Redsight

December 1, 2023

DEBUT In Mooring's debut novel, blind initiate Korinna risks being "recycled" if she can't prove her worth to the Red Priestesses and the Empire. In clear callbacks to well-loved classic science fiction, galactic politics and religious interstellar navigational skills take center stage alongside powerful religious prophesies. Much like life on the Navitas, important plot points and worldbuilding alternate between frequent repetition and required leaps of faith. Pacing and plot prove to be more important than character development, though love and trauma are Korinna's compass through the schemes of the galaxy's most powerful women. The entire novel is coated with an aesthetic of pain, as blood and injury empower Red Priestess magic. This can lead to a few gruesome scenes, but alongside morally gray characters, this places the novel firmly with the current trend for blockbusters with a shadowy vibe. Despite the cruelness of her galaxy, Mooring takes special care with inclusivity. Blindness is not a barrier, and racism and homophobia don't seem to exist in the diverse society. VERDICT Recommended for lovers of goth-tinged speculative fiction like Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling.--Matthew Galloway

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 9, 2024
The three goddesses who created the universe lie entombed, their dangerous powers locked away. The Orders of Vermicula and Radiosa now watch over their goddesses' tombs and supply the human government, the Galactic Imperium, with priestesses and priests who use their goddess-given abilities to navigate spacecraft and serve as judges who can detect lies. The Order of Furia's black priestesses were exterminated after their insatiable hunger threatened the balance of the galaxy. When Korinna, a descendent of Vermicula, is assigned as navigator to a warship with a dangerous mission, she finds her target unexpectedly familiar. Korinna feels drawn to Aster Haran despite her status as a pirate and mass murderer and her ties to the heretical goddess Furia, and Aster's perspective on the three goddesses makes Korinna question everything she knows about her place in the universe. While lackluster relationship development and bizarrely sudden changes of heart from characters who have experienced lifelong indoctrination weaken this otherwise creative debut, readers will be fascinated by the science-fantasy world Mooring has created, and those looking for queer sf will appreciate the book's sapphic elements.

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March 11, 2024
Mooring’s inventive if sometimes chaotic debut science fantasy follows three young women and the dieties they worship. Goddesses Vermicula, Radiosa, and Furia have been entombed for thousands of years, but their worshipers are still blessed with goddess-granted powers. Korinna is part of the Order of Vermicula, possessed of Redsight, which alters the vision of those who have it while allowing them to manipulate the energy known as tactus. Red priestesses serve as navigators for the Galactic Imperium, powering the government’s warships. White priestesses of the Order of Radiosa serve as the Imperium’s conveyors of justice and knowledge and use tactus to feel out the truth. The Order of Furia was driven extinct by the other two orders centuries before the start of the book. After Korinna’s ship is attacked by the pirate Aster Haran, who reveals to Korinna the dark truth about the Imperium’s rule, the women band together—along with Sahar of the Order of Radiosa—to bring balance back to an unraveling galaxy. After a rushed beginning, magic and technology blend together to create an enthralling world. Fans of the Locked Tomb series should check this out. Agent: Ernie Chiara, Fuse Literary.