Reign & Revolution
Janine A. Southard
(Hive Queen Saga, #3)
Publication date: April 12th 2016
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
The Hive Queen Saga’s Thrilling Conclusion!
Rhiannon and her Hive have mastered space travel. Sort of. At least, they’re better at it. They’ve outsmarted kidnappers, survived severe oxygen deprivation, and heisted back their own ship engine from would-be thieves.
Since joining up, they’ve traveled further and further away from their home planet. But out on Yin He Garden Station (in Chinese-owned territory), home catches up at a physics symposium.
When Alan’s former research advisor makes an offer that’ll bring them home as respected members of society, Rhiannon knows she has to accept. But home isn’t exactly as she left it, and a hostile space fleet stands between her aging ship and her new/old life. Should she be running towards the fleet, or scurrying back into international space as fast as her craft can go.
Playlist
With so many characters, plot arcs, character arcs, and intrigues, picking just a few songs (in the right order) was so hard. This task was only made worse by the fact that I listened to music while I wrote, but to my characters would like, which is a very different thing. I’m proud now to say, “Here’s a 13-song version of Reign & Revolution (with commentary).”
1. “Counting Stars” – One Republic (At the beginning of the novel, Rhiannon and her friends have ambitions. They aren’t sure how things are going to go, but they are very hopeful.)
2. “Here Comes Your Man” – The Pixies (The tone of the song is pop and happy, but underneath it’s about nature’s danger to travelers. Rhiannon has docked her spaceship on a foreign space station with the motto “smaller is safer.” It’s a beautiful place, but ominous.)
3. “Men of Harlech” – Fron Male Voice Choir (The further Rhiannon and her crew get from their Welsh-colonized home planet, the more Welsh they realize they are. This song is both a comfort and a fight song. Also, they literally sing it all the time.)
4. “I Knew You Were Trouble” – Taylor Swift (Here’s another literal song for the list. Rhiannon acquires a love interest in this book who is so so bad for her, but she can’t stop herself from liking him.)
5. “No Moon At All” – Mel Tormé (Tormé doesn’t intend this song to be creepy; it’s supposed to be smooth. Yet, imagine if the moon suddenly vanished. This is the song for a scene where one crew member—Alan—performs unexpected heroics, and does save the day very smoothly... but the aftermath is still like a metaphorical moon vanishing.)
6. “Firebird’s Child” - SJ Tucker (A fight song! Rhiannon and her friends have been tested and honed; their relationships and their strengths have been forged tightly by hardships. And they will always stand up and move forward. You can’t keep them down.)
7. “Tik Tok” – Ke$ha (The party don’t start till I walk in. If that’s not a great “I Am,” what is?)
8. “That Old Black Magic” – Ella Fitzgerald (The bad guys are leaps ahead, and a character with PTSD is still under their “spell,” though she’s trying to break free. This may be the most twisted interpretation of “That Old Black Magic” ever.)
9. “Bad Blood” – Taylor Swift (I couldn’t resist a second Taylor Swift song. Partially because I listened to so much Taylor while writing this book, in order to get the right pop-modern tone and self-awareness, and partially because this is a gorgeous song about fighting with people who should be your allies.)
10. “Ain’t It Fun” – Paramore (When you want to drag some self-centered people who need to realize the world doesn’t revolve around them, this is the song. And, wow, do our heroes run into people who haven’t realized this before.)
11. “The Sound of Silence (or Poem on the Underground Wall)” – Simon & Garfunkel (Would you believe this novel includes a poetry contest to save the day? Some may say I should’ve chosen Dylan for social commentary songs, but I stick my tongue out at those people.)
12. “History Repeating” – The Propellerheads, featuring Shirley Bassey (Shirley Bassey is Welsh! Also, politics are a giant mess... or are they, as far as the proletariat is concerned?)
13. “Rhiannon” – Fleetwood Mac (It’s my main character’s namesake, and by the end, she’s pretty much the most powerful person around. You don’t mess with her, and she’ll help you along. Is it too on the nose to include this song? Nah!)
Bonus song:
“Cheerleader” – Omi (Rhiannon’s friends prop her up, and she doesn’t need anyone else. Also, on a personal note, I have long referred to my Significant Other as my “cheerleader with a whip” when it comes to writing and publishing projects, so when this song was released during Reign & Revolution’s drafting phase, it became my personal theme.)
Previous books in the series:
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About The Author
About The Author
Janine A. Southard is the IPPY award-winning author of Queen & Commander (and other books in The Hive Queen Saga). She lives in Seattle, WA, where she writes speculative fiction novels, novellas, and short stories... and reads them aloud to her cat.
All Janine’s books so far have been possible because of crowdsourced funds via Kickstarter. She owes great thanks to her many patrons of the arts who love a good science fiction adventure and believe in her ability to make that happen.
Get a free piece of fiction when you sign up for Janine A. Southard's newsletter (http://bit.ly/jasnews). The newsletter will keep you current on things like her latest release dates (and fun news like when her next Kickstarter project is coming). Usually, this is once a month or so, but sometimes goes longer or shorter. Your address will never be shared, and you can unsubscribe at any time. Plus: free ebook! (Rotating freebies mean I can’t tell you what the work is right this second.)
You can hang out with Janine online where she’s crazy about twitter (@jani_s) and periodically updates her website with free fiction and novel inspirations (www.janinesouthard.com)
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