2018 Ditmar Award for Best Novel (nominee)
2017 Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (nominee)
"Imaginative and richly rendered . . . Sparks frames all of this in haunting, near-poetic detail, such that the readers can smell the toxic red sand and perhaps taste the blood. Recommended for people who crave fresh post-apocalypse chaos - because Sparks's post-apocalyptic chaos is pretty fresh, at that." - NK Jemisin, The New York Times
Powerful war machines of the far-future collide across a barren desert world in this post-apocalyptic debut novel from award-winning Australian author Cat Sparks.
Seventeen-year-old Star and her sister Nene are orphans, part of a thirteen-wagon caravan of nomadic traders living hard lives travelling the Sand Road. Their route cuts through a particularly dangerous and unforgiving section of the Dead Red Heart, a war-ravaged desert landscape plagued by rogue semi-sentient machinery and other monsters from a bygone age.
But when the caravan witnesses a relic-Angel satellite unexpectedly crash to Earth, a chain of events begins that sends Star on a journey far away from the life she once knew. Shanghaied upon the sandship Dogwatch, she is forced to cross the Obsidian Sea by Quarrel, an ancient Templar supersoldier. Eventually shipwrecked, Star will have no choice but to place her trust in both thieves and priestesses while coming to terms with the grim reality of her past-and the horror of her unfolding destiny-as the terrible secret her sister had been desperate to protect her from begins to unravel.
Meanwhile, something old and powerful has woken in the desert. A Lotus Blue, deadliest of all the ancient war machines. A warrior with plans of its own, far more significant than a fallen Angel. Plans that do not include the survival of humanity.
Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.
Genre: Science Fiction
Powerful war machines of the far-future collide across a barren desert world in this post-apocalyptic debut novel from award-winning Australian author Cat Sparks.
Seventeen-year-old Star and her sister Nene are orphans, part of a thirteen-wagon caravan of nomadic traders living hard lives travelling the Sand Road. Their route cuts through a particularly dangerous and unforgiving section of the Dead Red Heart, a war-ravaged desert landscape plagued by rogue semi-sentient machinery and other monsters from a bygone age.
But when the caravan witnesses a relic-Angel satellite unexpectedly crash to Earth, a chain of events begins that sends Star on a journey far away from the life she once knew. Shanghaied upon the sandship Dogwatch, she is forced to cross the Obsidian Sea by Quarrel, an ancient Templar supersoldier. Eventually shipwrecked, Star will have no choice but to place her trust in both thieves and priestesses while coming to terms with the grim reality of her past-and the horror of her unfolding destiny-as the terrible secret her sister had been desperate to protect her from begins to unravel.
Meanwhile, something old and powerful has woken in the desert. A Lotus Blue, deadliest of all the ancient war machines. A warrior with plans of its own, far more significant than a fallen Angel. Plans that do not include the survival of humanity.
Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.
Genre: Science Fiction
Praise for this book
"Astonishingly rich in ideas and concepts and the world building is truly breathtaking in its breadth and originality. Lotus Blue is a revelation." - Isobelle Carmody
"Lotus Blue is SF adventure on steroids. A dystopian vision worthy of H. Rider Haggard and the Mad Max film franchise." - Jack Dann
"Strong-minded women to root for, self-driven, sentient war mech, and a broken, raw world make Lotus Blue the latest and greatest of recent post-apocalyptic stories. An imagined future that leaves you discomfited, but an engaging read that leaves you satisfied." - Betsy Dornbusch
"A mythic, far-future outback populated by superhuman soldiers, house-sized reptiles, and half-crazed armored vehicles: If that doesn't sound incredible to you, you have no heart. Lotus Blue is the year's most compelling science fiction novel." - Zachary Jernigan
"Vivid, compelling, and relentless, Cat Sparks makes you care about the soul of a mecha future as you hang onto the edge, feeling the sandy grit between your teeth." - Tina LeCount Myers
"Forget the Mad Max comparisons: Sparks is far more ambitious than that. Lotus Blue is A Canticle for Leibowitz by way of Neuromancer." - Peter Watts
"Lotus Blue is SF adventure on steroids. A dystopian vision worthy of H. Rider Haggard and the Mad Max film franchise." - Jack Dann
"Strong-minded women to root for, self-driven, sentient war mech, and a broken, raw world make Lotus Blue the latest and greatest of recent post-apocalyptic stories. An imagined future that leaves you discomfited, but an engaging read that leaves you satisfied." - Betsy Dornbusch
"A mythic, far-future outback populated by superhuman soldiers, house-sized reptiles, and half-crazed armored vehicles: If that doesn't sound incredible to you, you have no heart. Lotus Blue is the year's most compelling science fiction novel." - Zachary Jernigan
"Vivid, compelling, and relentless, Cat Sparks makes you care about the soul of a mecha future as you hang onto the edge, feeling the sandy grit between your teeth." - Tina LeCount Myers
"Forget the Mad Max comparisons: Sparks is far more ambitious than that. Lotus Blue is A Canticle for Leibowitz by way of Neuromancer." - Peter Watts
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