The Elysium Heist
In early Spring of 2025, I read a very queer, very Jewish, very cute short story in the 2022 Weāre Here anthology by indie publisher, Neon Hemlock. The author was one Y. M. Resnik, and the story was The Chavrusah Worlds of Possibility. When I saw that her debut novel was up for grabs on NetGalley, I instantly smashed the āRequestā button.
Other people only have a few childhood friends, but I have fifty-two and it is so easy to pick up where we left off.
A disgraced heiress and her ex-lover, a recovering alcoholic card-counter are scheming to rob the the galaxy's most luxurious and heavily secured space casino with the help of an exiled divorcee from an Orthodox Jewish planet. They also recruit the casino's most popular hostess, and her younger sister, who in addition to being the casino's engineer, is also dating it. Or at least, the enigmatic AI that runs it.
You've always held your cards like friends and your chips like lovers.
The Elysium Heist is a delightfully queer, clever sci-fi casino heist that has been accurately described as a āSapphic Oceanās Eleven in spaceā (Eli Snow). There really is no better way to describe it, and I canāt begin to recommend it enough. Resnikās prose is witty and hilarious while addressing topics like sobriety, bodily autonomy, faith, and ace-spectrum sexuality with frank gravity.
Psylina never understood how the process of reasserting control over my own body might include choosing to sell it off to the highest bidder.
There is also an extremely spicy sex scene that...Well.
I like when you are covered in rocket grease. It makes my circuits tingle. I believe you said the emotion was love?
Resnik is definitely an author Iām going to be following very closely. Her stories check all my boxes, and Iām excited to see what else she has in store for us.
Repentance, true atonement, comes from restorative action.
Thank you to NetGalley, Rebellion publishing, and author Y. M. Resnik for the ARC of this book. You can find out more about The Elysium Heist and author Y. M. Resnik on their website, or by following them on BlueSky. If youāre interested in purchasing The Elysium Heist, please consider buying directly from the authorās website, from your local independent bookseller, or online bookstores that support independent booksellers such as Bookshop.org.
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