Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Two Lies of Faven Sythe by Megan O'Keefe Published by Orbit on June 3, 2025
Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera
Pages: 345
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
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The Black Celeste is a ghost story. A once-legendary spaceship collecting dust in a cosmic graveyard known as the Clutch. Only famed pirate Bitter Amandine knows better, and she’ll do anything to never go near it again. No matter the cost.
Faven Sythe is crystborn, a member of the near-human species tasked with charting starpaths from station to station. She’s trained to be a navigator her entire life. But when her mentor disappears, leaving behind a mysterious starpath terminating in the Clutch, she is determined to find the truth. And only Amandine has the answers.What they will find is a conspiracy bigger than either of them. Their quest for the truth will uncover secrets Amandine has long fought to keep buried – secrets about how she survived her last encounter in the Clutch, and what’s really hidden out there amongst the stars...
Out in the stars only the gifted Navigators can guide a ship through FTL travel to safety, but one navigator on a personal mission discovers the stars hold some dangerous secrets, too. Megan O’Keefe is known for her stellar sci-fi contributions, but this was my first notice of her and her work- the gorgeous cover stopped me in my tracks.
The Two Lies of Faven Scythe begin with an ending. A haunting scene of a daughter watching her mother make the final transition to hard cryst stone. Faven’s kind are Cryst and this makes them the renowned navigators, but this gift comes with a cost. The navigators are part human- part crystal. Each time they exercise their gifts they become a little more stone.
The human society is built on top of an old alien civilization long gone. Humans are adapted and Faven’s cryst-kind the most adapted and valued of all since travel in FTL space doesn’t happen without a Navigator.
This is why space pirate, Bitter Amandine, is curious when she spots a Navigator walk into an obvious trap to kidnap her, laid by another pirate- so curious that she intervenes and kidnaps Faven, herself.
Faven chose to be kidnapped because the pirates would provide her the wherewithal for her personal mission- to track her mentor, who mysteriously disappeared and is thought dead, into the mysterious, legendary Graveyard.
Two Lies of Faven Scythe takes off from there because someone is out to stop Faven and Faven is the catalyst for revealing some big-time secrets long covered up. The pirate and the navigator share a crackling and tension-laid attraction that had me wondering how it would all end with Faven changing slowly into stone.
This was a buckle up and hold on for the ride sort of read and this was dashing through an amazing and unique sci-fi world. I was lost at first, but I think I was meant to be as the wonder and mystery side was predominant leading to more prosaic future-human plot action and character development. O’Keefe’s creativity in building such a world around a familiar sci-fi action-mystery-suspense-romance plot was supernova amazing.
Definitely recommend to those who want a little something different paired with a winning pulse-pounding sci-fi action mystery and a sweet, opposites attract F/F romance.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing.Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators.Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance.Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
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That cover is eye catching no wonder you stopped to check this title out. Great review. I’m now curious. Thanks!
I couldn’t help myself once I spotted the cover and read the blurb. 🙂
I’ve always wanted to read this author. I own at least one of her books. Someday!
I noticed her books a while back, too, and meant to, but this was the one that finally did the trick. 🙂
That really does sound good. Nice cover too.
It had me so curious and yes, that is a fab cover.
The “mythology” sounds exciting and reminds me a little of something I saw in one of the Star Trek spinoffs. Thanks!
Yes! It was very ‘alien’ and I love when sci-fis are like that.
Space pirates!!!
Yep! It tickled my fancy, too. 🙂
Love the cover, glad you enjoyed it. Great review!
Oh yes, it was a lovely exotic sci-fi with romance and the cover was a great match for it.
This one sounds so good and I like the sound of the Cryst, they sound very unique. And that cover sure is eye catching. Adding this one to my wishlist.
Yes, it was so ‘alien’ and I loved that in a sci-fi. Gorgeous cover! 🙂