Theta

by Sasya Fox

In a future starscape where the children of man have succumbed to humanity's long-forgotten vices, THETA is a story of a dark, twisting dance of intrigue, love and loss among the stars.

Stuck in a dramatic struggle between death and life, a young dancer must choose between his enigmatic past and an uncertain future. Unable to let go of what he was, unable to face what he is, beset on all sides by forces he doesn't understand, he's on a collision course with destiny...and his time is running out.

For Jale Bercammon, on the other hand, life is comfortable, stable, and slipping on by. Every day is routine, and she’s become an expert at maintaining routine.

... And then she crosses paths with Theta. Reeled in by the enigmatic and sinister Knoskali to explain his disappearance, she soon finds herself stumbling along a dangerous path that will take all of her resolve and ingenuity to survive.

Genres: Science Fiction

406 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 14, 2013

About the author

Sasya Fox is an airline pilot... And a writer, too! Currently up to mischief somewhere in the northwest United States, she's most likely to be encountered flying in the wilds of Alaska or curled up somewhere with a warm cup of coffee and a laptop.

Theta is her first published work, a window into a little pocket of space where the local humanity has taken a strange step for survival. The first of many more to come, Theta tells the story of a young dancer whose identity is up for sale to the highest bidder...but none know the secrets and dreams locked inside his head. Adrift in a sea of faces and unsure of who or what he is supposed to be, he's on a collision course with destiny, and his time is running out.

The next book in the saga is currently in preparation for an estimated Spring 2017 release.... for real this time?

Reviews

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theta has everything I want in a science fiction novel: space battles, intrigue, exotic slaves, sneaky tactics, pirates, the list goes on. The pacing and storytelling is top notch, the prose superb. As a pilot myself, I love some of the details he snuck in regarding crew behavior. It's a nice easter egg if you're paying attention. While I enjoy the furry meta-genre, it is almost a shame Sasya Fox is writing in it. If he chose a less exclusive niche, it is almost certain he would be a household name in the science fiction community.

[Altivo Overo · Rating 5 out of 5]

In spite of my personal difficulty with scenes of bloody violence, which turned me away in several previous attempts, once I got deeply into this story I had to finish it. The few violent incidents were not gratuitous though, and were pretty much essential to the story. This is a magnificent work, with a very complex and twisty plot and at least a dozen fascinating and empathetic characters. I even found myself liking the villains, if villains they were, only to have it turn out that someone more villainous was pushing their hands (or paws) from somewhere in the background.

The author is a pilot with a love of flying and that comes to the surface at times, which doesn't hurt at all since complex maneuvers and tricky navigation play a role in the story. Be prepared for the unexpected, and a roller coaster ride of a plotline. Most issues come to a resolution before the end, though almost none of the resolutions were what I'd have guessed.

The intense writing, intertwined with plot mechanics and complex interpersonal relationships makes this a genuine thriller, and it appears that a sequel is intended. Well worth a few hours of reading time, and quite a bargain at the Kindle price.

[Franck Rabeson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. True, I have a few complaints about it, but most were technical: missing scene breaks, mostly. Those occasionally made things a bit confuse, but all in all the story was good enough that I didn’t mind re-reading the parts I didn’t get (and I never actually had to read any part more than twice).

The universe is fairly well developed, leaving enough in the shadows to make it even more interesting. Even the technobabble actually sounds more believable than in many mainstream SF works. The fact that there are actually several sides rather than just a goodies/baddies division also helped heighten the tension quite a bit and made things realistically frustrating at times.

The end of the book includes a teaser for a sequel. I can already say I’ll be waiting for it impatiently.

I’d mark this book as 4.5 stars if I could, but I liked it enough that I don’t mind rounding up to 5.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I most certainly enjoyed Sasya Fox's Theta; it is easily the best anthropomorphic science fiction I have come across thus far, and I relished the complexity of the intrigue and the setting. Both the characters and the plot are compelling, and Sasya brings an amazing level of authenticity to the tactics and fleet actions described over the course of the novel, one that can only have been born to someone who knows much and researches more about this subject matter. Sasya Fox's characterization and dramatization are a great deal more than adequate for the storytelling to feel muscular, cogent, and well-paced. Truly, Sasya has a gift for simile and metaphor that is rare in this genre, and I found myself highligting more than one well-turned phrase as I advanced through the fascinating plot. Any fan of space opera or intrigue is sure to enjoy Theta, and, despite the plot's complexity, the novel remains quite accessible. Highly recommended.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

To the crew of the space liner, Theta is a mystery: arriving with explicit instructions from a shadowy benefactor, he is installed in the most luxurious cabin available, but too drugged or damaged to know or care. When he and the gentle Arvinne are enslaved by pirates, Theta's benefactor makes a surprising choice of rescuer.

It's a journey of discovery for both Jale, catering executive turned kickass battleship captain, and Theta himself. As his memories return, he discovers innate skills and unpleasant triggers. Helpless innocent or genetically engineered killing machine? Or both?

I particularly liked the character of Jale, although she has a tendency to talk like a grandmother despite being younger than I am. Either space years work differently or I should be offended.

Also I liked the huskies. Obviously.

[Friday · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a fast-paced furry scifi novel. It's got some issues; dialogue can be a bit choppy/slow, adverbs appear more often than I'd like, and I'd actually have preferred to see a few more characters die. But the characters are loveable, the world well-detailed, the plot morally grey and gripping the whole time, and the dialogue portions that aren't choppy or slow are strong. It's clear Sasya has an ear for dialogue; he just occasionally makes it so realistic it gets a little hard to read (specifically in the beginning, when a character wakes up from a coma and has a speech impediment for several pages).

Overall, I loved reading it. I can't wait for more. And I don't even like scifi!

[Emily Finch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Theta is a beautiful story in a fascinating world, with characters who feel real. Between the intrigue, epic space battles, and character interactions I couldn’t put the book down till it was done.

[Al Muirragui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theta was one of the best books I’ve read, because it was cannoned off my favorite fandom/subculture, furries. I was never really a fan of sci-fi books, or Sci-Fi anything until this book, because it contains lots of detail, space travel, different planets with other life forms on it. The culture they use is a little old fashioned and, but the setting and the things they use are futuristic. Old fashioned, by the furs in this going back to the use of slaves, and it’s futuristic by using the fact that they have space travel, and the weapons they used, along with the organization and machines in the book. I’m not a huge fan of Sci-Fi, so if the author wrote the book that wasn’t Sci-Fi then I would be much happier.

[Mark Engels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vivid characterizations, rich descriptions & command-level knowledge of spacefaring bring this anthro sci-fi space epic to life.

Among the titles that secured my place in the furry fandom over thirty years ago are Steven A. Gallacci's "Erma Felna, EDF" and "Birthright". Author Fox channels much of what I loved about those comics, including vivid characterizations and a commanding knowledge of both physics and spacefaring. Rich descriptions helped bring the characters to life--they became eminently real and relatable. Are they good? Or evil? The answer varies depending on just whom is asking. And is frequently found somewhere in the gray between black and white. A reflection of our own morass of morality during our own trying times, presented with wit, aplomb and poignancy. Featuring anthro characters aboard spaceships? All the better.

Anime and war movie fans should especially enjoy this furry mash-up of Morioka's "Crest of the Stars", Anno's "Neon Genesis Evangelion" and Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan." I sure did. Quite looking forward to the next book, hoping for further travails from Jale, Theta and Knoskali.

[Hcd · Rating 1 out of 5]

Contains spoilers.
This is not sci fi. Science fiction could happen. It's based on science, hence the name. Speculative futurecasting. Fantasy writings cannot and will not ever be real.
I just couldn't get over the characters being based on earth animals. Or that the characters used human mannerisms and traits. I found myself sighing and rolling my eyes. I gave up trying to read the book around 10% in. I just kept thinking that this was a book for furries.

[Pão Pão · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Liked Jale a lot as a main character, her personality was so different than what we usually see in a MC.
The book itself was great, the beginning set a lot of things up and it all paid off in the end.

[Shamim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent product

[Malcolm F. Cross · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book with an identity crisis, in a good way. On the one hand we have Theta, or at least that is the present name this character — a small fox with amnesia, dancing skills, and a hidden killer instinct – goes by. Theta’s a slave (and there are some seriously BDSMmy overtones to Theta and Theta’s home culture, though it’s never too explicit), a dancer, and tangled up in his ex-master’s plot to shake up interstellar politics. On the other we have Jale — a very recently ex-air hostess, of sorts, who is pulled into the middle of the conspiracy Theta’s master has launched, and forced into the captain’s chair of a stealthed warship in pursuit of Theta.

The book doesn’t quite know what it wants to be — steamy s&m? It never quite goes there, instead using the slave-owning culture of Brynton as both an ‘alien’ culture, driven by motives and cultural norms far different from our own, and as a critical piece in a larger puzzle of betrayals which feels very space opera. So is the book a furry space opera? This is closer to the mark, but again, not quite.

Despite a very rocky start, and a rather eclectic set of influences, this book’s identity crisis has a happy ending: a surprisingly substantial and rich feel to the setting. I hear the author will be putting together a sequel at some stage, and I’m interested to see how elements foreshadowed in Theta are carried forward.

[Brandon Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Theta by Sasya Fox is a book about futuristic furries in space, and the plot of a hidden weapon regains his memories. For me,at first i thought the book was confusing and boring, as i never ever read sci-fi,however but the book quickly hooked me on its plot.With the story rolling along smoothly and not a big mention of it, the furry aspect is more of a characteristic, rather than the whole book, which was nice.The book takes place is a Utopian society in space but, incorporates old tradition like slaves.The overall plot and characters give off a war zone feeling, with sectors, and captains.If i had a friend who reads sci-fi, i would definitely recommend this book to them, with its great plot and deep characters.

P.S Excited to learn there's a sequel coming up!