Sektor 47

Sektor 47 is a gem. It’s a fast-paced space adventure combined with a very sweet (and emotional) story about human relationships. It features very heavy topics such as the brutality of colonialism and disability, but it’s also quite light as its main characters (Saída and Rodok) are hilarious and quirky.

This novel is told in two timelines: the past in Sektor 47 where Saída lives with Uncle Abbas and they are routinely harassed and assaulted by the colonizers; and the present, where Saída is traveling space with her android Rodok, looking for a way to save Uncle Abbas from Sektor 47. The bits in Sektor 47 are brutally sad and frustrating to read - the inequality, harassment, racism, etcetera is just difficult to read, but Uncle Abbas’ kindness is heartwarming. And the present is fast-paced and FUN.

I truly loved this book. I tend to say this all the time, but I’m a character-focused reader, and I truly enjoyed spending time with Saída and Rodok. The bits with Uncle Abbas were slightly melodramatic at times, but very enjoyable nonetheless. This being said, I LOVE Rodok. Love love love Rodok. I tend to hate AI and I’ve only liked Bero from Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O'Keefe, but dang. Rodok was just so caring, funny, and snarky. Well done, N.N. Jehangir. I’ll be keeping an eye out for more books by him for sure.

World-building was good but not as detailed as I would have liked. This was pretty much a light fast-paced space adventure with many moving pieces, and I am not sure I fully understood the little of the world we got to see. Which led to a few deus ex machina situations and others where I just had to nod my head and assume things made sense.

And lastly, the reason why I’m not giving this five starts is because of the Redcoats and all the ‘bad guys.’ One of my least favorite tropes is when a book has good characters that are very good and bad characters that are very bad, I like my shades of gray. But this book had flawed good characters, and just plain evil bad guys, which sort of didn’t work for me.

So, in short, light fast-paced space adventure with a heavy focus on colonialism (and all its cruelty and brutality). It was fun, highly recommend it!

'Sektor 47' is a fun and exciting story with bounty hunter Saída as protagonist. Accompanied by her android Rodok, she travels through the galaxy in search of criminals. This, in order to make a living for herself, but also because she is looking for people who possess items and information that can help her free her uncle, whom she calls Uncle Abbas. Abbas raise her, tried to protect her from the Grand Design who rule the galaxy in an all but democratic manner, and eventually was imprisoned while helping Saída escape. Both plots --the search for Uncle Abbas on one hand and the childhood years of Saída on the other hand-- are told in alternating chapters. Both plots are nicely balanced: the story in the past provides answers and explanations about the now, but spreads them out nicely over the entire book.

The book has a lot of Space Western vibes. It is always fast paced, never bores and shows good humour in the way Saída en Rodok interact. It reminded me several times of the TV series 'Firefly' and the film 'Serenity' which imho belong among the best Space Western ever produced for TV. As a result I had so much fun reading this book. The story kept me interested and I had a hard time putting the book away. Both main characters are very likable and well developed. The worldbuilding contains a few nice finds on top of that.

My star rating is actually a rounded up 4.5 and that is because of the ending. This comes very sudden, when the plot actually hasn't come to a satisfying conclusion yet (another similarity to 'Firefly'). I assume this is because there is at least a second instalment planned, but that is never made clear. Now, the book ends with almost more unanswered questions than what it started with. But regardless of that it is a very recommendable novel. I am already looking forward to its --presumed-- successor.

(Thank you NetGalley and The Book Guild for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.)