A Found Family Space Romp

If you love a good mystery and books set in space, I’ve got the author for you today. I’ve read and loved both of the two novels this author has published, and a third book out this fall sounds like it’s deep in my wheelhouse as well. The book I’m recommending today is a space romp–a final heist space romp, to be specific, and boy, do I love heist fiction. You’ve got your colorful cast of characters, each with their own motives (some hidden, some obvious) for taking the big risk one last time, each with their specific skills. Not everyone gets along, and the clashes are as interesting as the friendships. In this science fiction tale, there’s a found family element, which I also love. We’ve got betrayals, secrets, big reveals, villains, and morally gray characters. All the good stuff that makes a heist story so compelling but made more bonkers (in the best way) by an imagined landscape of space and alien life forms.

The Stardust Grail takes a far-future look at a universe where worlds have been colonized and alien civilizations are known to humankind. We meet Maya Hoshimoto, an art thief who retired from the biz to go back to school and finish her degree. She’s finally put her past behind her and is on the cusp of shaping her life into something more savory when that final golden opportunity–with a payoff as big as its risks–comes her way. If she only had herself to think about, she’d refuse the offer, but taking this job could gift her closest friend something immensely precious. On the other hand, the work could have disastrous consequences for just about every other civilization.

I’ve loved both of Kitasei’s protagonists and I found Maya, the reluctant thief, adrift and uncertain about what she wants, sometimes frustrating but mostly endearing. She’s a talented but distracted student and a resistant but longing space voyager; she’s kind of all over the place in the way many of us are at a certain age. The one true thing in her life is the bond she shares with a member of one of the strangest species I’ve met on the page–and I’ve read a lot of speculative fiction. Thrown together with some work-for-hire partners in crime she’s not exactly jazzed to share space with, this unlikely team sets out to make history and accomplish the impossible.

Who doesn’t love a heist story? The stakes are high, you’re bound to meet some interesting characters along the way, and you can’t wait to find out how or if they get the job done. Throw space and a complicated history of colonization into the mix and you have many worlds of additional uncertainty. The Stardust Grail has all the right ingredients for an immersive adventure across the fabric of space, and I loved every action-packed minute.

The following comes to you from the Editorial Desk.

This week, we’re highlighting a post that celebrates the 100th anniversary of The Great Gatsby! Revisit F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic (and emblem of assigned reading) and get a crash course on the book’s history, including challenges encountered by its readers and adapters. Read on for an excerpt and become an All Access member to unlock the full post.

January 16, 2025, marked the 100^th anniversary of the publication of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. The New York Public Library celebrated with a party, following a special performance of the Broadway musical adaptation of the novel. Simon and Schuster recently released a new audiobook with an introduction by Jesmyn Ward.

The novel’s theme of reinventing oneself is timeless. The ideas of living a lie by reinventing yourself and wealth making people callous are equally resonant today. How did this novel become so influential, especially on other American novels, and a fixture on high school syllabi? Was it always a bestseller? What aspects of Gatsby hold up, and which ones have aged terribly?

Fitzgerald’s original title for The Great Gatsby was Trimalchio in West Egg. I think the publisher was right to change it. Trimalchio is a character from the ancient Roman work The Satyricon. Combined with the fictional West Egg neighborhood, this reference is cryptic. Gatsby is now an icon in his own right. He doesn’t need a classical allusion for us to notice the theme of excessive wealth.

In a 2014 NPR interview, Maureen Corrigan, the author of So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures, explained how Gatsby became popular. Initial reception was mixed, ranging from the headline “Fitzgerald’s Latest a Dud,” to Modernist poets like T. S. Eliot saying they loved it. When Fitzgerald died in 1940, Gatsby was unpopular (but not out of print). A few years later, it was republished for US service members in World War II, and 123,000 copies were given to members of the military through the Armed Services Editions.

After World War II, Gatsby was no longer an obscure book with mixed reviews. It was considered a classic and became a staple of countless high school syllabi. Constance Grady wrote that Gatsby was ideal for many 20^th and early 21st-century English teachers’ emphasis on New Criticism. It’s a great choice for close readings of short passages and analyzing symbolism. However, historical context is also crucial and should never be downplayed, especially in terms of bias.

The Great Gatsby possibly condemns white supremacist theories but uses racist language elsewhere. Tom Buchanan reads white supremacist books and goes on racist rants. Daisy mocks him for this. It’s easy to read this as condemning Tom’s overall bigotry. However, Fitzgerald also expressed racist and antisemitic views in real life.

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