Heavenbreaker

Starred review from April 29, 2024
Wolf (Send Me Their Souls) launches a new trilogy with this breathtaking epic, masterfully weaving threads of science fiction, fantasy, horror, romance, and mystery into a propulsive coming-of-age story. Six hellish months after the noble father that Synali Woster never met murdered her mother, she finally gets her revenge. It takes a lot of maneuvering for Synali, the child of the squalid Low Ward section of a massive, stratified space station, to get at her father, the Duke of Hauteclare, and she flees the crime scene via one of the giant mech suits that the station’s knights ride into jousting tournaments in space, prepared to go out in a blaze of glory surrounded by rabid fans of the sport. But then something odd happens: she doesn’t lose her match. Her unexpected skills as a mech driver catch the eye of a nobleman from a different house who claims to know of seven other coconspirators who were involved in her mother’s death and offers her a deal: for each joust she wins in his family’s name, he’ll take one of them out. Swept into a whirlwind of intrigue and reluctantly drawn into the elite world of riders, Synali must decide who she can trust. Wolf balances the unflinching action with evocative worldbuilding, considerate characterization, and a thoughtful exploration of the hope found in quiet places. This astonishes. Agent: Caitlin Blasdell, Liza Dawson Assoc.

November 1, 2023

YA author Wolf breaks into adult fiction with a planned romantic sci-fi duology featuring Synali von Hauteclare, who lives aboard a massive spaceship and seeks vengeance for her mother's death as she participates in a combat tournament on her giant robot steed Heavenbreaker. With a 500K-copy first printing and beautiful packaging from the publisher of Rebecca Yarros's The Fourth Wing. Prepub Alert.

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Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2024
The first installment of Wolf's SF series chronicles a young woman's quest to avenge the murder of her mother and destroy all of those involved in her death. Set in the distant future (3442) on a space station orbiting a gas giant, the story revolves around Synali von Hauteclare, a young woman living in the poorest section of the station. The product of an ill-advised tryst between the head of a noble house and a lowly commoner, Synali saw her life descend into tragedy when her beloved mother was killed by assassins sent by her father. Now, fresh from murdering her father with her own hands, the vengeance-obsessed Synali sets out to destroy the entire House Hauteclare. When she meets a former prince named Dravik who has similar retributive motivations of his own, the two conspire to take down the political hierarchy by competing in what is basically a jousting competition between houses. Instead of horses, the competitors drive massive "steeds"--military machines left over from a distant war--through space. These steeds are as "tall as buildings," powered by strange technology, and they inevitably destroy their riders if they compete for too long. Synali doesn't care about the dangers involved--she, in fact, wants to die, but not before delivering karmic justice to everyone involved in her mother's death. While the SF elements (including intricate worldbuilding and mind-blowing revelations regarding the aliens that humankind defeated in that distant war) are brilliantly done, it's the insightful characterization and emotional vulnerability of Synali that power this story. Her pain, incendiary anger, self-doubt, and ultimate courage will resonate with more than a few readers. "Where does a twisted girl like me fit in the universe? Everyone else is full, whole. No one wants the darkness--they want the stars." Synali could be the next Katniss Everdeen--the potential is certainly there. A highly palatable fusion of SF elements.

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