Red Star Hustle
RED STAR HUSTLE is a USA Today bestseller!
Wow wow wow – RED STAR HUSTLE / APPREHENSION became an instant USA Today bestseller, making the list in its debut week!!
The news came while Mary Robinette Kowal and I were neck-deep in an incredible tour to promote our Saga Double, which was an incredible and overwhelming whirlwind of events – nine cities, eight flights, twelve days – and I am still trying to process everything that happened. And catch up on sleep. Both will probably take me a while. But when I do, I will hopefully have more coherent meaningful thoughts to share.
For now, all I can say is – making this bestseller list is a first for me, and I’m deeply moved and grateful to all the excellent folks who bought copies and came out to our book tour events. THANK YOU!
RED STAR HUSTLE is hitting the road – here are the tour dates.
Less than a month until RED STAR HUSTLE / APPREHENSION drops, and I’m excited to announce that Mary Robinette Kowal and I will be hitting the road together!
Full tour dates are below. I’ll keep this page updated with live links as we get them, but for now – check out where and when we’ll be, and pencil us in to your calendars if you can! Many events will have options to attend virtually; follow the links for more info.
- Oct 20, Virtual: Poisoned Pen
- Oct 22, Brooklyn NY: The Twisted Spine
- Oct 28, Atlanta GA: Eagle Eye Books
- Oct 29, Washington DC: Little District
- Oct 30, Houston TX: Murder by the Book
- Nov 3, Portland OR: Powell’s
- Nov 4, Boulder CO: Boulder Bookstore
- Nov 5: San Diego CA: Mysterious Galaxy
SAVE THE DATE(S), we’d love to see you.
RED STAR HUSTLE / APPREHENSION is one of Lit Hub’s most anticipated science fiction books of 2025!
Lit Hub just dropped their list of the 33 most highly-anticipated science fiction fantasy / horror books of the rest of 2025, and I was super excited to see RED STAR HUSTLE / APPREHENSION on there! Here’s what they had to say:
Mary Robinette Kowal / Sam J. Miller, Apprehension / Red Star Hustle
S&S / Saga Press, October 21
I’m loving Saga’s decision to revive the old Ace Doubles format this year (following, it should be noted, in the footsteps of the fabulous Tenebrous Press Split Scream series—and, I suppose, Catherine Lacey’s The Möbius Book, although that’s kinda different)—the first was a Stephen Graham Jones double-header, then a Day/Night-themed Ellen Datlow-edited story collection, but this is where the rubber should meet the road for the format: two brand new novellas from absolute SF stars. I can’t wait to read them both, and to flip the book in-between! –DB
Announcing RED STAR HUSTLE.
HUGE MAGNIFICENT WOW MOMENT NEWS:
It’s about Aran, a far-future outer-space rent boy who gets framed for murder, who is on the run and trying to clear his name (pursued by a bad-ass bounty hunter pursued by her own demons), and his life gets even more complicated when he falls for the beautiful damaged clone of a puppet monarch. Some of you might have met Aran already – he was the protagonist of my novelette “Planetstuck,” which was a finalist for the Asimov’s Readers Award.
And Saga is releasing the book as part of the launch of its new line “Saga Doubles,” an homage to old-school pulp paperbacks that would publish two short novels or novellas together, back to back – a format I’ve long been super obsessed with. And my bookmate here is the brilliant APPREHENSION, by Mary Robinette Kowal – who isn’t just one of the best writers in the genre, she’s also just an all-around joy.
The book drops October 21, 2025, and you can preorder it already! Here’s what the publisher has to say about it:
Two expertly crafted crime stories set in a far-future science fiction universe, from two award-winning authors known for their gripping plots and unforgettable characters—a short novel and a long novella that will thrill fans of space adventures, mystery, and intergalactic intrigue in this Saga Double
Red Star Hustle
Aran, an optimistic, high-class escort, is on the run after his famous filmmaker client is assassinated. With an ace security contractor (read: bounty hunter) trailing—who is also running from her own boss who happens to be both her mom and the head of one of the most powerful groups in the galaxy—Aran is running out of time. This science fiction thriller is a crisscross of heartbreak, addiction struggles, and trauma which comes together in a fast-paced space-hopping fight with the whole damn galaxy by Nebula Award–winning author Sam J. Miller.
Apprehension
A family vacation arranged by Bonnyjean, a grieving mother, her son-in-law Jax, and her six-year-old grandson Tristan, quickly becomes disastrous as Tristan is kidnapped by a terrorist operation that is hoping to affect the planet’s upcoming elections between rival parties. They believe Bonnyjean was given a secret by the double agent who died in her arms. However, not only is this a deadly misunderstanding, but it’s also a dangerous one as Bonnyjean was last on Nahatanau when she was a special forces operative. Unfortunately, that was over thirty years ago, but she won’t let the years nor her bad hip get in the way of rescuing her grandson. Beloved Hugo Award–winning author Mary Robinette Kowal has crafted an intricate mystery of mistaken identity on an alien planet.
