A review by ergative
Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

5.0

 I was so impressed by this! On just about every level it showed a sophistication and thoughtfulness and skill of writing that kept me utterly engrossed. The exploration of multiple timelines, in particular, did very interesting things with characters. Kyr's kneejerk adherence to authority shows up in different ways, depending on how authority is manifested, but it's still a core part of her character--and yet the way her different selves react after they're united once again shows how profound a difference her different upbringings make in the person she becomes. I loved how Avi is such a wildcard in all timeliens. I loved the consideration of sociopolitical life on Gaea station. The macguffin of the Wisdom/agoge technomagic was really well incorporated with the structure of the plot. 

And I gotta say, I rather appreciated how Kyr realy had no time or patience for Mags's coming out touchy-feelies. 'Yes, ok, fine, whatever--can we please focus on SAVING HUMANITY?' Like, on an character level I understand how this is being portrayed as an example of her insensitivity and poor people skills, but on a narrative level I kind of agreed with her priorities.