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Kayavan Chronicles #1
Kayavan Rising: Reluctant Heroes, Space Opera Adventure, with a dash of Slow Burn Romance
When the Kayavan Comet rises, storms upset the balance of power. Not a good time to be a pilot known as Storm Bringer.
Myths older than most of the settled worlds of the Kayavan System warn that when the Kayavan comet appears, storms will topple the balance of power. The part about the comet signaling fierce storms was true enough, as to the rest? It made for entertaining media feeds but wasn't enough to stop the biggest sporting event in the system—Lighten’s Ring Fighting Championships.
Arilyn Lysand, one of Lighten’s most talented pilots, has a fraught relationship with the Transport Guild Master, preventing her from achieving much of anything. Skirting the edges of Transport Guild rules isn’t exactly the way to get out of her dead-end job at the Ship Yard. But she's ready to use whatever she can to her advantage, so when forced to fly the Guild Master to the Championships, she plans to use the opportunity to make new connections and improve her prospects.
Lord Heir Matteo Sennet, heir to the largest Clan on Dextra, struggles with his own fraught relationship with his grandfather, Lord Timnon. Sent to the Championships to rub shoulders and make connections on behalf of his Clan, he has his own intentions in mind, plans which will require hiring a pilot once he gets to Lighten.
Flying Matteo on his personal errand starts off as a simple side job for Ari, but quickly unravels into a tangle of danger, unexpected alliances, and political intrigue destined to change the future of the entire Kayavan System. A storm worthy of Kayavan's Rising.
An exciting space opera adveture perfect for fans of Star Trek, Star Wars, Firefly, and the Expanse.
Myths older than most of the settled worlds of the Kayavan System warn that when the Kayavan comet appears, storms will topple the balance of power. The part about the comet signaling fierce storms was true enough, as to the rest? It made for entertaining media feeds but wasn't enough to stop the biggest sporting event in the system—Lighten’s Ring Fighting Championships.
Arilyn Lysand, one of Lighten’s most talented pilots, has a fraught relationship with the Transport Guild Master, preventing her from achieving much of anything. Skirting the edges of Transport Guild rules isn’t exactly the way to get out of her dead-end job at the Ship Yard. But she's ready to use whatever she can to her advantage, so when forced to fly the Guild Master to the Championships, she plans to use the opportunity to make new connections and improve her prospects.
Lord Heir Matteo Sennet, heir to the largest Clan on Dextra, struggles with his own fraught relationship with his grandfather, Lord Timnon. Sent to the Championships to rub shoulders and make connections on behalf of his Clan, he has his own intentions in mind, plans which will require hiring a pilot once he gets to Lighten.
Flying Matteo on his personal errand starts off as a simple side job for Ari, but quickly unravels into a tangle of danger, unexpected alliances, and political intrigue destined to change the future of the entire Kayavan System. A storm worthy of Kayavan's Rising.
An exciting space opera adveture perfect for fans of Star Trek, Star Wars, Firefly, and the Expanse.
- GenresRomanceScience Fiction
424 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 24, 2024
21 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Maria Grace
100 books321 followersSix time BRAG Medallion Honoree, #1 Best-selling Historical Fantasy author Maria Grace has her PhD in Educational Psychology and is a 16-year veteran of the university classroom where she taught courses in human growth and development, learning, test development and counseling. None of which have anything to do with her undergraduate studies in economics/sociology/managerial studies/behavior sciences. She pretends to be a mild-mannered writer/cat-lady, but most of her vacations require helmets and waivers or historical costumes, usually not at the same time.
She stumbled into Jane Austen fan-dom in the mid '90s with Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility film, having somehow graduated HS without ever having read Austen. It was only a short leap then to consume all of Austen's works, in all their various media forms. In the hopes of discovering more works by Austen, she stumbled into the fan fiction forums, which naturally led to asking 'What if...' herself. Twenty nine books later, she still asks that question.
She writes gaslamp fantasy, historical romance and non-fiction to help justify her research addiction.
She stumbled into Jane Austen fan-dom in the mid '90s with Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility film, having somehow graduated HS without ever having read Austen. It was only a short leap then to consume all of Austen's works, in all their various media forms. In the hopes of discovering more works by Austen, she stumbled into the fan fiction forums, which naturally led to asking 'What if...' herself. Twenty nine books later, she still asks that question.
She writes gaslamp fantasy, historical romance and non-fiction to help justify her research addiction.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 16, 2025
I have absolutely loved Maria Grace's Blue order novels and am enjoying the World Wrights books, so I was really looking forward to her new Kayavan Scifi series. To be honest, while I enjoyed the book, and will read the next one, I found it hard going in the beginning. I felt that the book would have benefited from a good editing and paring down of what I felt were too many scenes that contained too much detail that slowed the progress of what was otherwise a very intriguing read. By losing about 50-75 pages, the novel would have gone from a decent read to a gripping read. Having said that, I enjoyed it very much, and as I said, will happily read the next.
January 13, 2025
Prolific Author, Keeps Me Eager
Maria Grace is not only versatile, but prolific. What do I like best—dragons, wrights, sci-fi? I love them all. I read her emails as a treat among all the emails that demand more serious handling.
So what do I hope she’ll publish next? Any one will do, so long as it’s soon, very soon.
Well done, Maria Grace!
Maria Grace is not only versatile, but prolific. What do I like best—dragons, wrights, sci-fi? I love them all. I read her emails as a treat among all the emails that demand more serious handling.
So what do I hope she’ll publish next? Any one will do, so long as it’s soon, very soon.
Well done, Maria Grace!
August 24, 2025
Can't Wait for the Next Book!
Kayavan Rising is an excellent Space Opera that had me glued to the pages from the start. The protagonists are strong, sympathetic characters who are developing through out the story. There seems to be a bit of a slow-burn romance developing, but it is secondary to the adventure aspect. Highly recommend.
Kayavan Rising is an excellent Space Opera that had me glued to the pages from the start. The protagonists are strong, sympathetic characters who are developing through out the story. There seems to be a bit of a slow-burn romance developing, but it is secondary to the adventure aspect. Highly recommend.
December 29, 2024
Different and excellent. Definitely going to find book 2 and read it.
July 22, 2025
Maria Grace has another hit!
Really cool world building, lots of action, politics, and intrigue. Believable characters formed by their very different cultures. Loved it
Really cool world building, lots of action, politics, and intrigue. Believable characters formed by their very different cultures. Loved it
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews