Unconquerable Sun (The Sun Chronicles #1) by Kate Elliott

We need to pause a moment to talk about Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott. We also need to talk about why we don't get more readers of SFF dropping her name. I've been meaning to return to Kate's writing for years now and had dipped into her Crown of Stars series half a million years ago. So it's been high time for me to return to her writing – especially since I appreciate what she has to share on social media. 

I must also add that I'm vastly fascinated by the story of Alexander the Great, so when Kate first started mentioning that she was writing a gender-bent Alexander the Great space opera, I perked up my ears. And while I did pick this title up as an ebook, I ended up listening to the audiobook via my Audible subscription rather. And wow, what a ride.

First off – Kate does world building that's second to none. And at the start it might be a little overwhelming to figure out who's who and what's what, but I can promise you, she rewards patient readers. 

We follow the doings of Princess Sun, who's a promising military commander, save that she has a temper and she's chafing at being held back by her mother, the great Queen-Marshal Eirene. And though Sun might be the heir to her mother's power, things are not all plain sailing. Not only is the republic facing a threat from the outside, there are machiavellian political manoeuvrings from within, too – perhaps even from Sun's closest and most trusted companions. 

In an action-packed caper that never allows the characters (or readers) to get complacent or comfortable, we follow Sun as she keeps on the go – and there is a lot of action. Enough for me to want to go back to read the actual book instead of listening to the audiobook, as there's quite a lot I suspect I missed the first time around. And there is most certainly A LOT going on in this book. And it's very different from what I experienced with the Crown of Stars which, if I recall, got quite esoteric at times.

As for the Asian elements brought in – as an African, familiar more with Western and African elements in my fiction, I am not going to delivery commentary in that regard. All I'll say is that I enjoyed the non-US/West-centric flavouring and leave it to Asian folks to comment on that side of things.

So, did I enjoy this epic? I will admit it took me about a quarter of the novel to get invested, but once I was, I was fully on board. Yes, the cast is large. Yes, it's likely difficult to give enough of the characters airtime, and there's also no spoon feeding. The pace is relentless, the mood more action-orientated than cerebral. And I immediately got the audiobook for the book two when it came out – so that says something. Now, if I could only make the time to listen to the darned thing.

This one may well appeal to Trekkies who want a world that's broad in scope, with plenty of action to keep them turning the pages.