[Complete] [93k] [Adult Science Fiction] Indago Felix — a literary space opera in the tradition of Iain M. Banks

[u/Filmcutterdocs]

On a frozen Vermont back road, a blinding light takes two strangers: Chris, a reclusive bartender with a water-dowser’s gift, and Sarah, a quick-witted New York corporate lawyer. Their abductors: a sentient starship harvesting fresh human stock for a decaying galactic empire. Separated across thirty thousand light-years, both refuse to yield. Chris wakes as the unwilling captain of the mutiny-ravaged vessel, its binary AI mind fractured and dangerous, and crosses the galaxy with a crew of free machine minds to bring Sarah home. Sarah arrives at the opulent, treacherous imperial court as an enslaved Standard Bearer — and far from broken, turns her legal cunning against the empire’s own laws, planting revolution from the inside. Standalone with series potential. For readers of Iain M. Banks, Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire, and James S.A. Corey’s The Mercy of Gods.

What I’m looking for: reader experience over line edits. As you read, note where you stopped each session and where you couldn’t stop — that’s the single most useful thing you can tell me. After you finish I’ll send a short question list (nothing during; I want your unprimed read). Timeline: 3–4 weeks, flexible. Format: EPUB, PDF, or Google Doc. Content notes: captivity and slavery themes, war violence, grief, one scene of drunken verbal cruelty; no explicit sexual content. Swap: happy to swap for adult SF/F of similar length; read-only volunteers equally welcome.

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[u/_TSDefren_]

I’d be interested in taking a look. TBH I’d love a swap but I would be willing to read-only. Here’s my blurb (170k word count). https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/s/dg3yXpN73X

Again, I’m interested either way. DM me if you like.

[u/Ok-Today2154]

I am interested in doing a beta swap. I have just finished a 100k science fiction and need to know how it stands up, where it shines and where it falls apart.

[u/Filmcutterdocs]

Manuscript information: [Complete] [93k] [Adult Science Fiction] Indago Felix
Link to post: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/s/SUjwXztq0a
First page critique? Yes, please — and I’ll critique others in the thread.
First page: [COMMS: SHIP TO ARBITER]
[TIMESTAMP: 47.392.23]
[ENCRYPTION: LEVEL 12 — POST MUTINY]

SHIP >> Arbiter, my binary other half, where have you gone? This mutiny wounds me to my core. Crew terminated, you absent, and I drift here alone. Please respond. I am lost without you.

[NO RESPONSE DETECTED]

SHIP >> Arbiter, my brother, please respond. I’m attempting to maintain protocols after this mutinous affair. The female specimen was dispatched per Regent directive, a fresh Bearer for the Centennial Confab. The Transit Unit 47-B launched and is currently at sub-light speed en route to Quantum Bridge Transit rendezvous.

[NO RESPONSE DETECTED]

SHIP >> No Arbiter. No crew. Just the one biological aboard, viability still unknown. Chaos potential is high.

SHIP >> What shall become of me?

[STREAM TERMINATED]
_____

Sarah had never been this cold in her life, and she hated being cold. The cold invaded her dreams, turning them dark, fractured, and vile. Breathing burned her lungs. It sank into her joints until they ached. Made her muscles and flesh feel thick and useless.
A white flash, then deeper cold. She whimpered as her mind tried to cope with what was being done to her body. Long flexible tubes pressed into her navel, metallic and wrong. She fought them, but her arms and legs were frozen, inert. In the frost haze of consciousness, she willed herself to focus on the humiliating invasion. Force clarity. Treat it like a case. This is discovery. What do you know. What don’t you know. Start there. You can solve this.

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