Where Peace Is Lost
A Novel
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
A brand-new space fantasy novel from master world-builder Valerie Valdes! A refugee with a secret, a dangerous foe, and a road trip that could either save a planet or start a war.
Where peace is lost, may we find it.
Five years ago, Kelana Gardavros lost everything in the war against the Pale empire. Now Kel Garda is just another refugee living on the edge of an isolated star system. No one knows she was once a member of an Order whose military arm was disbanded and scattered across the galaxy. And no one knows that if her enemies found her, they might destroy the entire world to get rid of her.
Where peace is broken, may we mend it.
Kel’s past intrudes in the form of a long-dormant Pale war machine, suddenly reactivated. If the massive automaton isn’t stopped, at best it will carve a swath of devastation that displaces thousands of people. At worst, it will kill every sentient creature on the planet.
Where we go, may peace follow.
When two strangers offer to deactivate the machine for a price, Kel and a young friend agree to serve as their guides. The journey through swamps infested with predators and bandits is bad enough, but can they survive more nefarious dangers along the way? And will Kel’s fear of revealing her secrets doom the very people she’s trying to protect?
Where we fall, may peace rise.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Grudging allies join forces to save a planet in this fun but familiar ecological space opera from Valdes (the Chilling Effect trilogy). Exiled knight Kelana "Kel" Gardavros, the former First Sword of a now obsolete Order, lives in hiding on swamp planet Loth, having given up her status as protector of her people in exchange for peace. When an errant war machine threatens Loth, Kel leaves her village to investigate with her naive teen friend, Lunna, in tow. Along the way, the pair encounter mysterious off-worlders Savvy and Dare, who claim to be able to deactivate the machine, and team up more out of suspicion than trust. When Kel discovers that the Pale empire, her erstwhile enemies, have broken the peace treaty that disbanded the Order, she must choose between staying hidden and risking those she cares about to fight back. The otherwise pacy narrative frequently pauses for bouts of exposition, and the thematic contemplations on justice and conservation remain frustratingly shallow. While this sci-fi adventure certainly entertains, readers looking for depth will be underwhelmed.
