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    Persephone Station
    Persephone Station
    Persephone Station
    Audiobook11 hours

    Persephone Station

    Written by Stina Leicht

    Narrated by Maria Liatis

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Hugo award–nominated author Stina Leicht has created a take on space opera for fans of The Mandalorian and Cowboy Bebop in this high-stakes adventure.

    Persephone Station, a seemingly backwater planet that has largely been ignored by the United Republic of Worlds becomes the focus for the Serrao-Orlov Corporation as the planet has a few secrets the corporation tenaciously wants to exploit.

    Rosie—owner of Monk’s Bar, in the corporate town of West Brynner, caters to wannabe criminals and rich Earther tourists, of a sort, at the front bar. However, exactly two types of people drank at Monk’s back bar: members of a rather exclusive criminal class and those who sought to employ them.

    Angel—ex-marine and head of a semi-organized band of beneficent criminals, wayward assassins, and washed up mercenaries with a penchant for doing the honorable thing is asked to perform a job for Rosie. What this job reveals will effect Persephone and put Angel and her squad up against an army. Despite the odds, they are rearing for a fight with the Serrao-Orlov Corporation. For Angel, she knows that once honor is lost, there is no regaining it. That doesn’t mean she can’t damned well try.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJan 5, 2021
    ISBN9781980090908
    Author

    Stina Leicht

    Stina Leicht is a science fiction and fantasy writer living in central Texas. Her second novel, And Blue Skies from Pain, was on the Locus Recommended Reading list for 2012. She was an Astounding Award for Best New Writer finalist in 2011 and in 2012. In 2011 she was also shortlisted for the Crawford Award. She is also the author of Loki’s Ring.

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    Reviews for Persephone Station

    3.5/5

    121 ratings14 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I love the book, but this audiobook is awful. Not because of the narration, but because it’s completely glitched. Whole chapters are skipped over, with things cut off mid-sentence and picking up several pages later. Better off reading the book than listening and missing half the story.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      The premise seemed really good, but for some reason this just didn't hold my attention. Maybe it was the narrator, she didn't read with any variation of emotion.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      I liked this book. It was light and kept me listening till the end. I did find the characters suffered a little too much from "what they did in the past" rather than what their motivations were. At times the conversation between professional mercenaries who had worked together for ages was far too verbose and unnecessary, but these are minor complaints.
    • 3/5
      Eine spannende Handlung mit interessanten Figuren. Das Reinkommen fiel mir etwas schwer, danach war ich aber gut mit dabei.
    • 1/5
      Sucks. Writer uses woke pronoun garbage language. Don’t bother. Wasting your time.
    • 4/5
       Loved the characters most, when it came to this one. Loved the variety; loved that essentially *all* of the named and speaking characters are female or non-binary. Nice change! Beginning was a ton of exposition; hard at times to keep track of all the threads, and then suddenly BOOM fighting. A few things I thought confusing but assumed would be explained never were. Wrapped up perhaps a little too neatly. Still, I did love the characters.
    • 5/5
      I really loved the crew of misfit characters at the heart of this story. The worldbuilding is also really cool, and Kennedy Liu's sub-plot is compelling as it slowly twines around the main plot.
    • 5/5
      If you loved “Journey to a Small Angry Planet”, “Gideon the Ninth” or “Star Wars” then there is something here for you, so put the kettle on and prepare to not wanna put this book down. Genderqueer sci-fi space opera with honorable mercenaries, evil government/corporations, pew pews and everything you could want in a galactic adventure!
    • 4/5
      I guess the title suits the cast were every significant character is a woman, cis, or trans or non-human native or AI, though I'd prefer if I could have sensed something other than a story where all the pronouns could have been he/him/his without making a big difference. It's a fun, high action, high body count adventure, more shoot em up than suits me, and the characters are interesting enough, though they seem to come from a pretty standard play book.
    • 1/5
      The idea that SF writing is a craft (or, if you prefer, an art) in any way subordinate to, say, 'literary' writing, or writing for children, or romance writing, is one that I would hope has long since exceeded its sell-by date. Any form of fiction has particular requirements and precepts; while these can be bent to the author's will, this reshaping is less often successful when the author does not have a solid grounding in what has gone before. Having not read some of Leicht’s's earlier efforts towards SF, I'd be greatly surprised if this one managed to rise to anything like the standard of Amy Thomson's “Virtual Girl”, or Chris Beckett's “The Holy Machine”, or Martha Wells' “The Murderbot Diaries”, or Phil Dick's “Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?”, or Asimov's 'Robot' stories, or... well, any one of numerous other works steeped in SF that have explored the commonalities and distinctions between humans and autonomous thinking machines (aka, in this case a “non-binary” character aka WOKE character).This sounded really good until I found out as I read it that it contained large tracts of exposition. Exposition here, either intentionally or unintentionally, is handled in a drier, more academic narrative voice, making it stand out more, in a bad way, from the rest of the book. I do feel that some authors just can't resist telling you that they've done all the research and construction of their “universe” and it does put me off (there’s not much to it as well: the world-building is almost nonexistent and the SFional elements per se are laughable). By 20% the novel had told me that I was supposed to use the right pronouns for a non-binary character; after this, I was expecting something along the lines of “yes white people can in fact marry black people and that obesity is nothing to feel bad about as long as your happy with it and anyhow the problem is society in the first place” (fortunately Leicht spared me that!). How any author can write and publish a work like this is something of a mystery to me. Moreover, how can people read this tripe is beyond me.I was brought up reading Biggles books, and characters were always blurting, gasping, interjecting etc.I miss those days of innocence when a man could ejaculate loudly in front of his friends without it raising eyebrows. Makes me wonder whether the Amazonification of SF ("lash it out quick and cheap"), and the apparent demise of the role of the editor ("this is rubbish Stina"), have contributed to that.
    • 4/5
      Originally posted on Tales to Tide You OverThe description of Persephone Station intrigued me from the start. I enjoyed both television shows listed as comparable, while the line between space opera and military science fiction is a favorite of mine. It’s strange how something that falls tightly into so many tropes can be of them and something else entirely. In this case, though, the odd fit is just about perfect.The story blends sociological science fiction and engaging combat scenes where strategies succeed or fail based on how well the defenders guess the planned attacks. It’s feminist in a focus on consent and choice. There are non-binary characters, gay couples, and a broader spectrum of possibilities than found in tradition space opera.I think Rosie, one of the many leading characters, sums up an underlying theme well. They point out how humans are the aliens on this planet rather than those who were there before human colonization, the word itself incorrect. The Emissaries have a problematic history even before humans set down roots. I found them fascinating both in their past and how they accommodate humans so they can remain hidden.The description, both in content and skill, enthralled me. At points, I laughed aloud while others brought me to tears. This is neither a romp nor a tragedy, but has elements of both. Life is complicated, and the right choices don’t necessarily mean health, happiness, or even survival. It’s how you stay true to yourself that matters. At least, that’s how I read the various choices made by those I sided with.The narrative is twisted enough for me to experience momentary doubts about some of the other characters. Angel and her team are my main characters (there are enough to choose from), and so they set the bar for the rest. I didn’t always see the bigger picture, in part because of this choice, but I always had an opinion as to how I wanted things to go. The narrative is complex enough I had concerns about the rest of those I considered good guys, making for a few tense moments, or maybe more than a few.I read my notes once I finished, and my engagement is clear. I’m hoping the characters are playing a deep game rather than betraying my favorites. Then I am enjoying a complex conversation full of double-speak, even though I don’t trust one character as far as I can throw her. The story unfolds in the unspoken as much as the events we see. This makes it a little harder to read sometimes, but also more interesting.The book starts at a run with a powerful scene that grounds us in the bigger situation, introduces the aliens, and gives us a villain if not the full details. It’s funny to say that because such an introduction would seem to eliminate the possibility of a complex narrative. And yet, there’s much more going on, and the reasons behind what we learn aren’t exactly what they appear to be.I’m talking around the book because even the smallest reveal offers too much detail outside of context. What I can tell you is the characters are full fleshed. You will care about them and their concerns. The story has both philosophical passages, and detailed action scenes with neat tech and team bonding. It is a fun read on many levels.The world is a fascinating mix between the Wild West and an almost religious philosophy. The people are equally complex, coming into this moment with histories, secrets, and connections that offer strength and weakness both. I was thoroughly engaged to the point that my notes start listing things I enjoyed and then taper off into nothing as I couldn’t step back enough to comment.This isn’t a book for everyone. I had a little trouble following Rosie’s point of view at first because of their choice of pronouns, and the feminist philosophies are very dominant at times. The human cast is almost all female as well, which might throw some readers. If, however, you embrace the book’s reality, Persephone Station offers an energetic, fast-paced story that asks you to examine your own beliefs about personhood and limits. You’re asked to choose a side in a conflict where emotions run deep and the risks are real.P.S. I received this Advanced Reader Copy from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
    • 5/5
      4.25/5 stars!This book is about a group of people against a corporation that is vying for the control of the planet Persephone and its secrets. Focused on the female and non-binary leaders who is fighting against the corporation, this sci-fi story has adventure, a dash of humor, and all-inclusive representatives that makes the story flow smoothly. It would have been nice to have some more details to some parts for a better closure, but that's a personal preference. Overall, it's a nice story that would be great for readers who wants to try this genre for the first time.**Thanks to Goodreads and the publisher for the review copy.**
    • 4/5
      Rosie Ashmore uses their bar to tend to the needs of the elite criminal class. Someone is tampering with their operations and threatening their friends, and they are not pleased. They hire retired marine Angel de la Reza and her squad of mercenaries to handle the situation, which pits her crew against the army of Serrao-Orlov. Mixed into all of this is the mysterious Kennedy Liu, and no one quite knows what her goals are.Rich with well-developed characters and packed with exciting action, Persephone Station moves you through this well-built world from the conflict-riddled city of Brynner into the unsafe and unknown Porini Territory and up to the eponymous space port. Fully scifi yet with the best elements of Wild West stories, it has the feel, if not the tropes, of a weird western delicately seasoned with hints of corporate dystopia, transhumanism, and crime fiction. Devious ploys and a touch of humor round out this stand-alone novel to leave you with a fun speculative fiction adventure.I received a complimentary copy of this book via a NetGalley giveaway. Many thanks to all involved in providing me with this opportunity.
    • 4/5
      The book had me at: "a semi-organized band of beneficent criminals, wayward assassins, and washed up mercenaries with a penchant for doing the honorable thing." The universe Persephone Station is set in is so rich and layered; that made it easy to understand the grand stakes resulting from every point-of-view character's actions. The characters also were deeper than is the norm for, well, most books, because that is Stina Leicht's gift, to bring us into these characters so we feel what they feel. A thing I particularly enjoyed about this book is that while the disparate points of view characters and their individual problems came together in the climax of this story, they just as easily separated after its resolution, leaving space for many other stories in this universe and again reminding us how vast this universe is. Because it's a space opera I'd be remiss if I didn't say this story gives you plenty of bang! and boom! and all the clever plans you could want.