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Sidonia #1
The Queen of Sidonia
In a galaxy controlled by massive corporations, few worlds are truly free. When explorers find a priceless wormhole near Sidonia, the hostile attention of the Aquitaine Corporation focuses on the small, backwater kingdom.
To protect their world, Sidonia’s royalty rush seventeen year old Princess Cosima into an arranged marriage, one that will guarantee a treaty and shield Sidonia from Aquitaine’s clutches. But Cosima never asked for the honor of becoming the next queen to a man she doesn’t love.
With the fate the planet in the balance, a team of deadly assassins targets Cosima. The best killers money can buy will see the Princess dead before her wedding day. Cosima will need her wits to uncover the identity of the assassins targeting her, and her courage to stay alive in the middle of an interstellar power struggle.
If you like space opera novels with intrigue, a fast-paced plot and a tale of survival against impossible odds, then read The Queen of Sidonia today!
***
Q&A with the Author
What can you tell us about the book?
Imagine The Princess Bride in a Star Wars setting. I've always liked the idea of a sci-fi fairy tale, and I wanted to tell a coming of age story about how duty to country and family can get in the way of what someone had in mind for their own future. So writing a teen and young adult science fiction novel seemed the best way to tell that story.
If this were a movie, what would it be rated?
PG-13 for sci-fi action, wartime violence and alcohol references.
To protect their world, Sidonia’s royalty rush seventeen year old Princess Cosima into an arranged marriage, one that will guarantee a treaty and shield Sidonia from Aquitaine’s clutches. But Cosima never asked for the honor of becoming the next queen to a man she doesn’t love.
With the fate the planet in the balance, a team of deadly assassins targets Cosima. The best killers money can buy will see the Princess dead before her wedding day. Cosima will need her wits to uncover the identity of the assassins targeting her, and her courage to stay alive in the middle of an interstellar power struggle.
If you like space opera novels with intrigue, a fast-paced plot and a tale of survival against impossible odds, then read The Queen of Sidonia today!
***
Q&A with the Author
What can you tell us about the book?
Imagine The Princess Bride in a Star Wars setting. I've always liked the idea of a sci-fi fairy tale, and I wanted to tell a coming of age story about how duty to country and family can get in the way of what someone had in mind for their own future. So writing a teen and young adult science fiction novel seemed the best way to tell that story.
If this were a movie, what would it be rated?
PG-13 for sci-fi action, wartime violence and alcohol references.
- GenresScience FictionAmazon
422 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2016
86 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
About the author
Richard Fox
131 books613 followersRichard Fox is a Nebula Award nominated author, and winner of the 2017 Dragon Award for Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy novel, author of The Ember War Saga, a military science fiction and space opera series, and other novels in the military history, thriller and space opera genres.
He lives in fabulous Las Vegas with his incredible wife and three boys, amazing children bent on anarchy.
He graduated from the United States Military Academy (West Point) much to his surprise and spent ten years on active duty in the United States Army. He deployed on two combat tours to Iraq and received the Combat Action Badge, Bronze Star and Presidential Unit Citation.
The Ember War Saga:
1. The Ember War
2. The Ruins of Anthalas
3. Blood of Heroes
4. Earth Defiant
5. The Gardens of Nibiru
6. Battle of the Void
7. The Siege of Earth
8. The Crucible
9. The Xaros Reckoning
Terran Armored Corps
1. Iron Dragoons
2. The Ibarra Sanction
3. The True Measure
4. A House Divided
5. The Last Aeon
6. Ferrum Corde
Terran Strike Marines
1. The Dotari Salvation
2. Rage of Winter
3. Valdar's Hammer
4. The Beast of Eridu
5. Gott Mit Uns
The Exiled Fleet:
1. Albion Lost
2. The Long March
3. Finest Hour
4. Point of Honor
The Terra Nova Chronicles
1. Terra Nova
2. Bloodlines
3. Wings of Redemption
4. Hale's War
Subscribe to Richard's spam free email list and get free short stories set during the Ember War Saga (and more as they become available) at: http://eepurl.com/bLj1gf
Like him on Facebook (best place to reach him): https://www.facebook.com/Richard-Fox-...
Website: www.richardfoxauthor.com
He lives in fabulous Las Vegas with his incredible wife and three boys, amazing children bent on anarchy.
He graduated from the United States Military Academy (West Point) much to his surprise and spent ten years on active duty in the United States Army. He deployed on two combat tours to Iraq and received the Combat Action Badge, Bronze Star and Presidential Unit Citation.
The Ember War Saga:
1. The Ember War
2. The Ruins of Anthalas
3. Blood of Heroes
4. Earth Defiant
5. The Gardens of Nibiru
6. Battle of the Void
7. The Siege of Earth
8. The Crucible
9. The Xaros Reckoning
Terran Armored Corps
1. Iron Dragoons
2. The Ibarra Sanction
3. The True Measure
4. A House Divided
5. The Last Aeon
6. Ferrum Corde
Terran Strike Marines
1. The Dotari Salvation
2. Rage of Winter
3. Valdar's Hammer
4. The Beast of Eridu
5. Gott Mit Uns
The Exiled Fleet:
1. Albion Lost
2. The Long March
3. Finest Hour
4. Point of Honor
The Terra Nova Chronicles
1. Terra Nova
2. Bloodlines
3. Wings of Redemption
4. Hale's War
Subscribe to Richard's spam free email list and get free short stories set during the Ember War Saga (and more as they become available) at: http://eepurl.com/bLj1gf
Like him on Facebook (best place to reach him): https://www.facebook.com/Richard-Fox-...
Website: www.richardfoxauthor.com
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 5, 2016
We would like more please
You don't read many adventure books that make you cry but this one does. The characters in this book are finely drawn and , believable. You really identify with them . The action is non stop. Would love to have this story continue......
You don't read many adventure books that make you cry but this one does. The characters in this book are finely drawn and , believable. You really identify with them . The action is non stop. Would love to have this story continue......
March 16, 2021
I don't specifically remember buying this, but it was on my Kobo account, so I read it. I think I must have liked the cover and the title reminded me of the song Sedona by Houndmouth, and I think it was on sale?? Anyway. The author really wants you to know he knows his alcohol. Like he doesn't just drink, he uses snifters. Classy.
The world building was actually pretty well done, as were the fight sequences. I was a little confused as to why a planet that is known for its art has such a robust army, but I think there was one sentence about a weird mineral or something? But the character were so lacking, I couldn't handle it. The female characters especially were so. Bad. So bad.
I have to add this gem. The main character grew up on a space station so she doesn't understand ~art~ because it's a waste of space or some nonsense. So this is her experiencing art for the first time, she's so petulant the whole time. She literally stamps her foot.
"What is the meaning of this?" she asked.
"It's art, my lady. You have to decide what it means," the artist replied.
"Don't get smart with me," Cosima said.
??? What.
The world building was actually pretty well done, as were the fight sequences. I was a little confused as to why a planet that is known for its art has such a robust army, but I think there was one sentence about a weird mineral or something? But the character were so lacking, I couldn't handle it. The female characters especially were so. Bad. So bad.
I have to add this gem. The main character grew up on a space station so she doesn't understand ~art~ because it's a waste of space or some nonsense. So this is her experiencing art for the first time, she's so petulant the whole time. She literally stamps her foot.
"What is the meaning of this?" she asked.
"It's art, my lady. You have to decide what it means," the artist replied.
"Don't get smart with me," Cosima said.
??? What.
December 9, 2016
Pleasantly surprised.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Think medieval swashbuckling times coupled with Star Wars like tech advances. The heroes are true (unsung and otherwise) and the villains are true to their character. The characters wrangle with real moral and social quandaries that are applicable to today's issues. There are graphic fight scenes so if that's an issue, skip those parts, not the book. I dithered about spending time on this book based on the synopsis but am now glad I decided to. Well worth reading. So author, when's the next one in the series due? I can hardly wait.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Think medieval swashbuckling times coupled with Star Wars like tech advances. The heroes are true (unsung and otherwise) and the villains are true to their character. The characters wrangle with real moral and social quandaries that are applicable to today's issues. There are graphic fight scenes so if that's an issue, skip those parts, not the book. I dithered about spending time on this book based on the synopsis but am now glad I decided to. Well worth reading. So author, when's the next one in the series due? I can hardly wait.
February 28, 2020
This started out great and had elements of interest throughout, but I found the female protagonist irritating and some of the plot points were a bit inconsistent in terms of a characters being mature then utterly immature and spoiled. The romance felt forced and upsetting. Overall the story would have been better with no romance. Especially since
December 22, 2020
This one was from the ‘random grab and read a few pages’ list. I’ve got a lot of these books sitting in what I laughingly call a ‘short queue’, and a lot of them stay there for years. Every so often, I’ll pick one out, read a few pages, and if I carry on reading then we have a … Oh my god … is that … a slush pile?
Queen of Sidonia was up next, and after page ten, I realised it was the just kind of book I was in the mood for: an unpretentious middleweight sci-fi story with plenty of action and a nice tidy ending.
And it wasn’t advertising itself as anything else. I mean, the cover is basically telling you this isn’t Shakespeare, but you’ll have a damn good time all the same.
And yes, I really did enjoy it. The story is nothing that you haven’t seen before, and the characters will be exactly who you expect them to be: we’ve got an idealistic, straight-laced hero; a feisty princess; a ruthless villain and a fop. Still, they all have their quirks so you’ll have no difficulty remembering who’s doing what to who, and the dialogue is distinctive and punchy. Fox doesn’t waste time having his characters chatting about stuff you don’t need to know.
But back to the story. Yes, it’s nothing too original, but as I’m always saying, it’s not what you tell, it’s how you tell it, and this is told with flair, humour and without wasting a single word. The world-building is one of the best I’ve ever come acros, weaving the structure and politics of the future civilization into the story with leaving a seam. Great stuff. The plot thunders along without straining the reader too much, building to a climax that is perhaps a little too predictable aside from one nice touch which, if I’m honest, I didn’t see coming.
So, after taxing myself with something a bit more heavyweight (and probably far less fun), I’ll be back for the sequel: The King of Sidonia.
Queen of Sidonia was up next, and after page ten, I realised it was the just kind of book I was in the mood for: an unpretentious middleweight sci-fi story with plenty of action and a nice tidy ending.
And it wasn’t advertising itself as anything else. I mean, the cover is basically telling you this isn’t Shakespeare, but you’ll have a damn good time all the same.
And yes, I really did enjoy it. The story is nothing that you haven’t seen before, and the characters will be exactly who you expect them to be: we’ve got an idealistic, straight-laced hero; a feisty princess; a ruthless villain and a fop. Still, they all have their quirks so you’ll have no difficulty remembering who’s doing what to who, and the dialogue is distinctive and punchy. Fox doesn’t waste time having his characters chatting about stuff you don’t need to know.
But back to the story. Yes, it’s nothing too original, but as I’m always saying, it’s not what you tell, it’s how you tell it, and this is told with flair, humour and without wasting a single word. The world-building is one of the best I’ve ever come acros, weaving the structure and politics of the future civilization into the story with leaving a seam. Great stuff. The plot thunders along without straining the reader too much, building to a climax that is perhaps a little too predictable aside from one nice touch which, if I’m honest, I didn’t see coming.
So, after taxing myself with something a bit more heavyweight (and probably far less fun), I’ll be back for the sequel: The King of Sidonia.
November 27, 2020
Like most of the author's books, this one is technically well-written. He knows how to tell a good story and to keep the reader engaged from chapter to chapter, beginning to end. While I've found other books by this author to be more compelling and more interesting, that hasn't changed here.
What I wasn't as impressed with here was the worldbuilding, and the characterization. I didn't find any of the characters particularly engaging or interesting, and the worldbuilding felt like it was trying too hard to be unique and interesting, and ultimately seemed impractical, as if the world were constructed specifically for the novelty of it and not because that's how an actual society would evolve and grow.
I've read a number of the author's books at this point, and I think it's fair to say he's pretty hit or miss with his titles. Some of them are genuinely great. Others are pretty meh. This one just happens to be in the latter category. I won't be continuing on in the series, but the author is someone that I will continue to look forward to new works from.
What I wasn't as impressed with here was the worldbuilding, and the characterization. I didn't find any of the characters particularly engaging or interesting, and the worldbuilding felt like it was trying too hard to be unique and interesting, and ultimately seemed impractical, as if the world were constructed specifically for the novelty of it and not because that's how an actual society would evolve and grow.
I've read a number of the author's books at this point, and I think it's fair to say he's pretty hit or miss with his titles. Some of them are genuinely great. Others are pretty meh. This one just happens to be in the latter category. I won't be continuing on in the series, but the author is someone that I will continue to look forward to new works from.
January 4, 2017
Richardovi Foxovi jde sci-fi skvěle. Perfektní univerzum, technické detaily na jedničku, velkolepé bojové scény… Měl by se však vyhnout romanci, o kterou se v téhle knize pokouší. Ačkoliv je v základu vymyšlená dobře, postrádá plynulý vývoj. Je to doslova jako by režisér zakřičel STŘIH a posuňme se o půlku filmu dál, prostě zničehonic tu je. Také hlavní postava, Cosima, která má vstoupit do domluveného manželství kvůli lukrativní smlouvě s velkou korporací, se vyvíjí nerealisticky. Zatímco na začátku je rozmazleným frackem, zase někdo řekne STŘIH a už není. Fox, zdá se, není schopen se vypořádat s ženskými hrdinkami, jejich povahami a pocity. Měl by zůstat u těch bojůvek. Tomu všemu navzdory je však The Queen of Sidonia strhujícím čtením, pokud si ujíždíte na space operách plných akce, jste na správné adrese.
June 20, 2017
I listened to audio book version of this book and I was amazed at the quality and additional effects provided by the audio book and it's narrator.
I really enjoyed the phase of the events from the start and it was fun and quick sci-fi read however the I felt that book ending was rushed.
Also some introduced characters were left out in the conclusion of the book which I think writer simply ignored them.
Overall a good book but could have been better
I really enjoyed the phase of the events from the start and it was fun and quick sci-fi read however the I felt that book ending was rushed.
Also some introduced characters were left out in the conclusion of the book which I think writer simply ignored them.
Overall a good book but could have been better
June 15, 2018
... Meh?
There is nothing inherently terrible about the book.
To me it's just wasn't worth the time to read.
The main character swings a bit too randomly from annoying naive brat to very competent princess.
The plot is workmanlike without anything new or unexpected.
The "twists" barely qualify for the name.
So yeah, you can read it without experiencing too much pain.
But with so many other really good books out there, why bother?
There is nothing inherently terrible about the book.
To me it's just wasn't worth the time to read.
The main character swings a bit too randomly from annoying naive brat to very competent princess.
The plot is workmanlike without anything new or unexpected.
The "twists" barely qualify for the name.
So yeah, you can read it without experiencing too much pain.
But with so many other really good books out there, why bother?
February 11, 2020
Pretty good book. Interesting story and world, might read more, it looks like it could be a very interesting series, but it also could be kind of boring, (political stuff bores me), so not sure yet if I'll continue this series or not. Decent tale though, and although it doesn't have a whole lot of the things that I enjoy in a scifi story, it has enough to keep things interesting, and the story flows well, so that helps the story along nicely.
September 2, 2020
Great Read
Princess Cosima is a pawn in a game of power for the existence of her kingdom and she doesn't like it. Promised to be wed to a man she doesn't love, she is also a target for forces that want her dead to prevent the marriage and accompanying treaty. I like the action, humor, and romance. I could feel the emotions of the characters as they struggled kingdom and honor. I look forward to the next book.
Princess Cosima is a pawn in a game of power for the existence of her kingdom and she doesn't like it. Promised to be wed to a man she doesn't love, she is also a target for forces that want her dead to prevent the marriage and accompanying treaty. I like the action, humor, and romance. I could feel the emotions of the characters as they struggled kingdom and honor. I look forward to the next book.
February 8, 2020
I had to finish it
When you read a book that has more twists than a corkscrew but Tues it all together to make sense, you have to finish it. A drunken weak prince, a guard with high standards and loyalty, a princess who knows more about business and tech than she does about being a princess and a world survival at risk.. what is not to enjoy?!?
When you read a book that has more twists than a corkscrew but Tues it all together to make sense, you have to finish it. A drunken weak prince, a guard with high standards and loyalty, a princess who knows more about business and tech than she does about being a princess and a world survival at risk.. what is not to enjoy?!?
January 23, 2017
Was a good read, but the end seemed rushed, a whole lot of resolution in a very few pages.
Will read more by the author.
Will read more by the author.
March 31, 2020
Great and fast paced
Good read easy to keep all the characters straight and follow the plot. Could see the villain coming by 1/4 way through
Good read easy to keep all the characters straight and follow the plot. Could see the villain coming by 1/4 way through
July 17, 2020
Good read
Quite a good read. Very nice setting a kind of Edgar rice Burroughs vibe. Nice turn of the century feel. Good adventure story. Well worth the time to read.
Quite a good read. Very nice setting a kind of Edgar rice Burroughs vibe. Nice turn of the century feel. Good adventure story. Well worth the time to read.
November 30, 2023
Fast and furious adventure/political sf with a few twists and turns which doesn't take itself too seriously and is quite enjoyable
November 18, 2016
Enjoyable Cross Genre Space Opera
Space operas take several forms. The most popular is military space opera, and Fox, through the Ember War Saga, has demonstrated his mastery of battles. This space opera has a different focus, although it includes a battle. The "Queen of Sidonia " deals with royal succession, romance, finance/business and unrequited love, and is an enjoyable read, quite a bit lighter than the Ember War Saga.
Cosima, daughter of a space station ruler, finds herself, at age 17, suddenly engaged to marry the heir to the world of Sidonia. She has never met her fiancee, not even thought of getting married, the younger daughter of two, and raised to be a businesswoman. She doesn't even like to visit planets. She is not attracted to the chaos. She hates bugs...she actively dislikes what she sees of her short plump fiancee. This looks like a total disaster.
Without too many spoilers, suffice to say Cosima performs her duty, but in her own fashion. There's not a lot of character development, but Fox writes great action and is good with dialog. Recommended
Space operas take several forms. The most popular is military space opera, and Fox, through the Ember War Saga, has demonstrated his mastery of battles. This space opera has a different focus, although it includes a battle. The "Queen of Sidonia " deals with royal succession, romance, finance/business and unrequited love, and is an enjoyable read, quite a bit lighter than the Ember War Saga.
Cosima, daughter of a space station ruler, finds herself, at age 17, suddenly engaged to marry the heir to the world of Sidonia. She has never met her fiancee, not even thought of getting married, the younger daughter of two, and raised to be a businesswoman. She doesn't even like to visit planets. She is not attracted to the chaos. She hates bugs...she actively dislikes what she sees of her short plump fiancee. This looks like a total disaster.
Without too many spoilers, suffice to say Cosima performs her duty, but in her own fashion. There's not a lot of character development, but Fox writes great action and is good with dialog. Recommended
June 10, 2016
i really like this book a nice blend of the old world and sci-fi space opera dynasty. Humanity has spread from Earth, Corporations run and manage the colonisation and military aspect of humanity spreading to the stars, and then thrown in some space pirates.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews