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In so many ways, I have no idea how to start this review.

For one, I didn’t review the first book in THE GRAVEN, Essa Hansen’s mind-altering space opera trilogy. There is a review for NOPHEK GLOSS on this blog, but it was generously provided by my friend Guthrie. I’ll often look back at my reviews for the first book in a series when I’m working on a review for the second, and I’ve done that here of course.

But it had definitely been awhile since I read the first book, and so reading AZURA GHOST was slightly daunting, and almost felt like starting over to a certain extent.

And I just…can barely begin to articulate how fucking hard I loved this book.

Books that are sometimes confusing or disorienting or just so completely bonkers don’t always connect with me. It’s easy to disengage with the story if you feel like it’s too difficult to visualize what the author was going for. I feel like with AZURA GHOST, Essa Hansen pulls off the amazing feat of creating something that is unusual & occasionally hard to keep up with, but is so profoundly human and endlessly beautiful.

AZURA GHOST shattered my heart into billions of tiny pieces & scattered them across the multiverse!

The book picks up quite a bit after the ending of NOPHEK GLOSS, I think about ten years? Caiden has been on the run, basically keeping away from the incredible found family he became a part of in an effort to keep them safe. The Azura is his home, as much an extension of himself as it is a spaceship.

And then there’s C. The nophek that Caiden keeps as a well-trained pet. C is somehow both a reminder of all the horrible things that have happened to Caiden, and also an endless source of comfort for him. Let’s never mind the fact that C is a terrifying killing machine/space beastie…C is a Very Good Space Doggo and I would die for him!!

This story brings Caiden back in contact with Leta, his childhood friend that he had feared dead. Throughout the story, Leta is referred to as Caiden’s sister, and I think that’s just a really subtle indicator of what so much of this book is about. Caiden & Leta are not siblings by birth or by adoption or any other traditional means. They are siblings by choice, because of what they mean to each other.

But this Leta that Caiden encounters so many years later is…different. To the point where Caiden has to confront the real possibility that this is not in fact his sister, but perhaps something incredibly dangerous.

Another pair of siblings factor into the story in a big way in terms of, you know, battling over the fate of the multiverse. Threi & Abriss are both fascinating characters, at times terrifying.

Through the incredible cast of characters in this series, Hansen explores so much about gender identity, neurodivergence, and disability. And the found family vibe in AZURA GHOST is just so beautiful & joyful & painful & just…it’s everything. These characters stole my heart entirely.

AZURA GHOST moves fast & I occasionally felt like I was on the verge of being ejected from the spaceship, and losing the plot threads altogether. But fucking hell, Essa Hansen is just a monstrously talented storyteller & she keeps it all together. The imagination on display in AZURA GHOST is staggering, but despite all of the huge ideas present in the book, the wonderful characters keep things grounded. There’s also such a lovely earnestness to this book that really won me over…there’s a lot of raw emotion in AZURA GHOST, and extremely limited snark, which can feel like a rare thing in a multiversal space opera!

I’m not sure what else to say. I loved this book so fucking much, and I can’t wait to get into ETHERA GRAVE soon! AZURA GHOST is a complete masterpiece, one of my favorite reads of the year!

Massive thanks to Orbit for the copy!