Some Desperate Glory

Some Desperate Glory
Emily Tesh, 2023

Hugo Winner - 2024

Premise: It's not easy being the last outpost of humanity. You have to give up a lot. You have to be committed to the cause. You have to not listen to the propaganda that says that maybe you're actually in a cult...

What a book! It might have first gotten on my radar for winning the Hugo, but I had forgotten that by the time I read it, so I was unexpectedly delighted with this. 

At least a few SPOILERS must follow here, but before we get there, I'll say that I recommend this for anyone who likes complex/morally messed-up protagonists and some heavy topics in your sci-fi adventure. 

I've seen it recommended for fans of the Locked Tomb (not just for the blurb from Tamsyn Muir on the cover), and I agree with that. It starts from a place where you don't know what the protagonist doesn't know about the world they live in, and discovering the truth behind their home is incredibly compelling. (The author's note in the back cited some of the sources she used to study cults and fascism, and I think her research paid off.)

I loved the journey of this book. I loved following Kyr from the start. She's a true believer, and so I started out taking her at face value. The way the truth is revealed first to the reader, and then to Kyr herself as she struggles to understand - ugh. I just loved it. 

I can't always take topics that get too dark, and this gets DARK in places, but not gratuitously so. Somehow it felt right to look into this fire and try to understand - how things went so wrong for these characters and how difficult it was for them to try to make better choices.

(I did appreciate that when the most horrific crime-against-sentient life thing happened, I could see I was only halfway through the book, so I knew it wasn't the end of the story.)

5 Stars - An Awesome Book