Sunward

A Novel

By: William Alexander

Narrated by: Lindsey Dorcus

A 2026 Philip K. Dick Award Finalist

A debut science fiction novel by National Book Award–winning writer William Alexander, this story of found family follows a planetary courier training adolescent androids in a solar system grappling with interplanetary conflict after a devastating explosion on Earth’s moon.

Captain Tova Lir chose a life as a courier rather than get involved in her family’s illustrious business in politics. Set in humanity’s far future, hiring a planetary courier is essential for delivering private messages across the stars.

Encouraged by friends, Tova begins mentoring baby bots, juvenile AI who are developmentally in their teens, and trains them how to interact within society essentially becoming their foster mom. Her latest charge, Agatha Panza von Sparkles, named herself on their first run from Luna to Phoebe station. But on their return, they encounter a derelict spaceship and a lurking assassin, igniting a thrilling chase across the solar system.

Tova and Agatha’s daring actions leave Agatha’s mind vulnerable, relying on Tova’s former AI pupils for help. As Tova starts gathering her scattered family around her, she is chased through the solar system by forces who want her captured and her family erased. This debut science fiction novel by National Book Award–winning author William Alexander is a must-read for fans of Becky Chambers and Ursula K. Le Guin. Lovers of poignant science fiction, where the bonds of found family, the evolution of AI, and the building distrust of centuries of bias, come together in this visionary look at humanity’s future.

Critic reviews

"The dark, intense cold of space is warmed by the emotional connections in this novel and by Lindsey Dorcus’s expert narration. Courier Tova Lir, captain of the NEEDLE and loving foster parent of a juvenile AI, is on a routine mission when a lunar disaster upends everything. Suddenly, she’s got an assassin onboard, and not one, but two, of her bot children are in lethal danger. Author William Alexander sets a fast pace, and Dorcus smoothly keeps up, applying various Earth accents to the people the NEEDLE encounters in the solar system. Crucially, Dorcus invests each of Tova’s fostered bots with vocal personalities as distinct as their names: Cosmas, Torque, Halley, and Agatha Panza von Sparkles. Balancing humor and heavy themes, and ending on a cliff-hanger, this sci-fi romp is a charmer."

Wonderful

I love the world in this book! Will Alexander's books are always impressively efficient. He tells the grandest story with a rich world while somehow managing to do this with a few hundred less pages you would assume you would need to do this. The themes of the book are poignant, well developed, and the voice over actor is fantastic. The story ends in satisfying way, but I do hope we get to visit the world of this book again! I highly recommend this book!

Wonderful concept

I loved the concept, the main character and her voice, and the portrayal of her relationship with her “children.” The performance was great.

Well

No world building, bordered on being childish. Short book, but not short enough for me.