Velocity Weapon

by Megan E. O'Keefe

Overview

NOMINATED FOR THE PHILIP K. DICK AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL * Dazzling space battles, intergalactic politics, and rogue AI collide in Velocity Weapon, the first book in this epic space opera trilogy by award-winning author Megan O'Keefe.
Sanda and Biran Greeve were siblings destined for greatness. A high-flying sergeant, Sanda has the skills to take down any enemy combatant. Biran is a savvy politician who aims to use his new political position to prevent conflict from escalating to total destruction.
However, on a routine maneuver, Sanda loses consciousness when her gunship is blown out of the sky. Instead of finding herself in friendly hands, she awakens 230 years later on a deserted enemy warship controlled by an AI who calls himself Bero. The war is lost. The star system is dead. Ada Prime and its rival Icarion have wiped each other from the universe.
Now, separated by time and space, Sanda and Biran must fight to put things right.



The ProtectorateVelocity Weapon

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316419604
Publisher:	Orbit
Publication date:	06/11/2019
Series:	The Protectorate , #1
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	38,170
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Megan E. O'Keefe was raised amongst journalists, and as soon as she was able joined them by crafting a newsletter which chronicled the daily adventures of the local cat population. She has worked in both arts management and graphic design, and has won Writers of the Future and the Gemmell Morningstar Award.
Megan lives in the Bay Area of California.

Editorial Reviews

05/06/2019

In this twisty space opera set in the far future, Sgt. Sanda Greeve is granted a new lease on life after her survival pod is retrieved following a devastating battle between her homeworld and its hostile neighbors. However, there are complications: she’s missing a leg, the ship that picked her up is an enemy smartship devoid of crew, and she’s lost over two centuries in suspended animation, during which time both feuding worlds were destroyed. Now Sanda must adjust to life aboard the empty ship, which calls itself Bero, and figure out her next move. In a parallel story, set 200 years earlier, her brother, Biran, is convinced Sanda is still alive and engages in intrigue-laden politics in a desperate attempt to find her. When their paths impossibly cross once more, they realize a deadly conspiracy winds throughout their entire civilization. O’Keefe (Inherit the Flames) delivers a complicated, thoughtful tale that skillfully interweaves intrigue, action, and strong characterization. Themes of found family, emotional connection, and identity run throughout, backed up by strong worldbuilding and a tense narrative. This series opener leaves multiple plot threads open for further development, and readers will look forward to the next installments. Agent: Sam Morgan, Foundry Literary + Media. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"O'Keefe delivers a complicated, thoughtful tale that skillfully interweaves intrigue, action, and strong characterization. Themes of found family, emotional connection, and identity run throughout, backed up by strong worldbuilding and a tense narrative. This series opener leaves multiple plot threads open for further development, and readers will look forward to the next installments."—Publishers Weekly

"Meticulously plotted, edge-of-your-seat space opera with a soul; a highly promising science-fiction debut."—Kirkus

"Outstanding space opera where the politics and world building of The Expanse series meets the forward-thinking AI elements of Ancillary Justice."—Michael Mammay, author of Planetside

"Velocity Weapon is a spectacular epic of survival, full of triumph and gut-wrenching loss."—Alex White, author of The Salvagers Series

"Full of twists, feints, and deception, O'Keefe's latest presents a visionary world rife with political intrigue and space adventure."—Booklist (starred review)

"A well-crafted interplanetary adventure full of twists and turns, compelling characters, and irresistible teases of an expanded terrain for the chapters to come... a satisfying stand-alone book while also promising really intriguing things to come for the remainder of the series. I recommend diving into it now."—Skiffy & Fanty

"Velocity Weapon is a roller-coaster ride of pure delight. Furious action sequences, funny dialog, and touching family interactions all wrapped up in a plot that will keep you guessing every step of the way. This is one of the best science fiction novels of 2019."—K. B. Wagers, author of the Indranan War Trilogy

"Velocity Weapon is fast-paced, twisty, edge-of-your-seat fun. Space opera fans are in for a massive treat!"—Marina J. Lostetter, author of Noumenon

A brilliantly plotted yarn of survival and far-future political intrigue—Guardian (UK)

"This is a sweeping space opera with scope and vision, tremendously readable. I look forward to seeing where O'Keefe takes this story next."—Locus

From the Publisher

2019-04-28
O'Keefe turns from fantasy novels (The Proposal Game, 2018, etc.) to sci-fi with the story of a spacefaring soldier who wakes up on an enemy ship alone—save for the ship itself.

The last thing Sanda Greeve remembers is her ship being attacked by rebel forces. She's resuscitated from her evacuation pod missing half a leg—and two centuries—as explained to her by the AI of the rebel ship that rescued her. As The Light of Berossus—aka Bero—tells her, she may be the only living human for light-years around, as the war wiped both sides out long ago. Sanda struggles to process her injuries and her grief but finds friendship with the lonely spaceship itself. Sanda's story is interspersed with flashbacks to the war's effects on her brother, Biran, as well as scenes from a heist gone terribly wrong for small-time criminal Jules. The three narratives, separated by a vast gulf of time, are more intertwined than is immediately apparent. When Sanda rescues Tomas, another unlikely survivor, from his own evacuation pod, she learns that even time doesn't end all wars. Should she trust Tomas, a fellow human but a rebel soldier who has his own secrets—or Bero, the ship that saved her? It's the first twist in a story that fires them like railguns. Every hard-earned victory for Sanda, Biran, or Jules is turned on its head as new information is revealed, and the tension is as tight as the pressure seal on a spacesuit. Yet the story still makes room for the classic questions of science fiction: What counts as a person, and what does it mean to be humane at any time, let alone in wartime?

Meticulously plotted, edge-of-your-seat space opera with a soul; a highly promising science-fiction debut.

Kirkus Reviews