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Sunward
A cozy debut science fiction novel by National Book Award–winning writer William Alexander, this story of found family follows a planetary courier training adolescent androids in a solar system grappling with interplanetary conflict after a devastating explosion on Earth’s moon.
Captain Tova Lir chose a life as a courier rather than get involved in her family’s illustrious business in politics. Set in humanity’s far future, hiring a planetary courier is essential for delivering private messages across the stars.
Encouraged by friends, Tova begins mentoring baby bots, juvenile AI who are developmentally in their teens, and trains them how to interact within society essentially becoming their foster mom. Her latest charge, Agatha Panza von Sparkles, named herself on their first run from Luna to Phoebe station. But on their return, they encounter a derelict spaceship and a lurking assassin, igniting a thrilling chase across the solar system.
Tova and Agatha’s daring actions leave Agatha’s mind vulnerable, relying on Tova’s former AI pupils for help. As Tova starts gathering her scattered family around her, she is chased through the solar system by forces who want her captured and her family erased. This debut science fiction novel by National Book Award–winning author William Alexander is a must-read for fans of Becky Chambers and Ursula K. Le Guin. Lovers of poignant science fiction, where the bonds of found family, the evolution of AI, and the building distrust of centuries of bias, come together in this visionary look at humanity’s future.
Captain Tova Lir chose a life as a courier rather than get involved in her family’s illustrious business in politics. Set in humanity’s far future, hiring a planetary courier is essential for delivering private messages across the stars.
Encouraged by friends, Tova begins mentoring baby bots, juvenile AI who are developmentally in their teens, and trains them how to interact within society essentially becoming their foster mom. Her latest charge, Agatha Panza von Sparkles, named herself on their first run from Luna to Phoebe station. But on their return, they encounter a derelict spaceship and a lurking assassin, igniting a thrilling chase across the solar system.
Tova and Agatha’s daring actions leave Agatha’s mind vulnerable, relying on Tova’s former AI pupils for help. As Tova starts gathering her scattered family around her, she is chased through the solar system by forces who want her captured and her family erased. This debut science fiction novel by National Book Award–winning author William Alexander is a must-read for fans of Becky Chambers and Ursula K. Le Guin. Lovers of poignant science fiction, where the bonds of found family, the evolution of AI, and the building distrust of centuries of bias, come together in this visionary look at humanity’s future.
Audio CD
First published September 16, 2025
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About the author
William Alexander
14 books135 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.
William Alexander won the National Book Award in 2012 for his first book, Goblin Secrets, and the Earphones Award for his narration of the audiobook. He has since written three more novels for Middle Grade audiences: Ghoulish Song, Ambassador, and Nomad.
Will is Cuban-American. He studied theater and folklore at Oberlin College, English at the University of Vermont, and creative writing at the Clarion Workshop. He currently teaches at the Vermont College of Fine Arts program in Writing for Children and Young Adults.
Source: William Alexander's website
William Alexander won the National Book Award in 2012 for his first book, Goblin Secrets, and the Earphones Award for his narration of the audiobook. He has since written three more novels for Middle Grade audiences: Ghoulish Song, Ambassador, and Nomad.
Will is Cuban-American. He studied theater and folklore at Oberlin College, English at the University of Vermont, and creative writing at the Clarion Workshop. He currently teaches at the Vermont College of Fine Arts program in Writing for Children and Young Adults.
Source: William Alexander's website
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 205 reviews
April 16, 2025
It's a sweet and uplifting read. The vibe is definitely cozy, but still the story has real stakes with some action and the world is richly built.
I had a really good time in this universe and I hope to see more books in the future.
I had a really good time in this universe and I hope to see more books in the future.
November 1, 2025
Third-class Intrasolar Courier, Lunar Princess, and robot mama Tova Lir flees across the inner solar system, chased by religious fanatics and Lunar law enforcement, to save one of her children.
Agatha Panza von Sparkles, Tova Lir’s injured robot child.
My audio edition ran about 5.5 hours. A dead-tree copy is 224 pages. The original U.S. copyright was 2025.
William Alexander is an American writer and academic with about ten books for Young Children, Middle Grade (MG), and Adult readers. This is his first book for “Grownup Readers.” It’s also the first of his works I’ve read.
Lindsey Dorcus was the narrator—an experienced voice artist with about 120 titles. She handled the women’s and cutesy anthropomorphized robot voices well but offered too few variations for the male ones. Her narration also didn’t enhance any adult themes that might have been present.
I picked up this audiobook on impulse, based on the review of a Goodreads member I follow. The only reason I stayed with it was that I was trapped on an airplane, in a middle seat, between two enormous middle-Americans, and unable to move.
The Rebellious Spirited Tova Lir, a member of the Lunar ruling family, had been going Princess Incognito as a third-class courier delivering parcels and physical documents across the inner solar system—just like her courier birth mother—despite the disapproval of her Fantasy-Forbidding Queen Mother and toadying prince brother. To cope with her Ambiguously Absent Birth Mother issues, Tova Lir becomes a Parental Substitute , raising child robots shipboard into full sentience—leading into the book’s main What Measure Is a Non-Human theme.
Returning from a typical delivery, Tova Lir encounters a dead courier and acquires a Dead Man’s Writing , which puts her into a Fugitive Arc alongside her injured robot child, Agatha Panza von Sparkles, as they flee across the inner solar system in a generally "Sunward" direction.
This book was advertised as a cozy sci-fi. It was also Alexander’s first novel for Adult Readers—a misnomer that really means Young Adult (YA).
Alexander does not seem to know how to write for even the most vapid of Young Adults. This book is about as deep as a carpark puddle: a string of rote tropes with a HFN kludged onto the end, no doubt in hopes of spinning it into Serial Fiction. It’s a MG-level story dressed-up as a space opera in a tortured pseudo-technical fashion, with vague pretensions toward sapphic frenemy romances, throuples, found family, and “robots-are-people” themes. However, none of these threads are developed enough to qualify the story for adult consumption. I suspect that because "Tova Lir had two mommies" was what got this labeled "Adult"?
I’ve decided I’ve had an eye-full and ear-full of books described as “cozy”—this includes Cozy Space Operas.
“Cozy” appears to be code for written for folks of voting age who prefer unchallenging Middle Grade reads but want a tiny bit of titillation. There can only be the occasional four-syllable word, and all plotting must feel familiar from half-hour episodic broadcast television.
The trifecta of “Death, Disease, and Divorce” (the 3 Ds) is acceptable in cozy fiction. Likewise, violence—even leading to death—is fine, because violence is endemic in American culture. Sexual violence, however, is verboten because it falls into the “Sex, Drugs, and Rock’n’Roll” trifecta of more mature reading territory, which may contain explicit material. Anything potentially explicit cannot, by definition, be cozy.
I can only imagine how much more interesting this book could have been if there had been some exploration of Tova Lir’s personal sexual health, self-medication beyond a fizzy cocktail-party drink, or tunes more complicated than child-robot educational music—chants, jingles, and school songs.
This book was drivel. I can’t recommend it to anyone older than a tween. Even they might not be challenged.
Agatha Panza von Sparkles, Tova Lir’s injured robot child.My audio edition ran about 5.5 hours. A dead-tree copy is 224 pages. The original U.S. copyright was 2025.
William Alexander is an American writer and academic with about ten books for Young Children, Middle Grade (MG), and Adult readers. This is his first book for “Grownup Readers.” It’s also the first of his works I’ve read.
Lindsey Dorcus was the narrator—an experienced voice artist with about 120 titles. She handled the women’s and cutesy anthropomorphized robot voices well but offered too few variations for the male ones. Her narration also didn’t enhance any adult themes that might have been present.
I picked up this audiobook on impulse, based on the review of a Goodreads member I follow. The only reason I stayed with it was that I was trapped on an airplane, in a middle seat, between two enormous middle-Americans, and unable to move.
The Rebellious Spirited Tova Lir, a member of the Lunar ruling family, had been going Princess Incognito as a third-class courier delivering parcels and physical documents across the inner solar system—just like her courier birth mother—despite the disapproval of her Fantasy-Forbidding Queen Mother and toadying prince brother. To cope with her Ambiguously Absent Birth Mother issues, Tova Lir becomes a Parental Substitute , raising child robots shipboard into full sentience—leading into the book’s main What Measure Is a Non-Human theme.
Returning from a typical delivery, Tova Lir encounters a dead courier and acquires a Dead Man’s Writing , which puts her into a Fugitive Arc alongside her injured robot child, Agatha Panza von Sparkles, as they flee across the inner solar system in a generally "Sunward" direction.
This book was advertised as a cozy sci-fi. It was also Alexander’s first novel for Adult Readers—a misnomer that really means Young Adult (YA).
Alexander does not seem to know how to write for even the most vapid of Young Adults. This book is about as deep as a carpark puddle: a string of rote tropes with a HFN kludged onto the end, no doubt in hopes of spinning it into Serial Fiction. It’s a MG-level story dressed-up as a space opera in a tortured pseudo-technical fashion, with vague pretensions toward sapphic frenemy romances, throuples, found family, and “robots-are-people” themes. However, none of these threads are developed enough to qualify the story for adult consumption. I suspect that because "Tova Lir had two mommies" was what got this labeled "Adult"?
I’ve decided I’ve had an eye-full and ear-full of books described as “cozy”—this includes Cozy Space Operas.
“Cozy” appears to be code for written for folks of voting age who prefer unchallenging Middle Grade reads but want a tiny bit of titillation. There can only be the occasional four-syllable word, and all plotting must feel familiar from half-hour episodic broadcast television.
The trifecta of “Death, Disease, and Divorce” (the 3 Ds) is acceptable in cozy fiction. Likewise, violence—even leading to death—is fine, because violence is endemic in American culture. Sexual violence, however, is verboten because it falls into the “Sex, Drugs, and Rock’n’Roll” trifecta of more mature reading territory, which may contain explicit material. Anything potentially explicit cannot, by definition, be cozy.
I can only imagine how much more interesting this book could have been if there had been some exploration of Tova Lir’s personal sexual health, self-medication beyond a fizzy cocktail-party drink, or tunes more complicated than child-robot educational music—chants, jingles, and school songs.
This book was drivel. I can’t recommend it to anyone older than a tween. Even they might not be challenged.
dnf
January 24, 2026Dnf page 70
The writing style in this is very “list like.” You know the whole “it’s doing a lot of telling, not showing”? That was hardcore the case here. Most of the action happening was just said through dialogue and I wasn’t into it.
The writing style in this is very “list like.” You know the whole “it’s doing a lot of telling, not showing”? That was hardcore the case here. Most of the action happening was just said through dialogue and I wasn’t into it.
September 20, 2025
Tova Lir is pilot of the courier ship Needle and a part-time mother of AI children as they experience their first year embodied in a bot chassis. On their latest mission, Tova and her latest AI child Agatha encounter another courier's destroyed ship and they soon find themselves in the sights of the killer.
This starts very strong. Tova is a superb parent and Agatha Panza von Sparkles, her current charge, is a delightful child, and their relationship could be the heart and soul of the book. Not this book though, because Agatha is out of the picture after the first chapter. Instead we have Tova acting as a grieving mother and interacting with her failed assassin, religious zealots and a general solar system community that seems to have lost its mind with regards to bots existing alongside humans.
A sub-population of people who aren't like the majority and are just trying to live their lives in a world with religious extremists looking for an excuse and a general population who are scared. See any parallels with the current world? It's a strong allegory, but it's also a muddled one. And that's probably my general opinion about this book; it's an interesting story with some fascinating world-building, but the thematic elements come through strong but don't seem to go anywhere.
This starts very strong. Tova is a superb parent and Agatha Panza von Sparkles, her current charge, is a delightful child, and their relationship could be the heart and soul of the book. Not this book though, because Agatha is out of the picture after the first chapter. Instead we have Tova acting as a grieving mother and interacting with her failed assassin, religious zealots and a general solar system community that seems to have lost its mind with regards to bots existing alongside humans.
A sub-population of people who aren't like the majority and are just trying to live their lives in a world with religious extremists looking for an excuse and a general population who are scared. See any parallels with the current world? It's a strong allegory, but it's also a muddled one. And that's probably my general opinion about this book; it's an interesting story with some fascinating world-building, but the thematic elements come through strong but don't seem to go anywhere.
July 3, 2025
I am biased because this novel emerged from Will’s wonderful Sunday Morning Transport story “A Body in Motion,”- and I’m beaming at it like a proud aunt.
Do you want highly intelligent intelligences in training? A Moon Queen? Intrigue and Murder? All packaged up and delivered to you by secret interstellar courier? YES yes you do. This book is a delight and brings so much joy into the universe.
Do you want highly intelligent intelligences in training? A Moon Queen? Intrigue and Murder? All packaged up and delivered to you by secret interstellar courier? YES yes you do. This book is a delight and brings so much joy into the universe.
February 14, 2026
An imaginative premise and a strong opening pulled me in, particularly the scientific underpinning. However, the narrative never builds the structural density needed to support its own universe. Without deeper psychological texture or ontological weight, the story feels charming but insubstantial, more concept than lived world.
January 12, 2026
Why you should read it:
It's about a courier who flies her spaceship between colonies, carrying private messages, and also fostering baby AIs as they learn to use robot bodies. One message turns out to be much more than expected, causing her youngest AI bot to fragment, and helping her recompile is the drive for the plot. I loved how warm and almost fairytale-ish this felt, cosy vibes with a pacy plot. I've been secretly complaining about how much of 'found family' turns out to be Just Regular Friends, but this really does deserve that label.
Why you shouldn't read it: (spoiler tagged in case you don't care, not because I'm detailing the ending.)
Books it reminded me of:
The Mossa and Pleiti books by Malka Older or Murder by Memory by Olivia (for the length, genre, tone and centred FMC). In The Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune (for the slight goofiness, travel and perhaps found family.)
It's about a courier who flies her spaceship between colonies, carrying private messages, and also fostering baby AIs as they learn to use robot bodies. One message turns out to be much more than expected, causing her youngest AI bot to fragment, and helping her recompile is the drive for the plot. I loved how warm and almost fairytale-ish this felt, cosy vibes with a pacy plot. I've been secretly complaining about how much of 'found family' turns out to be Just Regular Friends, but this really does deserve that label.
Why you shouldn't read it: (spoiler tagged in case you don't care, not because I'm detailing the ending.)
Books it reminded me of:
The Mossa and Pleiti books by Malka Older or Murder by Memory by Olivia (for the length, genre, tone and centred FMC). In The Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune (for the slight goofiness, travel and perhaps found family.)
August 17, 2025
This book hit so many heartstrings for me. I wanted it to be longer! The main character in this sci-fi novella is a 3rd class courier of messages throughout the solar system. She pilots a ship called The Needle and has a side job of mentoring/mothering baby AI bots for a year each as they mature.
I loved the complex relationships between all the characters, the sign language, the silliness. But mostly, I need to know what happens next! This is marketed as a cozy sci-fi, but for cozy -- the stakes are pretty high for everyone involved.
I hope this is a prologue/introduction to a series based on this world, because I need to know more about what happens next for all of these characters. The world building was too rich to leave all this behind.
Thank you Saga Press and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
I loved the complex relationships between all the characters, the sign language, the silliness. But mostly, I need to know what happens next! This is marketed as a cozy sci-fi, but for cozy -- the stakes are pretty high for everyone involved.
I hope this is a prologue/introduction to a series based on this world, because I need to know more about what happens next for all of these characters. The world building was too rich to leave all this behind.
Thank you Saga Press and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
August 20, 2025
TL;DR: The ending on this came out of nowhere, and I’m so confused.
Source: NetGalley - Thank you to the publisher!!
Plot: Swiss Cheese. There are so many holes and dangling loose bits by the end.
Characters: I liked the characters and the dynamic here.
Setting: Zooming around the galaxy to save a little bot, it was a fun setting if not super detailed.
SciFi/Cozy: There was some light scifi that we never got fully explained and I would hesitate to label this as Cozy.
Thoughts:
What happened here? I’m so disappointed by the ending of this. Sunward had such a great premise. Captain Tova is attempting to save the life of the child bot she is fostering and training and ends up bringing together previous bots she had trained. There is some conclusion here but so much was said or done and then completely left in the dust. From the start I really liked the idea of bots being fostered for a time with a non-bot to train them. Tova is interesting, but reads a lot like any other modern ‘cozy book female lead’. She’s quirky, anti-social to a degree, and prone to talking to herself. That would be totally fine if we weren’t left going “What about everything else?” in the end.
This truly felt like an unfinished novel. There is a bare hint of a romance, there are teases to more bots, and more worlds. There is a huge ‘we don’t go here, but oops she went there’ moments that are just ignored. Reasons are given but not explained for huge plot events. There are no big repercussions for anything that happen. We might get a hint at what could be but our characters skate around any big risk.
It almost feels like someone thought ‘cozy’ meant invisible plot armor. Cozy is low stakes, but things happen and characters deal with things. Where here we are shown things, meet people, and we have so much potential but it’s all avoided by the magic of *plot*. Tova avoids any consequences or any big change. I finished this feeling like I was missing a huge chunk of the book. Where was the rest? This had such potential for a 5 star, and now I’m just frustrated.
Source: NetGalley - Thank you to the publisher!!
Plot: Swiss Cheese. There are so many holes and dangling loose bits by the end.
Characters: I liked the characters and the dynamic here.
Setting: Zooming around the galaxy to save a little bot, it was a fun setting if not super detailed.
SciFi/Cozy: There was some light scifi that we never got fully explained and I would hesitate to label this as Cozy.
Thoughts:
What happened here? I’m so disappointed by the ending of this. Sunward had such a great premise. Captain Tova is attempting to save the life of the child bot she is fostering and training and ends up bringing together previous bots she had trained. There is some conclusion here but so much was said or done and then completely left in the dust. From the start I really liked the idea of bots being fostered for a time with a non-bot to train them. Tova is interesting, but reads a lot like any other modern ‘cozy book female lead’. She’s quirky, anti-social to a degree, and prone to talking to herself. That would be totally fine if we weren’t left going “What about everything else?” in the end.
This truly felt like an unfinished novel. There is a bare hint of a romance, there are teases to more bots, and more worlds. There is a huge ‘we don’t go here, but oops she went there’ moments that are just ignored. Reasons are given but not explained for huge plot events. There are no big repercussions for anything that happen. We might get a hint at what could be but our characters skate around any big risk.
It almost feels like someone thought ‘cozy’ meant invisible plot armor. Cozy is low stakes, but things happen and characters deal with things. Where here we are shown things, meet people, and we have so much potential but it’s all avoided by the magic of *plot*. Tova avoids any consequences or any big change. I finished this feeling like I was missing a huge chunk of the book. Where was the rest? This had such potential for a 5 star, and now I’m just frustrated.
February 6, 2026
(2 stars) Creative concept and I appreciated the science in it, but the writing is simple, shallow, and boring. There’s no depth whatsoever to the characters. A cute story though.
September 28, 2025
Not bad. Interesting little scifi novel. Unfortunately it felt a little too brief (not that it was rushed). I feel like it doesn't have any staying power. I started and finished it so quickly that I worry I just won't remember it in a while. Nothing wrong with short books! This Is How You Lose the Time War is shorter than this, I think, and it's stuck with me. I just didn't feel the same locked-in feeling with this.
August 26, 2025
3.5 stars!
A nice bite-size read with a great premise and kind of a confusing follow-through. Definitely a good time but with a Becky Chambers comp my standards are going to be unreasonably high.
Much to her dismay, alongside her usual job as a courier, Tova Lir's boss encourages her to foster adolescent AI androids who need to be paired up with a guardian for a year to socialize and develop. After many foster children come and go, Tova's latest charge ends up scattered in the data stream after a tragic accident on Earth's moon. With tensions between humans and androids mounting and many forces at work behind the scenes, Tova must revisit all of her found and lost family members scattered across the solar system in order to put her charge Agatha's mind back together. I love this android fostering premise, and the moments where Tova is reminiscing about parenting all the androids and reuniting with them were some of the best parts of the book. There are also some really beautiful lines about family and grief, and I liked the concept of the Sun cult and would have liked to know more. The world-building and more action-forward plot outside of that gets a little lost in the sauce. I feel like I half-understand a whole bunch of components instead of fully understanding a select few, which made some of the scenes and character relationships hard to follow.
This book is very cool and there's nothing really bad about it, it's just a little overly ambitious considering it's cozy premise and 200 page run. Still probably worth a try and I'll keep an eye on what the author writes next!
Thank you to William Alexander and Saga Press for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!
Happy reading!
A nice bite-size read with a great premise and kind of a confusing follow-through. Definitely a good time but with a Becky Chambers comp my standards are going to be unreasonably high.
Much to her dismay, alongside her usual job as a courier, Tova Lir's boss encourages her to foster adolescent AI androids who need to be paired up with a guardian for a year to socialize and develop. After many foster children come and go, Tova's latest charge ends up scattered in the data stream after a tragic accident on Earth's moon. With tensions between humans and androids mounting and many forces at work behind the scenes, Tova must revisit all of her found and lost family members scattered across the solar system in order to put her charge Agatha's mind back together. I love this android fostering premise, and the moments where Tova is reminiscing about parenting all the androids and reuniting with them were some of the best parts of the book. There are also some really beautiful lines about family and grief, and I liked the concept of the Sun cult and would have liked to know more. The world-building and more action-forward plot outside of that gets a little lost in the sauce. I feel like I half-understand a whole bunch of components instead of fully understanding a select few, which made some of the scenes and character relationships hard to follow.
This book is very cool and there's nothing really bad about it, it's just a little overly ambitious considering it's cozy premise and 200 page run. Still probably worth a try and I'll keep an eye on what the author writes next!
Thank you to William Alexander and Saga Press for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!
Happy reading!
December 13, 2025
Full of sci fi dangers, plots, religious fanaticism, and AI bots connected in their strange dreamings, but mostly about the love of a parent for her children. In a future where Earth has become unhabitual and humanity has perforce colonized the solar system, the protagonist of the story raises bots from their infancy while working as a courier. Her small space ship is home to a succession of bot children, each of whom is different, each of whom is loved and nurtured and encouraged to grow before setting out for their own lives. But when the current bot child, Agatha, sacrifices her core self to save her Mom, she will do anything to bring her back and keep her safe in a solar system that is growing horribly, terribly hostile to bots due to misplace suspicion (and increasingly hostile to science--religious sun worshipping zealots take control of the science colony of Venus). It is sweet, frenetic in places, and thought-provoking, and I will probably have to go buy my own copy.
November 13, 2025
This was a fun, cozy sci-fi. I think it could have been longer, so a bunch of things would have had more time to develop, but it was an enjoyable read for what it was. I would definitely read more books set in this universe.
November 20, 2025
This is a nice novella that’s somewhat let down by the execution. It felt strangely disjointed as I was reading, not properly fleshed out. It made so much sense when I learned it’s a short-story-turned-a-novel(la). I feel it either should have stayed a short story or should have been longer, more developed and polished. It’s still worth a read if you like robots and found family.
February 13, 2026
4.75 stars
March 24, 2025
This was such a creative world. I honestly never imagined sci-fi space travel combined with reimagined Greek/Roman mythology religions, but it worked here. I loved Tova and her found family of bot children and truly hope there are future books planned so I can revisit these characters and see how more of the larger plots that weren't explored in Sunward might be resolved.
September 18, 2025
The nitty-gritty: A bite-sized story with huge heart, Sunward will satisfy readers who love cozy sci-fi.
If you’re in the mood for a sweet, funny space opera with excellent world building, lovable characters and an intriguing mystery, then look no further. Sunward was such a nice surprise, and the fact that’s it’s a novella makes it even more appealing, at least to me, as I struggle to get through my very big TBR! And I agree with the publisher, this is perfect for fans of Becky Chambers.
Tova Lir is Captain of the Needle, a messenger ship that delivers private messages across the galaxy. Tova’s other passion is fostering “baby bots,” juvenile robots who aren’t quite ready to go out into the world. She’s fostered dozens over the years, including her current charge Agatha Panza Von Sparkles. When their ship stumbles upon a debris field and they discover a dead body, a chain of events is set in motion, including the destruction of the docks on Luna, the appearance of an assassin who is after Tova, the disappearance of all the bots throughout the galaxy, and most concerning of all to Tova, the fracturing of Agatha, who jumped into the data stream to save the ship and now might be lost forever.
Alexander doesn’t waste any time diving into his story, and he smoothly incorporates the world-building as he goes along. Tova is trying to solve several mysteries, which takes her on a treasure hunt of sorts, as interesting clues start to pile up, sending Tova and her ship to various parts of the galaxy. Along the way, we meet some quirky side characters who help Tova in her quest, including several of her earlier baby bots, now “grown up” and doing various jobs; an assassin named Daris; and a parrot named Crimson. Tova is searching for Cosmas, a former foster of hers, who might be the only one who can help save Agatha, but finding them is quite the circuitous path, involving a bot production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night among other odd events.
The other critical mysteries are who is responsible for destroying the Lunar docks, and where the heck did all the bots disappear to? Both questions are eventually answered, and getting there is half the fun. I loved the funny banter between the characters, and while the stakes are fairly high, the author focuses on the feel-good relationships and positives of their adventure and doesn’t bog the story down with doom and gloom. Tova’s love for her baby bots shines through, and she’s distraught over what’s happened to Agatha. I also loved her interactions with the assassin Daris, who is more than she appears. Daris is locked up in the ship’s brig for part of the story, but she and Tova come to realize how much they have in common.
In addition to a strong found family vibe, Alexander infuses his story with the tried-and-true theme of “robots versus humans” and whether bots should have rights or not. It’s a theme seen in lots of science fiction, but here it resonates even more strongly because the bots have so many human characteristics, it’s hard to imagine them as machines. And Agatha, Torque, Halley, Cosmas and the others ended up being my favorite characters, so kudos to the author for writing such relatable robots.
My only hesitation in not rating this higher is that there is a lot going on for such a short book. Especially near the end, the action and situations become over-the-top and a bit on the wacky side. But I loved the way everything wrapped up, and of course the author delivers a happy and satisfying ending.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
If you’re in the mood for a sweet, funny space opera with excellent world building, lovable characters and an intriguing mystery, then look no further. Sunward was such a nice surprise, and the fact that’s it’s a novella makes it even more appealing, at least to me, as I struggle to get through my very big TBR! And I agree with the publisher, this is perfect for fans of Becky Chambers.
Tova Lir is Captain of the Needle, a messenger ship that delivers private messages across the galaxy. Tova’s other passion is fostering “baby bots,” juvenile robots who aren’t quite ready to go out into the world. She’s fostered dozens over the years, including her current charge Agatha Panza Von Sparkles. When their ship stumbles upon a debris field and they discover a dead body, a chain of events is set in motion, including the destruction of the docks on Luna, the appearance of an assassin who is after Tova, the disappearance of all the bots throughout the galaxy, and most concerning of all to Tova, the fracturing of Agatha, who jumped into the data stream to save the ship and now might be lost forever.
Alexander doesn’t waste any time diving into his story, and he smoothly incorporates the world-building as he goes along. Tova is trying to solve several mysteries, which takes her on a treasure hunt of sorts, as interesting clues start to pile up, sending Tova and her ship to various parts of the galaxy. Along the way, we meet some quirky side characters who help Tova in her quest, including several of her earlier baby bots, now “grown up” and doing various jobs; an assassin named Daris; and a parrot named Crimson. Tova is searching for Cosmas, a former foster of hers, who might be the only one who can help save Agatha, but finding them is quite the circuitous path, involving a bot production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night among other odd events.
The other critical mysteries are who is responsible for destroying the Lunar docks, and where the heck did all the bots disappear to? Both questions are eventually answered, and getting there is half the fun. I loved the funny banter between the characters, and while the stakes are fairly high, the author focuses on the feel-good relationships and positives of their adventure and doesn’t bog the story down with doom and gloom. Tova’s love for her baby bots shines through, and she’s distraught over what’s happened to Agatha. I also loved her interactions with the assassin Daris, who is more than she appears. Daris is locked up in the ship’s brig for part of the story, but she and Tova come to realize how much they have in common.
In addition to a strong found family vibe, Alexander infuses his story with the tried-and-true theme of “robots versus humans” and whether bots should have rights or not. It’s a theme seen in lots of science fiction, but here it resonates even more strongly because the bots have so many human characteristics, it’s hard to imagine them as machines. And Agatha, Torque, Halley, Cosmas and the others ended up being my favorite characters, so kudos to the author for writing such relatable robots.
My only hesitation in not rating this higher is that there is a lot going on for such a short book. Especially near the end, the action and situations become over-the-top and a bit on the wacky side. But I loved the way everything wrapped up, and of course the author delivers a happy and satisfying ending.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
January 18, 2026
This was just okay. “Cozy” science fiction without much to say. I was not invested in the characters, which is a shame because I feel like good characterization is the whole point of “soft” sci-fi. There were places where there could have been angst, or romance, or some deeper thinking about motherhood and family and what makes a creature a person… but nothing was pursued, and nothing properly wraps up. There were parts where I could see the author was being quirky and weird, but there wasn’t enough time spent on anything to give it weight to the larger story. Everything felt piecemeal and disconnected. I think the concepts would have been better served by a series of short stories, with a single topic or character focus for each. Also there’s something annoyingly twee about the constant mentioning of coffee, but maybe now I’m just being mean.
And another thing, the action scenes were so bizarre. The main character just casually kills people, which seemed really misaligned with all of her thoughts and actions in any other setting. Like why are we spending a sentence on stabbing someone’s space suit so that they depressurize and then next chapter I’m reading four paragraphs of some space children’s song as if we are pure and thoughtful and have no reason for remorse…
And another thing, the action scenes were so bizarre. The main character just casually kills people, which seemed really misaligned with all of her thoughts and actions in any other setting. Like why are we spending a sentence on stabbing someone’s space suit so that they depressurize and then next chapter I’m reading four paragraphs of some space children’s song as if we are pure and thoughtful and have no reason for remorse…
September 1, 2025
Sunward by William Alexander is the kind of spacefaring adventure that blends heart, humor, and high-stakes danger in equal measure. At its core, it’s not just about ships and assassins, it's about found family, legacy, and what it means to care for those who are learning how to exist in the world.
Captain Tova Lir could have chosen power and prestige by following her family’s political path, but instead she lives her life as a courier running messages across the stars, far from the spotlight. But when she takes on a new responsibility mentoring baby bots, juvenile AIs who need guidance to grow into their place in human society, her quiet independence transforms into something much larger. Her latest charge, the delightfully named Agatha Panza von Sparkles, is all personality and potential, but also vulnerable in ways that soon become dangerously real.
What starts as a routine run becomes a deadly chase when Tova and Agatha stumble across a derelict ship and an assassin in the shadows. With enemies closing in, scattered family ties pulled into the fray, and her AI protégés playing a pivotal role, Tova is forced into a fight not just for survival but for the preservation of everything and everyone she loves.
The pacing is taut, the worldbuilding inventive seriously, baby bots learning to navigate society is such a refreshing, clever concept, and the emotional beats hit hard. Tova’s mix of resilience and tenderness makes her a heroine you root for every step of the way. And Agatha? Equal parts charming and heartbreaking you’ll want to protect her as fiercely as Tova does.
If you’re looking for a sci-fi adventure with space chases, political intrigue, and a deeply human heart at its center, Sunward will carry you lightyears away and still feel achingly close to home!
⚡️Thank you Saga Press and William Alexander for sharing this book with me!
Captain Tova Lir could have chosen power and prestige by following her family’s political path, but instead she lives her life as a courier running messages across the stars, far from the spotlight. But when she takes on a new responsibility mentoring baby bots, juvenile AIs who need guidance to grow into their place in human society, her quiet independence transforms into something much larger. Her latest charge, the delightfully named Agatha Panza von Sparkles, is all personality and potential, but also vulnerable in ways that soon become dangerously real.
What starts as a routine run becomes a deadly chase when Tova and Agatha stumble across a derelict ship and an assassin in the shadows. With enemies closing in, scattered family ties pulled into the fray, and her AI protégés playing a pivotal role, Tova is forced into a fight not just for survival but for the preservation of everything and everyone she loves.
The pacing is taut, the worldbuilding inventive seriously, baby bots learning to navigate society is such a refreshing, clever concept, and the emotional beats hit hard. Tova’s mix of resilience and tenderness makes her a heroine you root for every step of the way. And Agatha? Equal parts charming and heartbreaking you’ll want to protect her as fiercely as Tova does.
If you’re looking for a sci-fi adventure with space chases, political intrigue, and a deeply human heart at its center, Sunward will carry you lightyears away and still feel achingly close to home!
⚡️Thank you Saga Press and William Alexander for sharing this book with me!
November 16, 2025
I really enjoyed this story about a pilot of a messenger spaceship who fosters baby AI onboard the ship. One of the things I enjoyed most was that—while some humans still obviously held "the bots are going to kill us all and take over!!" mentality—this is ultimately a hopeful and very sweet story. We get to meet several of the bots during the course of the story and they are all very human in personality, though of course with different abilities and perspective on things.
There's a little hint of this version of the solar system's history: Earth is no longer habitable, but there's a space elevator there which is somehow still running. There's an underground city on the moon, as well as cities spread out on many of the planets or moons in the solar system—including cities in the clouds of Venus. It's a fascinating world, even if we don't see much of the detail of it because so much of the action takes place onboard on MC's spaceship.
I loved the whole package of this story. The premise, the characters, the plot. I loved that This is a wonderful installment of the cozy science fiction genre, and I'll be looking for more from Alexander in future.
There's a little hint of this version of the solar system's history: Earth is no longer habitable, but there's a space elevator there which is somehow still running. There's an underground city on the moon, as well as cities spread out on many of the planets or moons in the solar system—including cities in the clouds of Venus. It's a fascinating world, even if we don't see much of the detail of it because so much of the action takes place onboard on MC's spaceship.
I loved the whole package of this story. The premise, the characters, the plot. I loved that This is a wonderful installment of the cozy science fiction genre, and I'll be looking for more from Alexander in future.
December 3, 2025
Tova Lir has a job she didn't expect to love: Delivering interstellar messages while fostering adolescent robots until they reach maturity. When the Lunar station her high profile political family runs suffers a catastrophic failure, blame quickly shifts to AI and Tova is forced on a quest to protect and exonerate one of her own.
This managed to remind me so much of The Expanse, but also be utterly unique. I've seen this described as "cozy", which I'm not sure I agree with, but it definitely has sweet moments and a wisecracking protagonist. The ending felt hurried, and the story overall feels unfinished, so I was disappointed to learn this is a standalone. However, it could just be that I read a great story that I didn't want to be over.
This managed to remind me so much of The Expanse, but also be utterly unique. I've seen this described as "cozy", which I'm not sure I agree with, but it definitely has sweet moments and a wisecracking protagonist. The ending felt hurried, and the story overall feels unfinished, so I was disappointed to learn this is a standalone. However, it could just be that I read a great story that I didn't want to be over.
September 1, 2025
I enjoyed this book well enough for a short novel, though I would've liked more world-building and some more time spent with the plot. The characters were well fleshed out and easy to get attached to (I loved Torque and the Hat (and the Hat's BFF/pet))... but I couldn't figure out what the robots actually looked like. Also, maybe this is a me problem, but even by the end of the book I still didn't understand what exactly Sparkles was and where it/they existed?
This isn't quite what I had in mind for "cozy" -- though frankly neither is Becky Chambers. But IMO they are similar in vibe, and this is probably where I would land if I were looking for a Becky Chambers-style story but shorter and more compact.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.
This isn't quite what I had in mind for "cozy" -- though frankly neither is Becky Chambers. But IMO they are similar in vibe, and this is probably where I would land if I were looking for a Becky Chambers-style story but shorter and more compact.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.
November 13, 2025
okay, here's the thing, I really really liked it, BUUUUUT, only one of the story lines was wrapped up. now this could be one of those things where the readers are supposed to draw their own conclusion from the context of the rest of the story about which way and how everything else would go. but I enjoyed how the author wrote it, and I expect there would have been more potential interesting parts and twists if the author had finished up and completed the other story arcs. maybe it is not fair to downgrade it when the thing that I didn't like was that I wanted more, but I suppose I'm only being as unfair as the author who started something without completing it.
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January 17, 2026Jo Walton gave this 2025 novel high marks: https://reactormag.com/jo-waltons-rea...
"Now this is a very, very good book. It’s SF, set in a settled solar system without Earth, and it’s about families and robots and what it means to be a person. It’s as if Will imprinted on John Varley’s Eight Worlds stories and decided to reimagine the setting with modern sensibilities. It’s also a brilliant example of how you can write better about human nature when you have something to contrast it with. I raced through this short book and thoroughly enjoyed it. Highly recommended."
This one gets mixed reviews from GR friends. Check back, as Walton is usually a reliable guide.
"Now this is a very, very good book. It’s SF, set in a settled solar system without Earth, and it’s about families and robots and what it means to be a person. It’s as if Will imprinted on John Varley’s Eight Worlds stories and decided to reimagine the setting with modern sensibilities. It’s also a brilliant example of how you can write better about human nature when you have something to contrast it with. I raced through this short book and thoroughly enjoyed it. Highly recommended."
This one gets mixed reviews from GR friends. Check back, as Walton is usually a reliable guide.
October 2, 2025
the type of story that rlly rlly works for me. there are some stakes here, but it’s really about caring for ppl and choosing to do the best you can for them. i actually really loved the baby bot foster thing happening and it was really heartwarming to see them all meet and how they interacted w tova. silly, sweet, with some unique contributions to sci fi. hope to see more like this from this author!
December 2, 2025
A total delight, I had so much fun with this story and setting and characters.
September 30, 2025
I loved this cozy sci-fi read with found family and real stakes but I wanted more. there was so much that could be expanded on and the ending left me hanging a bit. I am really hoping for a series
December 26, 2025
2.5, but I don't wanna be mean.
September 15, 2025
4.5 stars - I loved this novella. A fun space adventure. Sapphic, heartwarming, with an interesting plot and plenty of stakes.
People are going to describe this as cozy and that kind of makes me furious because cozy has somehow become synonymous with boring or slow. That’s not what they mean here, they mean heartwarming.
You follow the captain of a ship who raises baby bots and is a courier. In the first chapter her entire ship is almost wiped out. She spends the rest of the story, avoiding assassins and re-connecting with the children (bots) she raised to try to save the life of her current adolescent bot and also unravel the mystery surrounding them.
I really hope the author continues writing novellas in this world because I want to keep reading them. I want to know what happens next. I feel like there is so much more story to tell.
People are going to describe this as cozy and that kind of makes me furious because cozy has somehow become synonymous with boring or slow. That’s not what they mean here, they mean heartwarming.
You follow the captain of a ship who raises baby bots and is a courier. In the first chapter her entire ship is almost wiped out. She spends the rest of the story, avoiding assassins and re-connecting with the children (bots) she raised to try to save the life of her current adolescent bot and also unravel the mystery surrounding them.
I really hope the author continues writing novellas in this world because I want to keep reading them. I want to know what happens next. I feel like there is so much more story to tell.
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