cover image Breakaway: A Cassandra Kresnov Novel

Breakaway: A Cassandra Kresnov Novel

Joel Shepherd, . . Pyr, $15 (427pp) ISBN 978-1-59102-540-5

In this action-packed sequel to Crossover (2006), Australian author Shepherd revisits the far-future multiracial capital city Tanusha, where two factions, the League and the Federation, war over the future of the planet Callay, and the enigmatic android heroine, Sandy, gets caught in between. The personal complicates the political as the League sends a delegation, and Sandy, as ex-League, worries that they want her back even as the Tanushans fear that she'll suddenly switch sides. As the Federation and the League struggle for ascendancy, Sandy must learn to trust Ari and Ayako, a covert ops team looking for the Tanushan underground. Lurching from crisis to crisis, Sandy, for all her abilities, must learn to depend on others, even as she finds that her struggle is more than just a job—she now has something worth fighting for. Beneath the glitz of snazzy weaponry, unstoppable heroes and byzantine political machinations is a very real struggle about the nature of humanity and trust. (Apr.)