Sweep of Stars (Tor Books, March 29, 2022). Cover art by Connor Sheehan

Maurice Broaddus is the author of the The Knights of Breton Court trilogy from Angry Robot, the acclaimed Tor.com novella Buffalo Soldier, and now Sweep of Stars, which James Rollins calls the “opening gambit in a great saga… epic,” and which Publishers Weekly labels a “Powerful, sweeping Afrofuturist space opera … A hugely ambitious and notable work of postcolonial science fiction.” If you’re in the market for a fresh and original space opera, this might be just what you’re looking for.

Sweep of Stars is the first novel of the Astra Black trilogy, and it introduces Muungano, a society of space-faring pan-African people who fled oppression on Earth and have now spread across the solar system. It is 2121, and unknown forces are working against Muungano, forcing its ruling families to make hard choices. Meanwhile, thousands of light years away, Muungano soldiers find themselves in the middle of an alien firefight, and faced with tough decisions of their own.

Library Journal gave the book a starred review, saying in part:

The Muungano empire formed by leaving O.E. (Old Earth) and creating a range of city-states from their original home to Mars and then Titan. Focused on a better future, they relied on their ancestors, their elders, and the power of science to escape the oppression… A multi-point-of-view novel provides intimate voices, showcasing character narratives including a young leader striving for power, a top fighting unit facing threats far from home, and a starship captain dealing with growing sabotage that affects not only her ship but her family.

The first of this Afrofuturist trilogy takes off with an epic array of characters and plotlines that will enmesh readers in the politics and power struggles set across the stars.

Sweep of Stars was published by Tor Books on March 29, 2022. It is 348 pages, priced at $27.99 in hardcover and $14.99 in digital formats. The cover is by Connor Sheehan.

See all our recent coverage of the best new SF and fantasy here.