The Splinter in the Sky

Name: The Splinter in the Sky
Brand: Simon & Schuster Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Kemi Ashing-Giwa
ISBN: 9781797163703

Author: Kemi Ashing-Giwa

Narrator: Soneela Nankani

Unabridged: 13 hr 56 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Published: 07/11/2023

Categories: Fiction, African American & Black Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Synopsis

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER

A “breathtaking space opera” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) about a young tea expert who is taken as a political prisoner and recruited to spy on government officials—a role that may empower her to win back her nation’s independence—perfect for fans of N.K. Jemisin and Nnedi Okorafor.

The dust may have just settled in the failed war of conquest between the Holy Vaalbaran Empire and the Ominirish Republic, but the last Emperor’s surrender means little to a lowly scribe like Enitan. All she wants is to quit her day job and expand her fledgling tea business. But when her lover is assassinated and her sibling is abducted by Imperial soldiers, Enitan abandons her idyllic plans and weaves her tea tray up through the heart of the Vaalbaran capital. There, she learns just how far she is willing to go to exact vengeance, free her sibling, and perhaps even secure her homeland’s freedom.

About Kemi Ashing-Giwa

Kemi Ashing-Giwa was born and raised in Southern California, where she grew up on a steady diet of sci-fi and fantasy. She has an undergraduate degree in integrative biology and astrophysics from Harvard University and is currently a PhD student in the Earth and planetary sciences department at Stanford University. She is the author of the novel The Splinter in the Sky and the forthcoming novella This World Is Not Yours.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Leah on April 20, 2023

I really wanted this to be better. And I genuinely think it is a pretty good book for a debut novel! I guess what I mean is, I wanted to like it more than I did. The problem is, if you read a lot of scifi like I do, nothing in here stands out as unique. BUT if you DON'T read a lot of scifi, please c......more

Goodreads review by Ms. Woc Reader on July 10, 2023

Enitan is a young tea brewer who gets kidnapped and held as a hostage by the empire that has colonized her people. With promises of freeing her people and getting back her missing sibling, she agrees to be a spy for the empress. I wasn't really sure how to talk about this book once I finished it. It......more

Goodreads review by Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) on January 12, 2025

4.5 stars rounded up Phenomenal debut! I can see why this is being compared to NK Jemisin and Nnedi Okorafor, though I don't think it's fair to compare it to their later work in terms of nuance and complexity. That said, I think this author could get there and I really enjoyed this book. I feel like......more

Goodreads review by Queralt✨ on September 01, 2023

Fun. Queer representation, anti-colonialist themes, political intrigue, and tea, what's not to love. Thoughts to come when I have time.......more

Goodreads review by Anne on July 20, 2023

Now THIS is the kind of book I love! It has all the ingredients needed for me to love a book: tea being a central point in the plot and the protagonist's life, top-notch worldbuilding, amazingly developed complex imperial politics, queer representation, and anti-colonialist themes. I liked and sympath......more