When a new client's mission goes sideways, Joan finds herself caught in the middle of dueling gambits between the Star Empire and the Trade Federation. Her book Domino is a lot of fun and well worth the read, so do take us up on this. Goodreads is admittedly a limited series of metrics, it shows that the award is covering an enormously variable field, from well-known, established authors to lesser-known ones pushed onto the ballot by groups looking to send a message. Since being court-martialed by the Star Empire, smuggler and thief Joan Shengtu has done what she needed to do in order to survive-gaining a reputation along the way. I, in turn am offering Star Realms to her readership. Corey, for example has garnered 13,040 Goodreads user ratings, while another nominee in the same category, Brian Niemeier’s The Secret Kings, only has 11 ratings.

Do these titles actually represent what’s enormously popular in fandom? That’s also unclear: one fan compared the works in each category on the book-centric social media site Goodreads, and found some huge disparities. But given that the Dragon nominees include 53 novels, compared with just six Hugo contenders and five for the Nebulas, the Dragon awards automatically draw from a much wider pool of candidates and specific subgenres. Can two heroes from warring factions come together to make a difference in the galaxy? Star Realms: Rescue Run is the first novelization of the critically acclaimed Star Realms spaceship combat deckbuilding game.Will the Dragon Awards become an alternative to the better-established awards? Probably not, because it’s hard to determine if the Dragon Awards represent a wider swath of fandom, as its supporters claim, given that the awards committee hasn’t released any raw figures concerning voters. With no one else to help, Dario must take it upon himself to rescue the workers of Mars.

The megacorporations of the Trade Federation have kept the population in horrible working conditions, violating their human rights. On the opposite side of the galaxy, Regency BioTech manager Dario Anazao sees an unsustainable situation brewing that promises a full-scale revolution. Recruited to perform the heist of a lifetime, the fate of the Star Empire rests in her hands. Since being court-martialed by the Star Empire, smuggler and thief Joan Shengtu has done what she needed to do in order to survive-gaining a reputation along the way.

Star Realms by Jon Del Arroz