Blurb: The son of a nobleman and a young man from the poorest part of the city strike up an unlikely friendship that changes the course of their lives.
In a lord’s manor on the planet Doka, Lepsi wallows in loneliness and misery. As the youngest son of a down-and-out noble, Lepsi’s father can only afford to raise one son as his heir. Lepsi is forced to forsake all dreams to serve his cruel father and heartless brother.
Meanwhile, in a neighborhood in an impoverished part of the city, Talos mourns the death of his mother, the only person to believe he had any worth. As his mother succumbed to a plague, he gave up apprenticeships and education to take care of her. He doesn’t regret it but longs for a better future. Without skills and money, he’s forced to beg and steal.
They both want to leave the planet and the lives they’re leading, and their chance arrives when a premier cargo transport desperately needs more crew. Lured by opportunity and the prospect of a future beyond Doka, both Talos and Lepsi sign up. Yet, as their fortunes shift, fate intercedes with ruthless intent. Talos runs afoul of a pirate gang, and Lepsi’s father comes after him using every resource available to the aristocracy of Doka.
Can the two of them thwart the relentless pirates and ruthless lords that mean to end their dreams? Can their friendship withstand such harrowing tests? Most of all, can they escape?
Review: Lepsi is the son of a nobleman, but is treated worse than the servants. When he helps Talos get off the streets, Talos promises to come back to help Lepsi escape his father. The two of them sign up to work as crew on a cargo ship, and they are eager to follow their dreams. Yet Lepsi's father isn't willing to let him go, and Talos falls on the bad side of a gang of pirates. Can the fast friends survive their first venture out to the Edge or will their first journey be their last?
This novella was a gift from the awesome M. Pax to her readers last month. I'm a big fan of her sci-fi series, The Backworlds, and Lepsi and Talos are two of my favorite characters. You don't need to have read the series to enjoy this story. The writing is excellent, and it has all the elements I've come to love from the series. Lepsi and Talos both come from rough starts in two very different parts of Doka society, and they both earned my sympathy right off. Even though they from two different classes, how their friendship begins feels real and organic. Of course nothing helps people to bond other than going into space and being thrust right into the thick of things! Great action and tension. There are plenty of characters to love and hate. Oh how I hated Lepsi's family!
Thank you, M. Pax, for this fantastic story. I can't wait to see more!
You can find M. Pax on her site.