Unconquerable Sun

By: Kate Elliott

Narrated by: Natalie Naudus

Length: 17 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

"Non-stop action! Space battles! Intrigue! This is the kind of space opera that I love best - but Elliott does it even better." (New York Times best-selling author Ann Leckie)

New York Times best-selling author Kate Elliott brings us a thrilling new science fiction adventure set in a rich universe full of political intrigue with Unconquerable Sun.

Gender-Spun Alexander the Great on an Interstellar Scale

Princess Sun has finally come of age.

Growing up in the shadow of her mother, Eirene, has been no easy task. The legendary queen-marshal did what everyone thought impossible: expel the invaders and build Chaonia into a magnificent republic, one to be respected - and feared.

But the cutthroat ambassador corps and conniving noble houses have never ceased to scheme - and they have plans that need Sun to be removed as heir, or better yet, dead.

To survive, the princess must rely on her wits and companions: her biggest rival, her secret lover, and a dangerous prisoner of war.

Take the brilliance and cunning courage of Princess Leia - add in a dazzling futuristic setting where pop culture and propaganda are one and the same - and hold on tight: This is the space opera you’ve been waiting for.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Guide to the 100 Best Books of the Year - 2020

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books

©2020 Kate Elliott (P)2020 Macmillan Audio

Absolutely excellent in every way

I had already read this book before listening to it. I was saving the audio recording because I'm a big Kate Elliott fan and I wanted it to be special. Well, I was totally blown away by Natalie's reading. Superb. She brought this action packed story to life and each of the characters, who were already well developed by Kate, she breathed more life into. I know I will be listening to this again, again like I have with the other stories that Kate Elliott has written. bravo!

Great intro to a new universe can't wait for more

Love the cast of characters and the fun settings Kate Elliot has put together in this book. Fresh on the accolades of a victory the heir to the empire goes on a good will tour. The palace intrigue and fast paced plot of this book make for a fun time.

Natalie Naudus does a great job as narrator conveying emotion and giving a fantastic performance.

Excited to jump into the next installment.

Fun and Fast Paced Space Opera!

I loved “Unconquerable Sun” by Kate Elliott.
It’s voiced by one of my favorite narrators Natalie Naudus and she does such a great job with this book.

There is some stage setting in the very beginning, but once all of the pieces fall into place it’s just a constant roller coaster ride of action packed snarky fun. The first part is world building and then it just lifts off like a rocket.

It’s a gender swapped Alexander the Great in space where all of the important characters are strong and powerful queer women. Queer relationships are just normalized within the world structure. Many of the marriages are constructed for political alliances and gender is not a factor. Princess Sun (the title character) has a relationship with a woman which she keeps secret only because she is not from the right political family and not because she is a woman.

It’s well written, fast paced, and tons of fun. The book’s part space opera, part military science fiction, full of political intrigue, non-stop action, and the dialogue is snarky fun. Natalie Naudus’s narration is excellent - all of the character voices are distinct and unique so even though there is a large cast of folks you can entirely distinguish between them by their voices.

I just finished re-listening to it in order to prepare for the sequel and I loved it just as much the second time around.

Served me well through packing and a move

This was an entertaining story that moved at a good pace. I listened to it while packing to move and it made the drudgery disappear. I really liked the performer, she did such a good job on all of the voices.

Good middle Portion

The beginning of this book was just bad exposition for a while. The end of this book was inconsequential and there were no stakes throughout it at all. The middle however was really enjoyable, and provided an interesting story for a good 60 percent of the book. Yet, overall i was left just sad with the story, never living up to as good as it could be.

It was slow to start but picked up and went for it

I tend to listen to books like this at around 1,25 to 1.40, it gives a bit more intensity to the action. The start is a bit slow, passing back and forth between all the players and setting the world building up. Once that was done I enjoyed it as the YA space opera it is.

It's always a hard start for me with so many characters to set up. It can feel disjointed. By the end I was ready for the next book and wanted to follow all the characters as the story pulls them together. I enjoyed the world being based on earth Eastern style names and overall background. It's a nice change from everything being based on Greek and Roman mythology.

There is no explicit sex but this is a polyamorous and pan sexual society over all. It is just treated as normal with no associated drama.

Confusing timeframes and characters

I read / listen to A LOT of sci-fi / fantasy books! I tried to listen to this one three separate times, thinking that my inability to follow the jumps from one scene/ character's storyline to another was all about me. Finally after 2 hours I just gave up! The narrator, Natalie Naudus, was superb (and is the reason I listened to this in the first place) but the story isn't easy to follow with all the abrupt changes so I found myself tuning it out instead of being enraptured. So sad...

A Pleasant Experience

This is an excellent story with interesting characters. I could see it as either a standalone or the beginning of a series. The culture and tech are interesting; and while this is no kind of hard SF, the 'left behind technology' trope is deployed sparingly, while relativity is used to great effect.

My biggest disappointment in this production is that M Naudus did not take a credit at the end of the performance, because it was *excellent*. Multiple voices of multiple genders, plus seamless pronunciation of tonal languages.

This was well worth my time.

A Wild Ride

Kate Elliot never fails to entertain. Her new series is a excellent blend of military and political sci-fi.
The characters are for the most part well-developed, and I expect that we'll see more going forward.
There are a host of Easter eggs and nods for both history buffs and pop culture fans. I was smiling ear to ear through the whole listen, aside from the occasional emotional gut punch. Really looking forward to the next volume.
(And as an aside, was really nice to have proper pronunciations for the Chinese names from the VA.)

A Great Elliot Read Beautifully Read

Kate Elliott is an always-buy author for me and this standalone didn't disappoint. The narration really makes the audiobook version a must have. Truly excellent.