely pick this up. I think fans of Becky Chambers' book will find a lot here to love (although this is a bit more action-packed than Chambers' books). Highly recommended!

~ 3 Stars ~

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and Tor/Forge for gifting me a copy of this eARC to review.

I want to start by saying I DNF'd this book at 20% and the review is based on what I did read.

I found this world of a destroyed Earth and humans inhabiting a planetoid very interesting. The life that they create, where people are sectioned into different purposes based on several factors is intriguing. By being the last surviving humans, it puts them into a very militaristic society, where everyone's duties contribute back to this common belief of human race preservation. We follow Valkyr/Kyr, and her relationships with her training group as well as others within this command base. Within Kyr's group, everyone is being assigned to what will be their adult positions within this space station, all of their cumulative work and training comes to this moment, which prompts some very strange turns of events to happen.

Overall, Kyr is just extremely unlikable, she's ruthless and intolerant of others, like, not a team player whatsoever. She treats the people around her really awfully and it was hard to watch. I think while this was a fairly quick read, not too dense, the concepts of The Wisdom and The Majo are really hard to understand. At 20% I think there was a little more enlightenment going on, but ny this point in a book, it just wasn't grabbing me. I found that I was picking up other books and avoiding this one.

I would like to continue possibly reading this at a leisurely pace and maybe finishing it in future, but for now, I just am not motivated. The ideas and concepts were interesting but I think maybe not executed as well as it could have been...

Some Desperate Glory took me back to being a kid reading dystopian fiction- and I mean that in the best possible way. This book is remarkable for its creation of a world that feels real and terrifying and questions the line between good and evil. Kyr and Mags and Avi are all fantastic to follow as they learn the truth about where they grew up and their genetics. The family ties are strong between Kyr, Mags, and their long-lost sister. I didn't want to stop reading.

Is this book an instant sci-fi action classic? Yeah probably, but that’s almost secondary to the way it’s a longform exploration of the way fascist cults poison everything around them, and how even if you manage to “get out”, that really doesn’t mean you’ve gotten out - not if that mindset, that belief system, is still with you. So what *can" you do about it?

I’ve read a number of SF books in recent years along these same themes - guess it’s on people’s minds for uh some reason - and this was the best *by far*.

I think for me, what will stick with me is the way Kyr’s perspective/thought process is written. The way, when you’ve been raised in a cult like this, your mind is taught from birth to just… glide right around any ideas that challenge the favored ideology. And look, it’s not unique to these types of cult-like environments - we are all inculcated with harmful ideas by the culture(s) we live in, in various degrees and ways. But for me personally this book reminded me specifically of people I have known from extreme religious backgrounds - the way you can have a conversation with someone about certain topics and actually see in their eyes the moment their mind just skips over something, because they simply cannot process that the world would be any other way than what they were taught, even if what they were taught was blatant lies. The way you can watch someone hurt those around them - and themselves - and brainstorm desperately about what you could say that might get through to them when all you want to say is “you don’t have to do this” but you know that they won’t hear you, because “you don’t have to do this” is incompatible with reality as they understand it.

Reading this book - reading Kyr’s thoughts and reactions in the first half especially - is like those conversations, the heartsickness of seeing someone you love wall themselves up in their own mental prison, the way they’ve been taught, over and over again. (A mental prison, of course, with very real, very harmful consequences.)

This book works so well, I think, because even though it goes to some very dark places it always keeps you moving *through* them. The plot is propulsive, with twists that keep you thinking while never letting up on the action - just the way excellent SF should be.

If you’re looking for a hook, I would probably describe this book as Ender’s Game meets Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Seriously!

And I have to say I enjoyed this author’s two novellas when I read them a couple years ago but this book blew me away. I couldn’t put it down, and when I had to, I was thinking about it constantly. Hardcore looking forward to whatever is on the agenda next.

Last but not least I do want to thank my AP English teacher lol, because that lengthy unit on WWI poetry has just been paying dividends throughout my entire adult life and it continued to do so here!

a stunning brutal read i am blown away by this debut! I’ve been tossing this book around in my mind for a couple weeks trying to figure out what to say in this review and why exactly I loved it. It showed how well the author understood the genre of Sci-fi and followed certain genre strokes in such a great way while not being stale. The pacing and the journey of our main character Kyr was phenomenal; the world building really hooked me in. It gets incredibly dark, but the author truly makes the darkness feel worth it/justified with a good pay off

Book Summary:

Kyr has spent her entire life on Gaea Station, training hard to become the best soldier she can be. Why? She must avenge the loss of the Earth, which means taking the battle to the aliens that rained destruction upon the human race.

This had always been her goal. Then she and her twin brother got their assignments...and it was nothing like Kyr had expected. This sets off a series of events that will change Kry's life forever – along with everybody on Gaea Station.

My Review:

Okay, if you hand me a book and promise it's a queer space opera, you know I will read it! But seriously, Some Desperate Glory has been in my sights for a while now, and I'm so happy to finally sit down and read it.

Some Desperate Glory is full of action, drama, and Kyr's internal struggle to do right by her people. It's a lot to take in, yet I can see why people are absolutely gushing about this read. Throw in aliens, an evil character or two, and some sympathetic secondary characters, and you've got the perfect story in your hands.

The transition that Kyr goes through is fantastic. She goes from being a protagonist I almost want to root against to somebody I want to cheer for, all in one book. You can imagine how all the secondary characters felt watching that happen!

There's a lot of commentary in Some Desperate Glory, so don't go into this book expecting a light read. Kyr is basically part of a cult, and it takes her a while to fight through the brainwashing she's experienced her entire life.

My biggest complaint about Some Desperate Glory? The novel kept telling us how big and physically impressive Kyr is (I believe the term "built like a tank" came up at least once). Yet she looks relatively small on the cover. Maybe that's a perspective issue, but I would have loved to see them push this description more on the cover.

Highlights:
Supersoldiers
LGBT Lead
Space Opera
Aliens!

Trigger Warnings:
Sexism
Racism
Sexual Assault/Rape
Mental Health/Depression/Suicide

“She had been born into a universe gone wrong. She had waited her whole life to come face-to-face with something she could blame.”

This book is a revelation, a gut punch, an anthem. SOME DESPERATE GLORY is the brutal and gorgeous story of Kyr, a teenage supersoldier on Gaea station, the last known holdout of humanity after earth was destroyed by a reality-bending artificial intelligence known as the Wisdom. Kyr is completely obnoxious: hyper-competitive, rule-following, and condescending, a “space fascist girl scout” unable to focus on anyone else’s humanity because she’s too busy suppressing her own for the sake of the cause drilled into her since birth. But trust me, reader, you will be on the edge of your seat rooting for her by the end. This is ultimately the story of a girl decommissioned, of a great unlearning that Kyr undergoes as she is given chance after chance to make new choices until finally, she does. The narrative is compelling from the jump but shifts into high gear at the halfway point; the remainder held me emotionally hostage, sobbing on one page and laughing on the next as Kyr and her merry band of queers seek out a new, just path forward. A fiercely, achingly hopeful book that will be adored by existential gays everywhere. Thanks to Tordotcom and Macmillan Audio for the review copies! This book is out 4/11.

“So what do we do? What do we do now?” // “While we live, we’re alive. And that’s all.”

Content warnings (from the author): sexist, homophobic, transphobic, racist & ableist attitudes, sexual assault including discussion of forced pregnancy, violence, child abuse, radicalization as child abuse, genocide, suicidal ideation, and suicide

I have always loved how scifi allows authors to reframe recognizable human conflicts utilizing unfamiliar settings and technology. Tesh demonstrates this excellently, touching on some very current issues, while also building strong crossover appeal to readers like myself who may often stay more in the fantasy lane. I see fans of Mass Effect, Hunger Games, and Enders Game all being target audiences.
Of note, this is an adult book, even if our view point is through young adult eyes. Contant warnings are contained at the beginning of the book, please read and consider these carefully prior to jumping in. When we meet our MC I found her incredibly unlikeable (which appears to be by design). She was raised in an extremis cult and this story is very much a focus on her deprogramming.

Thank you Tor Publishing Group and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh was one of my most anticipated SFF releases of 2023. I am so bummed to say that I did not love this book.

First, what I liked: this has such a strong start! I loved learning about Kyr’s life on Gaea station. It’s a fairly fast-paced and easy read. I feel SDG would be a good pick for those wanting a transition novel from YA to adult books.

I thought the concept of Some Desperate Glory was better than its execution. The book tries to tackle several “-isms” without providing much nuance. And for an adult novel, I expect there to be nuance when it comes to discussing topics such as facism, sexism, racism, etc. Another pitfall for me was that the main character, Kyr felt extremely flat. She’s a teenage supersoldier with the personality of a doorknob. I never felt connected to her or her motivations to get revenge on the majoda. In fact, I didn’t feel connect to a single character in this book.

I primarily read this book via audiobook and oh my goodness, this was one of the worst listening experiences I have had in a long time. My enjoyment of the story was definitely impacted by the narrator. The narrator sounded very choppy and kept pausing in places where there shouldn’t be pauses. It made for a very irritating listening experience. If you do pick up this book, I would not recommend listening to the audiobook.

I didn’t feel like Some Desperate Glory was doing anything new. It was a fine book. If the synopsis sounds interesting to you, pick it up and go for it but this won’t be a title I’ll be going out of my way to recommend.

3/5 stars

This was truly epic and stunning. It's one of those times I wish I could give an extra star or two on top of the usual 5 because this story deserves it.

Kyr is SO hard to like at the beginning. She's completely brainwashed and has 100% bought in to the narrative her "uncle" Joel is selling: that they're a resistance determined to get revenge and glory for humanity -- rather than a barbaric cult in the middle of nowhere. And yet by the end, you find yourself completely on her side, rooting for her every step of the way and feeling everything she feels.

Watching events play out, feeling the layers of brainwashing being stripped away as the narrative progresses, was incredible. The twists were shocking, the characters endlessly compelling, and the plot was truly stunning, once you get to the end of it and look back. I LOVED it.

The audiobook narrator did a phenomenal job giving all the characters unique voices and capturing the pain and trauma they have lived, and the transformation Kyr undergoes.

Absolutely one of the best books of the year.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Tor/Forge, and Macmillan Audio for providing an early copy and early audio copy for review.

Included as a top pick in bimonthly April New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached)

If you love sci-fi and want a book with a female main character who is tough as nails, THIS IS IT! Blew my expectations away and i can’t wait to buy my own copy. A great read for all adult sci-fi lovers who want more female & queer representation

I had a tricky time with this one. I read a few advanced chapters curtesy of Tor, and it stuck in my head. I wanted to read more and these characters bounced in the back of my head for weeks while waiting to see if I could get an ARC of the story. Thanks Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for coming through with it! I devoured this book within two days once I had it.

But I almost didn't. The main character goes through some huge changes and growth, but their intensely off putting nature almost turned me off the book completely. I was so curious about the world being described and wanted to know more, but so irritated and sad reading everything from the main character's viewpoint. It took a good half the novel for them to be less horrific, and a lot of it was hard to grasp with that obstacle in the way. A lot of the changes in viewpoints they have could have been foreshadowed better too, I loved the excerpts of human history interspaced with the chapters, but it felt like once the author decided to point out something big about the society the main character is from, it got jackhammered from all angles. Go back and sprinkle it in a little, give us a moment or two to let it dawn on folks.

The world building was phenomenal and hooked me in. The secondary characters were interesting, for the most part full of depth, and I was curious where the story would go next. There was a lot of genocide happening here, a lot of child abuse, and a lot of grey morality. But there were also supremely lovely moments, like Kyr diving through the space between reality shifting engines and finally feeling free and happy.

I'll be looking out for the author's next works, and hope that the plot gets the same detail and nuance as the characters.

Emily Tesh’s Some Desperate Glory has quite a lot to say—some of it subtle, some of it more overt—about totalitarianism, fascism, and indoctrination. It’s a post-apocalyptic novel in which the Earth and trillions of its humans have been annihilated in a war with an alien species. As in any aggression, there are winners and losers, but only one side wants the battle to rage on. The hate and poison that seeps from one human generation to the next, the children groomed to carry on a fruitless crusade which has, in effect, stolen bits of their own humanity, creates the internal and external conflict for the story’s young narrator, Valkyr.

Kyr was born and bred to be a warrior, nothing more, nothing less. She has been taught from the cradle that the majo are the enemy of humans, and the humans who live among the aliens (her own sister included) are traitors no more worthy of a peaceful life than the majoda. Liking Kyr or even feeling sympathetic toward her as the story unfolds is not an option. The only person who believes Kyr is the hero of this space opera is Kyr herself. It’s not until she begins to interrogate her thoughts and feelings independent of what she’s been taught that she begins to question. And it’s not until she learns what is expected of her that she begins to rebel. That’s when the empathy between her and I began to overcome my aversion to her and everything she’d stood for.

While there is no small amount of action and suspense in Some Desperate Glory, no few scenes of danger, tension, and drama, there is no question that this is a character-driven novel. It is the story of a teenage girl who is consumed with propaganda to the exclusion of critical thinking. In a near case of Stockholm Syndrome—near, because she wasn’t aware she was even a hostage to her uncle Jole—Kyr is immersed in the only life she’s ever known; she was nurtured to be imperceptive to anything but the mission. When she gets a second chance to right wrongs and make amends, the narrative turns to found family and friendships, love and sacrifice, and the pursuit of wisdom to achieve peace.

Fans of Tesh’s "Silver in the Wood" and "Drowned Country" will recognize the author’s knack for telling a compelling story, albeit Some Desperate Glory is worlds different in tone and voice. Engaging with Kyr, as difficult as that frequently is, and a willingness to see her through the good and the bad, is a journey of perseverance that pays off in the end.

I'm a simple woman. I see a Tamsyn Muir blurb on a book and I immediately read it.

Some Desperate Glory was one of my most-anticipated spring releases and while it didn't disappoint, it also didn't sweep me off my feet the way I hoped it would. I say this because it took me a while to get invested, as the plot was slow-moving to start and Kyr was not a particularly pleasant main character.

However, once we got into the plot and things really took off, I couldn't put the book down. Because of this, I highly recommend sticking this one out until at least the halfway mark if you are struggling to get into it but don't want to DNF.

In the end, I did really enjoy this and would definitely recommend it to fans of sci-fi and, specifically, Tamsyn Muir. The second half, specifically, had a little of the same confusion and literary gas-lighting of Harrow the Ninth, which was what ultimately grabbed and held my attention.

----4/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillion-Tor for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

For her whole life, Kyr has known one purpose: while the children of the earth live, the enemy will fear us. But when her lifelong dedication to Gaea Station gets her landed in the Nursery and her brother sent on a death mission, Kyr begins to question what she has learned-- and might need to work with her sworn enemy to make things right.


I loved this book so so much! It has a bit of a slow start and Kyr isn't the *most* interesting character for a little while, but it starts to really pick up when she leaves Gaea Station and it gets so so good. After the first 100 pages, I was so transfixed that I could barely put this book down to go to sleep and found myself reading instead of eating lunch at work!

Kyr grows so much over the course of this book and so many of the side characters are so so interesting. The AI of the Wisdom is such an interesting concept and I love the lore of Shadowspace which makes this unlike other books I have read!

Definitely preorder this one!

CW: depressions, suicide, rape/sexual assault, gun violence, torture, murder, mass murder, war