I read this book in one day. It's one of those books which drag you in and refuse to let you go.

The POV is very clever as it's opposing view in a war between two groups and so makes for an exciting read.

The romance in the books was at a slow and natural pace, which was refreshing. This debut book is worth the read.

Can I give this book 6 stars? Because it was 5 stars the whole way through and then the ending brought everything up a notch. You're now looking at my favourite book of the year, and I had the joy and privilege of getting to read it as an ARC. I also now have the despair of waiting even longer for the sequel. It ended not with a cliffhanger but by setting up each of the main characters at the start of a new journey (a far better choice, in my opinion).

The First Sister is what most Sci-Fi wishes it could be. Epic in scale, with character's actions having far-reaching consequences, yet close and personal on an emotional level, investing you in the unique struggles of each character. Best of all, it's queer. So queer, and so beautiful.

This world is a harsh one, of war, abuse, people used as pawns, their personal agency taken away. There are many triggering subjects (I will provide a list at the end of the review) but they are handled with grace and care - the true horror of these actions laid clear, their consequences shown. Characters confront their ignorance and problematic beliefs, learning and taking action to do better.

In the vein of my other favourite Sci-Fi, Saga, this is a book about people from opposite sides of an interstellar war coming together to end it. A bisexual woman trying to reclaim her agency from those who have stolen it, a gay Latinx soldier figuring out where his loyalties lie, and a Japanese non-binary hero who's just trying to save the worlds. If that sounds like all you've ever wanted (and it does to me), then I urge you to pick up The First Sister and enjoy it in all of its glory.


Trigger warnings (I'm not an expert at doing these so apologies if I missed anything) :
Mention of previous forced sexual activity (never shown on page). War, death, character struggling with PTSD. Racism towards an alien species. Slight spoiler warning for this one (but I felt it was too important not to include): a non-binary character being forced to present as a gender they don't identify with.

I honestly don't know how to start this review because whilst I read and enjoyed the story it fell flat in SO many ways for me, and after finishing it im at a little bit of a loss as to what I read. Set in the distant future where humanity split into three distinct groups: The Icarii, humans that populated both Mercury and Venus, technologically advanced and unwilling to share with their fellow humans; the Gaens are descended from humans who populated Earth and Mars, they are ruled both by both military and religious rulers and the Asters, geneassisted humans made perfect for space faring, but these differences now make them inferior to the Icarii and the Gaen and they are used more as a workforce. Due to the Icarii's unwillingness to share their technological advances and the Gaen's philosophical differences there has been a longstanding war between the two races, one that has led to the Asters being exploited by both sides.

The story is told from three main perspectives. First Sister is a ranking priestess on a Gaen warship. The Sisters are, more often than not, sold into service of the mother becoming 'comfort' for the Gaen army both in the religious and physical sense. As First Sister she has certain privileges her other Sister's don't, the main being that no crew member except the Captain is allowed to seek physical comfort from her. When First Sister's ship gets a new Captain. everything is thrown into the air, First Sister has to fight for the privilege's she previously had, but this Captain isn't like the others. Saito Ren seems to balk from physical contact and asks First Sister to do forbidden things, things that could get her killed. She feels caught between her role as a Sister and this new Captain that treats her with more respect than she has been shown her whole life.

Lito sol Lucius is a Rapier in the Icarii army. One part of an elite team bonded via a neural implant, he is mourning the loss of his Dagger, not dead but taken from him as punishment for loosing Ceres to the Gaen. His name shows that he has no rank, he had to fight for his position and though he may not agree with everything the Icarii government do, he is the only thing between his sister and poverty and he would never risk that. Until one day Lito gets a task he is unsure he can complete. Hiro, his previous Dagger, has been accused of Treason and Lito is being sent back to Ceres, the place he nearly died with a new Dagger and a new mission. Find and Kill The Mother, the leader of the Gaen religion and find and kill the traitor Hiro val Akira. But his new Dagger is hiding some secrets of her own and they could change Lito's perspective forever.

The final POV is Hiro themself. Their perspective is given in a recording that makes it's way to Lito before he leaves for his mission. A recording that gives us, not only an insight into Lito and Hiro's background, but gives us HUGE hints to some major plot points in the book. Hiro is gender fluid and we are treated to a wealth of other LGBTQ characters. One of my main issues with this book is that I really struggled to bond with any of the characters, they each had their own trauma and I did feel some sort of emotional response, but genuinely did not really care whether they made it out alive. I imagine this wont be an issue for most people, but I tend to struggle with books where I can't bond with the characters.

The action scenes were of epic proportions and extremely well written. I could easily bring the scenes to life in my head and that made some of them all the more terrifying. I wouldn't say the plot is fast paced, this felt like it should have been a lot longer than it was just not in a bad way. There are plenty of plot twists scattered throughout the book that definitely keep us as the readers on the tips of our toes, and although I feel like a fool for not guessing it, there is one big one at the end that threw me for a loop. Like I said, I did enjoy this book as a whole. Would I read it again or continue on with the series? Probably not, but I imagine I will be in the minority when it comes to my opinion on this one.

In all honesty, I’ve been putting off writing this review because I don’t want to think about this book, and in particular, a plot twist in this book, any longer since finishing it. It’s one of those books that is going along fine, and then something happens, and it leaves the worst taste in your mouth.

But back to that later.

Firstly, this book is a space opera featuring two rival empires. We are shown POVs from both sides, First Sister and Lito. With First Sister, we follow the story of the Sisterhood, who provide comfort women to the empire’s ships and rule the empire from the shadows. With Lito, we follow a soldier instructed to find and kill his partner, who has betrayed their home.

Let me start with the good things before I get to the… less good, let’s say. I really enjoyed the writing in this one. It was easily readable and sucked you into the story. Granted, from the start, I had a bit more interest in Lito and Hiro’s storyline than First Sister’s but I still enjoyed reading hers. It was the kind of writing that makes you feel as if you’re living in the world yourself, until you pull back from the page and find you’re not, after all.

Add into that some very interesting worldbuilding, I thought I was absolutely going to love this book.

And then the twist.

There are big spoilers here, so, if you want to avoid those, just skip the rest of the review. I don’t have much more to say apart from a discussion of the twist.

Let me set the scene. Hiro was sent undercover to kill the Mother, leader of the Sisterhood. On hearing that they have defected, their superiors send Lito after them, to kill his (duelling) partner and complete the mission. The twist is that, to be sent undercover, Hiro has been genetically modified (and had some limbs amputated) to become Saito Ren, who they and Lito had faced and killed in the loss of the planet they were living on.

The major problem I had with this twist is that it seemed to me a fairly pointless way of bringing the stories together (which I think could have been done way later, besides. Like almost split what’s in this book into two separate books, because there was enough content for that. As it was, things felt a little brushed over). You could definitely have had Saito Ren still be alive and not be a genetically modified Hiro. Because the real kicker is the whole thing seemed merely to show how far Hiro’s own father and their side would go with regards to experimentation (which has already been shown by their experimentation on an alien race, surely?). Not to mention that the body they have now been forced into now elicits a ton of gender dysphoria for Hiro. They comment that they can’t even look at themselves naked anymore because they’re in now in a female-presenting body.

I’ve tried to work out what this plan actually achieved, on Hiro’s father’s part particularly, and have come to the conclusion that it was not much. In all honesty, it seems to have been done from spite, because Hiro’s father hates them, and for no other reason. Not to mention, the whole plot twist of “Saito Ren is actually Hiro!” felt a lot like it was done for shock value in the Saito Ren/First Sister romance.

So yes, I can see how this is meant to parallel the whole “your body is not your own” message of the Sisterhood, but I don’t think it paralleled it very effectively. It was somewhat a blunt message, and could equally have been done with the neural transplants that all duellers had. You have that right there, so why are you introducing this? The other argument is that it’s about the invasion of rights, but again, I would point to the alien race and ask, is this not shown well enough already?

I don’t know if I have managed to effectively communicate just how much I hated this plot twist. It just left me feeling a little bit discomforted after finishing the book. I’m not trying to say that it was overtly “problematic” or whatever (for one, I am not the right person to be suggesting so, and obviously not everyone has had the same reaction), but I didn’t enjoy it. And as such it ruined my enjoyment of the book (which I had liked up until then).

So, on the whole, what I was left with was a book that had a lot of potential, and just failed to deliver.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free e-ARC of First Sister in exchange for an honest review.

It's refreshing to read dystopian sci-fi written by a queer, female author. Linden's has a writing style that I really enjoyed, the pacing was good and the characters are believable, relatable and human in their actions and choices.

It's pitched as "the child of Handmaid's Tale and Red Rising" - I totally agree with this description. The universe building is excellent, the dramatic scenes exciting and nerve-wracking and the romance between characters heart-warming. Linden addresses relevant issues around sexual abuse and and rape culture in a sensitive and respectful way that is not as triggering as the graphic rape scenes that some authors use.

I can't wait to read the next installment in this epic space opera!

I was offered the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder Publishing for allowing me to read this early!


Summary:
The First Sister, a nameless and voiceless priestess chosen by the Mother to spread her will throughout space. With no friends and her future put into turmoil when a new captain arrives- by the name of Saito Ren- what will the First sister do when a request comes she cannot begin to fathom.

Lito is a soldier of Venus who clawed his way out of the slums only to be defeated by Saito Ren. He also lost his partner Hiro that day. When the opportunity to complete Hiro's mission comes from command Lito jumps at the opportunity. Little does he realise Hiro is very much alive and has more secrets than he could ever imagine.

Review:
The plot of this story was absolutely stunning. It was vast, and very much close to a soap opera in space. It was extremely fast paced and kept me reading. The ending.....My goodness that ending was everything and I ended up in a mini bookslump trying to recover.

The pacing of this story was really fast and kept me engaged. I was expecting for there to be some parts that maybe slowed/stalled but they never arrived which was wonderful..

The characters were wonderfully written and beautifully developed- I would like to give a massive kudos on the diversity and representation in this book as it was beautifully executed and i definitely came away knowing more than i did when i started this novel. I loved watching the development of First Sister in particular as she went from being very reserved to opening her eyes, realising the bigger picture going on and then changing her entire mindset and goals in life based on this which was such a pivotal moment. I also really enjoyed how we learnt more about Hiro (transcribed audio clips between chapters). I thought that was ingenious.

I will say that as a world-building experience goes this is fantastic. I loved the lore behind the sisterhood and learning about the intricacies of the currently ongoing conflict.

My only negative comments are around something that is very much a personal preference- split character chapters. Personally I am not a fan but for this novel i completely agree it was the right thing to do. However i found myself so interested in First Sisters story that I found Lito's chapters a bit lacking. Once I hit 50% through the book I started to thoroughly enjoy his chapters more but initially i struggled and read them purely to get through to First Sisters next chapter.

Overall:
If you are wanting to read a space opera with high stakes, diverse characters and an amazingly fast paced story this is definitely something I would recommend!

So I am not really sure what to write about this book. I enjoyed it which is why I give it three stars.

I have seen others describe it as The Handmaid's Tale crossed with Red Rising and having read both I can see the comparison.

I think the premise of humanity having colonised space only to seperate into three seperate factions who are at war was interesting. Each faction seems to have gone in their own way thinking they are preserving what we were on Earth but it has all become twisted.

For me there was not enough punch and the ending felt a bit of an anti-climax. There was the big finish but it was more of a sparkler than a firework. I also am not sure if it is meant to be the first in a series or if it is a standalone. The way it ended it could be both but there are a couple of storylines that could also be taken forward.

Overall a good read but it wasn't a great one for me.

There are only so many stories. And that goes doubly for genre where many of the tropes and beats have been laid down by generations of writers. So when a newcomer is tackling space opera it comes as no surprise when their work appears to contain echoes of James SA Corey’s Expanse, or Anne Leckie’s Ancillary Trilogy or Yoon Ha Lee’s Machinery of Empire series, or even a touch of Star Wars. But Linden Lewis goes one further in their debut The First Sister in creating a universe and plot that also contains echoes of The Handmaid’s Tale. None of which is necessarily an issue, depending on whether they manage to pull it off.
The First Sister of the title lives aboard the spacecraft Juno, captured from the Icarii (who inhabit Mercury and Venus) by the Gaens (a coalition of Earth and Mars). As First Sister she is assigned to the Captain only, other Sisters being required to provide “comfort” and confessional services to the rest of the crew. When the book opens, though First Sister (she never knew her real name), has been left in the lurch by the outgoing Captain who was going to take her away with him. She is then given a task by her controller Aunt, get close to the new Captain, Saito Ren, and report on her (in breach of the usual religious rules governing the sisters).
At the same time Lito sol Lucius, of the Icarii, the scientifically advanced offshoot of humanity, is given a new mission: infiltrate the asteroid world of Ceres, recently captured by the Gaen’s from the Icarii, and kill the head of the Sisterhood. At the same time he is tasked with finding his old partner Hiro who has become a traitor, and kill him too. Hiro’s backstory is provided as a recording secretly sent to Lito and breaks up the alternative first person narratives.
There is lot of plot and exposition to get through which makes heavy early going. This is not helped by the fact that the two main first person narrative strands sound a little too similar to each other in tone. And all that is before the introduction of the Asters, genetically modified humans who live in the asteroid belt but who are also discriminated against and tend to do menial tasks in both Gaen and Icarii civilisations. And the hint of computer intelligences further out in the solar system which are deliberately keeping humanity locked in a four planet bubble.
While there is plenty of action and some effective twists towards the end, this often feels like incomplete world building. This is no more apparent than in the role of the Sisters. They serve as confessors, comfort women and power brokers, but there is little indication of how this came to be or why. While there are clear allusions to The Handmaid’s Tale (the use of the term “Aunt” for the Sisters’ enforcers, for example), the world of that book was built on a specific premise of infertility and sits within a male-dominated paradigm. In The First Sister, the reasons behind the development of the powerful religious matriarchy of the Sisterhood, that nevertheless sends its acolytes out to be used sexually by the armed forces, are never deeply explored and never really makes any sense, leaving the whole enterprise feeling a little hollow.
Where this book excels is in its representation of gender fluidity, and the fact that desire and relationships can happen irrespective of gender or gender labels. Linden Lewis identifies as a “queer writer” brings this perspective strongly to the story. But this in itself has become a feature of some of the best recent space opera and is not in itself enough to make The First Sister stand out.
Lewis has knitted The First Sister out of the cloth of some great space opera. And while they have manage to mash up and spin this material into a new and sometimes interesting form, the seams sometimes show. Plenty of readers unfamiliar with those antecedents will just enjoy going along for what is an action filled ride. And this is only the first book in a series that shows plenty of promise, with enough to bring most readers back for a second helping.

4.5 stars! Phheewww I'm on a roll of incredible sci-fi right now, and The First Sister was no exception. This is a dark and epic tale of war across the solar system, following three main protagonists on opposite sides of the war as they try to fight for control over their own bodies.

The First Sister is a story of bodily autonomy, or rather, the story of what happens when bodily autonomy is removed, when people have no control over what happens to them and what happens when they fight back. We follow three individuals on opposite sides of the war:

- First Sister: a priestess of the Sisterhood serving on the Juno, a warship. As a priestess, she is there to provide distraction to the soldiers, be that hearing their confessions or providing them with sex to prevent distraction whilst they do their duties. Her voice was taken from her as a child, to prevent her ever spilling the secrets of the captain of her ship. When the Juno gets a new Captain, war hero Saito Ren, First Sister is asked to gain her trust and spy on her for the Sisterhood, who thinks she is a traitor.
- Lito sol Lucius: on the opposite side of the war from First Sister is Lito, a duelist who has recently recovered from wounds gained in the fall of Ceres, and for which he is blamed. He is ordered to return to Ceres, kill the Mother, the head of the Sisterhood, and kill his traitorous ex-partner, Hiro.
- Hiro: for Hiro's POV, we get short clips from a recorded message they sent to Lito, explaining how they betrayed their Empire. For as they explain from the start of the recording, they are guilty and they betrayed the Icaari.

These three each follow very different, exciting plots that all combine in one last final showdown on Ceres. Whilst each of these POVs were interesting on their own, I was particularly in love with that of First Sister. There is something so incredibly powerful about this POV from a person who cannot speak, so dialogue instantly becomes not a tool that the author can use. And I just loved the more introspective nature of First Sisters POV that therefore happened. Forced into the Sisterhood, her POV provides lots of insight into this religious powerhouse and the dark insides of the religion. So seeing her grow to become a person who gains control over her body after all these years in service to the awful Sisterhood was so powerful.

I did love her POV a lot more than Lito's. I thought his a little detached and I found it more difficult to get attached to him as a character, which is why this book didn't get a full 5 stars. But then comparing that to Hiro, who despite having the smallest part, just small extracts from their recordings, got so much personality through. I loved them. The way the Icaari have destroyed Hiro's bodily autonomy is truly horrific, it's so shocking and so disgusting and I was blown away when we first read this part. This is a world with such horrors in it, where a few powerful individuals hold the power and control over millions, where the lives of the many are used and discarded as a tool for the few powerful people. But it's also a story about those who refuse to be used, who refuse to let the powerful discard them like nothing, and what happens when those few individuals decide to fight back. And it's spectacular.

As a short side note, Lewis is another author going onto my list of authors who write epic battle scenes. This is something I struggle with as a writer so I'm always hugely impressed when authors can do it so well. These battles were so fun and filled with really badass technology, and this lightened the load of a book discussing some really dark issues surrounding bodily autonomy.

The world was just as diverse as I'd hoped, pretty much everyone is queer. Between nonbinary Hiro, Saito Ren and First Sister's relationship, we're full of diverse queer characters. I really loved the soft slow development of the relationship between Ren and First Sister. I just love SFF books that also have brilliantly queer romances that impact the story, so this was just perfect.

Also kudos to Lewis because there were so many twists at the end and I guessed NONE OF THEM. It was such a moment of shock and disbelief and omg OF COURSE this all makes sense I love it?!?

It's hard to talk too much about this book without giving spoilers, so all I'll say is I really liked this one. There's a lot going on, and a lot of difficult issues being discussed, but this is paired with lots of epic battles and some very cool tech, so it pretty much combines the best two things about SciFi!

Hmmm .... so how do I review this without giving away any spoilers? As beware this book is long and full of twists and turns.

The Icarii and The Geans (both humans that live on different planets) have been at war for a long time - mainly over Technology. The Asters are also humanoids who were one of the first ones to go into space to colonise other planets and mutated over time. they are very pale, tall and have longer limbs and live underground. They are also quieter and tamer and basically serve as indentured servants or second-class citizens to both the Icarii and the Geans.

The Icarii are the more technology advanced and live on Venus in a city that is full of mod cons and major advancements. They dress colourfully and are able to genetically modify their appearance. They have a military school which creates state of the art soldiers - duellists who have neurological implants that allow 2 soldiers to pair up making them a super deadly force. Hiro and Lito are 2 such soldiers who have grown up and trained together for years and are fully ingrained in each other's lives. Unfortunately, their last mission resulted in the fall of the city Ceres (a prior Icarii stronghold) to the Geans. Lito is gravely injured and forced to teach new students. Hiro who comes from a wealthier higher-class family is paired with another Duellist and sent on a new mission.

The Geans are more traditional but very war hungry. They are led by "The Mother" - the head of a religious order of sisters, and the Warlord who controls the Gean Army. The sisters are recruited as young girls and made mute when they grow and placed on warships to help the soldiers. They give the soldiers religious guidance/blessings, take their confessions and more interesting - they warm their beds. They also have a strict hierarchy with the First Sister having all the main perks although she still has to sleep with anyone that wants her unless she's claimed by the Captain. The 2nd and 3rd sisters and the other non-ranked sisters are all vying to climb up the ranks so there is a lot of backstabbing and infighting amongst them. The Juno is one such ship which has a new Captain - Saito Ren who is the Hero of Ceres - she was the one who defeated the Icarii and took over the city. She was badly injured (lost a hand and a leg - that have now been fitted with prosthetics) and is now in charge of the ship which commands a fleet of soldiers and Iron skins (the Geans answer to the Icarii Duellists).

This main plot of this story involves all these characters in the leadup to the battle of Ceres and the aftermath. I can’t say much else to avoid spoilers but there are several twists and turns. To be honest - I struggled with this a little bit. It is interesting but it just didn’t quite work for me. I can’t quite pinpoint what I didn’t enjoy about it, but I kept struggling to pick it up. It has all the ingredients to be spectacular - as there were a lot of things I didn’t expect, and no one is truly how they seem. There's gender fluidity, interesting backstories and motivations and it holds a mirror to mental health issues. However, I think it is the pace and how things unfolded that left me unmoved and made me struggle to connect with the characters. I think this is a personal thing as I imagine lots of people will enjoy this. I would still say read it and form your own opinion - 3 stars for me.

I had been eagerly anticipating it for sometime as it was described as a cross between Red Rising and The Handmaid’s Tale - two of my all time favourites - and I had heard good things about it. Thankfully, I was not disappointed.

The book is set in the distant future, after we have moved to the stars and now inhabit multiple planets in our solar system. There are two main factions, the first of which is the Gaens, who are based on Earth and Mars. They are a religion-heavy society, that are made up of the survivors of a civil war fighting for Mars’ limited resources. The other main faction are the Icarii, who have colonised Mercury and Venus. They were originally made up of scientists and pacifists, who had no interest in fighting and instead wanted to build a technological utopia. The Gaens desperately want the resources and technology that the Icarii have, but the Icarii have no interest in sharing them, and so they have been warring each other for some time. Caught in the middle of this conflict, are the Asters. They are a group of genetically mutated humans that mostly live in the asteroid belt. They are hated and discriminated against by both sides.

Our title character is First Sister, an otherwise nameless priestess or Sister of the Gaens. As a Sister, her job is to comfort, emotionally and physically, the Gaen military so they have no distractions when they fight. As First Sister, she is exempt from the majority of the soldiers, being reserved for the captain’s use. Sisters are unable to speak, and forbidden from writing, so they can not divulge the secrets and confessions that they are told, and so they communicate with sign language.

The other two main characters are Lito and Hiro, they were a bonded pair of Icarii warriors that as children, had been implanted with neurological devices so they could share an empathetic link. Just before the start of the novel, they were two survivors of a battle, where their army lost key ground to the Gaen military, and have been forcibly separated as punishment for this. Stuck on Mercury, Lito finds out his ex-partner, Hiro, who had been sent on a classified mission has been turned by the Gaens and Lito is given the mission of tracking Hiro down, executing them, before completing Hiro’s original mission.

I really enjoyed this one, the plot is filled with so many twists and turns, there were times I thought I could tell where the story was going, only for the author to pull the rug from underneath my feet. I found the world-building and the diversity of the characters really impressive, Lewis’ writing is brilliant, hooking me in from the first page. The plot focuses heavily on the idea of not having one’s own autonomy, and how people can be exploited and oppressed by authority figures, but also on the power of hope and compassion. Suffice to say, I cannot wait for the next book!

I was given an early copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This just didn’t resonate with me the way I hoped it would. For the first half, I was very interested in the worldbuilding and thought the characters were in for interesting arcs but the second half was filled with sudden reveals of information and twists that weren’t what I was hoping for, and the lack of tension and stakes was disappointing.

The world in this story is interesting but the atmosphere and worldbuilding clearly took priority over plot. This means the world is definitely easy to imagine but the story is vague; you’re in for a lot of interesting information about the Sisterhood, about human experimentation, about the war, but the story doesn’t ever delve into these subjects more than dumping more information about them as twists. This book also has a dual-POV where one POV is far more plot-heavy than the other, which primarily focuses on a romance that progresses incredibly fast and ends up going in a direction I really wasn’t a fan of. Lito’s POV focuses on him as a soldier for the Icarii and I found we got far more context about the war and why this plot was happening in his chapter’s than we did in the First Sister’s. Considering they have equal page-time, I’m surprised at how little happened in the First Sister’s chapters. She’s tasked with spying on Saito Ren, but very little spying happens and her chapters felt very redundant.

Side characters felt very flat and would appear suddenly and then within a chapter would be vital to the events of the story. I would be reading a chapter about the Juno and suddenly action was happening because they were being boarded. The entire second half of this novel was very jarring, things progress so quickly that I couldn’t understand the leaps the plot was taking and twists towards the end felt like they were only there to provide drama. None of the important subjects these twists provide are given more than a couple of paragraphs to be explored so they feel unnecessary.

Overall, I liked the concept of this book and I thought Lito and Hiro’s dynamic was the saving grace. Unfortunately, it did let me down in terms of plot and I think the general quality of storytelling and the reveals of information were just not good enough for me. I felt myself just wanting more from everything that was introduced and story decisions towards the end were not what I was hoping for or expecting.

This is a future classic, I can’t believe it’s a debut even it was just perfect to me. The writing and world building in this are spectacular, pure art and it just makes the book the perfection it is. I don’t think I’ve read a Science Fiction book of this class or this brilliant in a very long time. There is wonderful representation and diversity , amazing full developed characters, no black and white here, fully complex Characterisation. It’s addictive, fast paced reading and I’m so glad I’m part of Goldsboro’s GSFF club because I can’t wait for my special copy even more now.
Overall, an Amazing debut And just a wonderful piece of science fiction.

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

3.5 stars

I’m a bit torn on this book, I both loved and felt frustrated by this book. What I loved was the story about the sisterhood, and yet a book called ‘The First Sister’, for me, felt like this sisterhood was a much smaller plot arc than that or Lito or Hiro. The First Sister,a mute young woman in a hierarchy of sister’s on the Gean ship Juno. I found this idea interesting, taken as girls, these women act as channels to the goddess, serve the Mother acne while respected and treated as holy by the Gean soldiers they live onboard with, they also serve to give and emotional support and sexual pleasure to them. These women have had their voices literally taken from them, resorting to sign language to communicate with one another, a language unknown to the soldiers. I wish that had been explored more, the idea of these women both looked up to and there to serve, these women who were given to the cause as children, who have no voice etc. What was given fascinated me and I loved the character The First Sister and I hope, as the books go on, we learn her name, her struggles and more about what these women go through.

Similarly, i loved Ren. While we never get her POV, I adored her vulnerability and strength and her relationship would The First Sister was beautiful to read. I wish we had more of both of these characters and I wish they were more at the forefront. Ringer, special shout-out to Ringer too for being the only decent man in the book!

Unfortunately, more of the book seemed to be dominated by Lito, a soldier of the Icarii, disgraced in battle and seeking redemption, he is tasked to find his former partner in battle, and traitor, Hiro, with new partner Ofiera. This is the part I struggled with as I liked none of these characters. Lito morally flip flops between killing Asters, another group of beings of lesser status, with no thought, to a sudden conscience being written into his character following certain events and revelations. He didn’t come across a naive character but his epiphany is just being told to look at something. Hiro is NB and i appreciated and enjoyed that representation, however it’s all I enjoyed about them, they come across very self centred even when doing something for others! Ofiera has a backstory that has great promise for future books but with no POV, she just comes across a little cold.

Other things I struggled with was, while I was told it was a little like Red Rising in ways, the ironskin idea of soldiers kitting up in iron suits for battle in space was too much like the iron rain of Pierce Brown’s world to be enjoyable. The ending too, just damn. I need to know what happens now even if it threw me off entirely and pulled the rug out from under me and if I read it again/when I read the next book, how this book left certain characters may have lose some of the sparkle (no spoilers).

This book was very easy to read, I did enjoy the writing too and for my First Sister and Ren love, I would recommend giving it a go :)

Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

It's a brilliant story that kept me hooked till the last page. Great world building and characters, an excellent plot.
The author is a talented storyteller and I loved this book.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
It's highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Wow!! Such an amazing book!! I was hooked from the start and loved every minute of it. I can not wait to get my goldsboro edition

The First Sister is a sci-fi debut from Linden A. Lewis, and, just to get this out of the way now, it’s really rather good. The characterisation is absolutely stellar. The world is interesting, populated by interesting little details and a fascinating history, and the narrative was compulsive reading, and left me wanting more. Basically, it’s a fun read, and one I can wholeheartedly recommend.

So, that world I was talking about? It’s a world in conflict. Interplanetry war is real, and here to stay. One faction of humanity has spread its metaphorical wings, and moved to the orbit of Mercury, where the discovery of a super-material has allowed them to build a high-tech society in which many of humanity’s basic needs and wants are satisfied. That said, the utopia may not be all that it seems, and a price may still be paid. But the Icarii, as they call themselves, are apple to make use of technological weaponry beyond the grasp of most, including swords made of matter that forms at a thought, and implants that allow their elites to shunt away pain, or fear, or doubt. They stand astride their world like deities, facing down the outer planets. For Earth and Mars are a hegemony, driven by war, by religion, and by the need to capture Mercury’s technology to drive the regeneration of their own dying planets. Both societies have the well-worn texture of the real, from the cool, clinical corridors of the Icarii military command, to the claustrophobic corridors of an Earth cruiser, via the remnants of community being rebuilt after conflict on the moon of Ceres, with all the discrete corners, forgotten people and horse trading that implies. This is a universe which has its own sacrifices, its own edges, one which is different enough to surprise, and familiar enough to ground its horrors in reality. These are people we see here, living their lives in the shadow of war, or in the rigid anxiety and gentle terror of encroaching oppression.

And onto this stage steps First Sister, to take hold of it, humanise it. As the first of her sisterhood on an Earth cruiser, she acts as a means of comfort and confession for its captain; the sisterhood are as religious icons to their crew, but also as comfort women. Subjugation and reification mixed together in a headily toxic brew, in a society geared for war, where young men are sent to die, and technology is prized. Where war machines stride shattered cities, and the role of women is ambiguous at best. The Sisters have their power, a power of shared secrets and intimacy, though it’s wrapped around by the power of the Aunts, those who can speak for the Sisters. Quite literally, as the Sisters have been rendered unable to speak. So they serve in silence, signing to each other, forbidden to write, knowing that when their youth and vitality fade, they’ll be moved into a servant class. These are less lives of quiet desperation than they are just regular desperation, and our First Sister shows that. Because while she is fiercely intelligent, driven to succeed, and talented, she lives in fear. The fear that what she has will be taken from her at a whim, at a word. First Sister lives in a world of delicate power dynamics, where one mis-step could end in disaster, surrounded by hungry eyes mouthing faithful platitudes. But oh, she’s a joy. In that environment, she flourishes, she fights, she works to survive and turn things her way - and does so while facing down her inner demons and crises of conscience. This is a book, in a lot of ways, about what we will allow. About what people will convince themselves needs to be done, and about where they’ll draw the line. First Sister has to make choices, decide which prices she’s willing to pay, what lines he’s willing to cross, and what she wants. To know what sort of person she is. A woman without a name, she’s seizing hold of life, refusing to be buffeted by fate, trying to choose her own path in the face of both personal and institutional pressure. I cheered her on every step of the way, and was delighted that her story, with its intimacies, with its relationships (and points for some wonderful LGBTQ+ representation), with its betrayals and lies and friendships and affections, could show off so much about the human condition. Because the First Sister is a person, like all of us, and comes off the page to stand before the reader as she works and struggles her way toward the life she deserves - which may or may not be the life she thinks she wants.

Which brings us to Lito. While First Sister showcases the Gaean (Earth and Mars) society for us, Lito shows us what’s going on for the Icarii. And Lito is drowning. Teaching cadets at a military academy, one half of a partnership torn asunder by war. Lito is one of the elite, having fought to join it from a background less than salubrious. Lito has fought and killed, been physically injured, and then left to recuperate without their partner, Hiro, whose absence is a deep seated anguish, an emotional amputation. I have to admire Lito for their obvious devotion to their partner, their desire to find them, to get them back from whatever hole they’ve fallen into, and for their quiet idealism. Lito isn’t unaware of the truths of the world they grew up in, of the point of privilege they now occupy, of what it took to get them there. But they’re struggling with their image of themselves, and with whether the society they’ve paid a cost to maintain was worth it. We do hear from Hiro as well, and, as an aside, the non-binary representation in the text is a joy, but it’s Lito’s story that comes to us and stands beside that of the First Sister, showing a physical power restrained by social oppression, by a military that looks on Lito as (at best) a tool, one which can be broken - and replaced. And like First Sister, Lito fights, struggles, drives forward trying to become their own version of themselves, something they can live with. The text puts them both through the wringer, and it’s agonising and wonderful at once.

I don’t want to get into the story, for fear of spoiling some fantastic reversals and revelations. But it was a truly gripping read. Each chapter left me at the edge of our couch, excited to see what the other characters were getting up to, and also desperate to see what happened to the ones I was switching away from. It’s a work of art, this story, art that kept me guessing all the way through about motivations, costs, and how it was going to end. This is a story about people, and about relationships, about systems and the way those can become less a means to help people than to hurt them - and about what happens when people decide they won’t take that sort of treatment any longer. It’s a story of treachery, and blood. It’s a story with more than one gruesome moment, of psychological or physical horror. But it’s also a story with bravery, and kindness and love at centre stage. A story about the voiceless finding their voice.

And in the end it’s a damn good story, one I think you should read.

There is a danger when a book is told from two distinct character viewpoints that one voice might be more compelling than the other, that one scenario and character will interest the reader more. This can lead to the intermittent characters chapters getting short shrift as you want to get back to the meat. The First Sister starts with this problem, as the story of its titular character (a religious concubine on a military spaceship) is far more intriguing than the damaged warrior who lost their partner. Lewis manages to balance this quite quickly, the revelations of the third backstory play into the other characters, and as expected it all comes together for the end but it did slow down what would have been a breathless read otherwise.

Lewis has created an interesting Solar System, with two human (ish) factions battling over various bits of space real estate. There is some handwavium involved, and the origins of the religious sect that the First Sister belongs to is nicely hidden in the mists of time (constructed religions do seem to be popular at the moment is science fiction). But there are clear motives and the intrigue around the first sisters role - to spy on her captain by breaking the rules of her own religion - are Habsburgian in their political trafficking. The second story gives us a broader view of the Universe, not least giving us a moral take on who we were already guessing were the baddies here. Its a solid bit of political military sci fi with a decidedly feminist queer angle, I enjoyed it a lot without devouring it, and its resolution felt final for it to be a one and done (whilst definitely having places to go if she wants to).

I recieved a digital edition of the book fron the publisher Hodder & Staughton via Netgalley in exchange for and honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. There will be spoilers in this review... As much as i try to avoid them, please be cautious.

I really enjoyed this one, once it really got going, the beginning was a little slow desoite having a fair amount of action. And once i got into the main story i couldnt get enough of it. I was trying to figure out what was going on and yet was also content with what was already happening... The twist was something i didn't seen coming and yet made total sense.

The world building was good but a little vague in some places... Places just being described as generally earth type worlds/projections of worlds. But i enjoyed the starships and Asters,

I enjoyed the character building, especially for the First Sister, it's a shame she doesn't remember her name and i would have liked to have seen her choose one... However given the ending it is very likely we will be revisiting this world in the furture so hopefully I'll get my wish then. First Sister has some shit to deal with throughout the book and i felt sorry for her basically beong forced into this covert spying mission on the captain... Although i thought the beginning was very harsh on her. The info we finally get at the end makes so much sense and i would never have guessed it... What with Gean laws and such... But i guess that was the point.

I liked Ren, as much as i didn't want to at the beginning... I'm glad the crew/First Sister didn't care about the synthetic limbs, and the wholesome bond she/they had after a while.
I feel insanely horrified on behalf of Hiro, that was insane and degrading and invasive, especially when they didn't even talk to them about it beforehand! Thats totally insane... But i guess its the extremes the millitary could (maybe does irl... I don't know) go to to get what they want.

I felt so sorry for Lito, works his way through evels desoite being born at the bottom makes his way to the higher middle portions i guess... Not in charge but not bottom rung either. He has a lpt of shit to deal woth throughout the book having shit thrown at him from all sides and he's trying to deal without actually dealing... I would have loved to see him struggle more with the emotions - it all felt a little too rushed for me i knowbthe situation needed it but it could have been broached another time.

I honestly thought The Mother and Auntie were off their rockers for suggestion Ren was working against them but in the end 🤔

The ending is open ready for the next book i guess... I am actually really excited for a sequel in the future now

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

a well written book about space and war

the sisterhood they take your confessions but they cant talk..that ability is taken from them, hopefully they have the protection of their captain but other sisters are used for other things

but as the adventure continues can the first sister keep her position with the captain or will she be discarded as she was before by the other captain and can she really be spying for her sisterhood but if caught take the blame herself....

an interesting read that captivates the imagination