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Behind the Throne (The Indranan War Book 1) Kindle Edition

by K. B. Wagers (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 966 ratings

Book 1 of 3: The Indranan War

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Behind the Throne begins K. B. Wagers's action-packed science fiction adventure, with a heroine as rebellious as Han Solo, as savvy as Leia, and as skilled as Rey.

Hail Bristol has made a name for herself as one of the most fearsome gunrunners in the galaxy. But she can't escape her past forever: twenty years ago, she was a runaway princess of the Indranan Empire. Now, her mother's people have finally come to bring her home.

But when Hail is dragged back to her Indrana to take her rightful place as the only remaining heir, she finds that trading her ship for a palace is her most dangerous move yet.

In a world where the only safe options are fight or flight, Hail must rule.

"Excellent SF adventure debut." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Taut suspense, strong characterization, and dark, rapid-fire humor are the highlights of this excellent SF adventure debut."―Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Full of fast-paced action and brutal palace intrigue, starring the fiercest princess this side of Westeros."―B&N.com

"This debut ranks among the best political SF novels in years, largely because of the indomitable, prickly Hail ... fast-paced, twisty space opera."―Library Journal (starred review)

"A darn good space adventure yarn. It takes the best of the smugglers' corner of the Star Wars universe and adds political intrigue and family drama."―Tor.com

"Promising science-fiction series ... for fans of stories with plenty of action and political maneuvering."―Booklist

"Behind the Throne opens with a bang and maintains the momentum throughout the story."―RT Book Reviews

"The start of a damn good series. Rich world building, great characters, and an enthralling story make for a page turner."―Pop Culture Beast

About the Author

K.B. Wagers is the author of the Indranan & Farian War trilogies with Orbit Books and the NeoG novels from Harper Voyager. They hold a bachelor's degree in Russian Studies and a second-degree blackbelt in Shaolin Kung Fu. A native of Colorado, K.B. lives at the base of the Rocky Mountains with their partner and a crew of recalcitrant cats. In between books, they can be found attempting to learn Spanish, dying in video games, dancing to music, and scribbling new ideas in their bullet journal.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01BCJDS88
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Orbit (August 2, 2016)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 2, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2070 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 414 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0316308609

Best Sellers Rank: #204,363 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #812 in Galactic Empire Science Fiction eBooks
- #2,178 in Space Opera Science Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #2,826 in Science Fiction Adventure

Customer Reviews:
4.3 966 ratings

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K. B. Wagers
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K.B. Wagers is the author of the Indranan War trilogy (the first of which, Behind the Throne, has been optioned for film and television by legendary UK film producer David Barron) and the Farian War trilogy both featuring the life and trials of former gunrunner/now empress, Hail Bristol. Their newest series, highlighting the adventures of the NeoG (Near-Earth Orbital Guard) is out now with Harper Voyager.
They are represented by Andrew Zack of The Zack Company.
Having grown up on a farm in northeastern Colorado, K.B. graduated from the University of Colorado with a bachelor’s degree in Russian Studies. They now live in the shadow of Pikes Peak along with a crew of poorly behaved cats. They are especially proud of their second-degree black belt in Shaolin Kung Fu and three Tough Mudder completions, even if they can’t run like that anymore. There’s never really a moment when they're not writing, bullet journaling, or hand-lettering, but they do enjoy photography and a good whiskey.
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K. B. Wagers
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4.3 out of 5

966 global ratings

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Brian C.

A New and Exciting Perspetive On SciFi

Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2017

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I am a long time SciFi buff, ranging Frank Herbert's Dune to Rober Aspirin's Phule's Company. I've read countless books over the years, and it didn't dawn on me until recently that every one of them was written by a male author. There is a noticeable void of female SciFi writers, and K.B. Wagers is one of the women who is aiming to address that deficiency.

I was originally drawn to read the book simply out of curiosity to see how a female author would fare. Right off the bat, I will tell you that it was evident it was written by a woman. Not because it lacked quality, and not because it was overly sappy. I could tell because this book is written from a different perspective... one that can only be captured by a female author. The change was was a refreshing change of pace from standard SciFi fare. K.B.'s fluid writing style, the unique universe she has created, and her complex characters draws you in and keeps you wanting more.

The actions scenes make sense and don't seem forced, and all of the non-action scenes both advance the storyline and give you a deeper view into the thoughts and motivations of the characters. Out of all the books I've read recently, this was one of the hardest to put down when it was time for me to go to bed. I lost more than a few hours sleep wondering what was going to happen next. :)

I just finished this book last night. I just ordered After The Crown this morning. If you like SciFi, I highly encourage you to give K.B.'s works a shot. you will not be disappointed.

6 people found this helpful

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Waites Family

*Review from The Illustrated Page*

Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2017

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Behind the Throne isn’t super deep, but this science fiction novel is a whole lot of fun.

For the last twenty years, Hailimi Bristol has been traveling the galaxy making a living as a gunrunner. But Hail was born a princess of the Indranan Empire, and now she’s being dragged back home. With her sisters dead and her mother sick, Hail is desperately needed as an heir to the throne. But her sisters didn’t die by accident, and it will take every scrap of cunning Hail has to survive, find out who’s murdering her family, and protect her empire.

The basic concept of a royal living outside the court suddenly brought in as a potential heir is a fairly familiar concept, although I tend to see it more in fantasy than science fiction. Think The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms or The Goblin Emperor. Behind the Throne isn’t the best variation of this plot line I’ve seen, but it isn’t the worst either (I’m looking at you Queen of the Tearling). This plot type meant the book was more political maneuvering than action thriller, but the political conspiracies were occasionally broken up by assassination attempts.

Hailimi is a fairly typical Strong Female Protagonist – a badass fighter and snark master. While she might not have been that original or complex, she was fun to read about. The same could be said for the other characters, although I wish she had a closer relationship with one of her female bodyguards. I did like the Admiral character though, and I appreciated that this is a female led book with no romance subplot.

My only other note on characters is that I wish Behind the Throne could have been more upfront about the relationship status of her two most prominent bodyguards, Emmory and Zin. I hate when stories get coy over whether characters are queer or not. I think at the very end of the book they did get referred to as husbands, but it was a blink and you’ll miss it sort of thing.

I also think the world building could have been more fleshed out. The Indranan Empire was matriarchal and there were a few mentions of a cast system, but basically all of the power structures of the culture felt like they were told and not shown. This definitely wasn’t the best matriarchal science fiction I’ve read (try Kameron Hurley instead). I would have loved to see more of the gender norms of the culture were – what was considered feminine? What was considered masculine? There were a few references to how men were supposed to be quiet, but that was about it.

While I’m not very knowledgeable on the subject (and would love a link to a review by an Indian reviewer talking about the subject), I felt like the Indian cultural influences were sort of tacked on to the usual European monarchy set up. It felt like the author had read a few Indian fashion blogs and maybe a Wikipedia article on Hinduism and called herself done.

If you’re looking for a mindless, fast paced science fiction novel with a female lead, this is the book for you. I don’t know that I would ever reread it, but I did enjoy it and am planning on reading the sequel.

5 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

I've been waiting for this.

Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2016

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First disclosure: the author is a dear friend of mine.
Second disclosure: this book is awesome.

I'm not a regular visitor to this particular genre. I've read books that would be considered space operas, of course. But I usually need something special to be happening in the book for me to get and stay engaged in this and some of the other corners of the sci-fi genre. I got that, in spades, with Behind the Throne: though there was plenty of the technical details that are present in lots of sci-fi, I didn't really need to know or care about specifics on how they worked or what they even were. They were simply part of a lush and beautiful universe that had enough familiar ties that it was easy to climb in and get comfy.
No, there was not an excessive amount of space babble. What there was was a glorious and intricate political intrigue, peopled with complex and fascinating character. Even being familiar with Hail all these years didn't prepare me for how much I'd like her in the full story. She was complex, flawed and inspiring. I loved her backups as well: Zin and Emmory were engaging and had great chemistry.
As proud as I am that a dear friend is living her dream, at the end of the book my dominant emotion is this: impatience for that next book.

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David Thill

Fun political intrigue

Reviewed in Canada on March 9, 2024

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I cannot recommend highly enough. Try it.

Characters are fully developed and individual, and the political intrigue is fully developed. The tone is lighter, but still has gritty elements.

A wonderfully pleasant surprise - so now I need to really pace myself on enjoying the rest of the series.

/Woolverine

Entertaining with great characters

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 10, 2022

Verified Purchase

Right. I read between 30 to 50 books a month on average. It's June as I write this review. You can do the sums.

This is the best book I've read this year. It's in the Top 3 of books I've read in the last two years.

It is well written and descriptive without being long-winded. The characters are engaging. The world building is out of the common way.

There's drama, relationships which are in no way forced, and touching representations of grief.

Efi

¡¡Larga vida a Hailimi!!

Reviewed in Spain on May 6, 2018

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Princesa renegada convertida en mercenaria que, sin quererlo, vuelve a verse en medio de las intrigas de palacio durante un momento especialmente convulso de la historia de su pueblo. Hail vuelve a regañadientes, creyéndose totalmente inadecuada para el papel que le toca jugar, para descubrir una veta de lealtad y responsabilidad para con su pueblo más grande de lo que esperaba.

La dinámica entre personajes es lo mejor de la historia.

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Richard D. Mulligan

This is one fast-paced romp filled with mystery, palace intrigues and action

Reviewed in Germany on November 27, 2016

Verified Purchase

If you like space opera mixed with palace intrigue and distinct characters that aren't stereotypes, I highly recommend this book. Just the whole concept of a runaway princess turned gunrunner should intrigue you, :). When she gets dragged back home because her sisters have been murdered, the action starts and is pretty much non-stop.

Excellent job; I'll be keeping an eye on this author!

Claire

J'aime et j'aime pas...

Reviewed in France on February 1, 2017

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Ce livre est un mélange de bonnes et mauvaises choses.

Tout d'abord pour ne pas avoir de mauvaise surprise, il faut comprendre que ce n'est ni un Space Opera, ni un Star Wars.
C'est l'histoire d'une princesse qui ne voulait pas être reine et qui se retrouve confrontée aux intrigues de pouvoir. Il se trouve que ça se passe au niveau galactique, mais l'auteure aurait très bien pu situer son livre dans l'antiquité.

Cette histoire met en scène une kickass héroïne. Yeah, super ! Mais comme toujours dans ce genre de livre, l'héroïne n'est entourée que de personnages masculins. Dommage. Est-ce un "phénomène Mary Sue" : l'auteure ne prend pas le risque qu'une rivale vienne lui ravir la place ?

La civilisation inventée par l'auteure est un matriarcat dans lequel les hommes sont priés de ne pas trop l'ouvrir. Enfin, c'est ce que dit l'auteure mais en fait ses personnages masculins ont souvent l'ascendant sur les féminins.

Enfin, au niveau de l'intrigue, c'est un peu léger : On comprend très vite qui sont les méchants. D'autant que l’héroïne est trop forte : elle sait si les gens mentent juste en les écoutant et en voyant leur visage.

Mais ces défauts mis à part, on a envie de savoir ce qui va se passer, et puis l'héroïne a des moments de faiblesses qui la rendent plus humaine, ce qui est un bon point.

Lirai-je la suite ? Un soir de disette, probablement, oui.

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Behind the Throne (The Indranan War Book 1) Kindle Edition

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