Kristyn Merbeth is obsessed with SFF, food, video games, and her dog and resides in Tucson, Arizona.
This is an engaging start to a series that blends crime family drama with the sort of character-focused sci-fi that made Becky Chambers' Wayfarers series an award-winning favorite. --B&N Reads on Fortuna The narrative is powered by a cast of deeply developed characters. Scorpia, in particular, is impressively multidimensional . . . . The nonstop action and varying levels of tension make this an unarguable page-turner. --Kirkus on Fortuna Merbeth's world building is fascinating-five human-settled planets, each distinct and littered with alien technology-but her multifaceted characters and their troubled relationships give this action-packed family drama its heart. A good readalike for Lois McMaster Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan books, John Scalzi's Collapsing Empire (2017), and for those who want a grittier version of Becky Chambers' Wayfarers series. --Booklist on Fortuna Merbeth's multiple narrators and plotlines converge beautifully into a suspenseful tale of family. The characters are distinct and grounded, and each interaction is filled with purpose and emotion that brings all of them, regardless of differences, into the fray together. SF fans who have been waiting for a crime family spin on space opera will find nothing but joy in this whirlwind story. --Publishers Weekly on Fortuna Kristyn Merbeth has created a desperate, gritty world in her newest book Fortuna, an epic space opera about the lengths a family will go to survive not only each other, but a world out to kill them . . . . Merbeth is a voice to watch in space opera! --K. B. Wagers, author of There Before the Chaos, on Fortuna High energy, high stakes, and lots of high notes. --Library Journal on Fortuna