Clear a space on your bookshelves, friends. Kate Elliott’s new space opera, Unconquerable Sun was always going to be worth your attention, but here’s a first glance at the gorgeous UK cover by Ronnie Jensen…

Don’t get me wrong, I quite liked the understated but resolute US edition, but yaaaaas this one hits me in the feels with its stern geometries and red hues (yes, I’ve an acknowledged bias towards red covers). Are you ready for a gender-swapped Alexander the Great in SPACE?

 

It has been eight centuries since the beacon system failed, sundering the heavens as it collapsed. Without beacons the void between stars is navigable only by the slow crawl of knnu driven argosies. Rising from the ashes of the collapse, cultures have fought, system-by-system, for control of the few remaining beacons.

The Republic of Chaonia is one such polity. Surrounded by the Yele League and the vast Phene Empire, they have had to fight for their existence. After decades of conflict, Queen-Marshal Eirene has brought the Yele to heel, binding them into subservience.

Now it is time to deal with the Empire.

Princess Sun, daughter and heir to the queen-marshal, has come of age. In her first command, she has driven a Phene garrison from the beacons of Na Iri.

Growing up in the shadow of her mother has been no easy task. The queen-marshal, having built Chaonia into a magnificent republic against impossible odds, is both revered and feared. While Sun may imagine that her victorious command will bring further opportunity to prove herself, it will in fact place her on the wrong side of court politics. There are those who would like to see Sun removed as heir, or better yet, dead.

To survive, while the battle between empires ignites all around her, the princess must rely on her wits and companions: her biggest rival, her secret lover, and a dangerous prisoner of war.

 

…I can’t wait. Cannot. Wait.

Unconquerable Sun gets its UK release from Head of Zeus on October 1st – and watch out for some more exciting news on this one coming your way very, very soon!