Song of Spores

In this wildly inventive space opera, originally serialized on the Broken Eye Patreon from 2017 to 2022, Hugo Award winner Takács (Power to Yield and Other Stories) introduces a fascinating and enigmatic trio of counterintelligence operatives: capable leader Anayāun, who hails from the powerful Free State of Eren; 300-year-old insectoid android Hlaz-mlan Mm; and a genderfluid Jewish shape-shifter who goes by Dovber when feeling male and Dvora when feeling female. Joined by their new pilot, Mawu, a young intersex magic user, the team embarks on what should be a routine counterintelligence investigation, but swiftly expands in scope when they discover they’re carrying spores with the ability to transform and combine into a planet-size sentient entity. Their quest to understand and protect this uncanny being—whom they learn to call Mushroom Rock—presents them with the greatest diplomatic challenge of their careers. Readers will quickly fall in love with the lively cast as Takács rotates through perspectives and introduces increasingly unlikely allies. The worldbuilding is vast, complex, and wonderfully original, but occasional large leaps forward in time may leave some readers disoriented. Still, sci-fi fans looking for a fast-paced adventure will be entranced. (Nov.)