On Vicious Worlds

by Bethany Jacobs

Overview

ONE OF ESQUIRE'S BEST SCI-FI BOOKS OF 2024 

Bethany Jacobs returns with On Vicious Worlds, the electrifying sequel to These Burning Stars, the Philip K. Dick Award–winning space opera novel about revenge, power, and the price of legacy.

The Jeveni have found a fragile sense of peace on the ice planet of Capamame, far from the Kindom’s domineering control. There, Jun Ironway and Masar Hawks are tasked with the impossible: protecting their colony from a faceless saboteur who is hell-bent on spreading mayhem and murder through the colony.

Meanwhile, stoic Cleric Chono and Six, the wild manipulator responsible for outwitting the Nightfoot family, struggle to stay one step ahead of their enemies. A collision is on the horizon. One that could ignite the spark of revolution.

And over it all hangs the cruel legacy of Esek Nightfoot. A legacy that may prove impossible to escape. . . .

Praise for These Burning Stars: 

★ “An intricate plot for revenge drives this far-future SF political thriller. An exciting start from a fresh talent.”―Kirkus (Starred Review)

★ "Readers who love smart thrillers and explosive science fiction won’t want to miss this book."―Booklist (Starred Review)

★ "A devilishly fun thrill ride ... These Burning Stars is plotted like a chess match, confident and surprising as Jacobs moves each piece thoughtfully across her board."―BookPage (Starred Review)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316463522
Publisher:	Orbit
Publication date:	10/15/2024
Series:	Kindom Trilogy Series , #2
Pages:	480
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Bethany Jacobs is a former college instructor of writing and science fiction, who made the leap to education technology and now teaches tech heads how to write. She lives in Buffalo, New York with her wife and her dog and her books. These Burning Stars is her debut novel.

Editorial Reviews

"The second book in Jacobs’ Kindom Trilogy begins some months after the ending of the first, These Burning Stars, which pulled off one of the most brazen, gasp-inducing reveals I’ve experienced in an age. Jacobs writes stunning, engrossing space thrillers that are deeply interested in what pain, grief, and loss can drive a person to do. The resonant politics here cut very close to the bone—but so do the relationships, the powerful and fraught connections among Jacobs’ flawed and unforgettable characters."—Esquire: Best Sci-Fi Books of 2024

"There’s no shortage of twists, betrayals, and unexpected alliances in this intricate story of revenge and survival. Readers willing to be kept on their toes will find plenty to enjoy. This sets things up nicely for a grand finale in book three."—Publishers Weekly on On Vicious Worlds

“An intricate plot for revenge drives this far-future SF political thriller. An exciting start from a fresh talent, offering emotional and political complexity plus plenty of interplanetary action.”—Kirkus (Starred Review) on These Burning Stars

"Readers who love smart thrillers and explosive sf won’t want to miss this book."—Booklist (Starred Review) on These Burning Stars

"Warps readers across the galaxy on a devilishly fun thrill ride ... These Burning Stars is plotted like a chess match, confident and surprising as Jacobs moves each piece thoughtfully across her board ... If Jacobs’ second entry is anything like the first, we’ll have so much more to discover across her universe in the years to come."—BookPage (Starred Review) on These Burning Stars

"The resulting multiplayer cat-and-mouse game is intricately plotted and tightly paced with a satisfying ending that sets the stage nicely for the next installment. Space opera fans will eat this up."—Publishers Weekly on These Burning Stars

“Immersive and epic; a sprawling space opera perfect for fans of A Memory Called Empire and Too Like the Lightning.”—Kameron Hurley, author of The Light Brigade on These Burning Stars

“Like every good revenge story,These Burning Stars is baroque, intense, inventive, vivid, violent, and visceral. An impressive debut.” —Kate Elliott, author of Unconquerable Sun on These Burning Stars

“A richly imagined space opera packed with intricate worldbuilding, compelling prose, and twisty politics, artfully woven together and delivered through a cast of fallible, endearing characters. An incredible debut perfect for fans of Ann Leckie, Kate Elliott, and Scalzi’s Interdependency series.”—J. S. Dewes, author of The Last Watch on These Burning Stars

“A sizzling political space opera exploring the borders of passion and monstrosity, hunter and hunted, obsession and devotion. Jacobs is an exciting new author to watch.”—Essa Hansen, author of Nophek Gloss on These Burning Stars

"I love a book that makes me pay attention and rewards me for it. I love even more a book with complicated, messy politics. But really, I'm here for the characters, and Jacobs ' are compelling, flawed, tragic and hopeful at the same time. What's that? There's a sequel? I can't wait."—K. Eason, author of How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse on These Burning Stars

“Jacobs’s characters and prose have a sharpness to them that’s both beautiful and devastating. These Burning Stars blew me away.”—Marina Lostetter, author of The Helm of Midnight on These Burning Stars

“If I were to say that this was the best debut novel I've read in a long time, I would be doing it a disservice. It's more than that—it's one of the best SF books I've read period. It has it all: jump off the page action, wild twists, superb world building. And the characters! It's rare that an author can make you care about so many different characters the way that Jacobs does. Go ahead and pencil her in for your Astounding Award ballot for best new author.”—Michael Mammay, author of Planetside on These Burning Stars

“With a cast of deliciously dangerous characters and a gloriously executed plot that twists like a knife, this propulsive debut heralds the start of a sweeping space opera saga in the vein of Ann Leckie and Alastair Reynolds. Bethany Jacobs is an ingenious worldbuilder and a stunning new voice to look out for in sci-fi.”—Ren Hutchings, author of Under Fortunate Stars on These Burning Stars

“The vivid characters and ratcheting plot tension kept me racing through the book. And as soon as I hit the last page, I immediately wanted to turn right back and read it all over again just to savor the elegance with which it builds to its explosive conclusion. Jacobs' trilogy is destined to be the space opera of the decade and I can't wait to have the next one in my hands!”—Rebecca Fraimow, author of The Iron Children on These Burning Stars

From the Publisher

★ 2025-05-30
The interplanetary political plotting continues in this follow-up toThese Burning Stars (2023).

The minority group known as the Jeveni has escaped from the oppressive Kindom government to a secret colony on the planet Capamame. Unfortunately, not all of the new settlers are happy in their hidden sanctuary, a situation exacerbated by a mysterious group of saboteurs vandalizing key infrastructure, murdering prominent people, and hacking into vital systems. In the Treble planetary system, the Kindom require the Jeveni for their expertise in processing sevite, the fuel that powers spaceships. The government is in chaos, due to the abrupt departure of the Jeveni, confusion over who controls the current sevite supply, threats of rebellion, and power struggles among the three parts of the Kindom (the Clerics, the Secretaries, and the Cloaks). Various powerful figures seek the endorsement of Cleric Chono, a popular and genuinely pious person who’s concerned with justice, not politics—a difficult position to maintain in this corrupt and ruthless milieu. Her only (and not necessarily reliable) ally is her secretive former schoolmate Six, currently disguised as Esek Nightfoot, an almost universally despised but well-connected sociopath whom Six murdered and replaced. Can the Jeveni save their colony from invasion by the Kindom or destruction from within? Will the Kindom simply implode before it can take concrete action? This is a middle volume in a trilogy, so these quandaries will not reach resolution just yet. We are simply plunged deeper into an intricate labyrinth of intrigue, where everyone’s motives and even their identity are subject to question. This installment also carries forward the message from the previous book: Donot try to help people without consulting them; it’s likely to blow up in your face (possibly literally). While you’re pursuing your own plan based on what you think they want, they might not be grateful for your efforts and aren’t standing still waiting for you to finish.

Elaborately constructed motives, action sequences, and plotting make this book difficult to summarize but a pleasure to read.

Kirkus Reviews