Redsight

by Meredith Mooring

Overview

The imaginative new space opera for fans of Gideon the Ninth filled with sapphic romance, space pirates, a blind witch and powerful priestesses

Korinna has simple priorities: stay on the Navitas, stay out of trouble, and stay alive. She may be a Redseer, a blind priestess with the power to manipulate space-time, but she is the weakest in her Order. Useless and outcast. Or so she has been raised to believe.

As she takes her place as a navigator on an Imperium ship, Korinna’s full destiny is revealed to her: blood brimming with magic, she is meant to become a weapon of the Imperium, and pawn for the Order that raised her. But when the ship is attacked by the notorious pirate Aster Haran, Korinna’s world is ripped apart.

Aster has a vendetta against the Imperium, and an all-consuming, dark power that drives her to destroy everything in her path. She understands the world in a way Korinna has never imagined, and Korinna is drawn to her against her better judgment.

With the Imperium and the justice-seeking warrior Sahar hot on her heels, Korinna must choose her side, seize her power and fulfil her destiny—or risk imperiling the future of the galaxy, and destroying the fabric of space-time itself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781786189387
Publisher:	Solaris
Publication date:	02/27/2024
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	991,333
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 5.50(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Meredith Mooring is an employment discrimination attorney from North Carolina and a graduate of The Seeing Eye guide dog school. In her spare time she serves on the board of directors for a non-profit that pairs guide dogs with blind children.

Editorial Reviews

03/11/2024

Mooring’s inventive if sometimes chaotic debut science fantasy follows three young women and the dieties they worship. Goddesses Vermicula, Radiosa, and Furia have been entombed for thousands of years, but their worshipers are still blessed with goddess-granted powers. Korinna is part of the Order of Vermicula, possessed of Redsight, which alters the vision of those who have it while allowing them to manipulate the energy known as tactus. Red priestesses serve as navigators for the Galactic Imperium, powering the government’s warships. White priestesses of the Order of Radiosa serve as the Imperium’s conveyors of justice and knowledge and use tactus to feel out the truth. The Order of Furia was driven extinct by the other two orders centuries before the start of the book. After Korinna’s ship is attacked by the pirate Aster Haran, who reveals to Korinna the dark truth about the Imperium’s rule, the women band together—along with Sahar of the Order of Radiosa—to bring balance back to an unraveling galaxy. After a rushed beginning, magic and technology blend together to create an enthralling world. Fans of the Locked Tomb series should check this out. Agent: Ernie Chiara, Fuse Literary. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

12/01/2023

DEBUT In Mooring's debut novel, blind initiate Korinna risks being "recycled" if she can't prove her worth to the Red Priestesses and the Empire. In clear callbacks to well-loved classic science fiction, galactic politics and religious interstellar navigational skills take center stage alongside powerful religious prophesies. Much like life on the Navitas, important plot points and worldbuilding alternate between frequent repetition and required leaps of faith. Pacing and plot prove to be more important than character development, though love and trauma are Korinna's compass through the schemes of the galaxy's most powerful women. The entire novel is coated with an aesthetic of pain, as blood and injury empower Red Priestess magic. This can lead to a few gruesome scenes, but alongside morally gray characters, this places the novel firmly with the current trend for blockbusters with a shadowy vibe. Despite the cruelness of her galaxy, Mooring takes special care with inclusivity. Blindness is not a barrier, and racism and homophobia don't seem to exist in the diverse society. VERDICT Recommended for lovers of goth-tinged speculative fiction like Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling.—Matthew Galloway

Library Journal

An original, gorgeous story and world, dripping like blood on fangs.” — Taran Hunt, author of The Immortality Thief

“A brutal, vivid, emotional gut punch of a book. With stakes both deeply personal and universe-altering, Redsight is a cutting examination of the complexities of duty, faith, and moral obligation, helmed by a trio of compellingly flawed characters wielding immense cosmic power. This fresh, high-concept SFF is perfect for fans of Gideon the Ninth and Sisters of the Vast Black.” — J. S. Dewes, author of The Last Watch

“A story of revolution and feminine rage... cements Meredith Mooring as a writer to watch out for.” –Grimdark Magazine

“Redsight is a stellar debut, born from a collision between epic space opera and bewitching cosmic horror. Meredith Mooring weaves echoes of classic sci-fi into a breathtakingly original tapestry — an intoxicating blend of the visceral and the romantic, the monstrous and the mythical.” —Ren Hutchings, author of Under Fortunate Stars

“Redsight combines the vastness of Dune and Childhood’s End with a visceral, reality-warping journey of self-discovery to create a beautiful, bloody testament to the possibilities of compassion and love.” –Ryka Aoki, author of Light From Uncommon Stars

“Fans of the Locked Tomb series should check this out.” —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher