Cascade Failure: A Novel

by L. M. Sagas

Overview

L. M. Sagas's debut, Cascade Failure, is a high-octane, sci-fi adventure blending J. S. Dewes's Divide series with Firefly. It features a fierce, messy, chaotic space family, vibrant worlds, and an exploration of the many ways to be—and not to be—human.

Most Anticipated Books of 2024—Goodreads, Polygon, The Nerd Daily

There are only three real powers in the Spiral: the corporate power of the Trust versus the Union's labor's leverage. Between them the Guild tries to keep everyone's hands above the table. It ain't easy.

Branded a Guild deserter, Jal "accidentally" lands a ride on a Guild ship. Helmed by an AI, with a ship's engineer/medic who doesn't see much of a difference between the two jobs, and a "don't make me shoot you" XO, the Guild crew of the Ambit is a little . . . different.

They're also in over their heads. Responding to a distress call from an abandoned planet, they find a mass grave, and a live programmer who knows how it happened. The Trust has plans. This isn't the first dead planet, and it's not going to be the last.

Unless the crew of the Ambit can stop it.

Ambit's Run series
Cascade Failure

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250871251
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/19/2024
Series:	Ambit's Run , #1
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	40,419
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 5.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

L. M. SAGAS is an author of rowdy, adventurous science fiction and fantasy stories full of characters who live hard and fight harder. She writes to give folks a few good laughs, but has been known, on occasion, to tug a few heartstrings along the way. When she isn’t writing, L.M. daylights as an intellectual property attorney in Nashville and moonlights as a dirt-smudged gardener, breakfast food enthusiast, and professional pillow to the world’s snuggliest shelter pup. Cascade Failure is her debut novel.

Editorial Reviews

01/29/2024

Sagas debuts with a fun romp through a faraway galaxy where three political powers’ jittery coexistence is threatened when a mysterious disaster strikes a terraformed planet. Trust wields corporate power, Union controls the labor necessary to exploit new worlds, and the paramilitary Guild tries to keep both factions honest. Former Guild ranger Jal Red, suspected of desertion, is lured aboard the old spacer Ambit, joining three other entertaining misfits: philosophical AI Captain Eoan; Nash, an augmented doctor-engineer who knits; and Saint, Ambit’s XO and Jal’s grumpy former battle buddy, who has plenty of unresolved issues with Jal. Answering an SOS from a planet stricken by a mysterious weapon, the crew brings aboard Anke, the lone survivor and a whiz-kid programmer who wants to stop what he calls the “Deadworld Code,” a high-tech, planet-destroying weapon developed by forces preferring profit to people. Rapid-fire adventures spiked with army jargon and balanced with touching resolutions of personal conflicts keep the pages turning. Add in a charming found family—and even a space-faring cat—and this spirited space opera is a resounding success. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Rapid-fire adventures spiked with army jargon and balanced with touching resolutions of personal conflicts keep the pages turning. Add in a charming found family—and even a space-faring cat—and this spirited space opera is a resounding success.”—Publishers Weekly

“An epic quest . . .with sacrifice, revenge and the consequences thereof, what really constitutes ‘doing the right thing,’ and friendships forged, broken, and reforged—an entertaining beginning for a series.”—Booklist

“Cascade Failure is an emotional and fun ride that you won't want to end. I loved this book!”—Mur Lafferty, author and Hugo Award-winning podcaster of Escape Pod

“Cascade Failure is the first book in the hopefully long-running Ambit’s Run series. L.M. Sagas’ debut is an exciting and charming adventure perfect for fans of Becky Chambers or The Murderbot Diaries.”—Geek Girl Authority

“With Cascade Failure, L.M. Sagas brings to life a gritty, grippy, space adventure with the big time stakes of The Expanse, the engaging family dynamics of Becky Chambers, and the sweet, tangy snark of Murderbot.”—Chris Panatier, author of Stringers

“Cascade Failure? More like Cascade EPIC WIN. Fast paced, heart-felt SF goodness. Sagas' debut will keep you grinning from first page to last!”—Jason M. Hough, New York Times bestselling author of Instinct

“Fans of Firefly and Lois McMaster Bujold’s brilliant Vorkosigan series, Cascade Failure by L.M. Sagas has you covered. A ragtag crew full of grit, genius, and quirks with weary hearts of gold, finding the mission of their lives in a ship like no other. I loved everything about this book, including stunningly original world-building that ranks among the best I’ve ever read. Get this one. You’ll thank me.”—Julie E. Czerneda, award-winning author of To Each This World

“Gear up, strap in, and hold on. Fast, brash, and wickedly fun, Cascade Failure is 100-proof space juice injected straight into your veins.”—Dayton Ward, author of Star Trek: Coda

“A total blast. Clever writing, high-stakes danger, cinematic action, and witty banter—this book has it all. You’ll be rooting for these messy, lovable disaster misfits from the very first pages. Cascade Failure has earned its place among my favorite found family tales, alongside Killjoys, Mass Effect, and Battlestar Galactica.”—J. S. Dewes, author of The Last Watch

"An unambiguous holler against taking the worst of our ways with us into the final frontier. An intriguing debut and a damn good adventure."—Zig Zag Claybourne, author of Afro Puffs Are the Antennae of the Universe

From the Publisher

12/01/2023

DEBUT Accused of desertion, Jal just wants to get home and clear his name. Instead he runs into the Ambit, crewed by Eoan, Nash, and Saint, whom he parted with on bad terms. Before Saint can drag Jal in to face justice, the Ambit picks up a distress signal from a hacker, Anke, trapped on a dead planet. Intergalactic megacorporation the Trust has been cutting costs by sabotaging terraformed worlds that have outlived their usefulness. Anke needs help to take the Trust's Deadworld Code down. But can the crew of the Ambit trust each other? This book will appeal to fans of Becky Chambers's The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet who enjoy heartfelt sci-fi featuring a tightknit crew but are looking for a grittier plot. The Deadworld Code leaves behind eerie, barren landscapes that the characters race through to undo corporate sabotage while evading other factions with their own agendas. Jal and Saint's history hangs between them, lacing the story with themes of betrayal and how far people will go for forgiveness—or revenge. VERDICT Sagas's debut combines galactic and personal stakes in an entertaining series starter that leaves plenty of space for future adventures.—Erin Niederberger

Library Journal

Torian Brackett ably portrays the members of a colorful spaceship crew in this debut adventure tale, the first of a planned series. Jal, a wary, emotionally wounded ranger, ends up aboard the Ambit, a rattletrap spaceship, with Saint, a quick-tempered XO; Nash, a sarcastic engineer/medic; and Eoan, a holographic ship-AI who loves humans. Responding to a distress call from a deserted planet, they find one survivor of a massacre. When they set out to stop further destruction, things get complicated. Brackett contrasts a tranquil delivery of narrative with Jal's wariness, Eoan's mix of coyness and kindness, Saint's façade of crankiness, and Nash's quirky practicality. They're a prickly and heartwarming found family amid the whizbang of outer space. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2024 - AudioFile