First Sister has no name and no voice. As a priestess of the Sisterhood, she travels the stars alongside the soldiers of Earth and Mars—the same ones who own the rights to her body and soul. When her former captain abandons her, First Sister’s hopes for freedom are dashed when she is forced to stay on her ship with no friends, no power, and a new captain—Saito Ren—whom she knows nothing about. She is commanded to spy on Captain Ren by the Sisterhood, but soon discovers that working for the war effort is so much harder to do when you’re falling in love. 

Lito val Lucius climbed his way out of the slums to become an elite soldier of Venus, but was defeated in combat by none other than Saito Ren, resulting in the disappearance of his partner, Hiro. When Lito learns that Hiro is both alive and a traitor to the cause, he now has a shot at redemption: track down and kill his former partner. But when he discovers recordings that Hiro secretly made, Lito’s own allegiances are put to the test. Ultimately, he must decide between following orders and following his heart.

Expectations can be a funny thing when it comes to books. High expectations can lead to disappointments, lower expectations can lead to surprise favorites, and anything in between.

The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis is one of those books where I somehow went in with a bit of a blank slate…the two books that it was being compared to, Red Rising and The Handmaid’s Tale, are still on the horizon for me, and so I just had no idea what to expect from this. Of course I read the synopsis, but even then…I just found myself being thrilled & surprised by this book time and time again. The First Sister is a fantastic & wildly original space opera, and a book that I just could not wait to crack open each day I was reading it. I fucking adored this, oof!!

The First Sister is the first in a trilogy (of the same name). There are three POVs in the book. There’s the titular First Sister, a Gean priestess of the Sisterhood. She is nameless, and voiceless, having had her voice taken from her to become a Sister. She lives aboard an elite warship, providing comfort, confession, and companionship to soldiers. Her’s is a coveted position, but deep down, she is desperate for a new life. The new captain of the ship, Saito Ren, may be First Sister’s salvation, or complete ruination.

Lito is an Icarii duelist, a highly decorated soldier who has suffered a fall from grace. He has been separated from his partner, Hiro. The two were paired with a neural implant, connecting their thoughts and emotions with one another. But it’s believed that Hiro has turned traitor.

The third POV belongs to Hiro, in an almost epistolary style. They have recorded a series of messages for Lito, and as Lito plays them back, he discovers so much more about Hiro than he knew previously.

That’s the bare-bones description of what’s going on in this book, because there is A Whole Lot going on here. There’s a lot of history embedded in the text of this book…it’s set well into the future, and humans have settled on several different planets, fleeing a decimated Earth.

Lewis does amazing work in The First Sister balancing character development with thrilling action sequences. I found all three main characters to be compelling, and each of them had such a unique voice. First Sister fascinated me entirely…she’s spent most of her life serving others, and she’s getting these tantalizing glimpses at what true freedom might look like for her.

The theme of body autonomy runs through all the POVs in this book, perhaps none more so than Hiro’s. They are larger-than-life, a character with a very big personality. And the relationship between them and Lito is something that’s deeply complex, beautiful, and really unlike anything I’ve read.

I feel like I’m just flailing about & doing an absolutely terrible job conveying much about The First Sister, but I can say unreservedly this is one of my favorite books I’ve read in 2020. This is the epic, interplanetary, gut-punchy, queer, romantic space opera you’ve been looking for. Oof…what a fucking incredible first book in a trilogy! I cannot wait to see what Linden A. Lewis has up their sleeve for the next installment!

Massive thanks to Saga Press/Skybound Books for the copy!!