Alex White became a must-read author for me last summer, when I read their then-new release A Big Ship At The Edge Of The Universe on the recommendation of one of my critique partners. Like all of Kate’s recs, the book was absolutely brilliant, and I was immediately in love with this vibrant, imaginative new universe.
The Salvagers series is a fast-paced space opera with a sprinkling of fantasy elements, a cast of endearingly flawed characters and a lot of badassery. Expect a twisty plot that never stops moving, space battles, spellcasters, magic-laced tech, high stakes, treasure hunters, weird mysteries, and an amazing F/F relationship.
When the sequel, A Bad Deal For The Whole Galaxy, came out at the end of last year, I made my family bring me a copy all the way from Canada since my UK preorder wouldn’t arrive in time! As predicted, I loved Book 2 -- probably even more than the first one, since the main characters felt familiar from the get-go and I was already pretty invested in their fates.
The story got off to a running start, introducing even more magic tech, more high-stakes battles, deeper galaxy-level intrigue and a bank heist! The only problem with this book is that there’s never a good place to stop reading for the day, because almost every scene ends on an action-packed cliffhanger.
Like the first book, Bad Deal has a dense plot and some complicated worldbuilding -- full of twists and double-crossing and revenge -- but at the heart of it is a really, really great character story. More so than the cosmic plot unfolding in the background, I loved seeing the characters and intimate relationships developing further, and getting to meet some new characters including an amazing & terrifying new villain.
The Capricious crew have become a found family that truly love & support each other despite (sometimes because of) their various quirks, flaws & questionable pasts.
Bonus: Alex White is also a composer, and they’ve made some music to go along with the books!
You can listen to their book soundtrack for A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe on Spotify here, or find the album on the music service of your choice :)
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