By Sarah Azman
Alex Parker Publishing is thrilled to announce that Gas Giant Gambit: A Tall Tale From Beyond the Cygnus Rift by E.S. Raye has been named one of Kirkus’ Best Indie Books of 2025!
Gas Giant Gambit was one of 100 books selected by Kirkus editors among thousands of submissions.
The announcement will appear in the December 15th issue of Kirkus Reviews, on the Kirkus website, and in a special edition newsletter.
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/magazine/current/
About Gas Giant Gambit: A Trailblazing Space-Western
In this exciting sci-fi and Western mash-up, a spacefaring, queer bounty hunter finds herself stranded on a deserted mining station orbiting the gas giant Aeolus. She is pursued by law enforcement following a mission gone awry. After being rescued by a kind robot, she is given temporary asylum with the Vega ranching family.
The bounty hunter, until now unidentified, assumes the name “Gus” and tries to lay low. While doing odd jobs to cover expensive repairs to her “steed”—a Faster Than Light engine called Tilly—she gets into a bar fight with a son of the powerful Leconte family. As a result, she is drawn into Las Ráfagas' political world.
As Gus begins her new assignment as deputy marshal, she gets an inside look at the abusive and exploitive dealings of the greedy town administrator, Laszlo Leconte. Gus soon realizes she has a new mission: to release Las Ráfagas from the grip of the villainous Leconte family.
The book masterfully marries the thrill of space travel with the lawlessness of the Western frontier, perfectly capturing all the best of the sci-fi and Western genres.
From the Author: The Birth of a Sci-Fi/Western Mashup
Here is what author E.S. Raye had to say about “Blazing the Space-Western Frontier”:
As an author, reader, gamer, and member of the audience, my favorite way to breathe new life into old tropes is with a well-executed mashup.
I’ve always been a fan of science fiction. Westerns, on the other hand, have never really been one of my favorites. Despite that, I’ve always felt a connection to the genre through my maternal grandfather. When I was very little, I stayed with my grandparents during the day when my parents were at work. There was almost always a Western on the TV. These genres are actually far closer together than you might have expected.
Gas Giant Gambit is the story I didn’t know I needed to tell until it was told. And it couldn’t be told in any other way than by smashing two great genres together and assembling a narrative from the puzzle pieces.
Standout Themes
Raye’s mashup highlights the contrasts and connections between Western and sci-fi genres.
Westerns explore the past, and sci-fi imagines the future. Looking at the past provides opportunities to analyze societal failures; sci-fi explores creative, unlimited, and theoretical opportunities for improving the future.
The struggles and moral dilemmas of Westward expansion mirror the challenges humanity will have to grapple with as we expand further into the galaxy. Political struggles remain constant throughout time and space. Gas Giant Gambit is a vehicle for exploring these political struggles, such as greed and inequality, in a controlled way.
Raye explains, “These similarities and dichotomies have always appealed to me, and made for the perfect playground for the sort of story I wanted to tell.”
A “Truly Exceptional Recognition”
Only one hundred titles of the thousands reviewed make Kirkus’ “Best Indie Books of the Year” list. A Kirkus media representative described this honor as a “truly exceptional recognition.”
This distinction means Gas Giant Gambit will appear in the prestigious Kirkus Reviews magazine, a publication widely respected by literary decision-makers such as librarians, publishers, and agents.
Gas Giant Gambit also holds a Kirkus star with its glowing review, an honor assigned to 10% of Kirkus-reviewed books.
This “Best Indie Books of the Year” list callout follows the appearance of Gas Giant Gambit as a finalist for the American Writing Awards’ Fiction-Science Fiction category.
Join the Celebration
Congratulations to E.S. Raye from the Alex Parker Publishing team!
Thank you to the editors, designers, and creative team who bring our company values to life each day.
We’re excited to share this accomplishment with our readers. Join us in celebrating Gas Giant Gambit by diving into its thrilling space-Western universe.