Bluebird is what you get when you feed all the things I look for in a novel into a blender. There’s space outlaws, gunslingers, cool tech, assassins, spies and librarians, set on a backdrop of a deep and interesting universe.

The world is interesting. There’s three galactic, primarily human, nations, Ascetic, Ossuary and Pyrite. Each have their own separate aesthetic, Pyrite are the tech guys, and each believe that the galaxy should be theirs to rule alone. And then in the middle there’s everyone else, caught in the grinder between the three of them and trying to make their way as best they can. It’s an interesting set up that’s used to good effect.

The characters embody this. On some level they’ve all been hurt by the different factions, to greater or lesser extent. Rig’s is the obvious example of this, as the book starts with her burning down her old lab and going on the run. But I really appreciate the work the author goes to to show that, no matter what their aesthetic is, none of the factions are better than any of the others.

Not that I want to give the wrong impression and make you think this is a dour book. It’s actually a fun romp across the galaxy, with lots of exciting action pieces and interesting vistas. There was never a part of the book where I wasn’t entertained.

What I really love about this book though is the relationships. Rig starts this book with a long-term girlfriend and they have a serious, committed, long distance relationship. Considering how many books have to have the relationship develop on the page or have pre-existing relationships thrown away for new ones, it really nice to see a novel that tackles this with style and maturity. I was really worried that there’d be some sort of spark between her and Ginka but no, it’s unorthodox friendship all the way. And I love it.

All in all I got everything from this book that the blurb promised and I loved it all. I would heartily recommend that you pick this up.