Loki’s Ring is a diverse space opera set far in the future where mindboggling advances have been made in science and technology. Our main protagonist is Gita Chithra, captain of a salvage ship The Tempest, still recovering from the loss of two artificial crewmates on a mission gone wrong resulting in the remainder of the crew splitting up in the aftermath. When Gita receives a distress call from her daughter, an artificial person called Ri, she drops everything to race to her side—but this proves difficult when Ri’s location is traced to a Norton Independent Alliance ship in orbit around Loki’s Ring, a hostile artificial world off-limits to citizens of the Terran Republic of Worlds like Gita and her crew.
The primary conflict between the TRW and the NIA was based on the former granting personhood to artificial personalities and bestowing them with legal rights, leading to the xenophobic People First movement on the worlds under Norton control to secede from the Republic. Norton is known for being corrupt as corporations rule its system and prioritise their profit margins over protecting its citizens and providing for their basic necessities with mass poverty sadly common among its worlds. So when Ri’s ship, the Norton Independent System Starship Bootes encounters a deadly virus in Loki’s Ring that causes hallucinations and a violent frenzy in its hosts while it attacks the human nervous system, of course management at the corporate office that owns Bootes considers the potential of weaponising this contagion as opposed to saving any stranded survivors. Unaware of the perilous situation, Gita’s ship attempts a rescue mission and is shot down by an NISS corsair that is determined to leave no witnesses behind.
The beginning of Loki’s Ring is an intense crash-course in this complex sprawling future society with competing intergalactic alliances, artificial intelligences and the mysterious alien architects who designed Loki’s Ring for unknown reasons. While this book isn’t ‘hard’ sci-fi by any means, there is a bunch of technobabble and acronyms that may take time to adjust to, especially for readers who aren’t familiar with sci-fi conventions.
The strong focus on characterisation is what shines through the genre trappings, and I particularly appreciate the choice to create an ensemble of characters primarily composed of women, many of whom are over forty, queer, disabled and/or neurodivergent. Rather than feeling like a token assignment of niche characteristics, it’s integrated into the story in an understated manner like references to a past girlfriend of Gita’s or in an organic and meaningful way like crewmembers Aiofa and Mandy being in a romantic relationship. Mandy’s osteoarthritis and osteoporosis is referenced off-hand, but then becomes plot-relevant when the crew have to evacuate the ship and her health conditions need to be taken into consideration. Beyond their individual qualities, it’s the human interaction between the characters that keeps us invested with everyday bickering about who finished the coffee, teasing about each other’s taste in music or hacking into the ship cat’s electronic collar to program funny phrases into its vocabulary.
Towards the middle of Loki’s Ring, the pacing slows down and multiple character perspectives are added which weren’t really necessary. The fact that these alternative chapters are heavily laden with political conflict adds to the slow pacing; a mother rushing against time to save her daughter is a recipe for a breathless, action-packed reading experience, but although delving into the various political agendas provided more context surrounding the chaos at Loki’s Ring, it feels like a slog to get through those sections.
My greatest disappointment was how little time we spent on the planet at the centre of all this devastation. The blurb gives the impression that Gita’s crew are stranded on Loki’s Ring and the central conflict is escaping the planet, but that isn’t the case; they don’t step foot on the planet until about 70% of the way through the book. At this point, we’re treated to wonderfully bizarre and grotesque sights as Gita and co struggle to navigate their way past the dangers on the ground, but it’s an all-too-short portion of the book that doesn’t delve nearly enough into the alien-made construct. The author’s breath-taking imagination is on display throughout the story and would’ve elevated it to another level if we had the opportunity to explore the planetside dangers in more detail instead of only staying for a brief visit.
Overall this is a treat for fans of sci-fi and space opera with delightful AI characters, innovative technologies, thrilling space battles and alien horrors to overcome. A diverse mostly female cast is developed in loving detail with long and complicated histories between many of them which provides an even greater sense of a lived-in universe that springs vividly into mind. This is well-worth the read for those interested in stellar worldbuilding, believable characters you can root for, and an exciting, unpredictable storyline that will keep you guessing.
Loki’s Ring is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Gita Chithra embarks on a mission through space to save the robot she loves as a daughter—or risk losing her in the depths of Loki’s Ring—in this intergalactic space adventure from beloved author Stina Leicht.
Gita Chithra, the captain of the intergalactic ship The Tempest , is used to leading her crew on simple retrieval and assistance missions. But when she receives a frantic distress call from Ri, the AI she trained from inception—making her like a daughter to Gita—she knows she’s in for something much more dangerous.
Ri is trapped in the depths of Loki’s Ring, an artificial alien-made solar system, and says everyone in the vicinity has been infected and killed by a mysterious contagion. Gita and her team investigate, only to discover horrors at every turn, and are soon stranded themselves, leaving them vulnerable to infection and attack.
Forced to call on an old friend to help them out of this mess, Gita must succeed or risk losing everyone she’s ever loved.
