Outstanding space opera. A very descriptive and detailed setting.  The themes of growth and vengeance are tied together nicely.  Looking forward to more by the author!

Nophek Gloss is one of the most imaginative books I've read this year. It's an epic, vivid, diverse, and at times brutal foray into interlocking themes of family, justice, and revenge.

Whew...where to start? I remember reading the initial blurb Orbit put out about Nophek Gloss when the book was first announced on Twitter and thought "Wow that sounds really interesting!" A ship that create its own bubble universe and a wider multiverse that can be explored. I had a feeling this book would be interesting and I was right.

First let me say again this book is imaginative. I mean really imaginative. Any good sci-fi book has to be. What stands out to me in Nophek Gloss is really two things, the extraordinary multiverse Hansen has created with universes big and ever so small, and the rich and diverse species that exist in them. Oh...and then the ship the main characters run around in. So maybe that makes three things.

So I admit I don't read tons of science fiction. I know there are plenty of other stories out there with a multiverse (it's the basis of Marvel and DC's comics for Pete's sake) and the idea of bubble or pocket universes isn't new to fiction either. But this was my first real experience with them in a book outside of comics. And it REALLY worked for me. The concept gave so much extra flair and depth to the story. There are massive universes and teeny tiny pocket/bubble universes (like the one the ship can create) and everything in between. But it isn't like you can just travel from one to another. Moving into a new universe may have little to no effect on you, or it could kill you if your body isn't suitable to it. This gave the story some really interesting dynamics and some integral plot points. It was really cool.

Then there are the many and varied diverse species who populate the story. The closest thing I can associate it with is Star Wars or Star Trek. Like, you know how both of those "universes" have some epically diverse species living in them? Nophek Gloss is much the same. Hansen didn't get lazy in creating the creatures that inhabit her story. They are SOOOOO freaking interesting and different. I just...I can't explain it without just copying and pasting the descriptions of them. And they aren't all humanoid looking bi-pedal creatures (though most of them are). Suffice it to say this was one of the aspects of the book I loved most. I'll admit it was hard at times to see some of the species in my head based on the descriptions, and there were a lot of different ones to keep up with, but once I told myself to let my imagination take over from where Hansen's descriptions left off things settled in perfectly. And the diversity isn't just in the different kinds of species, but also in their sexuality and gender dynamics. One of my favorite characters was one who could change their gender/sex at will. This was such a complex and moving character and really my favorite of the book.

And then the ship. You know glossy black one you see on the cover? That ship was really cool. It's kind of alive and not totally mechanical. It forms something like a very subtle symbiotic relationship with the people who travel inside it. And it can create a small bubble universe that surrounds it on demand. So yeah...pretty sweet place to call home as you navigate the stars.

Then there's the actual story itself. I said above it hits on interlocking themes of family, justice, and revenge. And whew...does it ever. I mean right from the get-go your thrown into them. Family is so integral to the story, especially "found family." As the blurb indicates the main character loses his family in very devastating fashion. Every interaction Caiden has from that point on is in some form or fashion a reaction to to that event, and the people he comes into contact with will have to be sifted through a familial screen. But family is vitally important to every character in the story, big and small. It carries from the first to the very last page. If this is a trope or theme you enjoy then you'll probably love it here.

Justice and Revenge almost go hand-in-hand in Nophek Gloss. I mean they really are two sides of the same coin. Caiden wants both for what happened to him and his family. But what Hansen did really well with these themes is evolve them. So, a mini-spoiler moment here (skip to next paragraph if you want to miss it) that doesn't spoil the overall plot...ok ready...skip ahead if you don't want it...there's a point where Caiden is able to advance his years in a few hours time. Like he can add six years to his life, AND add all the knowledge and experience that would come with them. It's a really cool plot device that also allows Hansen to make some easy choices with the plot. But the thing I really dug about it was how Caiden's desire for justice and revenge matured as he aged. First it was that of a teenage boy with all that teenage angst and burning fire, but then it was that of a young man, still burning, but now a little more controlled and directed. But it's still revenge so the threat of it bursting out of control into a total conflagration is always there. Anyway, I really really thought this was well done.

Now, I have to admit the diversity thing I liked above also has a downside. There are a ton of unique names and ideas, and creatures, and well everything that at times you start to feel a little lost. Thankfully there is a glossary at the end of the book to help you keep up. But yeah sometimes I found myself glossing over things. And there was one recurring aspect of the book where you are led to believe one thing and by the end, well things change. It seemed obvious given the many references and allusions to it what would happen in the end and I was right. I won't tell you what it is, but I think you'll figure it out. It doesn't take away from the story in my opinion, but it just didn't come as a surprise when the reveal happened.

But, overall I enjoyed the writing. The book had a strong opening that might give you some anxiety as Hansen does a great job of letting you know something isn't right before unleashing the dogs on you. The middle of the book did drag at times for me but it wasn't horrible. There was enough shiny new things to look at and explore that it still kept my interest. That burning thirst for revenge and all the decisions (quite often bad ones) that went with it kept me turning the page to see how the story would end up. The action scenes were thrilling and at times edge of your seat. I mean there were points I really wondered if things would work out for our band of misfits.

So in closing let me just say how enjoyable this read was. If you are looking for a thrilling, diverse, and unique read to close out the year definitely pick this one up. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Essa Hansen has given us a strong debut and I for one can't wait to see where the rest of the story goes.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for providing me with a copy for review. 

Nophek Gloss was probably one of the most creative and interesting books that I've ever read. It jumps you right in on the action and never lets up. I have to admit that it took me a while to get the gist of what was going on, but once I did I could not put this book down. It is witty, clever, full of found family and, of course, action. If you like clever, ambitious science fiction novels, then this is the book for you. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who loves clever books with a wide variety of characters, space operas, and fun books with a whole lot of action.

This is the story of Caiden, who is a 14-year-old mechanic who lives with his family on what is essentially a slave planet. One day, the entire population of his settlement is suddenly evacuated to another planet where they are inexplicably dumped upon a hungry herd of nophek. A nophek is a rare, aggressive, and at least somewhat intelligent animal that is only able to live in certain universes with specific conditions. They have a gland in their brain that produces a material known as gloss, which is very, very valuable, and used as a type of fuel. 

Caiden survives this genocide and flees the planet on a very interesting ship that he found, running into a ragtag crew and joining them on their adventures. He then figures out just how huge and crazy the multiverse is. But, most of all Caiden wants revenge on the slavers that killed everything he loved in the multiverse. And he will do whatever it takes to get that revenge. 

It admittedly took me a while to fully get into this one. It's not that it wasn't interesting, in fact it was quite interesting and full of all kinds of really well thought out ideas. The first half just moved slower for me than has been usual with me as of late. The second half though, well I read the second half of this one in one sitting. So, once I got there, I got there. 

Caiden is an interesting character that I didn't love in the first half, but I did in the second. He starts this book out as a 14-year-old who hasn't ever lived outside of his own basic planet. He's understandable angry and hurt, and he acts just as an angry and hurt 14-year-old from a sheltered nowhere planet would. But this is the multiverse and it is full of all kinds of technology. Like acceleration, which can put a few more years of aging on you in a few hours. The latter half of this one sees Caiden a few years older, and shows him becoming a few years wiser, which I really enjoyed. Nothing like seeing that annoying teenager actually grow into someone far less annoying, amirite?

This book also has some fantastic supporting characters. My favorite was En, who is a very augmented human. Basically, En can be whichever gender feels right at that point in time, and will let you know which pronouns to use. En is flirty and often snarky, and definitely my favorite character in this one. There is also Panca, who is the engineer and a very sensitive and lovely character. 

Then there is Threi. He's hard to describe. He's not... exactly the antagonist. He's maybe sometimes the antagonist. He's quite a well put together character that was presented in a way that made me want both the best and the worst for him within like two sentences of each other. 

So, all told, I really liked this one. It had a slow start for me, but it ended with a bang that left me immediately wanting the next part in the story. I had 4/5 stars of a good time with Nophek Gloss, and while the bulk of those stars were for the latter half, the first half is, in hindsight, slow but so, so necessary. This is a wonderfully crafted and very unique story. I can't wait for more.

Nophek Gloss is the debut novel (and first of a trilogy) by author Essa Hansen.  It's a Space Opera novel (sort of?), a Vengeance tale, a tale of growing up....it's a lot of things.  It's also a novel I'd heard basically nothing about prior to its listing on Netgalley, but I figured I'd give it a shot when I saw it posted.  

And well, it's a really interesting novel that made me want more, with some clear limitations.  It's an interesting mix of high concept (not my thing) scifi/fantasy and character-focused SF/F (very much my thing), with a main cast that will draw comparisons to many other Sci Fi stories - the book's blurbs reference Firefly, Wayfarers, and Revenger, for instance.  And the character work is really interesting, featuring developments that always remain interesting...except they don't always seem to quite follow from the setup that comes before.  This is in no way a short book, but it almost feels at times like its missing pages, and yet again, I'm really damn interesting in seeing where this goes next.  

Note:  The plot summary of this novel is fine on retailers, but it does spoil a plot development that occurs like halfway through the book, which isn't really ideal.  

---------------------------------------------Plot Summary---------------------------------------------------
14 year old Caiden wishes he could simply make things better or at least learn more about the world.  Bearing the mechanics' mark after his appraisal, he has been learning how to fix the machines on the place he, his parents, and Leta, the girl he's sort of adopted as a younger sister, live - a place Caiden has never seen beyond.  It doesn't look like there will ever be much else for him.

Until the Overseers, the beings who manage their place, bring all of them to a strange place where they are set upon by monstrous creatures.  Where Caiden winds up the only survivor, holding only a strange valuable jewel, and a connection to a strange spaceship like nothing anyone has ever seen before.  And so he finds himself, and his strange ship - which possesses ancient Graven technology - joining a crew of passagers - most not even human - as they escape what's left of his home into the greater multiverse.  

It's a multiverse of beings of more types than Caiden could ever have imagined, with factions with all sorts of different agendas....but only one such faction is responsible for the loss of everything he has ever known.  And one he finds that faction, and discovers how untouchable its leader seems to be, Caiden decides that his newfound family is not enough...and that he will do anything for vengeance, even if it reveals more about himself than he ever really wanted to know.....
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Nophek Gloss features a fascinating setting - a multiverse filled with all different sorts of races and beings, many of whom are just trying to find something in life...and many of whom have joined together for various purposes.  The book uses "multiverse" deliberately - ships and beings can travel between different universes - although the travel between them is potentially lethal for certain beings and things - which often have different rules of physics and other aspects that can have massively different effects (and this becomes a very relevant plot point).  There are a lot of aliens described within this multiverse, and to be honest its easy to lose track of what is what for most of them, but a few species are particularly memorable and interesting to read.

It also features a group of really interesting characters.  You have Caiden of course, the young boy who loses everything and is desperate for revenge, but also isn't quite sure what that's making him.  He also doesn't know what to do with this new crew that might be a second family and between that, his maturity, and his guilt and discomfort over everything, he's a compelling lead character.  But the rest of the major crew is generally well done, especially En, a human who is so mechanically augmented they can change their own form and gender seemingly at will (for the first chapter we meet En, En uses "he" but for nearly the rest of the book En uses "she") and despite En's own recklessness, they're such a great parental figure to Caiden you have to love them.  But the rest of the crew is mainly pretty interesting in their pasts and personalities - or well, what we get to see of them.  

That's really the problem here: a large part of the plot is based upon Caiden's character development and his connection to the crew, but the time we see Caiden with them is almost too short - especially for some of them - for the bonds that are supposed to exist to feel real.  And we don't know enough about some of them honestly, even if the parts we do know are really strong (En and perhaps the pilot Taitn are the exceptions here).  The same is true of Caiden's own internal plot development, which has some shifts towards the final third that just feel like they come from nowhere, even if I enjoyed the character that came out of them.  It all feels like there was missing pages from the book where this development took a slightly slower route all around, and had more connective tissue.  

The same is not true of the cast's other major player, the antagonist name Threi, who has his own agenda for Caiden that Caiden can't help but get involved in - despite him hating nearly all of what Threi represents.   He's an absolutely great part of this story, and helps the plot move along despite the lack of connective tissue for parts.  And really what a plot, with some really strong twists along the way, to go with some really strong themes, in particular themes about Consent: for beings with DNA from the long-dead Graven race have the ability to force love/devotion upon subjects of most races, and the more powerful such beings absolutely do abuse such an ability - something that disgusts and terrifies Caiden when he gets his own glimpse at having that power.  The book's ending is kind of strange, with the main sequence ending with a significant page length left to go, leading to two final twists to help setup the next book in the trilogy. 

Yet those twists are well done, and the themes here are excellently executed - and even without the connective tissue to make them fully believable, I did really like the characters overall.  So I really badly do want to see where this book goes from here.  And I hope others will check this one out too, it's worth it, despite its flaws.

Actual rating: 3.5/5

Nophek Gloss has the pleasure of being one of the weirdest and most otherworldly books I’ve read this year, and I mean that in a positive way. A brutal space opera full of spaceships, aliens, and political intrigue mixed with a coming of age story, Nophek Gloss follows the journey of young Caiden after a traumatic, harrowing event that opens the novel.

When I heard this was LGBTQ+ with a ragtag bunch of misfits, I signed on immediately, and I can say those parts were delivered. The secondary characters were standouts in this novel and I cared deeply for them. Of particular note were all the marvelous, unique species that populate the multi-verse setting in the novel. Caiden as a protagonist was deeply flawed and I appreciate that the choices he made leaned into those flaws, and the attention given to trauma and its impact on people of all species was well executed. I love the aspec MC, neurodivergent rep, and nonbinary rep. 

Along with a few plot devices I can’t reveal due to spoilers, my main critique was that I did find this novel difficult to sink my teeth into. Everything from action scenes to descriptions of technology just sort of… slid past my eyeballs, and I consider myself fairly well versed in science fiction settings and worldbuilding. Also, this novel was way more heavy on graphic depictions of violence, torture, injury, and animal cruelty than I was expecting, so proceed with caution.

Overall, Nophek Gloss is a solid debut that aims for lofty heights and mostly reaches them. I’ll be following up with further entries in the Graven series to see what creative twists and turns await us next.

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Hate can drive you around galaxies for revenge, but love can heal and create a new life. These are the themes within the new novel “Nophek Gloss”, the first novel by Essa Hansen. After a harrowing experience, a slave boy is lost on a desolate planet and is not sure quite how to survive.  However an eclectic group of aliens scoops him up and makes him promises of teaching him skills and providing for his travel due to their need for a treasure he carries. 

“Like the ship and the starry sky, its dark weight made him feel small and insignificant, but safe, and he relaxed into the knowledge that whatever new things awaited in the Cartographers’ Den, they couldn’t be worse than what he had already survived. Nothing could.”

The resulting space opera is inclusive of all elements one wants in a saga such as this;  new worlds, new peoples and reasons for what makes them tick. Enjoyable for a classic science fiction fan, the book reads best during times of quiet and concentration with the detailed and long sentences. This reader realized there was a glossary as a help, use it. Tech ideas used in Nophek Gloss are fun and believable. The “misfit crew” listed in the description for the book is a variety of aliens of different intelligence, form and personality. I am looking forward to see where Hansen goes with upcoming sequels with these characters. The hate shown by the main character was a bit intense and overtaking for me, but I had to remember that his mind was immature. He levels out once his goals are accomplished. When a reader puts in the time to learn an expansive world such as this one, they want to be able to utilize it in more books in the future. I think this would be a pick for anyone who enjoys science fiction basics of a ship and a close crew.

A dense, complex Sci-Fi debut with a twisting plot and entangled worldbuilding that trumps with themes of found family and not loosing sight of compassion in your quest for vengeance and justice.

Content warnings include: slavery, child abuse, death, gore, violence, torture, animal abuse, experimentation, manipulation and coercion, tempering with memories and trauma, lots of trauma in general, accerlerated aging and reverse aging, overstimulation, genocide.
Mentions of: bullying, child soldiers, ableism.

The cover and title of Nophek Gloss fit the book perfectly, in the sense that they evoke a feeling of “What even is that?“. The worldbuilding is very dense and full of a lot of very abstract concepts, and without the glossary in the back I would have been very, very lost.

But even that feeling of being overwhelmed by the new information and being thrust into a world where you don’t know what is what is fitting, because that is exactly what’s happening to Caiden, the protagonist.

What is, however, not fitting is the “young man” descriptor for Caiden in the official description. Caiden is 14 years old, child, not a young man. And even though there is some accelerated aging technology that gives Caiden the appearance, brain structure and skills of a 20-year-old, in experience and memory he is still very much a child, and I felt like that got a bit lost, especially towards the end. On that vein I feel it’s important to note that Caiden has no sexual contact or even a romantic subplot throughout the entire book.

When it comes to relationships, the book is very big on found family. Caiden becomes part of a ragtag group of-edge-of-legality passagers (a mixture of mercenary and explorers). The characters were all interesting, with defined personalities and their own pasts.

Unfortunately, I struggled with getting invested emotionally. The action-packed plot was exciting and engaging, but it didn’t make me feel anything. I liked the characters, but I didn’t really connect with them.
A lot of the natural conclusions that the protagonist came to made no sense to me. This also applied to a lot of the personal interactions – I found it hard to track why characters were reacting the way they were to each other. I originally figured this was due to the reader and protagonist not yet being familiar with the others, but this was an issue that didn’t go away even as both I and Caiden got to know the cast better.

I was also personally more curious about other plotlines than the ones followed on page, though the sequel will handle one of the ones I was most interested in.

Another issue I had was with the one visibly queer character. (Among bookish people this was talked about as queer SciFi, and while overall there was no overt queerphobia or any talk of what sort of relationships or personal identities are common or accepted, there was a subtle but definite undercurrent of heteronormativity.)
En is genderfluid and augmented to shift appearance at will. There are several conversations that acknowledge the fluidity of gender and that character’s existence outside of the gender-binary. And yet En is always referred to as either he or she, based on physical appearance. I found that disappointing – not because such a gender expression that fluctuates exclusively between male and female and he and she isn’t valid – but because I don’t understand why En was never allowed to exist outside the binary on-page when it was repeatedly mentioned in dialogue.

On the note of representation, Caiden was apparently written with being ace-spec in mind, and the neurodiverse rep in case of a side character is #ownvoices.

Overall, Nophek Gloss delivers on all counts of what you could possibly want from a Sci-Fi novel: space-ships, complex and very advanced tech, abstract alien concepts, a universe with an age-old history and people, a twisted plot, space-roaming loveable characters, found family, questioning of morality, and a lot of fast-paced action (as well as quite a bit of gruesome.)

This series will fill a certain commander-shaped hole in my life. I absolutely love "found family" sci fi stories, and oh my, does this novel take that to a whole new level. Every character came to life, with glimpses of so many alien races that it makes your head spin. They each owned their backstory (and traumas) in such different ways, it almost makes me wish for spinoff books for everybody (character loyalty side quests, anyone?). Almost. 

I had a few nitpicky suspension-of-disbelief moments (not to Neil-DeGrasse-Tyson it, but an arcminute is a measurement relating to angles and degrees, not time) that pulled me out of the incredible world-building. But then I'd read a phrase about the adorable whipkin and fall in love with this book all over again. The universe is so vast in scope it's a little hard to grasp at first, but if you just dive in headfirst, it is a wild ride. It is seriously brutal with a quiet undercurrent of hope and redemption that I needed right now. 

I caught the tail end of an author event with Alastair Reynolds (my favorite sci fi author) and Essa Hansen, and I am happy to say I'm adding her to my list of authors to keep an eye on!! Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this vivid, albeit imperfect, highly addictive novel.

Book Review: Nophek Gloss
Author: Essa Hansen
Publisher: Orbit Books
Publication Date: November 17, 2020
Review Date: October 25, 2020

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

From the blurb:
“When a young man's planet is destroyed, he sets out on a single-minded quest for revenge across the galaxy in Nophek Gloss, the first book in this epic space opera trilogy debut -- perfect for fans of Revenger and Children of Time.

Caiden's planet is destroyed. His family gone. And, his only hope for survival is a crew of misfit aliens and a mysterious ship that seems to have a soul and a universe of its own. Together they will show him that the universe is much bigger, much more advanced, and much more mysterious than Caiden had ever imagined. But the universe hides dangers as well, and soon Caiden has his own plans.
He vows to do anything it takes to get revenge on the slavers who murdered his people and took away his home. To destroy their regime, he must infiltrate and dismantle them from the inside, or die trying.” 
——
I have tried at least 6 times to try to read this book. I cannot make heads nor tails as to what is happening in the story. I am usually a pretty good reader, but this one has me stumped. I really wanted to be able to read it, but I give up. Maybe I’ll give it another try another time in the future. I don’t even know whether to recommend it or not, because since I don’t understand it, I don’t feel that I can make any recommendation, yes or no. Your mileage may vary.

Thank you to Orbit Books for allowing me at least attempt to read this book. 

This review will be posted on NetGalley, Goodreads and Amazon

#netgalley #nophekgloss #essahansen #orbitbooks #scifi #scratchingmyhead

This seems to be one of those books that readers either love or hate. There's some good action and tough subjects, including graphic violence. The author shows some talent, and this bleak tale may satisfy those seeking that kind of story.

Thanks very much for the ARC  for review.

I'm sorry to report this book just didn't work for me. The first part of the book is a bit of a slog, awash with unfamiliar terms and flooded with complex descriptions of new things, people, and places. I was impressed with the variety and abnormality of this strange multiverse, but I struggled to visualize it all. Left adrift, I had trouble paying attention.

Then we have our main character, Caiden. He's a 14-year old ricocheting through life after surviving a horrible, cataclysmic event: a genocide that killed everyone he knew and loved. I have to say that his revenge story really stressed me out. His found family tells him at every turn that seeking vengeance isn't the answer, but he ignores them (teenagers...gotta love em). This is not to say there's no basis for his hatred, of course, but it chokes the story before it even gets off the ground, in my opinion. 

Overall, the pacing was slow, and even action sequences didn't draw my focus. I would have preferred any of Caiden's crew members as a protagonist because they all seemed to have interesting backstory and nuanced personality. Sadly, their presence in the cast wasn't enough to pull me along. When Caiden left them behind to fulfill his bloodthirsty quest, I lost my will to stick around. DNF at 53%.

This novel started out incredibly strong with an opening sequence that was brutal and devastating. It is always fantastic to find an author who isn't afraid to write something dark. Beyond the beginning, the story mostly read like a fairly conventional space opera. It followed the major tropes of the subgenre, leaning hard into the idea of found family. 

I loved the diversity among the aliens species. I particularly appreciated the natural inclusion of diversity including gender fluidity and the normalization of neutral pronouns.

I am not personally the biggest fan of naive children in my stories so I was happy that Caiden matured relatively quickly. The characters were fairly well developed, although I never became particularly attached to anyone.

The world building in this universe was actually one of the most unique aspects of this space opera. The multiverse travel felt like a strange choice and didn't quite make sense from a scientific perspective. My favourite aspect of the worldbuilding was easily the alien creatures. The beasts felt so uniquely alien, yet the descriptions conjured such vivid images in my mind.

Overall, I enjoyed this one and would recommend to one to scifi readers looking for a new space opera adventure.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Orbit Books.

Immaculate world building and complex alien technologies form the backbone of Essa Hansen's debut novel NOPHEK GLOSS, an angst-riddled space opera about one boy's quest for vengeance in the face of genocide. The first chapter blew me away. This is a powerful and compelling tale that establishes Hansen firmly at the scifi table.

When you live in space you end up friending a lot of strange people and beings. Caiden, who is all alone because his planet was destroyed, ends up meeting some questionable and unruly aliens who are on a funky galactic ship that its own conscious. Even though the aliens march to the beat of their own drum, they help Caiden grieve by opening his eyes to the infinite possibilities of space, both good and dangerous.

‘Author, swordswoman, and falconer. Sound designer for SFF films at Skywalker Sound, with credits in movies such as Doctor Strange and Avengers: Endgame,’ reads Essa Hansen’s Meet the Author page. With such a varied resume, it’s small wonder that her debut novel Nophek Gloss crackles with fresh, diverse creativity. It is hard science fiction at its best, flush with rich themes and sharp innovation.

Hansen tends to keep the book’s descriptions concise, yet it took me twice as long to read as other books of its length as I often paused to re-read passages in order to fully digest each sentence. This allowed for me to visualize it all in my mind, savoring each scene like a chef’s tasting menu. Speaking of menus, make sure you have a full stomach before diving into this one, as there’s plenty of mouth-watering space foods that might make you want to snack-read to an unhealthy degree. Or so I’ve heard.

The book covers a lot of ground, approaching various topics with care. Inclusivity and fluidity are underlying themes, and gender identity is often spotlighted as one character is able to shift genders and appearances at will. Body augmentation elevates these discussions into new areas to consider. Other areas the story addresses include examining maturity of the body versus the mind, doing bad things for the right reasons, deferring versus coping with grief, fear and acceptance, and the advancement of technology versus the shortcomings of humanity.

But don’t get hung up on just the heavy themes. There’s plenty of badass action scenes, eldritch beings, morphing coats, pleachroic everything, and a bleeping spaceship capable of creating its own universe on command.

For as detailed a world as Hansen creates, she is careful with exposition. I was not aware there was a glossary included, but I highly recommend avoiding it unless absolutely necessary, as I had much more fun unpacking the intricacies of the story’s multiverse on my own. Scene settings and descriptions are often no more than a line or two, delivered in a subtle, yet decorous prose. Complex life forms are rendered with just enough sketches of detail to balance with the user’s imagination. Scenes of lilies make repeated visits. ‘Shipping and fan art is inevitable.

There were a couple of plot points where I felt the characters’ behaviors were a bit of a stretch. One or two instances I asked myself if I thought those moments felt genuine. There is also a lot of information to absorb, between its world-building, characters, science terminology, and other topics. It is not the easiest of reads, but the more time you spend in its multiverse, the more rewarding it will be.

Plus, this book is just so damn COOL. I mean… that cover, right? Mike Heath’s art and Lauren Panepinto’s design sets the tone for the entire story: sleek, futuristic, and grim, with promises of light peeking through its dark tone.

I don’t think Nophek Gloss is a book for everyone, as it leans heavily into its themes that some may find a bit too grim or divisive. But if you’re like me—someone who thrives on challenging and imaginative stories that push the boundaries of thought and imagination—then this debut is a can’t-miss.

I enjoyed Hanson's multi-universe.  It was interesting to explore the multiple worlds and universes in this novel. Hanson's imagination is top notch and the book is well written.

This was an example of a book being the following: high quality, incredible writing, dense and creative world-building, and also---not for me. I cannot fault this book for its quality, however my reviews are also a reflection of my personal feelings and I really struggled with many of the thoroughly dark themes in this book, which is in many ways a nuanced and graphic exploration of a young man's heavy trauma. 

However, if the trigger warnings (listed below) aren't something that typically bother you in books, I would highly recommend this as a creative sci-fi debut. The world-building is top notch, imagining a richly complex multiverse in which aliens ("xenids") and humans and hybrids of both can travel  with ships between universe "rinds", many of which have different biological perimeters and physical laws. Our protagonist, a fourteen year old boy named Caidan, must grapple with the sudden and horrifying loss of the world he knows after his society of cattle farmers are brutally slaughtered and he is stranded on an unfamiliar planet. He is picked up by a rag-tag group of space "passengers" who take him under their wing. 

I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if it leaned more heavily into the "found family' aspect of the novel,  a la Becky Chambers or Ann Leckie. My favorite characters were Caidan's companions, and my favorite scenes where those depicting their interpersonal relationships. 

TW for: slavery, physical abuse, animal death, graphic violence, torture, graphic depictions of death and mutilation

Overall 4⭐

Plot:5⭐

Worldbuilding:5⭐

Pacing:4⭐

Ending:5⭐

Characterization:5⭐

Diverse characters:3⭐

This book was one of the best sci-fis I've ever read. From the first page to the last it's gripping. 

Every character stands out and is wildly well done. Even though it's in third person, you get a fantatsic feel for all of them, but best of all Caiden. 

He looses more than any character I've recently read and it happens very fast. I was too wrapped up to put it down.

When Caiden meets the rest of the cast, he's all anger and hurt with no place to let it out. When he tries, it never goes well. 

From the start, all the adults want for him is for him to be somehwere safe where he can process his trauma. 

The handling of trauma the right way--healing--is a huge theme. Healing takes time and acceptance and a safe haven. And the adults want to give it to him. They can see his anger, they've all been there and all of them had their own difficulty moving on with their own pasts.

Family is also a huge theme. Not leaving anyone behind. They traverse the multiverse in this book in a fantastic way. 

Now, while it was a phenomenal read, for many reasons, I can't give it five stars.

There are characters who can shift gender at will, who are fluid in almost every way. There are many different species, only a handful are shown. So, even in this vast multiverse, in a world where almost anything is possible, why is there not a single minority? 

In 2020 there's a real lack of diversity. It causes real harm to readers. This book is set in an unimaginable future and there are no characters, main or side, or even mentioned, who are a member of a minority. 

There's no excuse, no reason. If we can get people who can change their bodies at will and others' whose skin changes color with their emotion, is it too much to ask for more representation? 

Thank you to NetGalley the publisher.

Hi. I love love love this book. The unique multiverse world, the universe-creating spaceship, the brutal, mind-bending technology. And Caiden, raised to replace the livestock used to feed the creatures known as nophek for the energy in their brain known as gloss, When he and is family are dumped on a planet to be food for these monsters, and he is the only survivor, he escapes on a ship with a group of misfit aliens who become his new family. I especially love En, the augmented genderfluid character who has stolen every bit of my heart.

Nophek Gloos has action, tension, revenge, emotion on every page, stylistic prose, and twist after twist. Thank you for providing me with this ebook along with the physical ARC. I'll be posting about it A LOT in the months to come.