I loved a lot about The Vela, most especially its delightful cast of queer and trans characters. The two protagonists, Asala, an older trans woman badass military agent, and Niko (they/them), hacker wiz and kid of the president of their planet, have an exciting dynamic from the getgo as they set off together to rescue a missing ship, The Vela, and its refugee passengers. I love a sci fi novel that renegotiates gender and sexuality norms, and this book does that effortlessly without it ever being a focus of the story. The timely focus of the story is its portrayal of refugees on a planetary level, as the solar system’s march towards death creates entire worlds of refugees.

I loved each high action intrigue packed episode of this series, but it fell a little short for me in the transition between episodes. I wanted it to feel like an audiobook, but I think it’s more correct to think of it more like a TV series, where each episode wraps a small arc and the next episode picks up a little later, rather than following immediately on the preceding episode’s heels. This might also be my fault for losing the thread between episodes, but I felt that even when I chained them together.