Sometimes I don’t need a pick me up but a really good Sci-fi story. Dipping into Seven Devils I realized that I needed the Sci-fi story, I loved immersing into the Galaxy that Lam and May have created and really they’ve done it seamlessly as you would never think this was written by two people. Where there’s a force of evil like the Tholosian Empire, there’s always someone trying to give them hell. The Novantaen Resistance also has a secret ‘weapon,’ while the Empire thinks that the heir to it is dead, Eris remains alive and part of the resistance. What should have been a rather quick mission for Eris and her once friend Clo, turns into a mission that could save them from the Empire, if they can work with the three fugitives they’ve picked up along the way. The story doesn’t just travel from the different POVs of our ‘Devils’ but also gives flashbacks to give us the background stories on them, so I did enjoy that quite a bit. 5/5 Cups of coffee from me, thanks so much to Gollancz for sending me a copy of this in exchange for my honest opinion.

'Seven Devils' boasts an epic interstellar journey of resistance against the totalitarian Tholosian Empire, over which stands the watchful gaze of the Oracle/One, an AI program that surveils the regions under Tholosian rule. There are diverse characters, including BIPOC, disabled, trans, queer, neurodivergent characters, which is both important to their characterisation (for example, attention is paid to how Cloelia's prosthetic leg affects her daily life) but it is not all they are. (Note: the racism/xenophobia in this book is not based on skin colour, but rather a fear of alien superpowered abilities.) 'Seven Devils' also has an irresistible found-family dynamic with excellent banter! It was a bit of a rocky start with this one - a flood of place and people names, a few info-dumps that were interesting but still info-dumps, and plot-wise, a relatively slow beginning. However, once 'Seven Devils' gets going, it really digs its claws into you and keeps you hooked. The last quarter in particular was a slew of rocketing plot twists and high octane scene flow. The world-building is quite intricate, built up through flashbacks and *ahem* the aforementioned info-dumps, and everyone's backstories are similarly layered in complexity. (Even the antagonist develops too - at least from our original concept of them - and I anticipate we may get some more of their backstory in the sequel.) Flashbacks take place as whole chapters, which I think is smart as it's a lot less confusing than having random backstory passages in the middle of a stressful present-day scene, but it does make the plot seem like it's slower than it actually is. Their backstories built character depth, especially for Eris/Discordia. Eris used to be Princess Discordia, (also known as General Discordia), Heir to a brutal Empire that demands its potential rulers to kill all but one of their siblings (the Spare) in order to earn their place as successor. Eris/Discordia was my favourite, utterly fascinating and compelling in her character arc. She's particularly interesting because most of her character arc has already taken place before this book, in the years leading up to her faking her death and defecting to the Resistance. While there was a sweet sapphic romance blossoming between two other characters, the bond I was most invested in was the sibling love between Eris/Discordia and her gentle brother Xander, so different to her other brother Damocles, the present-day Heir. The crumbs of Xander's story, scattered throughout Eris' flashbacks, built up his bond with her until I grieved him too, despite Xander never appearing in the present-day. I actually wept real tears! By virtue of having characters with wildly different backgrounds, 'Seven Devils' could address several themes quite well. For example, through Eris/Discordia and another character, Ariadne, the difference between toxic love (from their parents) and healthy love is illustrated. It also portrays the dangers of nationalism, institutionalised violence and heteronormative, binary thinking. I have some remaining questions, like how Eris first came to the resistance, why Discordia and Damocles are blonde versus their 49 other brunette siblings, but I trust these will be addressed in the sequel. The final line was absolutely amazing. Gave me literal chills. I am SO excited for the next book!

Full of action and I loved watching the relationships between the characters develop and change - found family is one of my favourite tropes! The shifts between points of view and timelines made it a little hard to get properly into the story to begin with, but overall very enjoyable feminist space opera with a diverse, kickass crew including queer, trans, neurodivergent and disabled rep. Not too science-heavy, which can put me off sci-fi, instead the technology was a natural part of the world and story.

I received this digital copy in exchange for an honest review, thanks Gollancz! This book’s being described as a feminist space opera with Mad Max: Fury Road vibes, and as a lover of both of those things I knew I had to get my grubby hands on a copy. I was initially unsure, especially when I realised that the authors would be juggling five different perspectives, it sounded almost too good to be true and I worried about the character development situation. Seven Devils managed to quash any of my worries about the lack of character development fairly quickly though, and it’s a testament to both authors writing prowess that I came away feeling that all five had such distinct voices. The diverse cast is full of powerful women, each talented in their own way and facing their own challenges, kicking bad-guy butt in space and I couldn’t ask for more. Seven Devils has some seriously impeccable world-building, and I felt like I was stood on planets with the crew the descriptions were that good. Time was taken to really make you feel like this world was real, and that the struggle the resistance faced was incredible but not insurmountable. Their battles felt real and they have to make difficult, and often morally grey choices; this just made me root for our ragtag team more though, as they try to put a stop to an Empire built on war and death. The story was a little slow for me and I would have liked more tension throughout. The last third or so was absolutely fantastic, but despite them being in some hair raising situations before this point I just didn’t feel the tension. This slow build was definitely there to deepen the world, and the ending more than made up for it, but I wish the pacing had been better. All in all, Seven Devils is an absolutely cracking feminist space opera that leaves you wanting so much more! I’m so glad this is a duology and I’ll get to read more of this world and this fantastic cast of characters. Recommend: If you’re looking for a Sci-Fi with wonderful worldbuilding, and a diverse cast, with w/w relationship and a trans resistance commander, then this is probably the one for you!

I think the main positive for me of this whole story was the world it all takes place in and wow, there’s some depth, but I also feel like it could go deeper. There’s intergalactic wars between empires, there’s the Tholosian empire, who have some form of AI (or super advanced being?) indoctrination with a chip installed in citizen’s brains. Our characters are a members of the Novantae, the resistance force, most of whom have to suffer a gruelling reprogramming just to be able to think for themselves and join the resistance. The Tholosian are clearly a power-crazy bunch, but with a leader that may possibly be changing his mind on how the empire should be run, until the events of the story play out and things never go quite as intended, do they? The key thing I feel is missing from the world is a further explanation of the gods of the Tholosians, of which there are seven, all represented with names such as “God of Death” and “God of Survival” (they do have names, but remembering them is beyond me!) and I’m intrigued by how an AI controlled empire would also have a deeply engrained belief in various deities as well. I feel like those two things don’t typically go hand-in-hand, so it’s an interesting dynamic that could be explored further. Unless the AI is actually a deity? Hmmm. Intriguing Story Where this book truly excels is in the story itself. A well-paced adventure with thrilling action, intriguing plots and the odd twist in the story. The book is told from the POV of five different characters, with the chapters labelled with their names. Eris is not who she says she is, so whilst the chapters do not label a timeframe, you can still tell which timeline you’re reading as the authors cleverly use her previous name. One of my favourite parts of the story is Eris’ backstory and all the madness that comes with it. Think a Hunger Games type scenario where 51 brothers and one sister are trained to the highest standard, are able to make allies with one other and then are expected to kill each other until only two survive. Utter madness, and that’s not even the main plot of the story, just a bit of character history, but there could easily be a whole separate novel on just that alone! Spinoff, anyone? The main story of Seven Devils itself surrounds our motley crew on missions that the resistant forces co-commander labels as ITI, meaning Impossible to Infiltrate, and our crew are tasked with doing it anyway, or else millions will die. And it’s such a thrilling and fun read! Great Story But Disappointing Characters Our five characters are Eris, aka, Princess Discordia, who flipped sides to the rebellion, Clo, a bad-ass mechanic with a prosthetic leg (and a hatred for Eris which begins to get boring), Nyx, a kickass soldier, Rhea, a beautiful courtier with secrets and Ariadne, a genius of a girl, who before the events of the story, had no face-to-face human interaction. Our main bad-guy throughout is Prince Damocles. Greco-Roman Inspirations Did Have Me Smiling The connections to the Greek myths are exquisite, Sword of Damocles, anyone? Excited to see how that in particular plays out in the next book. That’s not the only name that ascends beyond just being a name, but it’s one that had me smiling the most as I thought about how it’s all going to end. I’d love to go on and list all the connections between the characters, the myths of their namesakes and how it fits into the story, but the spoilers would be out of this world so I’ve chosen not to. Needless to say, however, if you’re familiar with Greco-Roman myth, there’s plenty of Easter eggs here for you! Unfortunately, their names are where my love for the characters mostly begins and ends. Refreshing Romance There is also a very light touch of romance in this between two of the POV characters, which was fun to read. The book included a variety of rep without it feeling forced, from bi to trans to ace and it just felt like a natural part of the book’s world, which was refreshing to read in Sci-Fi. But... Whilst I enjoyed much of it, as explained above, I think my main problem is with the characters themselves. This should be a found family type scenario with a motley crew to love as the story progresses, but even as I got to the end, the only characters I really cared about was Eris and Ariadne and the others I still wasn’t overly attached to. For me, the characters are always the most important part of the story, and yet here, I found myself indifferent to most, if not downright disliking. The annoying thing is I can’t quite put my finger on why. Overall Overall, I really enjoyed Seven Devils by Elizabeth May & Laura Lam. It had such a fun and interesting story with quite the ending and I can’t wait to see where it goes in the next book! Whilst the characters didn’t have me as much as I’d have liked, I’m hoping that will improve in the next book.