Icebreaker: A Fantasy Naval Thriller – Glynn Stewart

I would describe it as very-soft science fiction, rather than fantasy.

There are two warring polities on the planet Albion - and the planet is become less inhabitable. The protagonist commands a ship that has been sent to seek the cause of the deteriorating conditions. She finds the answer - and a potential solution.

The book was a pleasant stand-alone novel. The plotting was a bit mechanistic, in that the protagonists keep encountering obstacles which are serious enough to create tension, but not quite enough to be defeat them. (The medium has limitations which are difficult to avoid. The author of a 400-page book does not have the option of defeating the protagonist at page 250 and walking away.)

A point in the book’s favor is that the hero doesn’t play cowboy. At a key point she decides to do something that might save the day - and carries major political and military risks. And she goes through channels to ask for permission.