Furious Heaven, by Kate Elliott, is everything I wanted from a sequel and more. It is a brutal marathon of space conquest, populated by fun and deep characters that burn brighter than a blade in the forge. The worldbuilding is top-notch and just gorgeous to steep in. If you read my Unconquerable Sun review, expect a similar gush fest. It’s just too much fun.

Right out the gates, Elliott picks up shortly after where we last left Sun and her companions. The Republic of Chaonia, under the direction of Queen Marshall Eirene, has struck a blow against the Phene Empire by stopping their invasion of Molossia. Eirene is ready to make her next move on Karnos and fulfill her lifelong ambition. Sun, while crucial to the battle in Molossia, is still somewhat on the sidelines at court. But when the worst comes to pass, Sun must choose to seize opportunity and take power within Chaonia. It isn’t long before the Phene Empire and its allies start to lick their chops at the prospect of taking down Chaonia once and for all. Is Sun strong enough to complete her mother’s plans?

Furious Heaven is a relentless ride that takes your hand and pulls you into its chaos. Elliott manages to make the plot a grueling marathon of a sprint. It’s a pace that allows the reader to breathe, but only enough to take in the sights and marvel at the universe before reminding you there is something even more marvelous at the end. It’s a plot that excels at being in the moment while dangling the future in front of you just enough to keep pushing. It’s a breakneck pace that will test you as a reader, and it also entertains the hell out of you. Chapters are separated by hours, days, weeks, and sometimes months, forcing you to adapt to and take in the scope of Elliott’s world and Sun’s mission. Personally, I appreciated the lack of easy breathing, it felt like a tailwind to keep going. There are chapters that function as short stories, cleverly placed in the narrative that provide a bit of a plateau in the action, allowing the reader to rest up before barrelling ahead. Much like Sun’s guiding philosophy, the book is a spear thrown at the furious heavens and the only thing stopping its flight is its eventual destination.

Sometimes it gets a little rocky with the ever-expanding cast, but Elliott puts in the work to keep the reader abreast of the situation. The three main POVs return, along with several new ones that offer interesting perspectives. There were only a few occasions where I felt dizzy starting a chapter before Elliott guided me back on the path being taken. Your mileage may vary with the one-time-only perspectives, but I personally found them to be some of my favorite chapters within the book. They often centered on somebody who is caught in Sun’s wake as she forges her destiny in real time. Considering that so many of the characters are featured in the court intrigue, these asides featuring more regular folks were great at fleshing out the changing landscape and the harshness of a spacebound empire.

Something I appreciated about Unconquerable Sun that seems expanded upon here is Elliott’s accounting ability. She gives attention to the costs of military expansion, not in the monetary sense, but the spiritual and material sense. Building or maintaining an empire incurs a tax, whether it’s on individuals or a society. Logistics, mapping, strategizing, etc are all a part of the game, and not paying attention to one will bite you in the ass. Elliot goes to great lengths to point out the strengths and weaknesses of all the various political entities within the story. The Phene Empire feels more fully fleshed out, giving it both a raison d’etre, but highlighting why such a powerful and massive empire would be prone to brittleness and corruption despite its open and dynamic past. It’s one of the rare times I wish I had an author’s notes on their worldbuilding, just to see how they piece it all together.

Furious Heaven is no picnic, but it’s rewarding as hell. The battles are epic. The scope is legendary. The characters are fun and battle their own internal conflicts as they stare down rail guns. Sun is still the mythic figure she is written to be, but is given room to doubt herself a little more. Furious Heaven is just more of what Kate Elliott offered up in the first book, and I would even say it’s handled better, despite some of its messier bits. It makes me want to read the actual history of Alexander The Great, whom the story is loosely based on, and the person my parents supposedly named me after. I can’t wait for the final book in this trilogy because where Elliott has placed Sun and her companions, things can only get crazier. If you read Unconquerable Sun, you can’t miss Furious Heaven.

Rating: Furious Heaven – Shine On, You Crazy Diamond.

Furious Heaven by Kate Elliott is anything but light, both in content and in physical weight. As Paul covered in detail, this is a 750 page chonk retelling events from the life of Alexander the Great, except Alexander is now Princess Sun, daughter of Eirene of Chaonia, an expanding galactic power rubbing up against the much larger might of the Phene while trying to maintain their own powers at home. If you know the history of Alexander the Great, you'll probably recognise more moments from real history, but it's certainly not necessary to enjoy the combination of pew-pew space battles, irreverent epithet-laden narration, "oh no she DIDN'T" politicking, and silly teenagers with entirely too much power. Go look up the facts afterwards to find out which bits really happened (no genetically modified four-armed people in antiquity, unfortunately), and get some knowledge useful for pub quiz as a bonus!

Furious Heaven, by Kate Elliott, is everything I wanted from a sequel and more. It is a brutal marathon of space conquest, populated by fun and deep characters that burn brighter than a blade in the forge. The worldbuilding is top-notch and just gorgeous to steep in. If you read my Unconquerable Sun review, expect a similar gush fest. It’s just too much fun.

Right out the gates, Elliott picks up shortly after where we last left Sun and her companions. The Republic of Chaonia, under the direction of Queen Marshall Eirene, has struck a blow against the Phene Empire by stopping their invasion of Molossia. Eirene is ready to make her next move on Karnos and fulfill her lifelong ambition. Sun, while crucial to the battle in Molossia, is still somewhat on the sidelines at court. But when the worst comes to pass, Sun must choose to seize opportunity and take power within Chaonia. It isn’t long before the Phene Empire and its allies start to lick their chops at the prospect of taking down Chaonia once and for all. Is Sun strong enough to complete her mother’s plans?

Furious Heaven is a relentless ride that takes your hand and pulls you into its chaos. Elliott manages to make the plot a grueling marathon of a sprint. It’s a pace that allows the reader to breathe, but only enough to take in the sights and marvel at the universe before reminding you there is something even more marvelous at the end. It’s a plot that excels at being in the moment while dangling the future in front of you just enough to keep pushing. It’s a breakneck pace that will test you as a reader, and it also entertains the hell out of you. Chapters are separated by hours, days, weeks, and sometimes months, forcing you to adapt to and take in the scope of Elliott’s world and Sun’s mission. Personally, I appreciated the lack of easy breathing, it felt like a tailwind to keep going. There are chapters that function as short stories, cleverly placed in the narrative that provide a bit of a plateau in the action, allowing the reader to rest up before barrelling ahead. Much like Sun’s guiding philosophy, the book is a spear thrown at the furious heavens and the only thing stopping its flight is its eventual destination.

Sometimes it gets a little rocky with the ever-expanding cast, but Elliott puts in the work to keep the reader abreast of the situation. The three main POVs return, along with several new ones that offer interesting perspectives. There were only a few occasions where I felt dizzy starting a chapter before Elliott guided me back on the path being taken. Your mileage may vary with the one-time-only perspectives, but I personally found them to be some of my favorite chapters within the book. They often centered on somebody who is caught in Sun’s wake as she forges her destiny in real time. Considering that so many of the characters are featured in the court intrigue, these asides featuring more regular folks were great at fleshing out the changing landscape and the harshness of a spacebound empire.

Something I appreciated about Unconquerable Sun that seems expanded upon here is Elliott’s accounting ability. She gives attention to the costs of military expansion, not in the monetary sense, but the spiritual and material sense. Building or maintaining an empire incurs a tax, whether it’s on individuals or a society. Logistics, mapping, strategizing, etc are all a part of the game, and not paying attention to one will bite you in the ass. Elliot goes to great lengths to point out the strengths and weaknesses of all the various political entities within the story. The Phene Empire feels more fully fleshed out, giving it both a raison d’etre, but highlighting why such a powerful and massive empire would be prone to brittleness and corruption despite its open and dynamic past. It’s one of the rare times I wish I had an author’s notes on their worldbuilding, just to see how they piece it all together.

Furious Heaven is no picnic, but it’s rewarding as hell. The battles are epic. The scope is legendary. The characters are fun and battle their own internal conflicts as they stare down rail guns. Sun is still the mythic figure she is written to be, but is given room to doubt herself a little more. Furious Heaven is just more of what Kate Elliott offered up in the first book, and I would even say it’s handled better, despite some of its messier bits. It makes me want to read the actual history of Alexander The Great, whom the story is loosely based on, and the person my parents supposedly named me after. I can’t wait for the final book in this trilogy because where Elliott has placed Sun and her companions, things can only get crazier. If you read Unconquerable Sun, you can’t miss Furious Heaven.

Rating: Furious Heaven – Shine On, You Crazy Diamond.
-Alex

An ARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts on this book are my own.

Very very late to review this but after starting this next instalment of the story of Sun's continued rise to power I realised that to do this justice I needed to reread Unconquerable Sun.
The story arc is a re imagining of the life of Alexander the Great, with Sun equating to Alexander with key moments of that history being transposed to a Galactic stage.
In Furious Heaven we continue to follow the path to greatness taken by Sun and her companions, with Persephone being one the other strong voices in this story.
Reader be prepared for a a clash of empires, one newly emerging and one old and well established - who will win out? If you know the history of Alexander the Great then you will have a fair idea of how the story arc may fall, but this is a fantastically written, planned and detailed novel which ramps up the challenge and excitement on each page.
Definitely a must for anyone who loves space opera - everything is here and now waiting with high anticipation for the next book and grand finale.

This is the 2nd in Kate Elliott's Sun Chronicles, a space opera saga starring a female interstellar version of Alexander the Great.

Princess Sun is heir to the Republic of Chaonia. Her father, a prince of the Gatoi, is distrusted in the Republic, but has her back. The Gatoi hire out most of their banner soldiers to the Phene Empire.

In the first episode, Princess Sun and her Companions fought off a Phene gunship attack on the Chaonian capital. Now, each side rebuilds, and the Phene plot against Chaonia, with some success, aiming for a succession crisis.

The plot thickens, with space combat and Machiavellian political action at every turn, leading to a titanic battle.

A good follow up to the first book, this sweeping space saga takes us on a tour of its universe. We meet interesting characters and get caught up in intrigue. I did not personally find this book captivating. The motivations of the characters weren't always clear to me. That said, the writing was great and the saga interesting.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. Review based on final copy. All opinions are my own.
Furious Heaven is a great second installment for this series. The historical parallels are becoming more and more apparent, and I continued to enjoy it for the most part, although it did kind of mess with the pacing a bit. There are some plot developments early on that shake up the narrative, and I think that does help to set the tone and create more intrigue for the story going forward. There are some points where the book lags, but the overall narrative feels worth it.
The characters continue to develop in interesting ways. That major twist has major implications for Sun, and helps to illustrate the parallels between her and Alexander the Great as well as a leader in the making in her own right. Persephone also continues to stand out as a fun major supporting character/secondary lead, and I also enjoyed getting to know the supporting cast a bit more.
While this book does fall into some of the pitfalls of “middle book syndrome,” I am intrigued to see what will happen going into the third book. If you enjoy epic, space-opera style science fiction with inspiration from Greek/Macedonian history, I’d recommend checking this series out!

Complex and satisfying! I was really pleased to continue this journey alongside Sun, even if I am horribly apprehensive about what, based on the historical precedent, will happen in Book 3. I was particularly drawn in by Apama, who I didn’t care for as much in the first, because of her relationship with Teegee.

Furious Heaven is the sequel to Kate Elliott's Unconquerable Sun, her genderflipped queer space opera retelling of the story of Alexander the Great, and is the second book in the trilogy. The novel is LONG, even for Kate Elliott (who is known for chunkers): Amazon lists it at 728 pages as compared to the first book's 522 pages. Still, I love Elliott in general (she's one of my favorite authors) and I really enjoyed Unconquerable Sun, for its fun space opera, its tremendous secondarary major characters, and some solid themes, so I was excited to bite into this, even if it would take up much of my reading time for an entire week (as opposed to my 1-2 day reading time of most books). This is especially the case because in my experience, Elliott works tend to really hit their stride in book 2s of her trilogies.

And well, Furious Heaven is pretty great at times, as it follows the second phase in the careeer of Elliott's version of Alexander (Princess Sun) - her campaign/invasion against the Phene (her version of Persia). The book features a bunch of new but still strong characters, develops further our existing characters, and features a breathtaking pace as Sun rarely allows herself (of is afforded) time to relax before moving on. At the same time, the book's breakneck pace is, strong interlude chapters aside, perhaps also a bit of a weakness, as we rarely get too much time to see how things play out as the status quo rapidly changes, and Elliott's Sun - ostensibly our most important character - remains by far the least interesting. So for once I think this is a slight step back from the series opener....but it's still very good.

Disclaimer: Elliott asked her followers on twitter two years back for suggested fake book titles to be included in this book and picked one I suggested in response and added me to the Acknowledgements of this book by name. I promise this credit did not affect my review.

------------------------------------------Plot Summary-----------------------------------------
Princess Sun Shān has, through her reckless brilliance, managed to fend off a Phene invasion of the Republic of Chaonia that no one could have predicted, all the while being on the run from assassins seeking to take her out for unknown purposes...most likely in order to remove her from the place of succession in place of the new baby daughter of her mother, Queen Marshall Eirene. The perpetrators of those assassination attempts, who killed Sun's precious bodyguard and one of her loyal companions, is out of reach, having fled with the Phene, and his crimes are kept hidden due to his status as a prominent Seer of Iros within the Yele League (and as the father of her companion Persephone). But Sun is devoted to bringing him, and those others involved in the plot, to justice, even if her mother refuses to take action and threatens her place as heir over it.

Yet Sun's plans for vengeance may have to wait, as Eirene is planning a new bold attack on the Phene Empire to regain its rich and populous Karnos System, an attack that will take cunning and skill to pull off - and will require all of Sun's expertise behind it. And when unexpected tragedy strikes Chaonia, Sun will find herself in charge of the attack...and the attack that will take her and her companions, and the whole republic itself, far father than anyone could have imagined.
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Furious Heaven is a complicated tome, with the book containing a number of characters with their own character and plot arcs, even if the main plot is sort of how I describe it above. So yes, you have Sun's plotline at the center of the story, as she enacts the 2nd act in Alexander's career (in Elliott's own way), as Sun takes bold action against the Phene Empire and then wages her own war of conquest that keeps getting more and more ambitious, even if Sun's motives aren't usually about simply gaining territory or space and being a conqueror (more on her in a bit).

But you also have Kurash, the Gatoi soldier originally known as Zizou, who struggles to find a place for himself once cut loose from the Banners and winds up finding things about himself and his people and what he wants for them and what he can do for them that he never expected. You have Apama At Sabao, the Phene Lancer pilot who is struggling with her place now that her biological father is revealed to be a Rider and finds herself caught between rider politics and desires that complicate her wish to simply prove herself as being a worthy Lancer pilot doing good for the Empire. You have Persephone of course, who struggles with the revelations of being a clone, the revelation of her progenitor's existence, her father's treason and just the sense of being caught between Sun's ambitions and her House's own plotting. And then you have a number of more minor characters, some of whom even get POV chapters like new companion Makinde Bō, who don't quite have full plot arcs but still get development in and of themselves and aren't just pieces who revolve around Sun. There's an awful lot here, as you probably expect from Elliott.

And for so much in a single tome, it largely works really well because the characters are generally pretty interesting, even if Sun remains by far the least interesting of any of the stars. Sun's recklessness and ambition makes for a compelling story framework, but she never really has to make any tough moral choices or go through much character development here, which is even commented on by one character noting that Sun is getting the benefit of another character's dark moral choice without having to actually take action in condemning that choice. Fortunately, the rest of the story an the rest of the major characters work really well. New character Makinde is, as I mentioned before, kind of a delightful addition with his cute symbiont, Persephone is an utter mess but is still really fun in her voice as she deals with shit going to hell around her (and I mean an utter mess - at one point she starts getting a crush on a character she really shouldn't for no other reason I can see besides herself just being completely all over the place, and it works because of how off her axis she's been thrown, even as it bothered me). Apama At Sabao's character development and story arc is just fantastic, as she first struggles with the question of whether her career has been just the result of unknown nepotism, then the fear that she's just being used by her rider father to get to her mother, a person he desires, and then her struggles to save a teenage girl who happens to carry an immature rider on her head from Chaonian forces. Really Apama's whole plotline there is just a gem and I loved it. And the continued development of Kurash/Zizou as he struggles to find a place for himself in this world, and the deep themes of his arc, work really really well.

The result is a story that is full of space opera action but also full of themes of identity, of development and discovering one's own self-worth and what it means to fight for others and themselves, of inequality and struggles faced by people who are in the way of ruling elite forces, of choices people have to make their own destiny and whether they can truly trust that such choices aren't illusions at all, etc. There's a lot here that some better writer than me can go in depth into, and it does work pretty well for the most part.

That said, despite the book being an absolute tome, it honestly feels at times like it doesn't have enough time or space for the plot and characters to breathe at times. Sun's momentum is so endlessly forwards, especially as other events around her give her the opportunities and/or the reasons to keep pushing, that it can feel at times exhausting and like there isn't necessarily enough time to examine changes in the status quo. For example a major character from a major Chaonian house dies off page, and normally I'd assume that just means the character isn't really dead, but here it just feels like Elliott didn't have enough time to actually go into that death and what it means for that House. The book does manage to make this not too big a problem through the use of side character point of views and occasional interludes from the perspectives of one-off characters, which allow Elliott to explore themes of things that come up in the course of this plot, but it does feel like a bit much, especially when there's never really a doubt in my mind that Sun's reckless pushes will work...at least in this part of the story.

All that said, Furious Heaven is an excellent second novel, even if it's not one of Elliott's all time great works. I look forward to seeing how the series will conclude: if we're following history, Alexander's life and conquest flames out early, but who knows how Elliott will actually take it from here, and how it will affect her many many excellent side characters. I have my suspicions but am really curious to see how correct they will be.

Kate Elliott’s tales of Unconquerable Sun, the heir to Eirene, Queen Marshal of the Chaonia Republic are great beach books. Very exciting at times, with enough breaks in the action to let the reader get a great tan. The second tale,Furious Heaven (hard from TOR) puts Sun in charge of the Chaonian Navy and she takes desperate chances as she fights the Phene Empire, with its four handed citizens. Her companions are in the thick of fighting. They find partners in love ,some are kidnapped, and others avoid assassination. This is a long read and fun.

A bit larger in scope than I had anticipated when setting out with the series, The Sun Chronicles is a fantasy lover's dream science fiction outing, in my opinion. I am enjoying what I have seen so far, and I look forward to more.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this continuation of the Unconquerable Sun series!

This series is one that is perfect for savoring—it is a high political, sci-fi retelling of Alexander the Great. It is complex and detailed in its world building and each of the characters is incredibly well-rounded and complicated in their own right. This sequel builds upon the events of the first book to glorious result. While some parts of the book may seem slow, they all contain necessary detail to support to necessary payoff at the climax.

Fans of the first book will not be disappointed by its sequel, and fans of other political space operas such as The Stars Undying and A Memory Called Empire will love getting into this series as well.

This book had a lot of elements I enjoy (sci-fi, queer representation, thriller aspects), but the storytelling didn't work for me. I'm not sure whether I'm not the right reader for this series, or if there were actual problems. For example, it was jarring when a group of people who had appeared before suddenly all had new accents for one chapter (and one chapter only). At other times, different characters describe off-page events in contradictory ways, and the reader has no way of knowing who to believe since both have been unreliable in the past. Action sequences are frequently interrupted for the viewpoint character to describe how hot someone is, and how horny that makes them (in the middle of a life-or-death situation).

More generally, I'm not fond of books that glorify empire. In this case, having the empire run by horny teenagers just made that worse.

Let me open with this: Furious Heaven is a fantastic book, a sequel to the also brilliant Unconquerable Sun. You can say it's a gender-flipped, science-fiction re-imagining of the life of Alexander the Great. I think that's a great summary, but it does the text something of a disservice, because there's just...so much here. Politics. War, encompassing grand strategy and short, brutal tactical engagements. There's family squabbles - and sometimes that family is powerful enough that their disagreements can break worlds. There's friendships and betrayals, and people building on shifting sands, trying to make things better. And in a story built on war, built on conflict, there's a suggestion that the two sides may not be as far apart as all that.
So yes. This is a clever book, that delves into the depths of politics, violence, warfare, power, friendship...and a lot of other big words. But it's also a fast-paced, action packed story filled with explosions, the occasional assassination, and enough happening on every page that I couldn't put it down.

As always with Eliot, the worldbuilding is rich and intricate. The Republic of Chaonia is given more texture here; a lavishly wealthy active monarchy, where the queen is the final, absolute authority. A star-spanning political union, the Republic has been shaped by its conflict with its nearest neighbour, the Empire of Phene. They're militaristic, and identify strongly with their political system; they're ready to fight and die for the Republic - and the government of the Republic is more than happy to use its pervasive media control to encourage that willingness in its citizens. In the meantime, the Republic aristocracy are engaged in one-upping, politics, and the occasional bout of murder. And that's just what we know about. Looking at the less than stellar underbelly of the Republic is a delight. We always knew it was a bit sketchy, but placing the characters, most of whom are good people by their own lights, into a worrying system they're largely at the top of and sustaining, is fascinating. And it helps that this contrasts with their adversaries, the Empire of Phene. The Phene are genetically engineered, and seemingly largely egalitarian, a union that believes in equality. But they're also maintained by a shadowy council of "riders", who are kept largely screened from the population they lead, and whose ability to communicate with each other across vast distances is deeply mysterious and the thing holding their Empire together. The Phene also have their own problems - including experimentation on other sentients, and a whole gamut of politics and backbiting. We get to see more of the latter in this story, which delights in giving us a Phene point of view, to compare with that of the otherwise estimable Princess Sun and her coterie. And amongst these space faring powers sit other, stranger things - including fleets sailing between the stars, and telepathic symbionts, and roses blooming in dead earth. This is a grand universe, one which echoes with history and determination, and one which has enough grease and blood and tears on it that it feels real.

Funnily enough, the same applies to the characters. Sun, our Alexander analogue, continues to blend a regal, mysterious, ruthless public persona with something a little more real, or at least something a little differently real, gentler, more contemplative, in a private context. And she does this while leading a war fleet of ships across the depths of space, slowly concentrating her power and her ambitions and her personal connections,, becoming a personality and a power in her own right, out from under the thumb of her mother, Eirene. Eirene, incidentally, and especially her interactions with Sun, is characterised with exquisite detail - a monarch who broke the mould, who fought through hell and back and made victory out of ashes, and peace out of defeat - and who lives a hard, often transactional existence. Eirene is what Sun could be, one day, if she makes the same kinds of choices - a warning and a celebration all at once.

And then there's the Wily Persephone. Persephone is one of Sun's companions, an aristocrat, but one who was determined to live out from beneath the shadow of her family intrigues. She's sly, sarcastic, and smart. I'm always here for the witty one-liners, and the refusal to accept other people's nonsense, and Perse delivers on that very well. It helps that she's also a capable leader, and willing to back up being a smart-arse with being willing to kick ass, as necessary. That said, Persephone is still grappling with her need to prove herself as part of Sun's coterie, and with the affection she has for, well, lets say less than suitable admirers. And with the secrets of her own past, which threaten to envelop and overthrow the life she's made for herself. But that all sounds frightfully ominous, and you know what, while it is, Perse is our accessible entry point into the halls of power, someone who at the very least is willing to think the obvious questions, to explore outside-he-box solutions, to fight and die to change the world, or change a mind. She is, in sum, a fully realised person, and one who's probably a heck of a lot of fun at parties, and easily underestimated on a firing line.

There's other characters here too, I just...don't want to spoil too much. We do see a lot more of the Phene this time around, and exploring their culture, in its nuanced horror and joy, is fascinating. And we see a little more of Sun's Republic through the eyes of those a little further down the tree. Without spoilers then: these are, it feels like, real people doing their best within their circumstances, and we can sit alongside them in their lavishly explored inner-lives while they do so. Top-notch characterisation all around.

By now you know I'm not going to spoil the plot. But. But but but. It's something. It's the sort of story that had me turning pages at 2am to find out what happened next. The sort of story that's seared across your brain for nights afterward. The sort of story that makes you laugh, cry, and then turn the page because you have to know what's next. For those of you here for the combat: it's bloody and brutal and visceral, from the unexpected decompression of atmosphere during the silent, deadly dance of fleet engagements, through the chaos of boarding actions, to the gore and muck of hand to hand fighting planetside. It's unafraid to explore the glory of the fight, but also the horrifying costs, and the waste of it all. There's idols being thrown up here, but the story isn't afraid to explore the sacrifices which they ask for. And as the tale carries on, you can see that whatever happens, Sun's world, Persephone's world, the Republic and the Empire, it's all going to change.

So is it any good? Absolutely. I tore through this second volume even faster than the first, and need to know what happens next. If you need a space opera in your life, this is a bloody good one.

Furious Heaven is an energetic, superbly paced novel with high-octane, pulse-pounding duels and space battles. This is a terrific read, and I can hardly wait for the next installment in the series. I loved it! I would like to thank Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion of this book.

In this sequel to Unconquerable Sun, Sun and her companions continue trying to build their political base in the face of terrible tragedy. An attack completely upends the social order, requiring Sun to step into power early and face the consequences of her mother's decisions. Clones, war crimes, and ordinary jealousies lurk around Sun, and she will need all the allies her cleverness can rally. A great read, feeling quick despite its massive size. I can't wait to read the next one!

I received an ARC of this book from Tor in exchange for an honest review. This review will not contain any spoilers for Furious Heaven, but will contain spoilers for the previous book in the series, Unconquerable Sun.

The three main points of view--Persephone, Apama, and Sun--all carried their weight, though I tended to find Persephone the least exciting (especially in the first half of the book). Apama's increasingly complicated, but still loyal, relationship to the Phene Empire was a highlight of the book for me. She served as an excellent window into Rider politics and showed the range of Rider personalities in a way that wouldn't have made sense for the Chaonian characters. Without spoiling who exactly Apama meets, it suffices to say that she encounters Riders of all ages and temperaments, each of whom has a crucial role to play both in the plot and in her character development. If anything, I felt shortchanged by the cuts back to the Chaonian perspective, since some events I would have preferred to see firsthand instead unfolded "off-screen." For the most part, though, Elliott deftly balances the Chaonian and Phenish perspectives, and despite only having Apama on the latter side, she certainly pulls her weight. Getting to see more of Sun's perspective was helpful in illustrating her determination and absolute confidence. When seen through other characters' eyes, I felt that Elliott often "told rather than showed." Having Sun take a more active decisionmaking role, and letting the reader into her mind in those crucial moments, was a more effective approach for me.

Four out of five stars. On the long side, and not all the characters are equally interesting, but still a well-executed example of the genre.

Space opera needs four elements to be successful for this reader: Larger than life characters with interesting explorations of gender and identity; interesting high tech dazzle-dazzle that goes beyond sprockets and rockets; big ideas—including glimpses of the numinous—without anything being dogmatic; layered and polysemous surprises.

The short answer for this review: hits the target on every count.

In this story arc, Kate Elliott took as substrate the life of Alexander the Great. You don't need to know that to enjoy the books, but like anything with Easter eggs, if you do know that history, it adds a layer of fun deciding who was the inspiration for each character, and locality, and how much of that original informs the tale as it unfolds.

This is a long book, but no saggy middle book. I think that is because this is a huge story, a roman-fleuve, not a series of three books pitched as three for marketing purposes, whose structure usually falters midway. Rereading the first book is a good idea, as this one picks up not long after UNCONQUERABLE SUN ended, with Sun Shan, daughter of the Philip of Macedonia-like Eirene, consolidating her new Companions before stepping up as queen-marshal of Chaonia. She then sets out to conquer the rich, huge, intriguing Phene empire, extrapolated from Persia.

Elliott's books often take a running pass at people in power and what it does to them and those close to them, and this one is no different. I think with each book she gets better at the complexities, especially as this series has as sub themes some Asian cultural matrices.

We continue to see Sun at a third person distance, counterbalanced with the wryly sardonic first person POV of the ferociously intelligent Persephone Lee. Persephone is well able to maneuver in this world of intense competition and stylish posturing for the media: as in ancient days, kingship has to be seen, to be felt. And they all know it.

And finally, there are the high-octane, pulse-pounding duels and space battles. This is a terrific read, and I can hardly wait for the next installment in the series. Which will be my excuse to reread both books again.

Picking up where Unconquerable Sun left off (and usual warning: even mentioning characters who appear in the sequel could be considered spoilers for the first book, so tread carefully!), Furious Heaven reunites us with our gender-swapped Alexander the Great, Princess Sun, as she blazes her way across the stars.

We're in a distant future where mankind has travelled out into the stars, only to find themselves cut off when the 'beacon system' - the method of instantaneous travel across vast distances - partially collapses. Centuries later humanity has divided into various factions, struggling to hold the systems surrounding the remaining beacons. Strife is constant, and the war between the Republic of Chaonia and the Phene Empire is growing apace as we reach the middle instalment of this epic space opera.

There was such a lot to set up in book one, but it was worth it as the reader can settle more quickly into this volume. There is perhaps a little shuffling as initial events are played out to position Sun for the next phase of the action, but once that's out of the way then the pace rarely lets up.

We meet up with all of the previous characters, all of whom get a great deal more time and growth here. Sun surrounds herself with 'companions', one from each of the major Chaonian Houses, and while most are still rather more background characters than not, as a unit they really have come together.

Adding to the intrigue, we also spend a large amount of time with representatives from the other side of the conflict and learn a lot more about the power structure and politics of the Phene Empire. I could perhaps see it as a little weakness that those in charge are so obviously 'bad' compared to the 'good' or at least more morally grey Chaonians, but it's still fascinating to discover more about the Riders - a linked group that can communicate instantly throughout space, and who seems to be parasite-symbiotes 'riding' human hosts. Their brief mentions in book one were a little too reminiscent of another face-in-back-of-skull popular fiction, but thankfully there's a lot more meat here and that imagery was easier to put down.

Although long, and although it did take me longer to read than I planned, this really didn't feel like it suffered from 'middle book syndrome' at all. That, I feel, is because we are still learning so much, across a diverse set of cultures, all the while waiting for the inevitable clashes.

There is still a lot of story to come, clearly, but there's also a satisfying tying up of events here. I cannot wait for the third instalment, even with my heart in my mouth knowing how the inspiration story played out. Perhaps Sun is made of sterner stuff - certainly this left me with high hopes! Recommended.

Probably a bit too long that I lost interest halfway through and don't even remember much of what happened by the time I finished reading many days later. Probably won't continue with the series.