Some Desperate Glory

Tesh (“Greenhollow” novellas) introduces Kyr, a young soldier emerging from the violent brainwashing of her youth. A rigid, single-minded soldier, Kyr lives aboard Gaea Station, where extremist humans plot to avenge Earth’s destruction. Her only weakness is her love for her brother, Mags; when Mags disappears, Kyr leaves in search of him, accompanied by only a despised colleague and an enemy alien. As Kyr encounters the universe outside of Gaea Station, she begins to question the essential tenets of her upbringing. Along with introspective passages, Tesh entertains with jaw-dropping twists, multiverse mayhem, and epic scenes of battle and apocalypse. Narrator Sena Bryer conveys Kyr’s quickly changing perspective, revealing different facets of her strength and determination, all of which will be necessary if she is going to save her brother’s life. Bryer allows Kyr’s voice to move through a spectrum of emotions and attitudes as the novel progresses—from blindly confident and willful to sorrowfully empathetic. She also captures the intricate emotional arcs of secondary characters, providing distinct voices for each.