Affairs of State
By Calvin James
- Affairs of State
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Author: Calvin James
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Publisher: Titan Books
- ISBN: 9781835416228
- Published: July 2026
- Pages: 492
- Format reviewed: Paperback
- Review date: 10/08/2026
- Language: English
You cannot know who you are going to fall in love with. This is complicated enough when you are falling for a fellow human. When it comes to falling in love with a Meta-human that is even more complex. Throw in an intergalactic war and you have one hell of a complicated relationship, especially when the Meta-humans all look like 10-foot+ demons. Affairs of State by Calvin James is a high tempo action space opera, but also a romance of manners. Can a human and a demon get along in a Universe that wants to pull them apart, and then chop them up into pieces?
Levar Boylan is a supply officer in the retreating army of Commonwealth humans. When he is called back to the home planets, he thinks it is to be disciplined, as the most senior surviving officer someone had to take the blame. Instead, he is given a promotion and a new role in the diplomatic core. Why this sudden change? Apparently it is something to do with the mysterious Empress Astrid, leader of the enemy coalition. Powerful, horned, ex-girlfriend from University. Can Levar gain a beneficial peace treaty using his charms?
Romantasy is the genre of the hour, you see it in all the bookshops, were once stood displays of hard science fiction or fantasy tomes, instead stand countless books about love wrapped in Orc of Elf skin. Affairs is not Romantasy, but Romanscifi. It has many of the same elements with a will they/won’t they central premise, but it has added laser swords, AI attack vehicles, and intergalactic peace at stake.
I am a huge fan of action science fiction, and don’t mind a bit of romance, it is a great way of developing character, but romance can dominate a book making it all about two given characters at the cost of everything else. This is not the case with Affairs, it has a wonderful back and forth, but also great set piece and some cool action.
At the heart of the book is the relationship between Levar and Astrid as they reconnect many years after their University days. They were already from different worlds, but life was simpler then, two outcasts allowed to find one another. Things have changed since. Astrid has risen to the top of a violent food chain, in a society that encourages assassination as a way of promotion. Levar has fought for years on the other side, witnessing countless friends die, he is one of a dying breed.
James is able to create great science fiction; it is huge in scope but also entertaining. The book is bloody and violent, but also fun. This is not a book to be taken as high science, but something to be enjoyed. This is also present in the affairs of state. James takes aspects of a comedy of manner, of Bridgerton, costume balls and societal interplay. Having a massive ball scene followed by a fight to the death is exhilarating, and to me, a great read.
The combination of romance, society and science fiction works wonderfully. The books appeal will be to those that enjoy a lighter read. There is violence and sex in the book, but at its heart it is entertainment. This is a fun book that feels uplifting, even with all the darker moments.
Written on 10th August 2026 by Sam Tyler .
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