A Pale Light in the Black: A NeoG Novel

by K. B Wagers

Overview

The Expanse meets the Battle Room in Ender's Game as K. B. Wagers brings us the rollicking first entry in a unique science fiction series that introduces the Near-Earth Orbital Guard—NeoG—a military force patrolling and protecting space inspired by the real-life mission of the U.S. Coast Guard.

For the past year, their close loss in the annual Boarding Games has haunted Interceptor Team: Zuma’s Ghost. With this year’s competition looming, they’re looking forward to some payback—until an unexpected personnel change leaves them reeling. Their best swordsman has been transferred, and a new lieutenant has been assigned in his place.

Maxine Carmichael is trying to carve a place in the world on her own—away from the pressure and influence of her powerful family. The last thing she wants is to cause trouble at her command on Jupiter Station. With her new team in turmoil, Max must overcome her self-doubt and win their trust if she’s going to succeed. Failing is not an option—and would only prove her parents right.

But Max and the team must learn to work together quickly. A routine mission to retrieve a missing ship has suddenly turned dangerous, and now their lives are on the line. Someone is targeting members of Zuma’s Ghost, a mysterious opponent willing to kill to safeguard a secret that could shake society to its core . . . a secret that could lead to their deaths and kill thousands more unless Max and her new team stop them.

Rescue those in danger, find the bad guys, win the Games. It’s all in a day’s work at the NeoG.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062887788
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	03/03/2020
Series:	NeoG , #1
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	200,265
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.80(d)

About the Author

K.B. Wagers is the author of the Indranan War trilogy as well as There Before the Chaos, the start of the Farian War trilogy with Orbit Books. They hold a Bachelor’s degree in Russian Studies and a second-degree blackbelt in Shaolin Kung Fu. A native of Colorado, K.B. lives at the base of the Rocky Mountains with their partner and a crew of recalcitrant cats. In between books, they can be found attempting to learn Spanish, dying in video games, dancing to music, and scribbling new ideas in their bullet journal.

Editorial Reviews

12/02/2019

Wagers (Down Among the Dead) kicks off the NeoG series with this fun, feel-good space opera. The Near-Earth Orbital Guard does low-profile rescue and policing work in space, akin to the U.S. Coast Guard. Other branches of the military look down on the NeoG, making it especially important to the NeoG that they win the annual Boarding Games, an all-service athletic and technological skill competition. When NeoG Lt. Cdr. Nika is transferred away from his Interceptor team, an anxious new lieutenant, Maxine Carmichael, is assigned in Nika’s place, disrupting the dynamic of the highly competitive team. As Max struggles to prove herself to her distrustful teammates, they train for the Games and work to rescue errant space travelers, leading them to stumble on a massive government conspiracy. There’s surprisingly little tension in the political story line; readers will be more invested in the interpersonal relationships as Max attempts to win over the crew—among them Nika’s prickly adopted sister, Jenks—and be accepted into their chosen family. This effortlessly entertaining novel is sure to have readers coming back for the next installment. Agent: Andy Zack, Zack Co. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"Wagers builds a complex and compelling mystery against a military sci-fi backdrop in a book full of diverse characters you're going to laugh and cry with. It all adds up to the sort of book that is impossible to put down and I never wanted to." 

Bryan Young

"Perfect for fans of Becky Chambers, A Pale Light in the Black is an energetic, unique military sci-fi with a found family heart."

Emily Skrutskie

Great characters and white knuckle tension. Recommended.

Gareth L. Powell

"Wagers delivers a space adventure that's a found family story that's an interstellar conspiracy story that's... it just keeps going! Fierce, rollicking, kind, intimate and vast. If A Long Way to A Small, Angry Planet had more kickboxing matches and death-defying space rescues, this would be the book. Go Neo-G!"

Max Gladstone

If Wagers didn’t serve, they certainly got the skinny from somebody who lived it and it shows. They spin a captivating sea-story in space. As an ex-Coast Guardsman, I appreciate that what the crew lacks in gear, they make up for in heart. Semper Paratus.”

Nathan Lowell

★ 12/01/2019

The Near-Earth Orbital Guard protects human life in the Sol System and ensures the safety of space where humans roam. As the Interceptor crew of Zuma's Ghost recovers from its defeat at the annual Boarding Games last year, they are surprised by a sudden reassignment of one of their own and getting a new lieutenant. Maxine Carmichael may come from one of the most powerful families on Earth, but she intends to find her own way into the black of space. She hopes her new team and Jupiter Station will become home, but doubt slowly creeps in. The crew of Zuma's Ghost must come together to take the next Boarding Games and deal with a growing mystery surrounding missing ships, long-lost people, and a secret from Max's family's past that could put Zuma's crew and thousands of others in danger. VERDICT The U.S. Coast Guard in space! Wagers ("Indranan War" trilogy) launches an exciting new military sf series filled with smart characters and taut action sequences that will keep readers engaged.—Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton

Library Journal

2019-12-23
Character-driven military science fiction, the first installment in Wagers' NeoG series revolves around Maxine Carmichael, a lieutenant in the Near-Earth Orbital Guard who has spurned the influence of her powerful family and followed her own path into space.

Set in the year 2435—centuries after the nebulous Collapse—the narrative begins with Carmichael's being assigned to Zuma's Ghost, a NeoG ship with a close-knit crew that has done well in the Boarding Games, an annual competition that pits various military infiltration teams against one another for bragging rights. As if being the person to replace a beloved crew member (who got promoted) wasn't bad enough, the perception of her dynastic family name (her parents are both Navy admirals) makes her assimilation even more difficult. With four months until the next Games, Carmichael has the added pressure of not only doing her high-pressure job, but of performing well in the hypercompetitive matches. Her life quickly becomes even more complicated when the salvagers they apprehend onboard a missing system jumper turn up dead shortly after being taken into custody. Traces of a substance link the dead to LifeEx, a company that produces a life-extending serum and that Carmichael's sister coincidentally heads as its CEO. When someone begins attempting to kill off Zuma's Ghost crew members, Carmichael must figure out if the attacks are connected to the upcoming Games, her investigation into the LifeEx mystery, or both. While the multidimensional character of Carmichael—who happens to be asexual—and other female characters (like butt-kicking Petty Officer 1st Class Altandai "Jenks" Khan) are the story's obvious strength, there are noticeable flaws. Carmichael's complicated relationship with Jenks at times strains the bounds of believability. Additionally, the pacing and fluidity are erratic, particularly in the later Games sequences, which come across as rushed and don't fit organically with the overall narrative flow.

A military sea novel set largely in space: Patrick O'Brian meets Elizabeth Moon.

Kirkus Reviews

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