The Stars Undying by Emery Robin is a debut sci-fi novel that re-imagines the story of Cleopatra, Caesar, and Antony, except make everybody queer and set it in space. Fans of Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire will find a lot to love in this book; the richly layered politics and worldbuilding unfold in incredibly satisfying ways. Regardless of if you know the historical events this novel draws from, there are surprises and delights to be found and the narrative stands well on its own. For me, the character work often got lost in favour of the Big, Fascinating conceptual ideas explored within the text. This was a perfect book club read because there was so much to discuss, and I will definitely be reading the next book in the series.

Thank you to Orbit for an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.