Book Review: Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

• Title: Some Desperate Glory
• Author: Emily Tesh
• Year: 2024
• Type: Fiction

Years ago I read Silver in the Wood, the first book of Tesh’s Greenhollow Duology. It was fine, but didn’t catch me at. all. I didn’t even look for the second book of the duo and figured my time with Tesh was probably done.

Then she released a novel that’s a space opera, not a fantasy, and I figured, hey, why not give it a go? It was getting some buzz in the awards circles, so it must be worth the time, right?

The book is split into parts, and lemme tell ya, I nearly quit reading after part one. The main character, Kyr, and supporting character, Avi, are such horrible people that I’d more than had my fill of them. But then something happened at the end of part one—105 pages into a 436 page book—that had me wanting to see what happens next. Well played, Tesh.

Appropriately, the characters change and grow throughout the book. As Tesh said in the July 7, 2022 entry of her site: “It’s a book about being the very worst person imaginable, and then trying to be better.” Very worst person imaginable? Nailed it. And Kyr does try to be better, which is part of what kept me reading.

By the end, I was glad I continued with the book. The following 331 pages were less of a painful “I hate you, Kyr” slog and passed quickly as the story really got its legs. I closed the book at the end and found that I’d enjoyed it, contrary to my initial expectations.

Will it win the Hugo for which it’s been nominated? Not up against those competitors, it won’t. But I don’t disagree with it receiving the award nod.