Synopsis:
With a wit to rival Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl, action on par with Pierce Brown’s Red Rising, and the scope of Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth, Cello’s Gate is a rollicking, edge-of-your-seat sci-fi fantasy epic about a ragtag crew of rogues on the hunt for mythic treasure. They did not, however, sign up to save the world.
Captain Grey and his crew of sky pirates have a reputation for doing the impossible. From breaking into high-security military research facilities to conning the iCity elite—there isn’t a lock they can’t pick, a safe they can’t break, or a hidden treasure they can’t find. Until now.
Returning from a harrowing heist involving a neon battery and a trash chute, Grey and his crew are approached by Dalia, the immortal daughter of the infamous ArchGovernor—and she has an offer.
The job? Locate and steal the Stones of Indigo—seven fabled rocks invested with godlike power. The search for the first stone is a bona fide treasure hunt, guided by an ancient map to a deadly, uncharted island that’s protected by a mysterious guardian. The score? One million credits per crew member, per stone. The catch? Well, that’s where things get a little complicated.
The stones don’t exist. They’re a myth. A bedtime story told to little pirates to make them believe that power and wealth are attainable if you just work hard enough.
And to make matters infinitely worse, Grey’s never trusted immortals, and Dalia’s definitely hiding something. Something bad. And if they don’t figure out what it is, it might cost them their lives.
ONE CREW OF SKY PIRATES
SEVEN MYTHOLOGICAL STONES
A RACE TO FIND THEM ALL
Review:
Oh yeah. This is the stuff. Inject this straight into my veins and I’ll be back first in line for the sequel as soon as Maurice Africh sees fit to give it to us.
I’d seen Cello’s Gate sitting in my referrals in the Kindle store last year when Africh self-published it. I considered picking it up a few different times, but before I knew it, the book was awaiting publication from Saga Press for a November 2026 release. Now that I’ve read it, I really wish I’d gotten my mitts on it sooner, but better late than never.
Cello’s Gate had a feeling of being familiar and comfortable while simultaneously seeming fresh and brand new. The character work by Africh was top notch, and that’s probably the best thing about the novel, even with a captivating adventure and mystery at the core of the story.
Let’s start at the beginning, because Maurice Africh doesn’t shirk the importance of a pivotal, introductory action scene. In just a few pages the audience is thrown right into the middle of a heist by Captain Grey and his sky pirate crew. We are treated to the skills and professionalism of some crew members, while seeing the moments when other crew members don’t have the same level of competence and Grey’s treatment of both. By the time we’d reached just a few chapters into the book, I felt right at home with the crew and Grey’s management style.
But, the machinations of their world, complete with Grey’s own past, come back with a vengeance for the mission that eats up most of the book — searching for stones that contain the essence of a mythical being from long ago. From there, we’re off on a pulse-pounding trip through jungle terrain, against dangerous and creepy creatures, and a labyrinth that allows the characters to each embark on their own well-plotted arcs.
There are a handful of comparisons listed in the synopsis from Dungeon Crawler Carl’s wit and Red Rising’s action, but I’d argue that television and movie comparisons are equally if not more apt here. If you loved the short-lived series Firefly with Captain Mal and his crew or the adventure that often arrived each week through the Stargate, I’d say that Cello’s Gate is right up your alley. I feel like I’ve read a lot of books that would love to have just a small amount of the juice that Africh pumps into Cello’s Gate, and they never seem to quite get there. Here it works and works amazingly well for me.
Cello’s Gate will be published on Nov. 3, 2026
Thank you to Saga Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
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