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Some Desperate Glory

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Some Desperate Glory

By: Emily Tesh
Narrated by: Sena Bryer
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About this listen

'Masterful, audacious storytelling'
Tamsyn Muir, New York Times-bestselling author of Gideon the Ninth

'An outstanding novel . . . one of the debuts of the year' Locus

'Deserves a space on shelves alongside genre titans like Ursula K. Le Guin and Octavia Butler'
Publishers Weekly

A thrillingly told space opera about the wreckage of war, the family you find, and the path you must forge when every choice is stripped from you. Some Desperate Glory is the highly anticipated debut novel from Astounding Award and World Fantasy Award-Winner, Emily Tesh.

All her life, Kyr has trained for the day she can avenge the destruction of planet Earth. Raised on Gaea Station alongside the last scraps of humanity, she is one of the best warriors of her generation, the sword of a dead planet.

Then Command assigns her brother to certain death and relegates her to the nursery to bear sons, and she knows she must take humanity's revenge into her own hands. Alongside her brother's brilliant but seditious friend and a lonely, captive alien, Kyr must escape from everything she's ever known. If she succeeds, she will find a universe far more complicated than she was taught and far more wondrous than she could ever have imagined

'A profoundly humane and brilliantly constructed space opera that will have you cheering, swearing, laughing, and ugly-crying. It's perfect' Alix E. Harrow, New York Times-bestselling author of The Once and Future Witches

'This book is astoundingly good. An explosive and extraordinary story that I couldn't stop reading and will never forget' Everina Maxwell, author of Winter's Orbit

2024, Arthur C Clarke Awards, Short-listed

2024, Hugo Award Best Novel category, Short-listed

©2023 Emily Tesh (P)2023 Hachette Audio UK
Adventure Fiction Military Science Fiction Space Opera Time Travel Space Revenge
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What listeners say about Some Desperate Glory

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant story brought to life by the narrator.

I couldn’t stop listening, a worthy winner of the Hugo award and rightly sits alongside the greats of Sci fi.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Listen to the audio sample first

This was an enjoyable book but I did not like the narration - I found the way she emphasised words/shaped sentences irritating. Listen before you buy to save yourself potential annoyance.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Refreshingly unique take on military space opera

I loved this story, the narrator was excellent too. The main character developed through their experience in the story and the other characters were complex rather than simple "goodies" and "badies".

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

The awful narrator

I’m going to finish this as it’s promising BUT the narration is awful. Like an AI.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Clever world and some good characters

This starts poorly, but improves.

It has a long story to tell, and it has a chance to go off the rails, and yet it is all kept well under control. The final ending feels like a good conclusion even if it is not what you might expect or want.

I liked the twisty timelines.

The personality of Kyr is deliberate. It wont always be like that. Some good growth etc.

A few minor, but good, twists in there as well.

Overall, this one is worth it.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Different

I liked it but it didn't captivate me. I kept finding my mind wandering. There were times when I felt the narration didn't suit me and I may have been happier doing the reading myself. It's a good story and I'm not sure why I didn't feel more engaged.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Story in 3 parts

Always like to read the winner of the Hugo awards best novel. This is a great novel and I had read some of the other nominations… and this was far the best of the ones I read.
It’s in three parts…. Really liked parts 1 &2 but third wasn’t quite so good which took it down to 4 stars for me.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Shout out to queer space operas gotta be one of my favourite genres

Whewwwwww this book is so great and great narration too! If you love problematic queers going through the horrors of the worst of humanity (and I guess beyond humanity) but also love a laugh and the good ok found family trope (yeah) then gwan gewl.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

mildly entertaining but shallow

world building and depth were very shallow. some concepts were interesting but the characters and story lacked sufficient development and realism. i would say its suitable for a young adult reader in schooling age like harry potter or mazerunner. very relatable to a young adult

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Military space opera but without glorifying the military

That was very cool! The story took unexpected turns, was well-paced for the most part and by the end you're so attached to the characters that you don't want it to end. It does end though, in a very satisfying way. This book has great action scenes and interesting, thought-provoking ideas, everything I like in a sci-fi novel. And good queer representation as a bonus!

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