The Guardian Cycle

Refractions (#1)

"Melcer knows her way around a twisty, suspense-driven plot and has the chops to pull it off."

Analog

"Refractions is an excellent novel. Mel Melcer has found her genre and worked hard to establish a nuanced take on humanity's future."

SF Book Review

"I am very interested to see what Melcer does with that next. It is an extremely promising start to a new series and a writer to watch out for."

Run Along the Shelves

"Refractions is well-paced, carefully-structured and peopled with characters who must confront the flawed choices they’ve made in the past as they try to work out what the greater good looks like."

There's Always Room For One More

"Twisty, suspenseful, and well told, REFRACTIONS tells a story of a guilt-ridden, underqualified starship captain charged with investigating a colony world that seems to have destroyed itself in a conflict that mirrors the dissension arising in her own crew.... MV Melcer is a talent to remember."

Walter Jon Williams, bestselling author of Hardwire and the Praxis

"REFRACTIONS surprises you. The tautly plotted mystery evolves and deepens into an examination of the best and worst human behavior and impulses. Melcer's characters are complex and messy; her setting --a dying Earth, the nations that emerge from climate collapse-- feels all too real. And somehow, in the end, though there are no easy answers...there's hope. Recommended!"

K. Eason, author of Nightwatch Over Windscar and the Thorne Chronicles

"I'm a huge fan of science fiction that feels real enough to happen tomorrow and Melcer has accomplished that in this book. The character's pasts, families and personalities drive tense interactions that are all too familiar and believable. Politics and strife at home create constant irritation for an international crew on a high stakes mission to save thousands and possibly all of humanity. All that action, tension and discovery culminates with an unexpected, yet perfect ending. A truly and enjoyable and satisfying read."

William Ledbetter, author of Level Five, Nebula Winner

"REFRACTIONS is a page-turning mystery that drills straight down to the human heart of a crisis, and which turns an unflinching eye toward those who engineer and profit from such situations. Melcer's complex, dynamic cast of characters move together through a direly realistic future: there's hope to be had, as long as someone's willing to pay its cost."

Aimee Ogden, author of Emergent Properties

"REFRACTIONS by MV Melcer catapults readers through an epic space adventure marked by shifting loyalties, a fight against exploitative capitalism, and testing the limits of humanity. This story is both majestic in scope and introspective in tone, as the diverse cast of characters careen through a sweeping space adventure."

TJ Berry, author of Space Unicorn Blues

"Great, tense, imaginative, a damn good read. Highly and enthusiastically recommended."

Deborah Davitt, author of the Sage of Edda-Earth

"Fast paced space opera that grabs you right from the start and doesn't let go."

Allen Stroud, author of Fearless

"M V Melcer's debut novel begins with a small crew on a generational rescue mission to a colony planet and an explosion during cryosleep. Pilot Nathalie Hart wakes amid fire and chaos to find she's now in command of the ship and the mission. From there the intricately plotted story only gets better, with a series of nested mysteries about the colony, a second group of colonists stranded in orbit, and the reveals of the shadowy and interconected pasts of the rescues themselves. A good read from start to finish, and the audio version is engagingly performed by Patricia Rodríguez."

L. D. Colter, author of A Borrowed Hell

Inversions (#2)

"In sum, Melcer can be counted on for adept portraits of the precarious nature of living on space stations, sympathetic characters struggling with their pasts, and an intricate plot with political intrigue. All in all, Inversions makes an engaging page turner.

Analog

"The pacing is wonderful, starting with a slow burn and quickly building, until by the ending it’s an all-out race against time that left me breathless. Simply put, this book is stellar; it even outshines the first of the duology, and proves M V Melcer is an author to watch."

M.E. Garber Reviews