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The Gifted of Brennex #2
Dissonant State
Full of suspense, adventure, and heart, this hopeful space opera is sure to delight fans of Malka Older, Becky Chambers, and Martha Wells.
Kay Wilder despises Ravel Corporation, whose occupation of her home planet left Kay with a useful but debilitating power to hear others’ emotions. Unlike her brother Jasper, an activist who fights corporate injustice, Kay stays as far away from Ravel as possible.
Until now. Because Ravel has kidnapped her brother, and to help him, Kay will have to go undercover working for the enemy.
Forced to lie about what Ravel did to her home, Kay finds her new job harder and lonelier than she could have imagined, until she discovers an ally who hates working for Ravel as much as she a sentient ship who will risk destruction to help their first and only friend.
But the risks are far greater than Kay’s and Ship’s safety. To save Jasper, she may have to let another world suffer her home’s fate—and betray everything she and her brother believe in.
“It is always a pleasure when the second book lives up to the promise of the first! ...I've been surprised, delighted, and entertained. I want more.” - Goodreads reviewer
Praise for Warped State
“Jo Miles’ Warped State is delightful in every way—smart, emotional, funny, inspiring, and brilliantly written. You’ll absolutely fall in love with Jasper and Havoc, cheering the whole way.” - Karen Osborne, author of Architects of Memory
“Refreshingly hopeful and heaps of fun, Warped State will keep you turning pages late into the night.” - Megan E. O’Keefe, author of The Blighted Stars and Velocity Weapon
“A rollicking spy story with a wonderful romance woven in… [Warped State] is a terrific ride.” - John Appel, author of Assassin’s Orbit
Kay Wilder despises Ravel Corporation, whose occupation of her home planet left Kay with a useful but debilitating power to hear others’ emotions. Unlike her brother Jasper, an activist who fights corporate injustice, Kay stays as far away from Ravel as possible.
Until now. Because Ravel has kidnapped her brother, and to help him, Kay will have to go undercover working for the enemy.
Forced to lie about what Ravel did to her home, Kay finds her new job harder and lonelier than she could have imagined, until she discovers an ally who hates working for Ravel as much as she a sentient ship who will risk destruction to help their first and only friend.
But the risks are far greater than Kay’s and Ship’s safety. To save Jasper, she may have to let another world suffer her home’s fate—and betray everything she and her brother believe in.
“It is always a pleasure when the second book lives up to the promise of the first! ...I've been surprised, delighted, and entertained. I want more.” - Goodreads reviewer
Praise for Warped State
“Jo Miles’ Warped State is delightful in every way—smart, emotional, funny, inspiring, and brilliantly written. You’ll absolutely fall in love with Jasper and Havoc, cheering the whole way.” - Karen Osborne, author of Architects of Memory
“Refreshingly hopeful and heaps of fun, Warped State will keep you turning pages late into the night.” - Megan E. O’Keefe, author of The Blighted Stars and Velocity Weapon
“A rollicking spy story with a wonderful romance woven in… [Warped State] is a terrific ride.” - John Appel, author of Assassin’s Orbit
472 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 29, 2023
1 person is currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Jo Miles
24 books11 followersJo Miles writes optimistic science fiction and fantasy, including queer space opera trilogy The Gifted of Brennex, which begins with Warped State. Their short stories have appeared in Fantasy & Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, Lightspeed, and more. Jo lives in Maryland, and you can sign up for email updates at www.jomiles.com/newsletter.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 11, 2023
Jasper/Mason, the anti-planet-despoiling-Ravel-corporation activist we met in Warped State, has been captured by an agent of that corporation, so his sister Kay sets out to rescue him. She gets a job with Ravel, meaning to infiltrate -- which she does, but in the process she's morally compromised, because the job is as a spokesperson for the corporation's latest attempt to take over a planet. Fortunately, she has allies, including Sunny the sentient spaceship from Warped State, who's fed up with doing work they find repugnant and being abused by their pilot, the odious Grist. Sower of Small Havoc, Jasper's love interest, also turns up, part of the organization attempting to thwart Ravel and in the long run destroy it.
As with Warped State, it's impossible not to be reminded of Ann Leckie, with whom Jo Miles shares many preoccupations: tyranny and exploitation of the weak; the nature of personhood; the forms love can take (Sunny and Kay form a deep bond of friendship, and in the happy ending decide to ride off together into the sunset, or the starfield, whatever). JM also takes up the question of means and ends: the Cooperative's ends are laudable, but neither Kay nor Jasper is quite at ease with all their means, and in fact Havoc does a couple of things that shade well into problem territory. One of them backfires, the other doesn't, and I could have wished for more attention to the ethical questions they raise.
The writing is solid and the story's suspenseful, but somehow the characters never come fully to life for me. And I'm not sure I was convinced by Grist's quasi redemption at the end.
Thanks to the author and NetGalley for the ARC.
As with Warped State, it's impossible not to be reminded of Ann Leckie, with whom Jo Miles shares many preoccupations: tyranny and exploitation of the weak; the nature of personhood; the forms love can take (Sunny and Kay form a deep bond of friendship, and in the happy ending decide to ride off together into the sunset, or the starfield, whatever). JM also takes up the question of means and ends: the Cooperative's ends are laudable, but neither Kay nor Jasper is quite at ease with all their means, and in fact Havoc does a couple of things that shade well into problem territory. One of them backfires, the other doesn't, and I could have wished for more attention to the ethical questions they raise.
The writing is solid and the story's suspenseful, but somehow the characters never come fully to life for me. And I'm not sure I was convinced by Grist's quasi redemption at the end.
Thanks to the author and NetGalley for the ARC.
November 19, 2023
In a nimble turn, Miles turns away from romance in Dissonant State while still writing a book about love. This time, it's not the love for a romantic partner or the pursuit of a romantic partner, but one of family love. It's also about advocacy, multi-culturalism, and what makes a person "human." All treated with enough subtlety to let us surf the currents of a charming adventure intrigue.
Dissonant State is actually pretty harmonious. It sings true as a sister is forced to infiltrate multiple worlds and a corporation she hates with all her soul to rescue her kidnapped brother, The sister is wonderfully unprepared for any kind of mission as a spy. Worse, she has no allies and actually in her guise as an employee is asked to mislead people towards accepting corporate enslavement and ruin. In working for the corporation, she betrays her beliefs, her people, and puts her planet at risk because she holds a genetic code which, if discovered, could lead to the harvesting of her family.
What separates and elevates Dissonant State is its sense of economics, labor, and advocacy. How far would you go to save people you don't know? Would you put at risk your family to save a planet of strangers? How much of yourself will you compromise to save someone you love?
Jo Miles take on all of this and then goes further, examining what makes a person a person. It is a sign of her skill how well all these minor themes parallel the big ones and create such round characters.
It is always a pleasure when the second book lives up to the promise of the first! Well done Jo MIles!
I've been surprised, delighted, and entertained. I want more.
(Disclosure: I was presented an ARC of this book via NetGalley prior to publication)
Dissonant State is actually pretty harmonious. It sings true as a sister is forced to infiltrate multiple worlds and a corporation she hates with all her soul to rescue her kidnapped brother, The sister is wonderfully unprepared for any kind of mission as a spy. Worse, she has no allies and actually in her guise as an employee is asked to mislead people towards accepting corporate enslavement and ruin. In working for the corporation, she betrays her beliefs, her people, and puts her planet at risk because she holds a genetic code which, if discovered, could lead to the harvesting of her family.
What separates and elevates Dissonant State is its sense of economics, labor, and advocacy. How far would you go to save people you don't know? Would you put at risk your family to save a planet of strangers? How much of yourself will you compromise to save someone you love?
Jo Miles take on all of this and then goes further, examining what makes a person a person. It is a sign of her skill how well all these minor themes parallel the big ones and create such round characters.
It is always a pleasure when the second book lives up to the promise of the first! Well done Jo MIles!
I've been surprised, delighted, and entertained. I want more.
(Disclosure: I was presented an ARC of this book via NetGalley prior to publication)
January 6, 2024
Really enjoyed this installation of the Gifted of Brennex. My least favourite character of the first novel (Grist) became one of my favourites this time around. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a Bad Guy with a history. Too bad we didn't get more of that in the first book (though from what I understand, this book was written first, which might explain why Grist felt kind of cardboard-y in the first book as most of his backstory gets revealed here).
My favourite character is still Ship (or ). Absolutely love me a sentient AI.
My favourite character is still Ship (or ). Absolutely love me a sentient AI.
December 8, 2023
I loved Dissonant State! It's a great follow up to Warped State, a thoughtful adventure filled with excitement and plot twists. It is one of those books where the characters and plot stayed with me well after I've finished reading. I highly recommend it!
December 24, 2023
I enjoyed this book. It's not a direct sequel, the main character is Kay, sister to Jasper/Mason from the first book Warped State. Kay has a special ability, she can sense emotions. She uses this to her advantage in her work as a trade negotiator. When she suspects Ravel Corporation has kidnapped her brother, she takes a job with Ravel to try to rescue him. Like the first book, this one is about exposing the evil exploits of Ravel and foiling their plans. The nascent AI ship from the first book is a big part of this story as well, as is the drug-addicted fixer/assassin Grist who was hunting Jasper. Exploring his backstory makes him more sympathetic. This is a nice, optimistic tale about successfully fighting corporate greed, and the developing friendship between an AI and a human.
November 30, 2023
This book was so much fun to read. Sometimes you have to choose between plot or intriguing characters but this has both, plus warmth and humor. This story stuck with me.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews