Snarky Bisexuals in Space | Crownchasers by Rebecca Coffindaffer

Title: Crownchasers
Series: Crownchasers #1
Author: Rebecca Coffindaffer
Published: September 29, 2020
Genre(s): Science Fiction
Page Count: 384
Rating:

Summary from Goodreads:

Alyssa Farshot has spent her whole life trying to outrun her family legacy. Her mother sacrificed everything to bring peace to the quadrant, and her uncle has successfully ruled as emperor for decades. But the last thing Alyssa wants is to follow in their footsteps as the next in line for the throne. Why would she choose to be trapped in a palace when she could be having wild adventures exploring a thousand-and-one planets in her own ship?

But when Alyssa’s uncle becomes gravely ill, his dying wish surprises the entire galaxy. Instead of naming her as his successor, he calls for a crownchase, the first in seven centuries. Representatives from each of the empire’s prime families—including Alyssa—are thrown into a race to find the royal seal, which has been hidden somewhere in the empire. The first to find the seal wins the throne.

Alyssa’s experience as an explorer makes her the favorite to win the crown she never wanted. And though she doesn’t want to be empress, her duty to her uncle compels her to participate in this one last epic adventure. But when the chase turns deadly, it’s clear that more than just the fate of the empire is at stake. Alyssa is on her most important quest yet—and only time will tell if she’ll survive it.

Smart, propulsive, and completely fun—Crownchasers by Rebecca Coffindaffer is the perfect YA read for those who loved the big “pew! pew! pew!” energy of Star Wars and/or Jessie Mihalik’s Consortium Rebellion trilogy. Following a snarky space captain and her reliabe-and-hunky engineer as they fly across the galaxy on a life-or-death treasure hunt, this book had everything I’ve ever wanted in a science fiction novel. When I realized the last sentence was, indeed, the last, I felt utterly bereft. I need all the books about competent ladies being interstellar badasses delivered to me, RIGHT NOW.

The first thing you notice about Crownchasers is the voice. Narrator Alyssa Farshot is a swashbuckling captain of the interstellar seas. She’s bright, snarky, and running from family expectations—her uncle’s the emperor, no big deal. With her engineer and fuck buddy, Hell Monkey (yep, that’s his name!), at her side, Alyssa only plans as far as her next adventure. She’s snarky, she’s irreverent, and she’s 100% not afraid to tell you to screw yourself if the occasion warrants it. While I think that overall, Crownchasers did not have the depth of characterization that I would have wanted, I didn’t feel that I had much to complain about, because so much of Coffindaffer’s characterization of Alyssa comes through just in how she tells her story. 

And the story? It’s brilliant. The plot unfolds big, in a cinematic style that has me itching for a film adaptation. When Alyssa’s uncle the emperor dies, a new ruler must be chosen. And chosen how? Via a cross-galaxy treasure hunt for the imperial seal. Each “high family” submits a contestant, and then it’s off to the races. Alyssa has a personal history with all of her rivals, too: they’re the closest thing to friends she ever had, growing up isolated on the emperor’s kingship. So it’s a battle of childhood friend against childhood friend as each crownchaser tries to unlock the clues in a complicated and dangerous scavenger hunt. Alliances are made, saboteurs are dispatched; strange planets are explored, and giant space battles are waged.

And at the heart of it all, Alyssa is learning the inescapable truth that always comes back to haunt the roguish young hero: with great power comes great responsibility.

In short, Crownchasers combines a compelling narrative voice with an ultra-exciting storyline, and the end result is a book that I really, really enjoyed. Did I have some issues and unanswered questions? Absolutely! Although humans exist in Coffindaffer’s universe, neither Alyssa nor any of the other crownchasers are human—they’re humanoid aliens, perhaps with some human ancestry as well. Aside from a brief mention of the characters’ races, the text doesn’t go more in-depth into the empire and the culture/politics at issue, and I think that was a mistake. Alyssa’s uncle apparently had a very difficult fight to claim the throne, so that history is important, but not really dealt with on the page. I’m also curious as to who Alyssa’s father is, and whether the author is gearing up for a “Luke, I am your father” moment in the second book. At this point, I can only hope that all of these holes are filled in the sequel, which I think will be less focused on Alyssa’s internal arc toward maturity and more on her external arc toward bringing stability to the empire. (Hopefully.)

I can’t say that Crownchasers is a perfect book (see above), but I had so much fun reading this. An engaging, fast-paced story can sometimes make up for a lack of big-picture explanation, and that’s what happened here. This is Coffindaffer’s first novel, and I hope that she continues to improve. I need a consistent source for badass bisexual space adventurers in my life.