Casthen Gain is a space opera novella set in the Graven universe, written by Essa Hansen, and published by Grimdark Magazine. An imaginative return to Hansen's rich universe (it is a standalone piece, but it contains some easter eggs for readers of the novels) with an intriguing battle royale setup with a really unique main character that will also help to reinforce the focus in such a neglected aspect on speculative fiction such as food, all wrapped in a fast-paced plot.

Sentance Ketch, a chef, finds himself thrown onto a dangerous planet with another fourteen prisoners; they are informed of the existence of an anomaly on the planet, and the one that finds it would survive, joining the dangerous organization behind this: the Casthen. A hostile environment where our crafty and skilled character will have to put those abilities to use if he wants to find the anomaly and finally reach that freedom he was so desperately looking for.

Sentance is the perfect lead for this kind of novella; not only we have a really competent character, but also one that we can get behind, support him as he tries to fulfill his dream of freedom. He's quite likeable, a person who took the gamble in order to be free to practice his craft; but even in that situation, we can see him being kind to secondary characters, winning our hearts meanwhile.
The secondary cast also deserves a highlight, with well-crafted characters such as Childi, a friendly but helpless companion (he's adorable, to be fair), and the revolutionary Evi, giving us more information about the Trow and its society, why Sentance chose the gamble of persecuting her for the chance of escaping.

Hansen's worldbuilding is simply mind-bending; she smartly uses the bubble universes concept in combination with the dangerous environment to gift us with some of the most imaginative places we can see depicted in the genre, putting the focus on the sensorial experience. Her prose is really evocative, perfectly accompanying the perspective of our lead character, quite fitting if we take all into account.
As you could expect from this kind of proposal, the pacing is relatively fast, but still gifting some moments of introspection, to alleviate the tension while also using the opportunity to flesh the characters.

Casthen Gain is a delightful novella, an excellent dark space opera proposal perfect for those of us that were craving for a return to the Graven; a standalone that gives you a taste of what Hansen is able to do, showing a glimpse of her imaginative worldbuilding and her evocative prose. Always an Essa Hansen fan!