The Protectorate

by Megan O'Keefe

She wakes 230 years later. The war is over. Everyone's dead. Sanda survives with rogue AI Bero and uncovers lies. O'Keefe's PKD-nominated trilogy: The Expanse meets Ancillary Justice. Dazzling space battles and political intrigue.

Dazzling space battles, intergalactic politics, and rogue AI collide in The Protectorate, an epic space opera trilogy by award-winning author Megan O'Keefe. Sanda and Biran Greeve were siblings destined for greatness. A high-flying sergeant, Sanda has the skills to take down any enemy combatant. Biran is a savvy politician who aims to use his new political position to prevent conflict from escalating to total destruction.

However, on a routine maneuver, Sanda loses consciousness when her gunship is blown out of the sky. Instead of finding herself in friendly hands, she awakens 230 years later on a deserted enemy warship controlled by an AI who calls himself Bero. The war is lost. The star system is dead. Ada Prime and its rival Icarion have wiped each other from the universe. Now, separated by centuries, Sanda must survive with the cheeky, possibly unreliable Bero while her brother Biran navigates political conspiracies that suggest the war's outcome wasn't what it seemed.

The trilogy - Velocity Weapon, Chaos Vector, and Catalyst Gate - unravels a conspiracy spanning centuries involving ancient alien technology, shadowy organizations, and questions about what really happened during the war. Kirkus Reviews called it "Meticulously plotted, edge-of-your-seat space opera with a soul; a highly promising science-fiction debut," while Michael Mammay praised it as "Outstanding space opera where the politics and world building of The Expanse series meets the forward-thinking AI elements of Ancillary Justice."

Publishers Weekly highlighted themes of "found family, emotional connection, and identity run throughout, backed up by strong worldbuilding and a tense narrative." Alex White called Velocity Weapon "a spectacular epic of survival, full of triumph and gut-wrenching loss," while K.B. Wagers declared it "one of the best science fiction novels of 2019." The Guardian praised it as "a brilliantly plotted yarn of survival and far-future political intrigue."

Velocity Weapon was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award, launching O'Keefe from her Gemmell-winning steampunk debut into space opera stardom. Set roughly 1,500 years in the future, the series explores identity, memory, trust, and what it means to be human when AI might be more reliable than governments. The sibling dynamic between Sanda and Biran grounds the epic scope, while Bero's sardonic personality makes him one of science fiction's most memorable AI characters.

Perfect for readers seeking The Expanse-level political complexity, Ancillary Justice-style AI exploration, fast-paced plotting with multiple twists, sibling relationships tested by time and conspiracy, and space opera that balances action with emotional depth.