Ardent Violet and the infinite eye

The story of Earth's continued fight against giant, evil machines continues (after August Kitko and the Mechas from Space, 2022) with the tale of superstar pop musician Ardent Violent and their boyfriend, August Kitko. The Coalition is an organization, created from many different extraterrestrial groups, that has the goal of protecting and saving the universe. August and Ardent, with their connection to mechas (giant robots piloted by humans), along with their similarly paired-up friends, have to get along with and learn from the Coalition to help preserve humanity. The group is preparing for a big fight, one that will bring back the bad mechas as well as an AI that is working to control and dominate all life. August and Ardent are fun, enjoyable characters on many levels: as superheroes and as partners with an essential goodness in them. This highly involved space opera will definitely appeal to sf fans, but even the most sf-averse will be interested in the character arcs.

White expertly raises the stakes in the adrenaline-packed middle installment of their Starlight Symphony trilogy (after August Kitko and the Mechas from Space). Having saved the world from genocidal mechas from outer space by bonding with their own set of Vanguard war machines, the flamboyant pop star Ardent Violet and their new boyfriend, jazz pianist August Kitko, want to relax. Instead, humanity's most unlikely champions are thrust back into galactic politics by the arrival of the Coalition, a collection of alien species united in self-defense against marauding AIs bent on destroying organic sentience. These other species, each of whom possess their own Vanguard, will help defend Earth from Infinite, an AI bent on absorbing all human consciousness. But trust and cooperation don't come easily in a war of this scale, especially for the ragtag musicians reluctantly representing humanity, and events soon spiral out of control, threatening not just Earth but the entire galaxy. White finds plenty of room for dry humor, tenderness, compassion, and fabulous music amid the chaos and violence. Vibrant, complicated, and passionate, this will leave readers clamoring for more. Agent: Connor Goldsmith, Fuse Literary. (Dec.)