Syzygy

by Egor Breus

A Martian and a Venusian, Aleksy and Wiclaw, are imprisoned on a space-station hidden in the murky depths of distant Neptune. They're the first two unwilling subjects in a dangerous, illegal experimentation program. Aleksy starts hearing alien voices calling to him, seeping in through the cracks between the stars. Wiclaw is overwhelmed by an omnipotent awareness of other people's emotions. Neither of them likes nor trusts the other, but they'll have to learn to work together to survive.

Meanwhile on opulent, plague-ridden Mars, Celene Nicolae is working undercover at GAIA, the largest conglomerate in all of Solar history. Her job as assistant to the company's Commanding Director puts her right on the front lines of a corporate war, fought with bribes, blackmail, and all manner of unscrupulous deals struck in the deepest shadows…

Their spectacular quest, a race against interstellar police, cyborg hitmen, and the armies of the Planetary Union, will take Aleksy and Wiclaw across all eight inhabited worlds in the Solar System. They will need their newfound powers, and Celene's help, to escape to freedom.

433 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 28, 2022

Reviews

[Dana Kanafina · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly engaging read that left me thinking about the place I take in my - ordinary, unrelated to space - life. There is so much commentary in Syzygy on mental health, bureaucracy and authority figures. There is something that just about anyone can find to reflect on. The characters are flawed and unique, the world-building is immaculate, I find myself mentally coming back to it again and again. Simply a masterpiece.