Review: Defending the Galaxy

Defending the Galaxy by Maria V. Snyder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've very much enjoyed this trilogy, and a lot of that is down to the protagonist.

Sure, she's literally a Chosen One. But she's not chosen because of some stupid prophecy or because of her "bloodline" (as if we still believed in the Divine Right of Kings). She's chosen because she's smart, skilled, and principled (for a certain value of "principled"), and she specifically has to solve problems for herself, not just refuse to learn anything and then get her powers handed to her at a moment of crisis. Although there was a moment when I thought the author had dropped a deus ex machina on us, it actually was an opportunity for her to rescue herself and everyone else through cleverness, persistence, and hard-won skills.

The villains are suitably villainous (disgruntled because entitled, setting out to improve their own lives at the cost of others'), there's a strong vibe of "I couldn't do this without my team," and there's a realistic amount of "we're not listening to you because you're a child" followed by "you've proven yourself to be responsible, maybe we should listen to you after all".

The premise is fresh and original, the execution is sound, and all in all it's a good ride.

Don't start here; this is very much the third in a trilogy, and there's very little "previously-on" to orient you if you haven't read the first two books. They form a unit, to be read in order.

I received a copy via Netgalley for review.

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