Flight of the Sparrow
Fallon DeMornay. Podium, $19.99 trade paper (336p) ISBN 978-1-0394-8282-1
This fun, pulpy space opera from DeMornay (Stiletto Sisterhood) opens with Nimah Dabo-124 eager to prove herself at the STARS military academy even as her fellow cadets look down at her as a RIM-rat, someone from the poor outer reaches of the galaxy. Her hopes are dashed when the school discovers that she is the granddaughter of infamous space pirate Capt. Indira “La Voz” Roscoe; Nimah is deemed unfit to serve and expelled. She’s despondent—until two of her grandmother’s former crew members, Dorothy “Dobs” Dobrevnic and Mumbles, barge into her life. Indira—a Robin Hoodesque folk hero, famed for helping the poor—has been framed for a terrorist bombing and turned herself in rather than be chased down. Convinced that Indira is innocent, Dobs and Mumbles recruit Nimah for a jailbreak. Nimah agrees, though she’s reluctant to aid the grandmother who abandoned her as a child. Together, they must gather the rest of the crew, with a couple of surprise additions, and free Indira before the pirate captain is executed for a crime that she very well may not have committed. The worldbuilding feels ripped straight out of the TV series Firefly, but the complex plot and banter between the scrappy heroes is unique. This colorful adventure is sure to win fans. (Apr.)
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Reviewed on: 02/03/2025
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror