Millions of years in the future, after countless wars have decimated the human solar system into rubble, where the dregs of humanity live on artificial planets built of rubble, two sisters, Arafura and Adrana, are whisked on an adventure after Adrana convinces her younger sister to accompany her to visit a reader, who tells them both can read bones. These bones are ancient alien skulls, which can be used in communication between ships, and every ship pays plenty to get good readers.
The girls are hired by Captain Rackamore, a relic hunter. Or to be more precise, bauble hunter. The baubles are ancient technology, far superior to what humans can create, hidden in vaults speckled all over the solar system. Getting in and out requires skill, but also bone readers, who are used to get information on possible locations as well as info about any possible trouble on the way. This means Arafura and Adrana are worth their weight in gold to captains, if they are good at reading bones. And they are.
After cracking a vault, Rackamore's ship is attacked by a ruthless pirate, Bosa Sennan. She believes to have killed everyone and takes Adrana with her to be her new bone reader. Arafura, having hidden in the ship, is left stranded, but she soon learns another of her crewmates, Prozor, is alive as well. Together they manage to hitch a ride back to civilisation, and Arafura is forced back home by agents sent by her father. She's still contemplating going after Bosa to rescue her sister.
Again, Arafura manages to escape home and hitch a ride with another crew. Little do they know that she and Prozor are planning on using the ship as bait. But they also intend to use them to get a cache of ancient weapons and armour to help them battle against Bosa.
All said and done, Arafura and Prozor manage to execute their plan and defeat Bosa. All might be well, but the question is, what is the cost of such a revenge? Arafura has gone through hell and high water to rescue her sister. She has sacrificed her health, her arm, her father and her home. She has used people as pawns in her deadly game, and she comes out victorious on the other end. But she comes out different as well. Harder, much colder. Bosa Sennan might have been cruel, but is Arafura any better now?
Revenger is quite an enjoyable book to read. It's well written, the story flows with ease, the characters are interesting, and Arafura is put through quite a wringer before she manages to rescue her big sister. The story itself might be a tad predictable, but that's not really a detriment to its enjoyability.
If you are looking for a good sci-fi book to read, Revenger is a solid choice. And if you liked it, it has two sequels.
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