From Powells.com
Discover the books that made our 2022 list.
Synopses & Reviews
An immersive, electrifying space-fantasy, Neon Yang's debut novel THE GENESIS OF MISERY is full of high-tech space battles and political machinations, starring a queer and diverse array of pilots, princesses, and prophetic heirs.
This is the story Misery Nomaki (she/they), a nobody from a nowhere mining planet. Misery has abilities they shouldn't though: they can bend the will of stone, a dangerous magic that only 'saints' are said to have. These abilities lead Misery to the center of the Empire, where rumors spread that Misery is the next Messiah, and where those in power seek to use Misery to win a terrible war.
Amid a nest of vipers, Misery grows close to a rebellious royal, Lady Alodia Lightning, and decides to embrace the legacy the prophecies speak of. True or false, for better or worse, Misery Nomaki will be the Ninth Messiah.
Review
"The borderline-fantastical science and queer cast of Yang's setting should please fans of Tamsyn Muir's Locked Tomb series." — Booklist
Review
"Joyously wild stuff. Highly recommended." — The New York Times
Review
"Yang captures an epic sweep in compact, precise prose." — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
About the Author
Neon Yang (they/them) is a queer non-binary author based in the UK. They have been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Lambda Literary, Ignyte, and Locus Awards, and their Tensorate series of novellas (The Red Threads of Fortune, The Black Tides of Heaven, The Descent of Monsters and The Ascent to Godhood) was an Otherwise Award Honoree. In previous incarnations, Neon was a molecular biologist, a science communicator, a writer for animation, games and comic studios, and a journalist for one of Singapore's major papers.