You Sexy Thing (Tor, November 16, 2021). Cover artist unknown

Cat Rambo made a name for herself with her short fiction — and a successful stint as President of the Science Fiction Writers of America. You Sexy Thing is their first novel release from a major publisher, and it looks poised to be a breakout book. Here’s an excerpt from Liz Bourke’s review at Locus Online.

You Sexy Thing, Cat Rambo’s first space opera novel, is in fact a romp. If you’re the kind of person who likes Mass Effect… then this book is definitely for you. This is a fast, zippy novel that hides some surprisingly substantial emotional heavy lifting under its hood…

Captain Niko Larsen is perhaps the greatest military mind ever to avoid being absorbed by the Holy Hive Mind. She and some of her surviving troops got out of the Holy Hive Mind’s military through the only loophole available to them: they became artists. Kitchen artists: their art is cookery, and their restaurant – the Last Chance, on TwiceFar station – is the first step in a plan that Niko’s had years, if not decades, in the making, a plan that has nothing at all to do with cooking…. You Sexy Thing… [is] fast, pulpy, and explosive – and full of feeling… it’s an utter delight. I recommend it wholeheart­edly.

Check out an excerpt here. You Sexy Thing will be published by Tor Books on November 16, 2021. It is 292 pages, priced at $25.99 in hardcover and $13.99 in digital formats. No word on who did the cover, but I like it. See all our recent coverage of the best upcoming SF and fantasy here.