Megan O’Keefe burst onto the science fiction scene with Velocity Weapon, the first book in her first of two trilogies (The Protectorate and The Bound Worlds series). After these two epic, complex trilogies, she has delivered a stand alone – The Two Lies of Faven Sythe – a completely new scenario and universe but full of the rich detail, engaging characters and fast pace make her other books so compulsive. In particular, the way O’Keefe can drop a reader quickly into a complex, fascinating imagined future through character and action.
The Faven Sythe of the title is a Navigator, a special breed of human who can help space ships navigate the vast distances of space. When the book opens Sythe is dealing with the two lies of the title. The first is what has happened to her mentor Ulana who has disappeared into a strange area of space known as the Clutch and the second is one she tells to try and find a pirate who will help her find her mentor. That second lie brings her into contact with a pirate called Bitter Amandine, who will carry the second strand of a narrative that bounces between the two. Once Sythe meets Amandine all hell breaks loose and (of course) sparks fly.
The Two Lies of Faven Sythe is very much in the mode of O’Keefe’s previous books, in particular The Bound Worlds trilogy which anchored itself around the points of view of its two protagonists and follows the ups and downs of their relationship. It is also very action driven, the plot moving from huge action set piece to huge action set piece, each one calibrated to reveal more about the characters, their situation and their quest. And of course, the growing attraction between the two which is bound not to run smoothly.
If there is a flaw with The Two Lies of Faven Sythe is that, as a stand alone novel, it is too full of ideas. O’Keefe builds an incredibly complex universe and then throws in a bunch of twists and complications that does explain things but makes the whole enterprise even more complicated. While the action allows for the story to flow, there is so much new information coming at readers all the time that in the end it feels this could have been better handled as a slower two book or three book series. This is particularly as, due to the pace of revelations it is hard to get a sense of the broader universe in which these characters exist. There are navigators and pirates and some space stations and things get traded but that is as far as the universe is explored.
What The Two Lies of Faven Sythe once again demonstrates, though, is that Megan O’Keefe can deliver big idea, complex science fiction with heart. The relationship between Sythe and Amandine, their growing understanding of each other’s strengths and flaws and the lengths they will go to to save each other, is really the engine driving this story. And it is an effective one that is likely to carry readers across any gaps created by dense exposition or sketchy world building.

Great read if you're looking for some casual sci-fi. I liked the quick pace and the worldbuilding was easy enough to follow but still captivating enough to keep me guessing. This was my first Megan O'Keefe book and I'm definitely interested in picking up more of her books now.

The perfect bite-sized sci-fi book for people like me, who read science fiction only occasionally and don't want to commit to a huge series.

I haven't read a Sci-Fi book in a while, but The Two Lies of Faven Sythe is one that will stay with you. It totally blew me away with its strong characters and excellent world building. The relati0nships between the characters were fascinating and I loved every single bit of it. The romance was intriguing, and I hope to read more books by the author.

The Two Lies of Faven Sythe instantly hooked me with its plot and descriptive style. It has an interesting and original sci-fi world with its navigators who turn into crystal as they use their abilities. I really liked the story and Faven and Amandine, the two main characters. Some of the reasoning behind the characters' motivations could have been clearer in the final third, as sometimes I didn't fully understand why certain things were happening, but I did enjoy it overall!

Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley but this is my voluntary and honest review.

Faven Sythe is crystborn – high ranking people who are valued for their ability to plot difficult starpaths that space ships use for navigation. When Faven receives a suspicious request for a navigation job, she uses the opportunity to meet with someone disreputable enough to help her discover what really happened to her missing mentor. Faven is then "rescued" from the encounter by the infamous space pirate Bitter Amandine. Their journeys become entangled and lead them to the dangerous region of space known as the Clutch where they uncover more than they bargained for.

It's been quite a while since I've read a space opera, and maybe that meant I wasn't really up to speed for the start. I found the initial set up a bit confusing, although I did then get more invested. There was a lot going on with lots different terms, social structures and politics. Combined with a fairly quick pace, I could have done with a few more moments to slow down and absorb what was happening.
I liked the whole conspiracy and mystery but it all came together very quickly and there was just too much info in too short a time and I wasn't really sure who was really in the right.
The characters were interesting, but again, I needed a few more slow moments to really connect with them and find their relationships believable.

I'd recommend if you're looking for an entertaining, fast-paced, standalone space opera.

I went into The Two Lies of Faven Sythe with high expectations, having loved Megan E O'Keefe's other work. Possibly this set the bar too high - I was always going to enjoy a tale of queer space pirates, but there was sadly something missing for me here. The world-building is intriguing and fairly well-developed - I liked learning about the history of the Cryst, and seeing all of the twists and turns related to that. However, for me, the character development was somewhat lacking - not just in the case of side characters, but even Faven herself, whose motivations sometimes seem muddy, and who doesn't really grow as much as would be expected for a title character. This led to the romantic relationship at the core of the story not feeling as believable as it could have, and certain parts not being as emotionally resonant as they might have been.
That said, this was still an enjoyable space romp - particularly the first half, which felt stronger to me - and I will continue to seek out further work by O'Keefe.

Welp, today’s the day I don’t give five stars to a Megan E. O’Keefe book. I’m sad.

The Two Lies of Faven Sythe is a fast-paced space opera with a touch of fantasy, where crystborn navigator Faven Sythe becomes acquainted with the pirate Bitter Amandine to go to the Clutch to follow her mentor and a ghost story.

I found the ideas interesting, but O'Keefe usually shines in having plots within plots within plots, and the book was too short for the amount of twists it had. It came at the expense of world-building and character-building, which are two things I have usually obsessed over in the author's previous books. When I started the book, I was sure I'd be obsessed with Amandine, but then I found the character development to be thinner than in others of her books? Maybe it's me.

Anyways, I do recommend this if you like sci-fi fantasy, alien mysteries, space pirates, sapphic romance, and badass women overall. I found the twists to be interesting, but I lacked the understanding of the world to be properly wowed this time. I did manage to 'sniff' a twist because I started overthinking something.

I'm looking forward to O'Keefe's next series/book, I'm honestly so sad I didn't love this ;-;

This was a great read. I really enjoyed The Devoured Worlds series and I've been looking forward to reading this since I first saw the author posting about it a few months ago. The worldbuilding is vivid and believable. I loved the idea of the cryst-born and their relationship to their mysterious, godlike progenitors. Also, queer space pirates? I'll bite every time.

There were several gasp-out-loud reveals and some chilling moments that reminded me of SA Barnes or Wolf 359. I love a little spookiness in my sci-fi, so that really worked for me.

Amandine felt like a much more developed character than Faven, and I didn't find the way the relationship developed between them to be very convincing. They had some good moments, but the chemistry between them didn't feel like it had time to build naturally. Also, the title felt like it was chosen because it sounds cool (and it does!) rather than because any lies of Faven's are particularly central to the story.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this. Fans of The Devoured Worlds won't be disappointed.

I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

There were some really interesting ideas in this book. The space pirate angle was really cool and added an exciting pace to the book. There was something so poetic about the cryst and the main character’s view of how it influenced her life. Though it also leads to great sadness. I also really liked that this was a standalone so we saw a conclusion to the main story line.

This felt quite adventurous as our main character decides to defy orders to look into something that doesn’t sit right with her. This leads her to seek assistance from less than scrupulous pirates, but who are willing to help when someone is in trouble. An interesting lens of morality between acceptable structures and those that are considered wrong and live on the fringes of society, but show greater compassion.

An engaging space romp with a sapphic romance and some pretty cool ideas!

Thank you to Little Brown Book Group for allowing me the opportunity to read this ARC!

This is a standalone Sci-Fi story, and my first book by Megan E. O'Keefe! This is a fun space opera story featuring sapphic space pirates, incredible world building and lore, and plenty of twist and turns.

The worldbuilding was vast and immense and I absolutely loved reading about the crystborn and the lore surrounding them. I found this fascinating and unique, and I think any Sci-Fi fan picking this up would also be fascinated. Some of the language used to describe the crystborn processes and navigation was beautiful and I loved reading these parts of the book.

Our characters were intriguing, especially Faven, the crystborn. I loved her meeting with Amandine, our pirate, and I loved the moments between them both. I really enjoyed both their POVs and I found it very easy to distinguish what POV I was reading from.

This was so much fun to read. I love space opera style stories and this one delivered on my expectations. I definitely want to pick up more of O’Keefe’s work as I had such a good time with this book.

My only minor gripe with this book was that I felt that the secondary characters weren’t developed enough, and as a result, when certain events happened, I had no connection to them and I feel the emotional impact was significantly lessened.

I recommend picking this one up for a space opera story with crazy lore and worldbuilding and sapphic space pirates!

I really enjoyed this space opera and the enchanting world it created. It fits right into one of my favourite genres of Scifi, Space is Gay. I might even add this book to my June Highlight for the Pride Month genre highlight of Space is Gay. Very entertaining.

⤷ 3.75✩

Thanks to Orbit for providing me with the E-ARC via NetGalley.

This is a gripping scifi standalone, filled with many twists and turns, and a unique sense of world-building. Some characters are well fleshed out, while some could use some more development. I also found parts of the storyline hard to follow, as the intricate world required a lot of explanation within relatively few pages.

Therefore I think the book could have benefited from some more space to expand on its characters and descriptions.

Okay, super cool science and lore behind the crystborns. It's definitely a plus when the science fiction part of a sci-fi book is the standout.

There's a lot to recommend this book: sapphic, space pirates, space mysteries, cool sci-fi. My only note is that I wish the secondary characters had a bit more to them, especially Amandine's crew. This isn't only a want due to my consistent want of found families to attach myself to in an almost-parasocial way, but also in this book specifically, it would have made some parts of the book hit a lot harder, and I'm nothing if not wanting emotional wallops.

Megan E. O'Keefe has easily established herself as one of my favourite sci-fi authors out there right now due to her strong character writing and even stronger imagination when it comes to unique sci-fi. Come for the sapphic space pirates, stay for the fucked up crystborn lore.

Thank you to the publisher, Orbit, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

The Two Lies of Faven Sythe is such a fun space pirate story. The titular character belongs to a humanoid crystal-based species that has the power to chart starpaths through the universe. When Faven’s mentor mysteriously vanishes, she does everything she can to track her down, which leads to her tangling with Captain Bitter Amandine, a pirate with a fierce reputation.

This book has a lot going for it. The setting is fantastic and the language used to describe the various crystal and celestial elements is gorgeous. The plot is also pretty fast-paced, which makes the story fly by. But the real heart of the book is the dynamic between Faven and Amandine—the push and pull between the pair is perfectly executed.

My one criticism is that I wish there’d been more words spent developing the various side characters, particularly Amandine’s crew. I was so intrigued by them and wanted to get to know them all, but found that they were only lightly sketched. That's the only thing holding this book back from being 5 stars for me!

Queer space pirates - what’s not to love? They even drink rum. Like many sprawling space operas, the story starts off a bit slow as it introduces new characters, world building, and lore. But once everything clicks into place and the mystery begins to unfold, the pace picks up significantly. While the plot doesn’t break much new ground or push the boundaries of the genre, it’s still a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining read.

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. If you like the sound of queer space pirates, you should read this book! I really liked the characters in this, and the first two thirds were flawless. I felt the last third by comparison was a little rushed and quite complex, but overall an excellent space opera that is very much worth a read!

Space pirates and a tantalising queer romance.

Faven is a cryst-born navigator, grown from a crystal and returned to crystal. She is following a conspiracy after her mentor flies into the Clutch, a graveyard no one returns from, and gets herself captured by pirates.
Bitter Amandine is the captain of a misfit crew just trying to get by. Think of her as a Robin Hood-esque pirate.

Faven is impulsive. She wants to decide for herself for once instead of relying on the strict and protective governing body - the Choir. She has a self-imposed cage to keep the feelings at bay.
Amandine is a woman wrapped in wry amusement, carrying a fierce protective streak for her tiny crew of three. She is running from a past and does NOT dally with hostages.

This is snarky, emotional, and thrilling.

<b>“That’s a terrible plan.”
“We know,” Tully said with a toothy grin, “but we were hoping that once things were in motion, you’d catch wind of what was up and come up with a better one.”
Amandine laughed. “The faith you have in me.”
</b>
The cryst-born are slowly consumed by the very power they wield until there is nothing left but a beautiful edifice. Now tell me this doesn’t scream potential PAINFUL EMOTIONAL DAMAGE.

<b>“You’re telling me you’re a rock.”
Her chin lifted. “I am a concretion of divine light.”
“All right. A very pretty rock.”</b>

This felt very satisfying to read as a standalone, but I could also see the world being expanded with more adventures. Especially, as the epilogue tied things off too neatly with threads threatening to snap.

Arc gifted by Tor Books.