[PubQ] Query Critique: Ashme's Song - adult sci-fi, 106K words

Dear XXX,

Ashme is a New Mesopotamian—a Meso. She yearns to fight the Ostarrichi, who came as refugees of an interstellar war but now rule over her home, systematically crushing her people. Resistance armies gather their strength, however, promising to bring the Ostarrichi reign to an end. Ashme dreams of joining them, becoming her people’s hero. Her brother suffers from a genetic defect, though, and needs Ashme to be a sister, not a warrior. She must decide how best to keep her family safe. Should she leave her brother to fight for their home, or take him and run?

Mason is an Ostarrichi. His dream is to create a society where his children can thrive. The war-like Mesos, however, threaten to burn his nation to ash. As the Ostarrichi government considers capitulating to the terms of resistance forces, Mason makes a horrifying discovery. Influential members of the army are lying to justify starting a war of extermination against the Mesos. He must decide how to create a nation worthy of his children. Should he act to allow his leaders to give in to Meso demands, or collude with the army to protect his homeland through an act of brutality?

Ashme’s Song is a 106,000-word science fiction novel set in a future world of sentient AI and interstellar trade wars. Reminiscent of the political tension and escalating conflict in James S. A. Corey’s Leviathan Wakes, it follows the lives of two families living in a nation locked in a cycle of violence.

My previous novel, Duatero, was published by Bundoran Press. Additionally, I have published several short stories, including “Naïve Gods,” which was longlisted for a 2017 Sunburst Award.

If you would like to read more, please contact me at XXX. Thank you for your time and consideration.