Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather

Fortunately, Rather ties everything together with dazzling mastery in the novella’s second half. Pacing issues parallel the initial muddied characterizations in the beginning, and much of the world-building occurs through dialogue between characters rather than through the narrative. But as each sister’s history and secrets are revealed, it’s easier to determine how a character’s past influences their actions. Due to the novella’s brevity, it’s initially difficult to distinguish one character from another. ambitiously tackles theology, personal faith crises, centralized governance, the sentience of creatures, bioengineering, sexuality, sin, and redemption-all in 160 pages. And not from void beyond, but from the nascent Central Governance and the Church itself.

When the order receives a distress call from a newly-formed colony, the sisters discover that the bodies and souls in their care-and that of the galactic diaspora-are in danger. Now, the sisters of the Order of Saint Rita are on an interstellar mission of mercy aboard Our Lady of Impossible Constellations, a living, breathing ship which seems determined to develop a will of its own. Years ago, Old Earth sent forth sisters and brothers into the vast dark of the prodigal colonies armed only with crucifixes and iron faith. Faced with staying silent or speaking up, the Order of Saint Rita must decide the role they will play-and what hand they will have-in reshaping the galaxy. The sisters have been running ever since, staying under the radar while still trying to honor their calling.ĭespite the sisters’ secrecy, the story of their defiance is spreading like wildfire, spearheaded by a growing anti-Earth religious movement calling for revolution.

The Order of Saint Rita-whose mission is to provide aid and mercy to those in need-bore witness to and defied Central Governance’s atrocities on the remote planet Phyosonga III. Decades later, trouble is brewing in the Four Systems, and Old Earth is flexing its power in a bid to regain control over its lost territories.

Not long ago, Earth’s colonies and space stations threw off the yoke of planet Earth’s tyrannical rule. Book Twoīuy Now: Barnes & Noble – My Favorite Indie – Amazon Our Lady of Endless Worlds is a space opera novella series about faith and duty, redemption and revelation, and of course, nuns in a giant slug in outer space.

Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather