Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

This had me guessing from the very beginning and I certainly did not see the twists coming.

The characters are complex and it really left me wanting to read more.

A good Science fiction Space Opera.

This was a really well plotted narrative with some interesting characters and a fascinating world. It tells the story of siblings Sanda and Biran Greeve, and their dual attempts to prevent a war. Throw in some self-aware AI and a lot of political intrigue, and you have what was a thoroughly enjoyable and intelligent novel that kept my interest from start to finish. I really enjoyed the interplay between Sanda and Tomas, although the speed of their connection did ring a little untrue for me. I loved Bero and thought that the author did an excellent job keeping the reader guessing about it's ultimate motivations. The idea of the Keepers was very interesting to me too and I suspect this will be examined in more detail in future instalments. There were times when the narrative was a little bit baggy and could have been pared back a bit, but overall, I thought this was a compelling first book in a series and the ending has certainly left me anxious to read book 2.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I actually got a good chunk into this book before putting it down and never picking it back up. I did mostly enjoy it while reading it but not enough to power through my inertia. Ultimately, my problem with this book is my problem with most science fiction books: I am just not interested in the intricacies of a book’s world building. I also did not love all three POV characters equally, which often means I won’t finish a book.

I really couldn’t get into this. While Sanda’s storyline was – as far as I read – straightforward enough and easy to follow, the book is made of really short chapters, and between two Sanda chapters you always get one or more set “before”, following other characters. I understood nothing of what happened in those. My threshold for putting up with initially confusing worldbuilding and fictional societies in adult sci-fi usually isn't this low, but nothing about this book made me think the effort would be worth it. (Which is also probably due to the fact that it really doesn’t seem to be my kind of sci-fi.)

But let’s talk about what I liked:

- While I don’t know if there are any queer main characters, I did like that from the first chapter we get to know that the main character has two fathers, and that (I think) queerness isn’t in any way an issue in this future.
- Sanda is an amputee, which should be far more common when it comes to stories about war and characters surviving improbable disastrous situations.
- Tension and stakes were definitely there, in Sanda’s storyline. Mysterious enemy ship, and the enemies really might have designed a planet-destroying weapon they aren’t fully able to control… it’s a lot (and I wish the other chapters were as interesting and less “I have no idea what this means or how anyone and anything looks like, and most of all, why I should care”)

What I didn’t like:
- apart from the confusion, multi-PoV books with really short chapters tend to take me out of the story continuously, so I paradoxically end up reading them more slowly.

I am horribly late reviewing this, so sincere apologies to the publisher. However I adored this book. It was everything I wanted in a sci-fi space opera and the perfect opener to a new series. I’ve never read any of O’Keefe’s work before but I’ll be tracking it down, not to mention eagerly awaiting the next instalment in the Protectorate series. Set against the back drop of an interstellar war, the plot follows Sanda and her brother, Biran, and continues in dual POVs and dual timelines – Biran in the present and Sanda several hundred years in the future. This is an exceptionally well plotted book, where action is balanced against important themes. I really don’t want to give anything away but O’Keefe takes staple sci-fi tropes and delivers them with a twist and a gut punch. Highly recommend this excellent book.

This is the first book in the Protectorate series. While I did think this was a good book, I wasn't fully invested in the characters or the plot. It's a multiple perspective story that follows two different timelines. I enjoyed this element of the book as I think it added a layer of mystery to the plot. I thought the characters were well written, but as I mentioned earlier I just wasn't fully invested in them. Overall I enjoyed this book, just not as much as I wanted to. I would still recommend checking this book out, especially if you're looking for a new space opera to read.

Un poco de space opera nunca viene mal o al menos eso me dice mi médico imaginario, que se ve que me conoce bien. Así que empecé a leer Velocity Weapon buscando un poco de escapismo y lo cierto es que lo encontré.

Quizá el aspecto que más me ha gustado es la fortaleza de la protagonista. Sandra es una oficial de artillería que de repente despierta lisiada en una nave enemiga y han pasado décadas desde que entró en hibernación. Aún así, no se rinde y empieza a investigar para hacerse ella misma una prótesis y conocer a fondo la nave donde se encuentra, estableciendo una curiosa relación con la IA de la propia nave.
También me han gustado las teorías conspiratorias que se desarrollan en los otros puntos de vista del libro, que añaden «salsa» a la narración, con una trama de espionaje algo ingenua pero entretenida. Además, O’Keefe juega muy bien sus cartas ocultándonos información imprescindible para el desarrollo de los acontecimientos, con algunos giros de guión inesperados y otros más previsibles que consiguen mantener la tensión en un libro no especialmente corto. El hecho de que una relación fraternal sea el principal motor de una misión de rescate o que los progenitores de Sandra sean dos padres no hace si no añadir detalles agradables al libro.
Por desgracia, hay otros aspectos de la novela que no son tan acertados. Se respira cierto aire de inocencia y credulidad en muchos de los personajes, que es lo que permite que muchos de ellos sigan vivos, pero también que los «malvados» no tengan apenas problemas para llevar a cabo sus planes.
Pero lo que más me ha molestado, es que en una novela no resuelva prácticamente nada. Vale que ya sabía que era la primera parte de una trilogía, pero al menos que tuviera una conclusión aunque sea un punto y aparte sería de agradecer.

Without reading the blurb, it is hard to know what to expect from a science fiction book titled Velocity Weapon. Presumably there will be someone or something moving quickly and some form of violence, perhaps. What Megan O’Keefe delivers, however, is intelligent, enjoyable space opera with engaging characters and intriguing mysteries.
After a major battle Gunnery Sergeant Sanda is woken from some form of preserved stasis to find herself alone on a strange space ship. The ship is run by an artificial intelligence called Bero who tells her that she has been in stasis for 230 years and that both her planet of Ada Prime and their opposition, the Icarions, were wiped out when the Icarions tried to use a weapon that accelerated objects to near light speeds. The book then jumps back to the war in which Sanda was injured and her brother Biran who is being inducted into the Keepers, an order that maintains the secret of the Casimir Gate which allows interstellar travel and is the cause of the war with Icarion. In the aftermath of the battle Biran takes on the system and makes a deal with a shadowy organisation called the Nazca to try and rescue his sister, who he believes may have survived. And through all this, in some other location, a thief called Jules comes across a treasure that could get her and her crew killed.
That is the set up. To say any more about the plot would spoil the numerous twists, cliffhangers and reverses. All of this is anchored solidly by the relatable, engaging and flawed characters of Sanda, Biran and Jules. Sanda, who lost half a leg in the original battle is never less than kick-arse but also compassionate. Biran finds himself swimming with sharks and learning very quickly the art and artifice of diplomacy. And Jules goes on a mission of revenge where she too finds things that she thought were fixed were anything but.
Velocity Weapon builds on the common building blocks of space opera – artificial intelligence, a bit of military action, possibly alien technology and the limits of light speed. But it deploys its tropes in an original way that is anchored by intriguing world building, enticing mysteries and a narrative style which keeps the pages effortlessly turning. O’Keefe’s style is reminiscent of recent space opera series like John Scalzi’s Collapsing Empire and even, in some ways, James SA Corey’s Expanse series. And after the dust settles, Velocity Weapon leaves plenty of drama to unfold and questions to be answered. It is, overall, a great start to what promises to be a great series.

In a shameless plagiarism of the typical (and memeable) George RR Martin blurb, Velocity Weapon is space opera as it ought to be written.

It has everything you’d want, and expect, from the genre…and then more.

We alternate between three point-of-view characters: Sanda, a sergeant who finds herself in a sentient enemy ship, hundreds of years after a battle destroyed all she holds dear; her younger brother, Biran, a newly-minted politician with a bright future; and Jules, a thief involved in a heist with dire and unexpected consequences. There are also interludes that give us a better understanding of the world…or raise more questions.

The way O’Keefe uses these points of view to create a sense of mystery and anticipation is masterful. Nothing in the story is as it seems and the book is relentless with its edge-of-the-seat revelations.”Oh my god, what now” is something I found myself saying quite often…but it’s never cheap, never just twists for the sake of it. It’s exhilarating and brilliantly crafted.

The plot certainly captured my imagination and my attention, but what captured my heart were the characters and their relationships. Families, born into and found; friends, old and new.

The tone is often light, funny at moments, which is a nice change of pace after high-stake events and perspective-bending twists.

Velocity Weapon is very much a first book of a series, and not everything is resolved at the end, far from it.

If you want a space opera with a lot of heart, intergalactic geopolitics, a grumpy AI ship, badass and loveable characters, and a plot that will keep you guessing and audibly gasping…I highly recommend Velocity Weapon.

This book came to me at exactly the right moment and I couldn’t be more glad for this. Seriously. I had been in a weird mood ever since May end and this need to have a deliciously good sci-fi book was just inflamed further by Skyward. Velocity Weapon really came through on that promise and more.

My first time reading Megan O’Keefe’s works and frankly, I am glad that I didn’t know much about the plot itself too! Both managed to blow my mind because this book is absolutely a hell of a ride and there’s no two ways about it. If there’s a problem with this book then it’s the problem of reviewing a book without spoiling anything because trust me, what I say in this spoiler free review would not prepare you for the actual mind-blowing awesomeness that is this book. I don’t know how I am going to restrain from spoiling it for you guys but I am going to try.

‘Velocity Weapon’ begins with Sanda, the gunship sergeant, she wakes up in an enemy ship after her own ship being blown bits with only the evac pod saving her. The enemy ship is entirely empty however there’s an AI on board which has saved Sanda from death. The ship is called The Light of Berossus, the AI calls itself Bero. Finds it simpler than the whole thing for obvious reasons, of course. Sanda is told by Bero that the battle she was injured in happened 230 years ago and that she has been ‘asleep’ for over two centuries. While Sanda is dealing with the realities of that, we are then taken directly to the ‘present’ time where Biran, Sanda’s brother, is graduating. He’s about to be a proper Keeper and about to make his dads and his sister proud when the disaster strikes.

The timelines and the pacing of both the timelines is so cleverly done and frankly, I found it very refreshing to read. The siblings offer such a brilliant look into the whole family structure as well. On one hand, we have the strong and frankly absolutely amazing Sanda who’s stuck in the enemy ship and trying to accept her reality and on another hand, we have Biran who has to face the reality that his world is about to crumple around him as well as accept that his sister is probably dead in enemy territory. Both the siblings are so damn resourceful and stubborn in their own ways and their love for each other really shines through the chapters.

There’s two more POVs that are there, one is of Jules who is a small time criminal. She finds something bigger and hopes to get out of the life she’s built but ends up getting more entangled than ever. While her story is worth being told, somehow, I was far more invested in the siblings and how they were doing. That’s not to say that Jules wasn’t interesting, I think the problem was that her POV didn’t really connect with me as much as it probably should have. There’s another POV who I would really be more interested in reading but mostly, those were interludes and I wish they were longer.

I have deliberately left some very key plot points out of the review because if I include them it would be incredibly spoiler-y. And we don’t want that. However, trust me when I say that if you like absolutely engaging characters, with brilliant pacing along with some truly mind-boggling twists then this is the book for you. Of course, it’s a given if you love sci-fi and space operas with a touch of sassy AIs then this is definitely the book for you.

A fun and entertaining read, full of humour and fast paced. I loved everything in this book and couldn't put it down.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

A fun and entertaining read. This fast paced book tells the story of sands who is rescued by an enemy spaceship and wakes in the future when the war is over, did I mention the spaceship is AI ! This book also comes from Sanda’s brothers perspective back in her timeline while he tries to figure out what has happened. Different timelines, differs POVs, an AI ship, great humour, wonderfully clever novel with great world building, amazing writing, this book has it all. Can you tell I loved it , I really do recommend this, it’s my first by Megan and won’t be my last.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

An adult scifi with great crossover appeal for those who love YA.

It's action packed with awesome complicated characters set around two planets on the outer edge of the galaxy fighting for use of keeper controlled gateway tech. Siblings Sanda, a gunship pilot, and Biran, a trainee keeper for the protectorate, are both destined for great things but when war between planets explodes they're split up. Sanda is rescued by an enemy AI ship but wakes 200 years later to find both planets wiped out.

So first up the book is told in multi pov, the two main ones are the brother and sister. Which, I mean, I'm so happy whenever I find books that centre different kinds of relationships. And I loved theirs. There are also a couple of extra povs that pop up here and there to give us more insight and a larger picture of what's going on. I really liked the way it was done, although I would have loved to see more of the characters in a particular pov. (I do expect to see them more in the sequel). I also loved how even though the book was split over different places and timelines they all linked strongly to each other. Neither sibling ever lost sight of what they were fighting for. But being siblings is only the start of their characters. They each had jobs and ambitions and personalities that held their own. I loved how we got Sanda, with a newly amputated leg from her gunship exploding, trying to survive alone in the universe and how she dealt with it compared to Biran who was always surrounded by people and had to play politics. I also loved all the side characters, they made for such a rich story. From the manipulative power of Lavraux, to the amusement of Nox, or the complicated feelings of the siblings dad's, and of course, Bero, the emotional AI ship that plays such a huge role. They were all awesome.

This isn't a scifi that focuses solely on action. The characters really hold their own BUT there is action. And world ending stakes. I mean literally, the planets themselves get torn apart…. I think the pacing worked perfectly. There's politics but it's never Biran sitting around playing mind games. He's out there doing things and getting into trouble. Sanda while mostly alone has to find ways to survive on spacewalks and abandoned bases. There's action and flights but never so quick or so much that we ditch the characters that make the book so good.

All in all, the book has the perfect mix of politics and action. The main characters, and their sibling relationship, are the centrepiece to an amazing cast and an entertaining scifi adventure.

Rep: disabled main character (leg amputee), very minor queer characters (nonbinary, the mc's have two dad's, very minor f/f characters)

Velocity Weapon is the first book in The Protectorate series by this Author ……………. with a plot that will keep you fully engaged ………… a space opera with a difference .
The story is told from different POVs in different timelines ……….leaving the reader to follow the complex storylines .

Sanda awakes 230 years in the future inside a sentient spaceship who calls himself Bero, shortened from The Light of Berossus. He was an enemy spaceship and he tells Sanda that the war has ended leaving the Star system dead .
Meanwhile Biran—Sanda’s younger brother , in his timeline is searching for any sign of her...….. what has happened to her ?
Sanda is not your usual heroine …………. well able to look after herself she makes her own destiny , able to survive all that is thrown at her . Full of character , funny and inventive she is all a main character should be .
The interactions between Sanda and Biren makes for an entertaining read , full of fun whilst being gripping .
The pace is fast and furious with a few quiet moments ….. the past and present clash with fury ……. what is the future ?
The other characters add to the storyline and set things up for future stories yet to come ……. which I will certainly read .

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

ARC provided by the publisher—Orbit—in exchange for an honest review

An incredibly entertaining start to a new space opera series.

Velocity Weapon is the first book in The Protectorate series by Megan E. O’Keefe. This was my first experience reading O’Keefe’s work and I had a fantastic time with it. isn’t an easy book for me to review. It’s not because I found the book to be disappointing or not up to my preference, but I honestly think that many components of the storyline or what makes this book truly great can be considered a spoiler that the task of reviewing this book ended up being more difficult than usual.

“Being offended by facts is a long human tradition.”


The story in Velocity Weapon begins with Sanda finding herself awake 230 years in the future inside a sentient spaceship who calls himself Bero, shortened from The Light of Berossus. Bero is an enemy spaceship and he tells Sanda that the war has ended; the star system is completely dead now. Then, we have Biran—Sanda’s younger brother—as the second main POV character; his story takes place in the present timeline as he tries to find Sanda’s location. Separated by distance and time, both Sanda and Biran will have to do everything they can to survive or unveil the truth. Velocity Weapon tells a story of survival and intergalactic politics. I found the pacing and the tone of this book to be refreshing to read. O’Keefe’s storytelling style has a way of keeping things fun and gripping without ever making the tone of the story too dark; the right balance of varying emotions in this book was achieved through its charming characters.

‘In the upper right of her HUD, text flashed: :-P
“Oh my god. They taught you emoticons.”’


I do believe that Velocity Weapon is a cleverly crafted novel. The usage of dual timelines in this book exhibited a strong sense of mystery; it made me intrigued to find out what happened within that 230 years differences. It was awesome to see how Biran’s and Sanda’s story connects with each other despite the differences in the timeline. O’Keefe cloaked revelations that should’ve been easily spotted in plain sight by making sure that the reader will be too immersed in the specific scene they’re reading; I was too absorbed to theorize about anything else. The characters, especially Sanda, was so easy to root for. A heroine like Sanda is hard to find in current SFF market; she’s a badass with no overpowered skills and she’s not a damsel in distress who’s hopelessly waiting to be saved. Not only that, reading her banter and dialogues with Bero and other side characters were super immersive, funny, and most importantly, hard to put down. The characterizations, their sexuality, their interactions, and the world of the series itself felt natural.

Admittedly, there was actually another prominent POV—Jules—other than Sanda’s and Biran’s. Although I found Jules’s storyline to be full of well-written actions, I didn’t find myself feeling invested in her story as much as I did for Sanda’s and Biran’s. This doesn’t mean that Jules’s story was lacking per se, it’s just that the sibling’s story was too good that every time the narrative shifted to Jules, I just wanted to go back to reading Sanda or Biran’s POV as fast as possible. Luckily, Jules’s last chapter in this book shows good promises on connectivity to the overarching storyline and more great things to come in the next installment.

I’m going to close my review here. In order to make this review spoiler-free, please know that I purposely left out some factors that, in my opinion, made the quality of the book even better. Imbued with exhilarating twists and turn, Velocity Weapon was a purely entertaining reading experience. If you’re a fan of sci-fi, space opera and the Mass Effect video game series by Bioware, your decision to purchase and read this delightful book should be settled already.

Official release date: June 11th, 2019

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions

From the minute I saw the cover for this book I thought wow, I have to read this, lucky for me and courtesy of netgalley I have been lucky enough to get to read a bit earlier than the rest of the discerning public, this book has heart and great characters with some ok intriguing twists to keep you held firm, I have been a bit bored with the quality of some books released over the past few years so it was extremely pleasant to.have my ok interest piqued and my faith in quality writing restored.