Fortuna, Memoria and Discordia (Orbit Books, 2019-21). Covers by Shutterstock and Lisa Marie Pompilio

Ooof. Things are really busy at Chateau O’Neill. Like, super busy. They’re always sorta busy, but this month has taken it to a new level. I’d share the details, but I’m too busy.

I don’t get much much time to read when I’m faced with this kind of deadline pressure. But I can still daydream about it, in between sales meetings and hitting my weekly pitch deadlines. This week I’m especially excited about the third novel in Kristyn Merbeth’s Nova Vita Protocol trilogy, Discordia, arriving from Orbit next month. Kirkus praised the opening volume Fortuna, saying “”The narrative is powered by a cast of deeply developed characters… The nonstop action and varying levels of tension make this an unarguable page-turner.” I’m looking forward to finally having all three volumes of this popular series in my hot little hands… and some vacation time to enjoy them.

Here’s an excerpt from that Kirkus review.

Merbeth’s (Raid, 2017, etc.) latest — the first installment of an SF adventure trilogy — follows a family of smugglers as they unknowingly become entangled in a grand-scale conspiracy that could ignite an interstellar war and kill millions.

It’s been three years since Scorpia Kaiser’s older brother, Corvus, left the family business to enlist and fight in a bloody conflict on his war-torn home planet of Titan. But, with Corvus’ service officially ended, Scorpia — at the behest of her mother, the Kaiser matriarch — is piloting the family ship, Fortuna, to Titan to reunite her brother with the family…, the narrative is powered by a cast of deeply developed characters. Scorpia, in particular, is impressively multidimensional — a barely functioning alcoholic who has major issues involving her demanding mother… The nonstop action and varying levels of tension make this an unarguable page-turner, and the ending, while satisfying, is a perfect jumping-off point to another much larger adventure to come. A wild SF ride.

Kristyn Merbeth’s first series, The Wastelanders (published under the name K.S. Merbeth), was a post-apocalyptic adventure in “a Mad Max-style wasteland.” Good to see her try something new with this one.

Here’s the publisher’s description for Discordia.

In this explosive final book of the action-packed trilogy, The Kaisers are on the run from the planetary leaders who seek to bury the knowledge of the alien artifacts that could save the star system — or destroy it.

Scorpia is finally back among the stars, far away from the memories of the war she and her family started — and ended — on Nibiru. Her first order as captain of the Memoria is to keep her crew safe, and she is all too happy not to get involved in dangerous political games for once.

Corvus is haunted by what he experienced at the hands of the Titan attack, and he’s just as eager for a new beginning. He knows that not all Titans are built for war, and that the system can find peace, even as Deva and Pax begin to rattle their sabers.

Though the Kaisers may be responsible for diverting a multi-planet war, the planetary leaders are wary of the knowledge they hold. Better to lock them up and keep their dark secrets hidden. But the Kaisers are the only ones who know the truth about the threat of the ancient world-ending alien weapons rooted in each planet — and they may be the only ones who can save the system from total annihilation.

And here’s the deets for all three volumes. Links will take you to our earlier coverage.

Fortuna (560 pages, $15.99 in trade paperback, $9.99 digital, November 5, 2019)
Memoria (464 pages, $16.99 in trade paperback, $9.99 digital, December 8, 2020)
Discordia (464 pages, $17.99 in trade paperback, $9.99 digital, December 7, 2021)

The entire trilogy is published by Orbit, with cover art by Shutterstock and designs by Lisa Marie Pompilio.

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