This review was first published in and is reposted with permission from Shelf Awareness.
​A broad chorus of voices launches readers into the heart of an interplanetary struggle in Sweep of Stars, the first in the Astra Black trilogy from Maurice Broaddus (Buffalo Soldier).
The Muungano empire stretches from Earth to Titan. More than 70 years after its secession from Original Earth, a series of strikes targets the Muungano leadership, a threat likely tied to "O.E." A band of elite soldiers makes first contact with an alien race on the edges of the explored regions of space, and stumbles directly into an intergalactic conflict. Neither of these clashes makes it any easier to decide how to handle an artificial wormhole in their territory, a conundrum that a starship captain wrestles with while also ferreting out enemies on her own vessel.
Broaddus steeps this Pan-African society in the legacies of precolonial Africa and the civil rights movement--with the specters of colonialism, slavery and the racist institutions created by them still looming over imperial relations. He catapults readers into the story using an array of characters, switching among first-, second- and third-person narration (sometimes singular and sometimes plural) as he shifts viewpoints. The opening chapter kicks off in a second-person voice, creating an immediate intimacy with the first narrator. With plenty of fascinating characters faced with steering their empire through threats internal and external, Sweep of Stars will leave readers eager for the next entry in this series. --Kristen Allen-Vogel, information services librarian at Dayton Metro Library
Discover: The thrilling Black Astra trilogy kicks off with an array of intriguing characters, each of whom faces threats from across the solar system and beyond.

This review was first published in and is reposted with permission from Shelf Awareness.
​A job with a mysterious government agency turns out to be literally out of this universe in The Kaiju Preservation Society, a hilarious science fiction romp from John Scalzi (The Last Emperox).
Jamie Gray is laid off from a corporate job with a food delivery app just before the coronavirus epidemic hits New York City. But a customer offers a lead on a job with an animal rights organization that involves extended periods of fieldwork and no contact with the rest of the world. After six months of making ends meet as a delivery driver, Jamie accepts, flies to Greenland and discovers the actual fieldwork will be on Earth in an alternate universe, one populated with massive Godzilla-like creatures known as kaiju. Jamie expects a job that's mostly grunt work, but supporting the agency also means assisting scientists with tests that involve getting up close and personal with the kaiju. It also involves corralling rich tourists, ones who finagle visits in exchange for funding--and not all of them have animal welfare in mind.
Scalzi rightly calls The Kaiju Preservation Society a "pop song" of a novel, "light and catchy, with three minutes of hooks and choruses for you to sing along with." But don't underestimate the ability of an excellent pop song--especially one with a streak of biting satire--to linger in someone's head. This is a high-energy, banter-filled adventure, which will brighten the day of fans of Scalzi's Lock Innovels as well as monster movie aficionados. --Kristen Allen-Vogel, information services librarian at Dayton Metro Library
Discover: This is a witty variation on Jurassic Park, in which at least most of the humans attempt to get things right and persevere against forces of unrestrained greed.