Beneath A Thousand Skies

Summary:

A deadly race to recover a priceless portrait.

When the legendary Cosmic Widow vanishes from the galaxy’s premiere art museum, Agent Lilline Renault delves into a shadowy underworld to hunt down the missing masterpiece. Her only clue: the thief’s enigmatic calling card. Following a scant trail of evidence, Lilline crosses paths with shady art dealers, eccentric university professors, and elusive forgers in a tangled search for the stolen work of art.

But the robber’s end game is more sinister than mere theft. Sleeping secrets stir inside the Cosmic Widow… If they wake, an arcane mystery locked away for ages could spell disaster across the stars.

Cosmic Widow is the third standalone entry in the Agent Renault Adventures, and as much as I have loved the other two, I think this is my favourite for several reasons – although I will say it is possibly the most different of the series so far, which may throw off some readers. Firstly, one of the most striking things about Cosmic Widow is that it has that feel of a story/book that the author has been waiting to tell. Nevair’s writing has always had academic and literary elements, both in his original Wind Tide Trilogy, but through Lilline’s poetry and the scientific/tech elements of this series. But, here we got to see him unleash that on another level, as well as allowing his own academic background and focus to bleed through – it does mean there is a lot of detail in those elements – but there was a passion in this book that could be felt from beginning to end; and for me as a reader, I am always going to be more swept up in a story carrying that kind of weight.

I also absolutely adored the cerebral, philosophical nature of the ultimate threat in Cosmic Widow. As much as I enjoyed the spy-fi elements that are still present, especially in the earlier half of the book, it was when Nevair took us diving into a nebulous, tangled web of esoteric knowledge, riddles, and constellations – and history waiting to be reinterpreted and rewritten that I completely fell in love with this book. There is a lot of detail in that part of the book, and a lot of discussions – the action falls away for a time, and we see the other side of solving a mystery, the back and forth, but I was utterly swept up in it. And then having that lull explode into the reality of what they had been hypothesizing, was such a wonderful crescendo.

One thing that really struck me about this book is the contrast in scales. Even as Nevair takes us into a cosmic, multiple-realities level threat and adventure, opening up the world of this series in new, mind-blowing ways; at the same time it becomes almost more intimate on the character level. While in Cosmic Widow we don’t get to have the full force of Granny Kissy and the banter and delightful relationship she has with Lilline, it is still presence, and in a way I liked seeing Lilline without that protective umbrella – and seeing her having to push through on a truly challenging case not only without that sounding board (and driving force), but with the weight of worry and having to weigh the personal with the scale of the threat, was like seeing a diamond forming and I really liked those moments. Throughout the book it felt like we were peeling back the layers on her as a character as well, which has always been present in the other books, but this was a different side of her – seeing more of the memories of her mother and the connections there; but also her actually engaging in and pursuing an attraction that could become more (and linking back to the blossoming outwith Kissy’s presence, this was a wonderful development after seeing her backing out of those pushed onto her with external interference).

This was mirrored in a way by the fact that we also got more of Lauden, with past friendships and uncovering more the secrets he was responsible for guarding, as well as just his own educational history for example. And with Pin and learning a bit more about her people and their ways (there is a wonderful scene where she interacts with another Oltari). Not only does this give the feeling of this series really establishing these characters, but that contrast in scales, and focus I felt only added weight to the threat. We were having this development, these precious insights, against the potential of losing it all – and I think that added weight went both ways, heightening the emotional element of the story. I think it is why at the end when Lilline is faced with the reality of what Cosmic Widow was leading too, her actions – her choice – and the possibility of if she fell in the other direction, had me holding my breath.

Cosmic Widow is also a book that leans more into the mystery, puzzle-solving adventure side of things. I’ve always loved series like this that have the central premise – e.g. an agency that does one thing, but then can branch out, or adapt to changing circumstances. One of my favourite authors/series are the Clive Cussler novels, and there are some of those that stay very focused on the marine nature of the organisation at the centre, and then there are others that blur the boundaries into spycraft, adventures across land, air and sea…and even challenging history as it is known; and that feels very much like what has happened here. The threats are still very real, there is still subterfuge and danger, it’s just painted in different hues.

I would say that Cosmic Widow does perhaps venture a little away from the spy-fi side of things, but I would also say that it is a deviation that has been written into the earlier books. There have always been elements in the Agent Renault Adventures of secrets and knowledge, and places beyond the current knowledge of our characters and GAM-OPS – we’ve seen them revealed, travelled to previously cut off regions – and looking back now, in the light of this book, it feels like Nevair has been laying that groundwork from the beginning.

I thoroughly enjoyed this third adventure in the series, and while it can absolutely be read as a standalone, I think having built up to this through the previous books was absolutely worth it. Nevair definitely blurred the boundaries in this one, and while it may not be for everyone – this was absolutely the book for me (I mean to be fair I was sold at cosmic, space druids…), and in Cosmic Widow more than any of the books it felt like Lilline Renault was firmly establishing her own legacy, without losing the connections that had got her to this point. So if you want a spy-fi adventure, that stares out into the Cosmos fully expecting it to stare back, and with a fantastic cast of characters and a emotional foundation that only continues to grow then this is the one for you.