The Redline Heist

This nostalgic sci-fi caper, the first in the Doomsday series from Mersault (The Silent Hand), follows a charming thief and a down-on-her-luck warrior as they team up for an intergalactic heist. Cherry Aisha, an infamous war veteran, is working as a bouncer on the planet Bethune when criminal Warren Springer Stowe contracts her to help break into a museum and steal a hydrocarbon-fueled antique from a bygone Earth era (read: a motorcycle). Despite Cherry’s training and body enhancements, the pair flub the mission and end up in prison—until they cut a deal with the megacorporation Maktoum and are released to Ajanib, a mysterious alien base. Resembling an ancient Egyptian pyramid, Ajanib appeared on Bethune millennia ago; now Maktoum is developing it as a playground for the rich to race 3D-printed replicas of 1960s Earth vehicles and the company wants Cherry and Stowe to perform high-speed stunts. But danger lurks within Ahanib, and investigating what’s causing Maktoum workers to disappear in the pyramid’s deadly catacombs puts the pair on the scent of an alien treasure trove that could be a massive score. Mersault jauntily juggles heist and space opera conventions, but the plot gets somewhat bogged down in clunky dialogue and a few too many perspective shifts. Still, fans of old-school science fiction will be excited to see where the series goes next. (Feb.)