The novel “You Sexy Thing” by Cat Rambo was published for the first time in 2021. It’s the first book in the Disco Space Opera series.
Running a restaurant should be easier than being an admiral of the Holy Hive Mind, but Nicolette “Niko” Larsen and her staff, including former members of her fleet, are having trouble making ends meet. An opportunity arises with the rumors of the arrival of a famous culinary critic, and with her, billionaire Arpat Tekraven arrives as well.
Concerns about a review of the restaurant become trivial when the space station is attacked, forcing everyone to evacuate. Tekraven offers Niko and her staff a ride on his spaceship, the You Sexy Thing, but dies during the escape. Among the things Niko brings with her is a crate with mysterious contents. The You Sexy Thing’s artificial intelligence thinks it’s been stolen and sets course for a space prison.
“You Sexy Thing” begins a series that blends gastronomy and space opera in a fictional universe filled with sentient species. It could be labeled science fantasy because magic exists, two members of the restaurant staff are werelions, and the occasional ghost appears. This is a case where genre labels are very relative.
From the beginning of the novel, we see the progressive construction of the fictional universe in which it’s set and the development of the various characters, typically through their interactions. It’s a truly diverse group, as they belong to different species and reveal their individual personalities.
The spaceship, which is sentient thanks to its highly advanced artificial intelligence, soon becomes an important character as well. Initially, it’s suspicious of its unexpected guests, to say the least, but it too finds itself interacting with them in various ways. This is a very different situation from what it was accustomed to with its owners, who considered it merely a tool, while Niko and her group treat it as a sentient individual.
The novel includes a lot of dialogue that is used to develop some important themes. For example, Niko constantly feels responsible for her group, which expands throughout the novel in unexpected ways. There are various ethical and moral ramifications connected to certain characters, starting with the sentient spaceship.
Despite the extensive dialogue, the pace tends to remain fast, thanks in part to the many events recounted. There are constant twists and revelations, often unwelcome to Niko and her group. It doesn’t help that Lassite, a priest of sorts, constantly speaks of the “Spiral of Destiny” and the importance of the events they’re experiencing. Events that seem completely independent get intertwined in various ways, to the point that at times it feels like the novel is a combination of various stories strung together. In a universe where magic exists, there isn’t necessarily room for coincidence.
My only problem with this novel is its tone. For long stretches, despite the emergency situation, the tone seemed rather lighthearted. The centrality of the culinary element tends to cushion the dramatic tone. When the space station is attacked, not all the restaurant staff manage to survive, and cooking something is a way to cope with grief. For the reader, who knows little or nothing about these characters, it’s difficult to perceive the dramatic side. In the second part of the novel, things change when protagonists who already had a certain amount of development risk their lives, and the tone becomes decidedly darker.
“You Sexy Thing” leaves me with some doubts about the intensity of the story, especially in the first part, but overall, I found the story enjoyable, and the fictional universe that was introduced is intriguing. The centrality of the culinary art is a rarity in a science fiction work. I recommend it especially to space opera fans. It’s the first book in a series but has an ending, so it can be read as a standalone work and then you can decide if you want to continue with the sequels. It’s available on Amazon USA, UK, and Canada.
