These Burning Stars

By: Bethany Jacobs

Narrated by: Natalie Naudus

Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

A dangerous cat-and-mouse quest for revenge. An empire that spans star systems, built on the bones of a genocide. A carefully hidden secret that could collapse worlds, hunted by three women with secrets of their own. All collide in this twisty, explosive space opera debut, perfect for listeners of Arkady Martine and Kameron Hurley.

Jun Ironway—hacker, con artist, and occasional thief—has gotten her hands on a piece of contraband that could set her up for life: proof that implicates the powerful Nightfoot family in a planet-wide genocide seventy-five years ago. The Nightfoots control the precious sevite that fuels interplanetary travel through three star systems. And someone is sure to pay handsomely for anything that could break their hold.

Of course, anything valuable is also dangerous. The Kindom, the ruling power of the star systems, is inextricably tied up in the Nightfoots’ monopoly—and they can’t afford to let Jun expose the truth. They task two of their most brutal clerics with hunting her down: preternaturally stoic Chono, and brilliant hothead Esek, who also happens to be the heir to the Nightfoot empire.

But Chono and Esek are haunted in turn by a figure from their shared past, known only as Six. What Six truly wants is anyone’s guess. And the closer they get to finding Jun, the surer Chono is that Six is manipulating them all.

​It's a game that could destroy their lives and devastate the stars. And they have no choice but to see it through to the end.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Bethany Jacobs (P)2023 Orbit

Critic reviews

“Like every good revenge story,These Burning Stars is baroque, intense, inventive, vivid, violent, and visceral. An impressive debut.” —Kate Elliott, author of Unconquerable Sun

“A richly imagined space opera packed with intricate worldbuilding, compelling prose, and twisty politics, artfully woven together and delivered through a cast of fallible, endearing characters. An incredible debut perfect for fans of Ann Leckie, Kate Elliott, and Scalzi’s Interdependency series.”—J. S. Dewes, author of The Last Watch

“With a cast of deliciously dangerous characters and a gloriously executed plot that twists like a knife, this propulsive debut heralds the start of a sweeping space opera saga in the vein of Ann Leckie and Alastair Reynolds. Bethany Jacobs is an ingenious worldbuilder and a stunning new voice to look out for in sci-fi.”—Ren Hutchings, author of Under Fortunate Stars

Great story!

Awesome characters. Characters you love to hate and others you root for!Can't wait to continue the story.

Intriguing if a bit convoluted

I enjoyed the plot and the characters, and I really appreciate female-led storylines in sci-fi because they are so rare. I did not appreciate the complexity of the setting (multiple worlds) because it was overdone for my preferences. I get that the author wants to set up a series, but the investment in learning these worlds wasn’t worth while for me.

The writing was okay and the voice actor did a fine job. I wish the characters had been more interesting. They seemed two dimensional. But no regrets. I just don’t want to follow along to the next book, which was set up at the end.

A tale of epic proportions

A story spanning a massive inter-stellar empire, an entrancing range of characters, politics, familial rivalries, corruption, religious tensions, layered personal back stories…this book has so much. It puts me in mind of Star Wars and Dune and Red Rising. Rightfully categorized amongst the great space dramas.

Violence and grit make it feel real and raw without being heavy-handed or over used for shock value.

I would be remiss not to mention how seemingly effortlessly this author folds ideology around gender into the world. How seamlessly and without ripple it’s done. Such a believable part of the world building it fades into the background of the story. It isn’t the focus of the story, or a point battering at the reader. It simply is. It is as natural, and as unremarkable as air in this story. Perfect. To show a different ideology around public approaches to gender is starkly refreshing. I hesitated to mention this in my review as, no doubt, a certain demographic of readers who will avoid the book out of bias, but recognition where recognition is due.

An astounding read. I will be eagerly awaiting the next in the series.

Outstanding Space Opera

The characters are masterful and while the story feels whole, the ending provides a glimpse of the rocket ship that will be the next two books. I highly recommend These Burning Stars and can’t wait for the sequel.

Stunning debut

Wow it’s been a while since a sci-fi novel got me in such a chokehold. The plotting of this book is absolutely precise, with flawless execution and you feel instantly hooked from page 1. While it may feel like the author throws us head long into the middle of a story set in a galaxy spanning empire, it’s easy to get our bearings and then follow along with our characters on a (not so) merry chase from planet to station to ship and more, never being able to guess where it’s all going. The author does a masterful job giving us the details about the world, its governing mechanisms, the plights and prejudices of the people, as well as the motivations of the characters - all in little chunks through well placed flashback chapters, which we have to piece together like a puzzle to get the complete picture.

It’s the characters though who shine through and make us unable to turn away from the book. Esek Nightfoot maybe a cleric but she hardly behaves like one. She is obsessive, bloodthirsty, charismatic, impulsive and strategic all together and even when you feel like you hate her, you can’t stop yourself from trying to get to know her better. Chono is also a cleric but more righteous unlike Esek, but the dynamic they share transcends that of the usual mentor-protégé. To round off the trio is Six who remains an enigma throughout the book and we are chasing alongwith Esek and Chono to find her truth. And then there’s Jun, whose search for a memory coin that might upend the status quo of their world is what starts off this whole adventure, without anyone realizing the ultimate stakes involved. We also have other supporting characters who are equally well written and play very pivotal roles in propelling the narrative forward.

My memory these days is not very good but I think I still wanna say in the end that this might be my favorite debut of the year, and will definitely make it to my top ten list of 2023. This cat and mouse ride perfectly encapsulates the Chinese idiom “The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind” and I promise that you’ll get all the thrills and drama and twists that you can ask for in this stunning sci-fi novel. And Natalie Naudus is one of the best audiobook narrators out there who ups the ante with her flawless narration. Don’t miss it.

Great plot!

Amazing world building! Characters are great, pace is awesome, it’s the kind of book that keeps you up at night because you won’t stop listening!

Really good space opera

Narrator is great, I have enjoyed her narration before. The world buidling is done along the way, no big info dumps. The story does jump around in time but if you pay attention to the names of the year it makes it easier to folloe (year of thr crux is present day). The characters are compelling even when you hate them sometimes. This is going on my reread list, now that i know what will happen it will be interesting to listen again and see what clues show up before some of the big reveals.

amazing first novel

this is the best space opera I have read sing The Collapsing Empire. Just wonderful.

Loved this book!

Great characters. Great storyline. Very captivating. I got hooked and couldn’t stop listening! Love that their are they/them characters as well

Wow - what an excellent space opera 🚀

I just finished the sapphic space opera “These Burning Stars (The Kindom Trilogy #1)” by Bethany Jacobs and I absolutely loved it.

The narrator Natalie Naudus, as usual does an excellent job with a very large cast of characters.
Her voices are always so distinct.

The audiobook comes with a PDF which I recommend downloading as a reference since it lists character genealogy and world maps. I enjoyed “These Burning Stars” so much though that I ended up buying the ebook too.

The story stars two “Killing Eve“ type characters (brilliant, beautiful, and brutal) who obsessively chase each other across the galaxy trying to destroy one another, a female warrior cleric who is dedicated to them both, and an expert hacker and her female lover who is also a trained assassin.

The wide ranging and page turnery plot includes intricately layered mysteries, buried secrets, corrupt governments, unscrupulous leaders, political versus religious intrigue, ruthless families, constant tension, action, chaos, obsessions, time jumps, and so many twists. It’s cleverly written and has such compelling, complex, and badass characters.

The story also presents an interesting view on gender. Everyone has the right to gender themselves as soon as they discover what fits. All job titles in the society are gender neutral - the author uses the non gendered “aan” as a descriptor : businessaan, guardsaan, doorsaan, cloaksaan, etc.

There are so many twists that it’s the kind of book that when you finish it you want to start reading again from the beginning in order to view the bread crumb trail with a different perspective.

I would highly recommend “These Burning Stars” by Bethany Jacobs to anyone who enjoys reading a well written space opera with rich world building, morally grey but surprisingly likable characters, action, adventure, mysteries, many twists, and such an emotionally satisfying ending!

I loved it - easily one of my favorite books of the year.