Cascade Failure was my top book in the first half of 2024, so when the sequel was announced I was equal parts excited and terrified. Would it live up to CF? Would be get all the found family goodness? The snark? The action? The heartbreak? Holy hell, folx, Sagas delivered it all! I laughed, I cried, I stayed up way too late to see what happened next. These books are the perfect example of what the light scifi genre can do. These are the books I'm going to be giving most of my friends for the holidays. These are the books that are going to live on my bookself forever.

I know the tentative plan was to end the series here, but I really hope we get one more book. I need to know how Saint moves on after having to leave the guild. I want to see Nash McGuyver her way out of another tricky situation, I want to see Eoan deal with their mortality, grief, and the new AI. I want Jal to find his place (and also see if he and Saint might become more!). But even if we don't get a third book, I'll be sitting around, impatiently waiting to see what Sagas writes next.

"Gravity Lost" is a wonderful sequel (though I did absolutely feel the loss of a certain character from the first one) to the messy, chaotic, and heartwrenching first book. Picking up where Cascade Failure left off, this sequel dives straight back into the action with everyone's favorite space family - right in the thick of trouble again.

L.M. Sagas continues to impress me with her ability to weave raw emotions into her stories. There's an almost poetic quality to her writing them that makes you feel like the characters' struggles are your own. Maybe it's just MY soul that she's tapped into, but she does it with ease. It's rare to find an author who can so effectively make you feel like their characters are YOURS (as the reader), but Sagas pulls it off with ease. Every emotion feels authentic and vivid, and it pulls you deeper into the story she's created.

The standout for me is how attached I am to these characters. The crew of the Ambit—Eoan, Nash, Saint, and Jal (and even his fam) —feels like my own found family. There's a sense of camaraderie that reminds me a lot of the beloved Firefly crew, only here, the reader truly feels like one of them, sharing in their laughter, tears, and even their questionable decisions. The dynamics are messy and human (and human-ish in Eoan's chase), but they’re real, and that’s what makes them so incredibly compelling.

And let's talk about Eoan specifically for a second. As an AI character, he could have easily been a one-note presence, but instead, he's an absolute revelation. His growth and the exploration of his capacity for humanity are some of the most touching parts of the story. Seeing him evolve beyond his programming, grappling with complex emotions, and forming bonds that are so genuine is incredibly satisfying.

Then there’s Drestyn—what a surprise! I never thought I could feel anything but disdain for this character, yet somehow, Sagas managed to shift my perspective. He doesn’t get a free pass for his past, but he becomes far more sympathetic, revealing hidden depths and unexpected motivations. It’s a testament to Sagas’ skill that she can make me feel for someone I previously despised.

While I think Cascade Failure might still edge this one out as my favorite in the series, Gravity Lost is an outstanding follow-up and an absolute five-star read for me. It’s full of vibrant world-building, witty dialogue, and characters that feel alive. I’m excited to see where the crew of the Ambit goes next—there’s so much left to explore and so many more challenges ahead.

If you loved Firefly and character-driven scifi and you’re not already reading this series, what are you waiting for?

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Books for the opportunity to read and review. This review is based on a complimentary pre-released copy and it is voluntary. All opinions are my own.

Thank you for the advanced copy! I absolutely adore this series. It feels like firefly with the found family with all the adventure. L.M. Sagas is now a favorite author, and I can't get enough of Team Ambit! Just a fun ride.

This is an absolutely perfect sequel in the Ambit series, and desperately want to get more books with the Ambit and its rag-tag crew!!! I love that we get POVs from the entire crew! They are all wonderfully written and feel like complete individuals that I would love to be friends with! We even get a bit from Drestyn, the bad guy from the first book, and it gave me new insight into his character, while I don't think he was right in his actions you get a new understanding of why he did what he did.

This book had me laughing out loud, falling in love with the entire crew, even Eoan the Captian who is artificial intelligence. It's action-packed from the start, and full of emotional moments that had me wanting to reach into the book and give everyone a great big hug.. This is a series I can see myself reading again and again and I can't wait to see what L. M Sagas is going to write next!!

The crew of the Ambit, Nash, Saint and their AI captain Eoan, after stopping the terrorist Isaiah Drestyn who had caused colony Cascade Failure (paper) now have to deal with Jal’s sister being kidnapped. To rescue her, they have to break Drestyn out of prison, and bring him to a dying, ancient starship with Gravity Lost (paper from TOR). Of course it’s a trap and the villain at the heart of the trap is one of the Captains running the Guild. As much fun as the first and I suspect that L. M. Sagas will bring the Ambit back for another fun adventure.

Cascade Failure was sooooooo cool, I was so excited to get to this. This is more of what you'd expect, and like I sometimes say, that's not a bad thing. This world feels so cozy and lived-in, and I was so excited to continue following the Ambit crew. Not much to say here - if you like the Firefly-y cozy sci-fi adventure of the first book, you're gonna like this. And I'm hoping we get more.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available to me.

Just as good as the previous book, this one takes up shortly after the events of that earlier book. It continues in the vein of found family and rescuing loved ones from perilous circumstances. We get a kidnapping, an extremely smart child, another AI, all in trying to unravel what led to the events of that previous book. Lots of fun, lots of suspense, lots of harrowing escapes. All around good escapist sci-fi.

L.M. Sagas absolutely knocks it out of the park with Gravity Lost, the sequel to her debut novel, Cascade's Run. In Gravity Lost the crew of Ambit are still dealing with the revelations and shocking blows dealt to them in Cascade's Run. Captain Eoan is trying to reconcile being an essentially immortal AI who has had an experience that brought her close to mortality. Saint, stalwart soldier and true believer in the Guild, is stubbornly refusing to believe that Guild corruption goes beyond what they discovered. Nash, medic to people and machines, has no difficulty believing that systems are corrupt but she's been betrayed by a friend. Trust doesn't come easily to Nash and now she's not sure she can open her heart up and risk herself and her crew again. Jal is trying to find his place again after being sold out by a Guild crew captain, forced to serve as a scavenger, being unjustly charged with treason, almost dying, and now finally reuniting with his family. The stage is set and primed for the drama of Gravity Lost and it does not disappoint.

In Cascade's Run Sagas describes the way our characters' world functions and it's fairly essential to enjoying this novel, which picks up just a short period after the end of the first. The Guild are meant to function as neutral arbiters of peace who preserve human life in "the spiral" or inhabited areas of outer space. The Trust is essentially a for profit corporation (or rather all of the formerly separate corporations joined together) and their counterpart is the Union which serves as the worker's representation but also provides for some services that a government might. The one thing that seems most apparent is that although the Union and the Trust are meant to balance each other out, the system still suffers from corruption, greed, and a tendency to place profits ahead of human life and safety. Ostensibly this is where the Guild comes in with its "dedication to the preservation of human life." Unfortunately, power corrupts and the Guild has a fair amount of power.

Gravity Lost perfectly blends entertainment with thought-provoking issues embedded in the narrative. Science fiction is an excellent vehicle for examining political and social issues while removing them from the loaded context of our world. In this case, so many of the characters are struggling with how to deal with the corruption that they see and how to fit it into both their worldview and their constructed identity narratives. At what point does a loyal soldier decide to stop following orders? How do you deal with someone who wants to create change through violence? What is the answer when people have convinced themselves that the ends justify the means no matter who gets hurt? What do we do when the people who believe this are our friends? These and many more important questions are raised by Sagas in the novel, and because this is such an entertaining and enjoyable one, it has a good chance of reaching people.

Important questions aside, this is a thrilling space opera that you should not miss. The characters are so fully three dimensional that you feel like you can sit down and have a cup of tea with Nash and maybe crochet a cute monkey or that Saint will make you some stew. It's truly the hallmark of an excellent writer when you feel like you know their characters so well that you can imagine sitting down with them. The plot twist just kept coming and I really wasn't sure what was going to happen next until the end. If you enjoy sci-fi adventures set in space with deep characters who still rank high on the humor scale, then this is absolutely the book for you. I definitely recommend reading Cascade's Run first, but I suggest a binge read. Happy reading!

Thank you to Tor and Netgalley for providing me with a free advance copy of this novel prior to publication so that I could provide readers with an unbiased review.

L.M. Sagas won me over earlier this year with the spectacular sci-fi/found family novel Cascade Failure. Today, she’s back with a sequel!

It’s been a few months since the events of Cascade Failure and the Guild crew of the Ambit have been spending their days watching over Drestyn, the agitator who’s quest for revenge led to the events of the first book. While they anonymously leaked a large number of Trust records in the aftermath, their captive still holds many more. So as Jal is recovering from his injuries, Saint, Nash, and Captain Eoan help out with the security shifts that monitor the Guild’s prison cell. Should be an easy detail, but nothing is ever as easy as it should be.

The day that Drestyn is transferred from the Guild station, Saint and Nash are led on a chase through the underbelly by none other than Jal. Turns out that some of Drestyn’s buddies have a plan to break him out, and that starts with kidnapping Jal’s sister. As soon as Jal breaks the news to the rest of the Ambit crew, they set off to find the kidnappers, with Jal’s niece in tow. Our lovable found family of misfits may even have to save Drestyn himself along the way, lest the secrets he holds do more harm.

Like its predecessor, Gravity Lost is a great ride. It’s fun, creative sci-fi with nice modern pop culture nods here and there that help it feel grounded in our reality. It’s a solid and successful follow-up, and helps to better build out the universe that Sagas introduced us to earlier this year. Go check it out for yourself. Gravity Lost was released on Tuesday, 7/23. Thanks to Tor and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for a fair review.

This review originally appeared here: https://swordsoftheancients.com/2024/07/25/gravity-lost-a-review/

Happily, I found Gravity Lost as satisfying a read as the first book in the series, Cascade Failure. I often like first books in series more than the others because I prefer character development to action, but this book introduces several new characters which helped round out the story. The Ambit series echoes Firefly, Guardians of the Galaxy, Killjoys, and (to a lesser degree) Becky Chambers’ Wayfarer series. 

The series is set in a future world run by three entities, the Trust, the Union, and the Guild. I’ll admit I have some trouble keeping their roles straight, but basically the Trust represents corporate interests, the Union represents workers, and the Guild is like a military, a force of rangers meant to neutrally protect life. The crew of the Ambit, with their AI captain, serve the Guild. In this sequel they're forced to go rogue when the sister of one of the crew is kidnapped. The crew has been tasked with delivering mass murderer Isaiah Drestyn to the authorities. Unfortunately the kidnappers have something else in mind. 

I've only just learned the term "found family" but that's clearly something I like - I identify with outsiders coming together. These books are a great example of that concept. Each character is wrestling with something - past trauma, heartbreak, and physical limitations. I genuinely like each character for different reasons, and they feel fleshed out in a very realistic way. I enjoyed the way they lovingly make fun of each other.

These books are a great blend of emotion and action. Plus a lot of creative swearing. And a cat.

I would have loved a little more of a recap from the first book - I just read the first book but I often go quite a while between books in a series, and since the world-building is complicated a little more set-up would have been helpful.

I don't know that the writing of these books is amazing – it’s a bit repetitive and predictable at times – you know the characters will face near death situations, have epic battles, and race against time. These are not books that are doing anything new. But if you like space adventure, mystery, outlaws, and characters with heart, you’ll enjoy these books. 

Note: I received an advanced review copy of this book from NetGalley and publisher Tor Books. This book published July 23, 2024

I greatly enjoyed this book (and the one it follows). From the first chapter I was completely hooked and rooting for the whole crew. It's a good 'rescue mission' type story with a couple of twists thrown in. I will definitely look for more from this author.

Fun read. I really like this setting. If you liked the scrappy spacer crew Firefly setting this book will absolutely be right up your alley. I was only about 5 pages into the book before I was checking the author’s Goodreads page to see if there was a book 3 listed. Sadly no, not at this point but I’m following the author because whatever they write next I want to read it!.

Really enjoyed this follow-up to Cascade Failures, one of my favorite books I've read this year! This didn't suffer from sequel slump at all. It had more of the found family and space hijinks that I loved in the first one.

Gravity Lost is a fabulous follow-up to Cascade Failure, and builds on the fantastic foundation built by its predecessor. This sequel takes everything that was fantastic about the first book, and ramps up the stakes. I couldn't put it down. When a seemingly routine job turns into chaos, it is up to the Ambit's crew to band together and save one another. Character relationships continue to be a highlight for this series, and I hope the author decides to write more stories in this world. Highly recommended.

A worthwhile sequel to Cascade Failure. This story takes place not too long after the evens of the previous book and creates a bit more nuanced of a world, expanding some of the pieces from Cascade. The characters are all still quite enjoyable, with the wonderful team of the Ambit taking center stage and some delightful new characters such as Jal's sister added into the mix. My note for this book is that while there are some emotional moments between the characters, the emotional journeys of the characters hit a lot of the same beats as the previous book. I hope for the next book that Sagas takes a leap into a new theme beyond being accepted by found family. Will I continue to read and enjoy the antics of the Ambit's crew? Absolutely.

I think that I liked the sequel even more than I like the original. Our characters face truths about themselves and show great emotional growth. I loved the addition of Bitsie, a tween who perfectly balanced that I want to be a grown up with the I am still a child. Seeing Jal interact with her was wonderful. Nash continues to be my favorite character. My heart broke for Saint.

I am anxiously awaiting the next installment in the series.

Gravity Lost is the second book in Ambit’s Run sci-fi series that began with Cascade Failure. The series is set in fairly far future in a space-faring world ruled by the Trust and the Union for profit, with the neutral Guild keeping peace between them with its rangers.

Ambit’s crew, Guild rangers Eoan the AI captain, Nash the mechanic/doctor and Saint the XO have spent months on a space station waiting for Jal, the former ranger they rescued in the previous book, to recover and connect with his family. They’re preparing to leave, when someone abducts Jal’s sister, Regan, sending the crew on a rescue mission.

Someone wants Dresdyn, the agitator the crew captured in the previous book, and so the crew has no choice than to break him free from prison, making them fugitives in Guild’s eyes. But the abductor evades them at every corner, luring the crew into a trap. They have unexpected help though: Dresdyn wants the abductor dead as badly as the crew wants to free Regan. And it turns out, the enemy is someone closer to them than any of them could’ve imagined.

This was a good book, but not quite as exciting as the first one. The entire universe wasn’t at stake, the action was more limited, and the death-defying situations were smaller, although more personal. While it was easy to sympathise with Jal’s need to find his sister, it didn’t give the reader a similar sense of urgency, and while there was a very personal betrayal again, the reader wasn’t connected with them the same way than in the previous book, where there were chapters from the traitor’s point of view even. And we didn’t learn anything new about the main characters.

Nevertheless, the world remained interesting, the characters were as loveable as before, and the narrative was rich and good. While the characters didn’t have similar arcs as in the previous book, the reader cared for them and rooted for each of them, even Dresdyn. The ending was good and left the crew in a new place. I’m interested in reading more about their adventures.

The Ambit crew is back, and once again a seemingly routine job soon turns into total chaos with seeming dire consequences. Eoan, Saint and Nash are delivering a notorious prisoner when suddenly Jal appears and everything runs amok. Of course, what looks like criminality is merely Jal being most Jal - desperate to protect his family. And the crew of the Gambit consider Jal family (whether he realizes it or not), so soon they are all in as well. And all in puts them up against, well, everybody, and unable to tell who to trust. Friends become foes, foes friends, and everything they have ever believed in becomes suspect. It is another rip-roaring adventure dashing through the galaxy with only each other and their moral code to get them through. Guaranteed to keep you very awake, and loads of fun. The best part of this series is the depth of the characters, their complexity, emotional range, unpredictability, yet reliability, and how deeply they all care. And this includes the AI Captain, Eoan, one of the most original characters I have seen in some time. Extremely enjoyable and highly recommended.

For fans of found family, shenanigans in space, genetically engineered characters with a heart of gold,snarky AI captains, genius enginner/doctors, and a shoot first, ask questions later executive officer, Gravity Lost takes all the great parts of Cascade Failure and turns up the throttle. One of my favorite series this year, and possibly all time.

WOW. WOW. WOW. What a sequel! What a goddamn sci-fi masterpiece. It's the family of Firefly meets the banter of Guardians of the Galaxy meets the wild sci-fi adventures and political intrigue of The Expanse.

Cascade Failure is one of my favorite sci-fi reads ever and I did not know how such a strong debut could be followed up, yet Gravity Lost is even better. The found family grows a bit and if you have not already fallen for the entire crew they will pull at your heartstrings all throughout this story and worm their way into your heart, leaving you feeling all warm inside. It is so much fun to read the dialogue between this crew of misfits. The banter is hilarious and I love that they always poke so much fun at each other like a true family would.

It takes really good writing for me to get emotional reading a book and I was actually sobbing by the end of this. You will feel so much about this crew and the love they share.

There was a lot of additional universe building going on in this book too and I love that we learned a bit more about how things work and some history. While this does end in a place that wraps things up nicely, I hope there will be more to the series because we really need to see more adventures for the Ambit’s Run.

Infinity STARS