Hansen’s marvelous debut is a fast-paced, action-filled ride through the multiverse, introducing a complex found family of gender- and neurodiverse characters.
Essa Hansen’s debut is an intoxicating and thrilling science fiction read. … Hansen creates a vivid, colorful setting that’s full of strange tech, fantastic aliens, and reality-warping spaceships. It’s mind-bending fun.
A revenge plot leads mechanic Caiden across a multiverse populated by a colorful array of humanoid species in Hansen’s wonderfully inventive debut, the first of a space opera trilogy. Space opera fans will be eager for the next installment.
The Graven Trilogy kicks off with heart-rending loss, traumatic memories, fast-paced action, and stunning scientific concepts, with mercantile and political intrigues spanning manifold universes. Fans of Alastair Reynolds and Megan E. O’Keefe will want to try this.
A far-flung kaleidoscope of stunning imagination, superb characters and truly alien aliens, this is a space opera firing on all cylinders, and a must-read.
An exceptional debut-one of the best I’ve read in years. It reminds me of the most imaginative work of C. J. Cherryh. The crew reads like a Becky Chambers novel crossed with Firefly, filled with complex relationships and the love and pain of found family. With her first novel, Essa Hansen establishes herself as a force in the world of science fiction.
Gripping and inventive, Nophek Gloss will delight even as it breaks your heart.
A strong, rollercoaster of a debut.
Hansen’s world is a weird, trippy, dreamy delight, bursting with strange characters and powerful SF action.
Nophek Gloss is a sucker-punch to the senses, a delicious and delirious head-trip into an intricate, vivid and psychedelic cosmos of nested universes, exotic tech and gorgeously strange characters. Best of all, though, it’s wrapped around a killer story with real heart and soul.
It is hard science fiction at its best, flush with rich themes and sharp innovation. If you’re like me—someone who thrives on challenging and imaginative stories that push the boundaries of thought and imagination—then this debut is a can’t-miss.
Reddit’s r/Fantasy community nominated it for a Stabby Award for Best Debut Novel! It is also on the longlist for the British Science Fiction Association’s Best Novel category—this is an incredible honor!
One of Lavie Tidhar’s recommended holiday gift buys for sci-fi fans, via the Washington Post. And, one of Portalist’s Best New Books to Read in Winter 2020 for Sci-Fi and Fantasy Fans, where they say, “More than just a simple adventure story, Nophek Gloss has an emotional arc that will stay with you long after the last page.”
It is one of The Quill To Live’s “Dark Horse Roundup” of 2020’s six standout debut novels, and Grimdark Magazine’s Best SFF Books of 2020, The Speculative Shelf’s Top 10 Books of 2020, and Comic Years Top 5 Sci-Fi Novels of 2020. Huge thanks to these readers for the inclusion!
Events & MEDIA
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Magazine Interview with Grimdark Magazine
I was thrilled to do an interview for Grimdark Magazine issue #25 about my work in sound design for film, my worldbuilding, what I love in the SFF genre, and the emotional core of “grimdark science fiction” Nophek Gloss, my short story Save, Salve, Shelter, […]
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TBRCon 2021: Neurodivergence & SFF Writing
The Intersection of Neurodivergence & SFF Writing You can watch the replay of this panel, which was part of TBRCon 2021, hosted by FanFiAddict and moderated by Travis Tippens of The Fantasy Inn! Along with fellow neurodivergent authors Elisa A. Bonin, Sunyi Dean, andSonora Reyes, […]
ESSA
Essa Hansen is a swordswoman and licensed falconer working as a sound designer for Skywalker Sound, with credits such as Big Hero 6, Doctor Strange, and Avengers: Endgame.
