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Queenships #1
Perihelion
Kato Ozark, crown prince and soldier, has just been chosen to pilot his family’s queenship. He’s trained his entire life for this honor, but it comes with a catch. It seems that First Engineer Mas’ud Tavana has also been chosen as the queen’s pilot. Mas’ud has no formal training, and they both believe a mistake has been made. But when an attack on a distant Ozark queen forces them to work together, it’s clear their minds are better as one than apart.
They might even go on a proper date. Through mission briefings and politically required offspring, the mental link their queenship forges between them only grows stronger. Within this bond they find strength in each other. Then a rogue AI attacks their ship, ripping the queen open to the core. The two pilots feel it all; the assault destroys their connection and tears them adrift into open space.
Kato and Mas’ud wake up in the medical bay of a rival family with no memory of their queenship or each other. Hailed as a war hero, Kato retrains as a kingship pilot, preparing to defend Earth against the AI. Mas’ud, dismissed as permanently broken, struggles to rediscover his own truth.
Their queenship is out there, waiting for her pilots to come home. The future of their family depends on it.
They might even go on a proper date. Through mission briefings and politically required offspring, the mental link their queenship forges between them only grows stronger. Within this bond they find strength in each other. Then a rogue AI attacks their ship, ripping the queen open to the core. The two pilots feel it all; the assault destroys their connection and tears them adrift into open space.
Kato and Mas’ud wake up in the medical bay of a rival family with no memory of their queenship or each other. Hailed as a war hero, Kato retrains as a kingship pilot, preparing to defend Earth against the AI. Mas’ud, dismissed as permanently broken, struggles to rediscover his own truth.
Their queenship is out there, waiting for her pilots to come home. The future of their family depends on it.
151 pages, ebook
First published September 2, 2015
9 people are currently reading
293 people want to read
About the author
Tami Veldura
133 books145 followersTami Veldura is an enby/aro/ace author of queer fiction. Their pronouns are they/them/Mx. They love romance, fantasy, science fiction, and paranormal stories that push genre limits. Their work has been nominated for the M/M Goodreads Reader Choice Awards and they have been nominated and placed in the Rainbow Awards.
Website: Failure To Communicate
Twitter handle: tamiveldura
Email: tamiveldura@gmail.com
Website: Failure To Communicate
Twitter handle: tamiveldura
Email: tamiveldura@gmail.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
April 1, 2016
Sentient ships? Oh, yes please.
I wasn't lured in by the prospect of pilot/ship relations; I dove in.
Maiden voyage of the queenship Selvans, who is awakened and selects her pilot--Kato Ozark. From a long and distinguished line of pilots, even though he's young, it's not a surprise. But... what happens next is. Ma'sud Tavana is First Engineer when the ship demands his presence. Following orders, he proceeds to the bridge where the reality of situation becomes clear immediately. Two pilots. Unheard of.
Strategy, ship design, and allegiances are all big contributors to the story. It's definitely plot or action based than character and romance focused. Katy and Ma'sud face challenges. The battlefield isn't just the traditional one and as the games are played out the costs become apparent as does the abuse of power.
The cast of characters is deep and extraordinarily diverse in sex, gender, and race. There are many and the nuances of the interactions as the story progresses and the various machinations makes it a tad bit intense to follow--no slacking while reading. It's time's like these that I miss paperback books because not being able to access indexes easily in ebooks sucks. Additionally, it is placed at the end so I never know until it's over at which point I'm always exasperated--Now, I have it. Tip: flip to the end and read it first.
So, there is this overarching play for the galaxy going on, who has what to offer whom and how trades go down. There's collateral damage and trading that seems so emotionally detached, almost diplomatic and unvested even though the players clearly are that rubbed me wrong. The emotional sterility was unsettling for me, as were reactions to it. Not lobotomized unemotional, but if you enjoy the crisper end of the spectrum of expression then this is a good fit.
Needless to say from my rating, I enjoyed this. The end was a bit subdued for me, but it suited the characters. Recommended for science fiction lovers because there is some fun stuff here.
~A copy was provided to me for a No Glitter Blown review~
~~Reviewed for Hearts On Fire Reviews~~
I wasn't lured in by the prospect of pilot/ship relations; I dove in.
Maiden voyage of the queenship Selvans, who is awakened and selects her pilot--Kato Ozark. From a long and distinguished line of pilots, even though he's young, it's not a surprise. But... what happens next is. Ma'sud Tavana is First Engineer when the ship demands his presence. Following orders, he proceeds to the bridge where the reality of situation becomes clear immediately. Two pilots. Unheard of.
Strategy, ship design, and allegiances are all big contributors to the story. It's definitely plot or action based than character and romance focused. Katy and Ma'sud face challenges. The battlefield isn't just the traditional one and as the games are played out the costs become apparent as does the abuse of power.
The cast of characters is deep and extraordinarily diverse in sex, gender, and race. There are many and the nuances of the interactions as the story progresses and the various machinations makes it a tad bit intense to follow--no slacking while reading. It's time's like these that I miss paperback books because not being able to access indexes easily in ebooks sucks. Additionally, it is placed at the end so I never know until it's over at which point I'm always exasperated--Now, I have it. Tip: flip to the end and read it first.
So, there is this overarching play for the galaxy going on, who has what to offer whom and how trades go down. There's collateral damage and trading that seems so emotionally detached, almost diplomatic and unvested even though the players clearly are that rubbed me wrong. The emotional sterility was unsettling for me, as were reactions to it. Not lobotomized unemotional, but if you enjoy the crisper end of the spectrum of expression then this is a good fit.
Needless to say from my rating, I enjoyed this. The end was a bit subdued for me, but it suited the characters. Recommended for science fiction lovers because there is some fun stuff here.
~A copy was provided to me for a No Glitter Blown review~
~~Reviewed for Hearts On Fire Reviews~~
March 20, 2016
4.5 stars
This is my kinda special connection. Spaceships that bond and communicate with their pilots through a mental bond. Hell yeah. And two young men, space pilots who are put together to figure out the whole mind-meld thing at the same time as all hell breaks out in the universe. Hells to the bells, yeah.
In addition to sentient spaceships, we get experimental ships run amok. And their owners, the powerful families who play at power politics, jostling for an edge in the game. I loved the huge scope of this; the world building is amazing. The romance has it’s ups and downs with some big roadblocks for the two men from different backgrounds, but the total acceptance, in this world, of gender identification beyond heteronormative meant that this was not an issue for them. Or anyone else inhabiting this universe. Refreshing.
As with her work for last year’s DRitC event— Blood In The Water, a high seas treasure hunt with pirates and an evil genie— Veldura takes the reader on a rollicking, out-of-the box adventure, this time in the final frontier. For the thinking reader. Highly recommended.
Read
September 4, 2015DNF 70% - I've been itching to read a good m/m sci-fi for a while now. Unfortunately, this story is not it. The writing is not bad per se, it is the presentation that bothers me. The first pages starts off interesting enough. We meet Kato, Mas'ud and the queenship Selvans, which has chosen both of them as her pilots. The queenships are highly intelligent, sentient spaceships with telepathic abilities; they don't make mistakes picking pilots. Very cool.
After the intro, I failed to follow the story because I was distracted by the constant POV switches and the seemingly unrelated characters introduced at random intervals. I hardly had a chance to connect with the MCs before I'm tossed into someone else's head (who might not even be in the same star system as the Selvans??) Having to ask myself "Who the heck am I following now?" or "Where am I...?" every few pages was not a good sign. The character list didn't help much. Why so many crammed into 151 pages?
Which brings me to Kato and Mas'ud's relationship. They didn't have much chemistry, and their desires for each other are largely facilitated by the mental connection created by Selvans. I actually did want them to get back together after they lost their memories, but that's only because I couldn't care less about the rogue AI plot or whatever else was happening on the other queenships/kingships. I'm sure if the story would've been more engaging and coherent sticking only to Kato and Mas'ud's views.
Now, the last problem I have is more of a nitpick regarding the terminology and characters lists...Outside of Mas'ud's transition, which happened years ago, I'm failing to understand how the many gender identities and races relate to the story. The main reason why I have trouble caring about the characters is because very little of their personalities were shown. If gender and race are the only things distinguishing them, then that's just silly. There's a point where diversity/inclusiveness becomes checking off a list to make sure you've included every label, so as to not offend the Tumblr SJW crowd.
I apologize to the author for sounding so harsh (I do appreciate the freebie!) I had high hopes for the story from the blurb, and my hopes were utterly crushed. Hopefully the next one, if there is going to be a continuation, will be better.
After the intro, I failed to follow the story because I was distracted by the constant POV switches and the seemingly unrelated characters introduced at random intervals. I hardly had a chance to connect with the MCs before I'm tossed into someone else's head (who might not even be in the same star system as the Selvans??) Having to ask myself "Who the heck am I following now?" or "Where am I...?" every few pages was not a good sign. The character list didn't help much. Why so many crammed into 151 pages?
Which brings me to Kato and Mas'ud's relationship. They didn't have much chemistry, and their desires for each other are largely facilitated by the mental connection created by Selvans. I actually did want them to get back together after they lost their memories, but that's only because I couldn't care less about the rogue AI plot or whatever else was happening on the other queenships/kingships. I'm sure if the story would've been more engaging and coherent sticking only to Kato and Mas'ud's views.
Now, the last problem I have is more of a nitpick regarding the terminology and characters lists...Outside of Mas'ud's transition, which happened years ago, I'm failing to understand how the many gender identities and races relate to the story. The main reason why I have trouble caring about the characters is because very little of their personalities were shown. If gender and race are the only things distinguishing them, then that's just silly. There's a point where diversity/inclusiveness becomes checking off a list to make sure you've included every label, so as to not offend the Tumblr SJW crowd.
I apologize to the author for sounding so harsh (I do appreciate the freebie!) I had high hopes for the story from the blurb, and my hopes were utterly crushed. Hopefully the next one, if there is going to be a continuation, will be better.
September 7, 2015
Rating: 3.5
This story was hard for me to follow. We are given a whole new world, but there are so many players/characters it's was hard for me to keep them all straight(even with the glossary at the end). Throw in the political families and how Kato, one of our MC’s is related to two of them.
This world takes place in space. We still have Earth, but it seems mostly everyone lives on a queenship, which can be as huge as a planet itself(or the moon-- they aren’t tiny). They are ‘birthed’ from another queenship and are intelligent. They possess knowledge! But they need a human pilot. While they have access to many others, they need the human/s to help maintain them and help out(like creating and strategy).
Kato is on a newly awoken queenship, Selvans. He is excited for his friend whom everyone assumes will be chosen as her pilot. She’s the best candidate. Selvans in fact picks two. This is unheard of and neither of them are his friend. Never before has there been two pilots for one ship and once they are connected, they are connected for life. There life span is expanded with their ship. If a pilot dies, the ship has to pick another. But if they are alive, they wait for them to come back.
Mas’ud is the lead engineer for Selvans. He is also plucked out and thrown through a loop when he is chosen as a pilot also. But unlike Kato(he is good at strategy and familiar with politics-- because of his family) Mas’ud is good at creating and keeping Selvans from overloading him. He has to help Kato ‘filter’ the noise.
Neither of them were prepared to be chosen and they both think the other is the better suited.
Mas’ud character wasn’t written in enough detail for me to ‘see’ him unlike Kato.
Also, how the ships are set up are a bit confusing for me. Each queenship has kingships(ran by a human crew) and drones(no-man ships). They are all connected and since the pilots are connected to their ships they are also connected to each other(to my understanding).
A family is greedy with power and are willing to ‘think’ outside the box. It backfires and causes the problem in our story. Everyone has to get together to stop it. I don’t want to give it away.
Mas’ud and Kato’s relationship for me didn’t really develop for me. They had a connection because of Selvans. I am unsure if they would have hit it off if they weren’t so familiar with one another. I didn’t see a lot of romance(on my end). Though they do seem to care for one another, I don’t know if I’d call it love. Friendship yes. But I like them both and want them to be together and work out. I just wished I saw more of their relationship forming more than the outside factors. But I heard this story will be continued so we’ll see more of their ‘love’.
This story was hard for me to follow. We are given a whole new world, but there are so many players/characters it's was hard for me to keep them all straight(even with the glossary at the end). Throw in the political families and how Kato, one of our MC’s is related to two of them.
This world takes place in space. We still have Earth, but it seems mostly everyone lives on a queenship, which can be as huge as a planet itself(or the moon-- they aren’t tiny). They are ‘birthed’ from another queenship and are intelligent. They possess knowledge! But they need a human pilot. While they have access to many others, they need the human/s to help maintain them and help out(like creating and strategy).
Kato is on a newly awoken queenship, Selvans. He is excited for his friend whom everyone assumes will be chosen as her pilot. She’s the best candidate. Selvans in fact picks two. This is unheard of and neither of them are his friend. Never before has there been two pilots for one ship and once they are connected, they are connected for life. There life span is expanded with their ship. If a pilot dies, the ship has to pick another. But if they are alive, they wait for them to come back.
Mas’ud is the lead engineer for Selvans. He is also plucked out and thrown through a loop when he is chosen as a pilot also. But unlike Kato(he is good at strategy and familiar with politics-- because of his family) Mas’ud is good at creating and keeping Selvans from overloading him. He has to help Kato ‘filter’ the noise.
Neither of them were prepared to be chosen and they both think the other is the better suited.
Mas’ud character wasn’t written in enough detail for me to ‘see’ him unlike Kato.
Also, how the ships are set up are a bit confusing for me. Each queenship has kingships(ran by a human crew) and drones(no-man ships). They are all connected and since the pilots are connected to their ships they are also connected to each other(to my understanding).
A family is greedy with power and are willing to ‘think’ outside the box. It backfires and causes the problem in our story. Everyone has to get together to stop it. I don’t want to give it away.
Mas’ud and Kato’s relationship for me didn’t really develop for me. They had a connection because of Selvans. I am unsure if they would have hit it off if they weren’t so familiar with one another. I didn’t see a lot of romance(on my end). Though they do seem to care for one another, I don’t know if I’d call it love. Friendship yes. But I like them both and want them to be together and work out. I just wished I saw more of their relationship forming more than the outside factors. But I heard this story will be continued so we’ll see more of their ‘love’.
April 15, 2016
A Joyfully Jay review.
2.75 stars
Perihelion is a fast paced novel that starts off with a unique idea, but stumbles over too many useless characters and a plot that wanders off the rails about midway through. The concept is wonderfully original and I give the author credit for building a complex and intriguing world that combines chess, limitless imagination, and an almost corporate style familial system. The relationship established between the pilots and their ships is as integral and emotive as bonds between humans and just as substantial. Selvans is never given much on page time, but she exists as a distinct connection between Kato and Mas’ud and you can’t imagine one without the other. Kato and Mas’ud are incompletely drawn characters and, while both are likable and somewhat relatable, it’s hard to connect with them on a deeper level. Their romance is almost taken for granted, as if their co-existence as pilots has predestined them to be lovers as well. Which means the relationship isn’t very interesting and never really seems to go anywhere.
Read Sue’s review in its entirety here.
2.75 stars
Perihelion is a fast paced novel that starts off with a unique idea, but stumbles over too many useless characters and a plot that wanders off the rails about midway through. The concept is wonderfully original and I give the author credit for building a complex and intriguing world that combines chess, limitless imagination, and an almost corporate style familial system. The relationship established between the pilots and their ships is as integral and emotive as bonds between humans and just as substantial. Selvans is never given much on page time, but she exists as a distinct connection between Kato and Mas’ud and you can’t imagine one without the other. Kato and Mas’ud are incompletely drawn characters and, while both are likable and somewhat relatable, it’s hard to connect with them on a deeper level. Their romance is almost taken for granted, as if their co-existence as pilots has predestined them to be lovers as well. Which means the relationship isn’t very interesting and never really seems to go anywhere.
Read Sue’s review in its entirety here.
April 14, 2023
wow I was highly anticipating this story based on my prompt but This was filled with intrigue, political manuvering, covered almost all bases on the spectrum of LGBTQIA. Kato and Mas'ud are both surprised when they are both selected to be the pilots of Selvens, a newly birthed queenship. When a rouge ship nearly destroys Selvena both Kato and Mas'ud have amnesia. Kato is made to believe that he is a Kingship pilot while Mas'ud who was blinded is shunted aside to his engineering. The Rogue ship plans on destroying Earth and All families hurry to save Earth.
October 31, 2015
This is a little hard to rate, so I'll settle in the middle. It's a good story, I just don't know if it's a good fit for me. I look forward to further installments so I can figure out how I feel about them.
Read
January 12, 2019DNF @ 30%
I am starting new year by implementing the golden rule of “DNF the book you don’t want to read”.
I tried, but this book just didn’t work for me. I came back home and I was literally bracing myself to read the book. Why bother?
Exactly. So I’m dropping the book like hot potatoes.
The book is messy and confusing and convoluted. The narration introduces all of this world-building elements, dozen of new characters, some kind of political and economic machinations in a span of 30 pages without bothering to pause and explain. I was confused and annoyed and it’s a very unpleasant reading experience. The book is also not divided into chapters. There are pov breaks but it feels like a stream of narration.
If you ask me what’s the book is about I would say there are space ships??? So it’s a sci-fi. Sentient space ship and also war(s?) Big corporations fight against each other. What corporations? Who are on the side of the protagonists? So many names were dropped like how am I supposed to remember them? Who are the protagonists?
I believe two guys who became copilots of the ship are protagonists, I think. Both of them are men of color; I believe one of them is trans man, but don’t quote me on it. Also he has a hijabi subordinate, which was cool.
But no number of diverse characters was able to save the disaster that was the narration and plot composition.
No rating because it’s a DNF.
I am starting new year by implementing the golden rule of “DNF the book you don’t want to read”.
I tried, but this book just didn’t work for me. I came back home and I was literally bracing myself to read the book. Why bother?
Exactly. So I’m dropping the book like hot potatoes.
The book is messy and confusing and convoluted. The narration introduces all of this world-building elements, dozen of new characters, some kind of political and economic machinations in a span of 30 pages without bothering to pause and explain. I was confused and annoyed and it’s a very unpleasant reading experience. The book is also not divided into chapters. There are pov breaks but it feels like a stream of narration.
If you ask me what’s the book is about I would say there are space ships??? So it’s a sci-fi. Sentient space ship and also war(s?) Big corporations fight against each other. What corporations? Who are on the side of the protagonists? So many names were dropped like how am I supposed to remember them? Who are the protagonists?
I believe two guys who became copilots of the ship are protagonists, I think. Both of them are men of color; I believe one of them is trans man, but don’t quote me on it. Also he has a hijabi subordinate, which was cool.
But no number of diverse characters was able to save the disaster that was the narration and plot composition.
No rating because it’s a DNF.
February 5, 2017
Sentinent Spaceships? ✔
Entangled political machinations? ✔
LGBTQIA+ SciFi setting? ✔
FUCK YES!
This was AMAZING!!!
Technically flawed in many ways, but I still loved it.
It's your typical SciFi universe, but with an actual diverse cast - there's a huge range of ethnicities and gender identities, the main characters are African-American and Persian, one of them is trans. The countless side-POV characters include Navajo, Chinese, Lithuanian, genderfluid, nullgender, bigender, to name a few.
What's a bit confusing is said POV-jumping. It's written in relatively short chapters, each written from a different POV, though it keeps returning to the two MCs and choice side-characters, which leads to the characters barely being introduced before the POV switches again.
Another confusing thing is the setting, especially in the beginning. There's barely any explanations about the technologies, the politcis or how this future works - there is a glossary, which sadly is full of spoilers.
Which brings me to what bothers me most - the book's blurb is TERRIBLE. It spoils basically the entire plot save for the very end. I enjoyed reading this, but I would have enjoyed it EVEN MORE if I hadn't been spoiled.
So if you're interested in reading this but hate spoilers as I do, DON'T READ THE BLURB. If you still want to know what Perihelion is about:
Thousands of years in the future, humankind has expanded through space. Power lies in the hand of seven families through military, political or economic means, some of which have a technology called Queenships. Queenships are huge space ships/stations that are part metal, part membrane, part crystal, which are self-aware. Still, a Queenship needs a pilot with who she (Queenships are female) shares an intimate mental connection that expands the pilot's mind.
When a new Queenship is birthed, she chooses her pilot - and the newborn Selvans choses not one pilot, but two: Kato, a high ranked official well-versed in politics and military tactics, and Mas'ud, an extremely talented engineer. But as the two of them figure out what it means to share pilotship and their minds not only with their Queenship, but also with each other, other forces - both hostile and not - are completing and forming their own machinations.
The plot, setting and cast could have easily given the book three times the pages it has - that, combined with the short chapters and many characters, sadly makes it hard to connect with said characters. It's clearly the first part of a series. The ending is a bit unsatisfying and there are so many open and blossoming plotthreads... I'm looking forward to reading more of this.
Overall probably closer to 4 stars than 5, but I fell so in love with it that I'm gonna give 5 despite the flaws.
Entangled political machinations? ✔
LGBTQIA+ SciFi setting? ✔
FUCK YES!
This was AMAZING!!!
Technically flawed in many ways, but I still loved it.
It's your typical SciFi universe, but with an actual diverse cast - there's a huge range of ethnicities and gender identities, the main characters are African-American and Persian, one of them is trans. The countless side-POV characters include Navajo, Chinese, Lithuanian, genderfluid, nullgender, bigender, to name a few.
What's a bit confusing is said POV-jumping. It's written in relatively short chapters, each written from a different POV, though it keeps returning to the two MCs and choice side-characters, which leads to the characters barely being introduced before the POV switches again.
Another confusing thing is the setting, especially in the beginning. There's barely any explanations about the technologies, the politcis or how this future works - there is a glossary, which sadly is full of spoilers.
Which brings me to what bothers me most - the book's blurb is TERRIBLE. It spoils basically the entire plot save for the very end. I enjoyed reading this, but I would have enjoyed it EVEN MORE if I hadn't been spoiled.
So if you're interested in reading this but hate spoilers as I do, DON'T READ THE BLURB. If you still want to know what Perihelion is about:
Thousands of years in the future, humankind has expanded through space. Power lies in the hand of seven families through military, political or economic means, some of which have a technology called Queenships. Queenships are huge space ships/stations that are part metal, part membrane, part crystal, which are self-aware. Still, a Queenship needs a pilot with who she (Queenships are female) shares an intimate mental connection that expands the pilot's mind.
When a new Queenship is birthed, she chooses her pilot - and the newborn Selvans choses not one pilot, but two: Kato, a high ranked official well-versed in politics and military tactics, and Mas'ud, an extremely talented engineer. But as the two of them figure out what it means to share pilotship and their minds not only with their Queenship, but also with each other, other forces - both hostile and not - are completing and forming their own machinations.
The plot, setting and cast could have easily given the book three times the pages it has - that, combined with the short chapters and many characters, sadly makes it hard to connect with said characters. It's clearly the first part of a series. The ending is a bit unsatisfying and there are so many open and blossoming plotthreads... I'm looking forward to reading more of this.
Overall probably closer to 4 stars than 5, but I fell so in love with it that I'm gonna give 5 despite the flaws.
May 29, 2016
Really enjoyed this world and story! The political intrigue was well played and kept me invested in the larger plot outside of the personal journeys of the MCs. I loved Kato and Mas'ud. The ships and technology are a perfect blend of the new and fantastical with familiar space epic elements.
Given the scope of the story and the psychic connection the pilots have with their ships, the narrative zooms in tight and out to the grand expanse of space throughout the story. These transitions feel very organic and work well with the story's framing. It was also a very clever way to give an eagle eye view of massive and far-reaching space battles through the characters themselves.
I only have two things I'd list as cons. Firstly, Veldura's succinct, staccato style can sometimes pack so much character blocking into one little sentence that I'd get lost and have to backtrack carefully to figure out where people had moved or where the scene had moved. Secondly, the gender diversity felt tokenish and I was left scratching my head a bit with the way Jai Huan handled their genderfluidity. But then I'm not genderfluid, so I have no basis for understanding that experience outside of internet anecdotes.
A lot of times I felt like I was watching a live-action anime-styled movie in my head, which is awesome. And there were many plot, worldbuilding, and character elements that reminded me, warmly, of both Neon Genesis Evangelion and Dune.
Looking forward to the next installment in this series!
Given the scope of the story and the psychic connection the pilots have with their ships, the narrative zooms in tight and out to the grand expanse of space throughout the story. These transitions feel very organic and work well with the story's framing. It was also a very clever way to give an eagle eye view of massive and far-reaching space battles through the characters themselves.
I only have two things I'd list as cons. Firstly, Veldura's succinct, staccato style can sometimes pack so much character blocking into one little sentence that I'd get lost and have to backtrack carefully to figure out where people had moved or where the scene had moved. Secondly, the gender diversity felt tokenish and I was left scratching my head a bit with the way Jai Huan handled their genderfluidity. But then I'm not genderfluid, so I have no basis for understanding that experience outside of internet anecdotes.
A lot of times I felt like I was watching a live-action anime-styled movie in my head, which is awesome. And there were many plot, worldbuilding, and character elements that reminded me, warmly, of both Neon Genesis Evangelion and Dune.
Looking forward to the next installment in this series!
December 25, 2015
I probably wasn't in the best state of mind to read this, because I'm exhausted this week, and Perihelion has a fairly intricate political plot. If I'm being honest, I'm sure a lot of it went over my head, because I was too tired to be paying that close of attention, but I'm positive I will be re-reading this at some point and can enjoy all those details I missed before. I do wish we could have seen a bit more of Mas'ud and Kato interacting as a romanctic couple, but I felt satisfied, and honestly, the ending seemed very open to continuation. (Hopeful puppy eyes?)
And can I just throw out there how much I appreciated the author including, and without trying to justify or explain, all sorts of genders? Bravo, Ms. Veldura. Well done.
And can I just throw out there how much I appreciated the author including, and without trying to justify or explain, all sorts of genders? Bravo, Ms. Veldura. Well done.
December 9, 2015
Hard core sci-fi writers rejoice. Compelling, dramatic, and way over my head, but I loved it. I tend to gloss over the precise scientific stuff and dig into the storyline, characters, setting, etc. Ms. Veldura did some amazingly superb world building. The story moved incredibly quickly and sometimes I got lost, but I kept going and remained on my heading to a fabulous conclusion. This could have been twice as long, the sci-fi aspect explained in more detail, especially the host of characters and how they all interconnect could have been worked better into the story, but for a free read this was fantastic. I believe a part two is in the works.
November 24, 2016
2.5 Stars. I know a lot of people complain when there is an "info dump" but I sure would have liked a little "info" at the beginning of this story. I spent most of the book being bounced from names to names with no background, who they were affiliated with or what those affiliations even where or meant.
The story was interesting and I might even continue with the series since I think I have a handle on some of the relationships (and there was a list at the end of the book) but it's not enough for me to go three stars for this book.
The story was interesting and I might even continue with the series since I think I have a handle on some of the relationships (and there was a list at the end of the book) but it's not enough for me to go three stars for this book.
April 27, 2016
An interesting take on different type of science fiction book. I enjoyed each of main characters they each had different things about them that made them great characters. The only negative thing for me was that the book was fairly short so it felt like the book was rushed.
Want to read
September 2, 2015This sounds like my kind of story! Looking forward to reading this one :)
May 4, 2016
Boy, how to sum up this book…
So this book is set many many years in the future. Humans have expanded their reach out into our solar system and beyond. They managed to do this with the help and use of Queenships. A Queenship is basically a living space ship. It is completely sentient, and is able to change its shape and purpose to fit its pilot’s needs. The pilots are chosen by the Queenship and are linked psychically with the ship till basically the pilot dies. The ship will then select a new pilot and the cycle begins again. All Queenships (and by extension the pilots) are owned and operated by a ruling family. Ozark is one of the largest families. Dhar is another.
This is where one of our MCs, Kato, comes in. He is the grandson of one of the main Ozark pilots, and so is up for selection on the new Ozark Queenship, Selvans. He never expected to be selected as pilot, though. Selvans has other ideas about that. Kato is her pilot and she will have him. But in a wholly unprecedented move, she will also have another: Mas’ud Tavana. Mas’ud is from none of the ruling families. He is a lead mechanic and able to manipulate ships like no-other, but in this world that is not much. Being chosen as pilot is unthinkable. But Selvans has spoken and she will have Mas’ud and Kato, and no others.
However, not long into their piloting of Selvans they run across an anomaly. A Queenship unlike any other. An AI that has been constructed, not born, and that can vastly outmaneuver and out-power all the ships she comes across, but who seems to lack the soul (and sanity) of normal Queenships. With a rouge ship terrorizing space, and two new and untried pilots in her path, destruction is all but assured.
Kato and Mas’ud must be kept safe, though, for Selvans will have it no other way.
This book was first written for Goodreads M/M Romance Group’s annual writing event. I never got to read it then, but when I was trolling thru amazon one day for upcoming releases I saw this book and was intrigued. When it was offered to Love Bytes for review, and I saw that one of the characters was in fact a trans man, I was all over it. It has been a while since I read anything properly scifi, and this was looking better and better.
What I found inside was beyond my expectations in many ways. The construction of this scifi universe and its Queenships were complex and unique from anything I had read previously. The characters were from a wide array of racial backgrounds. In fact Kato is African-American, and Mas’ud is Persian. The fact that this was a human-populated scifi that did not relegate the people of color to secondary-character status was refreshing to see. The way that they were just there and it was normal and not worth commenting on, was one of the things I loved about this story.
Mas’ud being a trans man was also a big selling point. For obvious reasons. But I liked how Mas’ud was not just a trans man. That wasn’t his role. He was a mechanic, a pilot, a man…the fact he was born biologically a woman just was something that happened, not who he was. This has been something I (and other transgender people) have been asking for for a while. A character that is trans…and so much more. I might now understand Mas’ud desire to have kids (I honestly don’t understand anyone’s desire to procreate) but it was also nice to see his reaction to the possibility.
I found the plot here both simple and terribly complex. On the surface, it is a story of two men trying to figure out how they fit together with both themselves and with their new role on Selvans (oh, and also saving the universe). But this story weaves about thirty different threads together to make this complex tapestry of Families fighting for power, people fighting for the right to move outside of the Families, and the danger of creating things you have no hope of controlling.
And for all the beauty I found in it by the end of the story, it was at times very confusing. We were thrown into scenes with random characters that are not really introduced at all (or seen again) and expected to know who they are, what their allegiances are, and how they are tied into the greater whole. I could see that the author creating something large and detailed, but I still was left floundering more times than I wanted to be. I think the author had a very clear idea about how all of these people connected and why their part of the story needed to be told, but they sometimes didn’t do a great job of showing the reader why that was. This, and the fact that I don’t really enjoy books where the story is told by so many different characters, is probably why this only came in at 4 stars for me. By the end I could appreciate what had been done, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that I spent a lot of time reading it stuck in half-confused mode.
I will say this, if you intend to read this book, there is an index of characters and other information at the end of the book. Read that first. You might not need all the information or even remember most of it, but it can be extremely helpful in helping you orientate yourself in this universe. I didn’t know about it till a friend pointed it out to me, and it would have been very handy to have some of that information before I began reading.
Overall this was beautifully written and crafted. I did enjoy reading it, and if the author wishes to grace us with another book set in this world I would gladly read it. I found the action scenes enthralling, and the characters were truly well written. Even with the problems I ran across in regards to storytelling did not make this less of an entertaining scifi story.
This book was provided free in exchange for a fair and honest review for Love Bytes. Go there to check out other reviews, author interviews, and all those awesome giveaways. Click below.
So this book is set many many years in the future. Humans have expanded their reach out into our solar system and beyond. They managed to do this with the help and use of Queenships. A Queenship is basically a living space ship. It is completely sentient, and is able to change its shape and purpose to fit its pilot’s needs. The pilots are chosen by the Queenship and are linked psychically with the ship till basically the pilot dies. The ship will then select a new pilot and the cycle begins again. All Queenships (and by extension the pilots) are owned and operated by a ruling family. Ozark is one of the largest families. Dhar is another.
This is where one of our MCs, Kato, comes in. He is the grandson of one of the main Ozark pilots, and so is up for selection on the new Ozark Queenship, Selvans. He never expected to be selected as pilot, though. Selvans has other ideas about that. Kato is her pilot and she will have him. But in a wholly unprecedented move, she will also have another: Mas’ud Tavana. Mas’ud is from none of the ruling families. He is a lead mechanic and able to manipulate ships like no-other, but in this world that is not much. Being chosen as pilot is unthinkable. But Selvans has spoken and she will have Mas’ud and Kato, and no others.
However, not long into their piloting of Selvans they run across an anomaly. A Queenship unlike any other. An AI that has been constructed, not born, and that can vastly outmaneuver and out-power all the ships she comes across, but who seems to lack the soul (and sanity) of normal Queenships. With a rouge ship terrorizing space, and two new and untried pilots in her path, destruction is all but assured.
Kato and Mas’ud must be kept safe, though, for Selvans will have it no other way.
This book was first written for Goodreads M/M Romance Group’s annual writing event. I never got to read it then, but when I was trolling thru amazon one day for upcoming releases I saw this book and was intrigued. When it was offered to Love Bytes for review, and I saw that one of the characters was in fact a trans man, I was all over it. It has been a while since I read anything properly scifi, and this was looking better and better.
What I found inside was beyond my expectations in many ways. The construction of this scifi universe and its Queenships were complex and unique from anything I had read previously. The characters were from a wide array of racial backgrounds. In fact Kato is African-American, and Mas’ud is Persian. The fact that this was a human-populated scifi that did not relegate the people of color to secondary-character status was refreshing to see. The way that they were just there and it was normal and not worth commenting on, was one of the things I loved about this story.
Mas’ud being a trans man was also a big selling point. For obvious reasons. But I liked how Mas’ud was not just a trans man. That wasn’t his role. He was a mechanic, a pilot, a man…the fact he was born biologically a woman just was something that happened, not who he was. This has been something I (and other transgender people) have been asking for for a while. A character that is trans…and so much more. I might now understand Mas’ud desire to have kids (I honestly don’t understand anyone’s desire to procreate) but it was also nice to see his reaction to the possibility.
I found the plot here both simple and terribly complex. On the surface, it is a story of two men trying to figure out how they fit together with both themselves and with their new role on Selvans (oh, and also saving the universe). But this story weaves about thirty different threads together to make this complex tapestry of Families fighting for power, people fighting for the right to move outside of the Families, and the danger of creating things you have no hope of controlling.
And for all the beauty I found in it by the end of the story, it was at times very confusing. We were thrown into scenes with random characters that are not really introduced at all (or seen again) and expected to know who they are, what their allegiances are, and how they are tied into the greater whole. I could see that the author creating something large and detailed, but I still was left floundering more times than I wanted to be. I think the author had a very clear idea about how all of these people connected and why their part of the story needed to be told, but they sometimes didn’t do a great job of showing the reader why that was. This, and the fact that I don’t really enjoy books where the story is told by so many different characters, is probably why this only came in at 4 stars for me. By the end I could appreciate what had been done, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that I spent a lot of time reading it stuck in half-confused mode.
I will say this, if you intend to read this book, there is an index of characters and other information at the end of the book. Read that first. You might not need all the information or even remember most of it, but it can be extremely helpful in helping you orientate yourself in this universe. I didn’t know about it till a friend pointed it out to me, and it would have been very handy to have some of that information before I began reading.
Overall this was beautifully written and crafted. I did enjoy reading it, and if the author wishes to grace us with another book set in this world I would gladly read it. I found the action scenes enthralling, and the characters were truly well written. Even with the problems I ran across in regards to storytelling did not make this less of an entertaining scifi story.
This book was provided free in exchange for a fair and honest review for Love Bytes. Go there to check out other reviews, author interviews, and all those awesome giveaways. Click below.
September 24, 2019
My enjoyment - about 3 stars. The technical quality - about 5 stars.
Queenships are sentient spaceships. They have thoughts, emotions, free will - but no direction. So they choose pilots - not to steer them, but to basically mind meld with them. Kato Ozark is chosen by Selvans... what is unusual is that Selvans also chooses Mas'ud, an engineer with no training as a pilot. The two have to navigate this unheard of situation, along with rising tensions from political forces.
My main issue was this was a difficult world to follow in such a short page span - there could have been a lot more explanation up front on what was going on. For a while I couldn't tell who the hell was a ship and who was a human. The political intrigue part was over my head - again, it took me a while to figure out who was the 'bad' guy.
I did think what we saw of Mas'ud and Kato's relationship was beautiful - but a lot of their building was actually in their minds - since they could link through their queenship. It made for a simultaneously deep connection, but one that the reader didn't necessarily get a grasp of.
Queenships are sentient spaceships. They have thoughts, emotions, free will - but no direction. So they choose pilots - not to steer them, but to basically mind meld with them. Kato Ozark is chosen by Selvans... what is unusual is that Selvans also chooses Mas'ud, an engineer with no training as a pilot. The two have to navigate this unheard of situation, along with rising tensions from political forces.
My main issue was this was a difficult world to follow in such a short page span - there could have been a lot more explanation up front on what was going on. For a while I couldn't tell who the hell was a ship and who was a human. The political intrigue part was over my head - again, it took me a while to figure out who was the 'bad' guy.
I did think what we saw of Mas'ud and Kato's relationship was beautiful - but a lot of their building was actually in their minds - since they could link through their queenship. It made for a simultaneously deep connection, but one that the reader didn't necessarily get a grasp of.
July 6, 2017
I liked the concepts at work, the sentient ships and psychic connections and battles. There are certain things you can only describe in a book, never a film. Who doesn't like a space opera? I also enjoyed the presence of a multi racial and nonbinary gender cast of characters. I felt like the book lacked enough details to really immerse the reader in the world. I had trouble visualizing what everything looked like. That said, this was an interesting effort. It felt a bit like a sketch that could be expanded upon to really flesh out the large cast of characters and deepen the emotional impact.
October 30, 2017
At times confusing, but I LOVED the concept and the creative ideas. It feels like a very different (and wonderfully diverse) world and it captured me. I was very invested in how it all would turn out.
October 2, 2022
kinda boring but ok. dnf 54%
November 5, 2025
I liked it.
October 8, 2016
Amazing as ever
I've loved everything I've ever read that Tami has done and this is no exception the writing style and jumping around took some getting used to but I love the characters and was playing chess in my head during the battle scenes to understand them better. I'm hoping there's more to come with this story.
I've loved everything I've ever read that Tami has done and this is no exception the writing style and jumping around took some getting used to but I love the characters and was playing chess in my head during the battle scenes to understand them better. I'm hoping there's more to come with this story.
April 9, 2016
3.5 Stars
This was an interesting read for me. I have to say I liked the plot and getting to know the relationship between ship and pilot.
The story itself is well written and very enjoyable, but I did have a few issues with it that made it hard to get into and stay into it.
There are soooo many characters and things going on that I found myself skimming the parts that weren't about our main two characters or Kato's family because it felt like unneeded information.. oh and the AI ship, I did read those because it was important the the story as a whole. And maybe the other parts are important for a second book, but for this one they felt like they detracted from the story.
I loved the way the two men piloted together as they both had their strong suits that complimented each other. However, the romantic relationship, I didn't feel at all. I didn't understand the whole situation with Mas'ud having ovaries, but being a man and it not getting any sort of explanation to go with it. Or how the two even connected except through their ties to the ship. Sadly, as much as I love a good romance, this felt unnecessary to the story as well since it wasn't well explained to me.
I have to say I liked all the drama with the family and trying to figure out why they were doing what they were doing in terms of political reasons. However, I felt like we didn't get a whole lot of answers here either. Yet something else that might be answered with a sequel, but it didn't give me enough to really want to keep going with the series sadly.
All in all, it was a well written book that I enjoyed, but at the end of it I was almost glad it was over because I couldn't keep up with the intense amount of politics and so many characters that didn't seem to have a huge amount of importance to this particular story. Like I said, they may in the future, but it would've been nicer to have that not so heavy in the first book as we still didn't even know our main characters and how all the queenship/kingship/families and all that even related/worked.
I received a free copy of this book to read for Inked Rainbow Reads in exchange for an honest review.
This was an interesting read for me. I have to say I liked the plot and getting to know the relationship between ship and pilot.
The story itself is well written and very enjoyable, but I did have a few issues with it that made it hard to get into and stay into it.
There are soooo many characters and things going on that I found myself skimming the parts that weren't about our main two characters or Kato's family because it felt like unneeded information.. oh and the AI ship, I did read those because it was important the the story as a whole. And maybe the other parts are important for a second book, but for this one they felt like they detracted from the story.
I loved the way the two men piloted together as they both had their strong suits that complimented each other. However, the romantic relationship, I didn't feel at all. I didn't understand the whole situation with Mas'ud having ovaries, but being a man and it not getting any sort of explanation to go with it. Or how the two even connected except through their ties to the ship. Sadly, as much as I love a good romance, this felt unnecessary to the story as well since it wasn't well explained to me.
I have to say I liked all the drama with the family and trying to figure out why they were doing what they were doing in terms of political reasons. However, I felt like we didn't get a whole lot of answers here either. Yet something else that might be answered with a sequel, but it didn't give me enough to really want to keep going with the series sadly.
All in all, it was a well written book that I enjoyed, but at the end of it I was almost glad it was over because I couldn't keep up with the intense amount of politics and so many characters that didn't seem to have a huge amount of importance to this particular story. Like I said, they may in the future, but it would've been nicer to have that not so heavy in the first book as we still didn't even know our main characters and how all the queenship/kingship/families and all that even related/worked.
I received a free copy of this book to read for Inked Rainbow Reads in exchange for an honest review.
September 21, 2016
There is so much to love about Perihelion and I can't wait to read more, i want to buy the sequel yesterday. I downloaded this freebie with not much thought but then - pow - sentient ships! a giant cast of characters and alliances and intrigue that would make GRR Martin happy. And so much promise for future development. I would have loved this to be a full length novel with scenes and characterisation, especially of our main protagonists, fleshed out. I know our protagonists have a super special psychic ship-bond and therefore they don't have to have long conversations about many things but I would have liked to see a bit more of that. Also, I shouldn't have read all of the blurb as it does gives a few too many of the basic plot points away.
I really liked the diversity, most of the characters were POC and there was a wide variety of genders also. It did however feel a bit paint by numbers in terms of diversity when reading through the appendix of characters, which listed gender and nationality/background. It didn't necessarily have to be spelt out (the list of ships/families and their people was useful though, i do like me a good character index). Also, knowing that the Queenships have been around at least 2000 years, not to mention how long it would take humanity to develop that technology, I found it didn't ring true the nationality break-down, would people really still identify as 'Lithuanian' or 'Portuguese'? but then some people were listed as Arabic and Nahuatl - languages not nationalities peeps! obviously this could be a difference in the future but still, and Polynesian, yes a pan/umbrella-identity but being super specific (e.g. 'Lithuanian' 'scottish') and then grouping all arabic speakers is a something that makes my eye twitch.
Those small complains aside (sorry, languages get me excited/riled), i can't wait to read more of this series and i'll go off to explore the author's other offerings asap.
I really liked the diversity, most of the characters were POC and there was a wide variety of genders also. It did however feel a bit paint by numbers in terms of diversity when reading through the appendix of characters, which listed gender and nationality/background. It didn't necessarily have to be spelt out (the list of ships/families and their people was useful though, i do like me a good character index). Also, knowing that the Queenships have been around at least 2000 years, not to mention how long it would take humanity to develop that technology, I found it didn't ring true the nationality break-down, would people really still identify as 'Lithuanian' or 'Portuguese'? but then some people were listed as Arabic and Nahuatl - languages not nationalities peeps! obviously this could be a difference in the future but still, and Polynesian, yes a pan/umbrella-identity but being super specific (e.g. 'Lithuanian' 'scottish') and then grouping all arabic speakers is a something that makes my eye twitch.
Those small complains aside (sorry, languages get me excited/riled), i can't wait to read more of this series and i'll go off to explore the author's other offerings asap.
July 6, 2016
This book is a bit of a mess. With plenty of things I don't like. Way too much, overly complicated genderfluidity. Too much information, too many new things without enough explanation. And really quite minimal romance.
But it is a beautiful, touching mess. I loved the characters... I felt for them... I felt their pain. And I loved the world. And it's richness, and complexity. The author used references to chess to try to represent the complexity of the politics. Although the moves seemed somewhat more reminiscent of Go to me. But with at least 3 players. Maybe 4 or 5. But the sentient Queenships are beautifully described and the whole system of telepathy is rather... interesting. The main characters are a bit over-powered... but that's the case in most books and I really enjoy that.
I found the author was a bit of a master at hinting. I kinda feel like maybe she knows a lot less than she lets on. She gave lots of suggestions of complicated politics, but pretty little in terms of concrete examples. She gives suggestions of elaborate military tactics that remind me of David Weber, but again, what is actually shown is relatively limited. I feel like the author could benefit from a deeper understanding of what she is writing. More time spent on research. But she does a great job giving an impression of great depth without actually presenting much. I think she has read a lot of science fiction to draw ideas of where to start her writing. In many ways, it is brilliant. It has a beautiful flow... and that flow allows it to skip a lot of beats while still sounding good.
But it is a beautiful, touching mess. I loved the characters... I felt for them... I felt their pain. And I loved the world. And it's richness, and complexity. The author used references to chess to try to represent the complexity of the politics. Although the moves seemed somewhat more reminiscent of Go to me. But with at least 3 players. Maybe 4 or 5. But the sentient Queenships are beautifully described and the whole system of telepathy is rather... interesting. The main characters are a bit over-powered... but that's the case in most books and I really enjoy that.
I found the author was a bit of a master at hinting. I kinda feel like maybe she knows a lot less than she lets on. She gave lots of suggestions of complicated politics, but pretty little in terms of concrete examples. She gives suggestions of elaborate military tactics that remind me of David Weber, but again, what is actually shown is relatively limited. I feel like the author could benefit from a deeper understanding of what she is writing. More time spent on research. But she does a great job giving an impression of great depth without actually presenting much. I think she has read a lot of science fiction to draw ideas of where to start her writing. In many ways, it is brilliant. It has a beautiful flow... and that flow allows it to skip a lot of beats while still sounding good.
November 24, 2015
Now scifi is not a favoured genre and for me to fully get into it, the story has to be an 'ordinary' story just set in space - and this amazing piece of imaginative writing was very far from my comfort zone. So far I must have warped there!
I'm also not very good at chess so an intergalactic chess match was not going to hook me in. The number of new families, queenships, pilots etc made it tricky for me to keep straight in my head who was allied to who - I think a nice shiny website would do the trick!!
I was imagining the USS Enterprise crossed with starfighters crossed with starship troopers! I was invested in Kato (though Inspector Clouseau kept coming to mind) and Mas'ud and Selvans and the link they shared, though at times it did get a bit beyond me.
So great writing, perhaps too much info for my little mind but I'm sure big sci fi fans will love it
I'm also not very good at chess so an intergalactic chess match was not going to hook me in. The number of new families, queenships, pilots etc made it tricky for me to keep straight in my head who was allied to who - I think a nice shiny website would do the trick!!
I was imagining the USS Enterprise crossed with starfighters crossed with starship troopers! I was invested in Kato (though Inspector Clouseau kept coming to mind) and Mas'ud and Selvans and the link they shared, though at times it did get a bit beyond me.
So great writing, perhaps too much info for my little mind but I'm sure big sci fi fans will love it
January 7, 2016
I started reading this early evening one day and decided I needed to read this with a less tired mind. I picked it up early the next morning. The writing was good but I feel like I needed a playbook just to try to keep up. The cast of characters, the list of terms named systems, places and ships should have been at the beginning just so you some kind of reference. I spent the first hour trying to figure out what it was all about before I found the aforementioned references. Then spent the next two hours referencing back and forth before I decided the rest was just too much work to finish. I read for enjoyment and I found absolutely no enjoyment in this.
September 26, 2016
2016 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Perihelion by Tami Veldura
This book is intriguing, intense, and instantly engaging. From the beginning, the reader is swept up into this fast-paced whirlwind that turns everything on its head and inside out. At the same time, the author provides just enough information to keep the reader up to speed, though you have to stretch to get it sometimes. Many seemingly unrelated stories were woven into one. I loved the various genders and identities, and especially the map of everyone at the end. Very useful. A near perfect score, I gave a 9 to character development because there were some I would have liked a bit more on. Overall, an awesome read!
This book is intriguing, intense, and instantly engaging. From the beginning, the reader is swept up into this fast-paced whirlwind that turns everything on its head and inside out. At the same time, the author provides just enough information to keep the reader up to speed, though you have to stretch to get it sometimes. Many seemingly unrelated stories were woven into one. I loved the various genders and identities, and especially the map of everyone at the end. Very useful. A near perfect score, I gave a 9 to character development because there were some I would have liked a bit more on. Overall, an awesome read!
Read
April 19, 2016
Read
September 5, 2015https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
*DNF*
(67%)
I absolutely love the whole idea and I was so looking forward to reading this story but unfortunately it didn't work for me!
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