Aestus: Book 1: The City

by S. Z. Attwell

Overview

An underground city, built centuries ago to ride out the devastating heat. A society under attack. And a young solar engineer whose skills may be the key to saving her city...if she doesn't get herself killed first.

When Jossey was ten, the creatures of the aboveground took her brother and left her for dead, with horrible scars. Now, years later, she's a successful solar engineer, working to keep her underground city's power running, but she's never really recovered. After she saves dozens of people during a second attack, she is offered a top-secret assignment as a field Engineer with Patrol, but fear prevents her from taking it...until Patrol finds bones near where her brother disappeared.

She signs on and finds herself catapulted into a world that is far more dangerous, and requires far more of her, than she ever imagined. The creatures and the burning heat aboveground are not the only threats facing the City, and what she learns during her assignment could cost her her life: one of the greatest threats to the City may in fact lie within. With thousands of lives at stake, can she act in time?

Aestus is an adult dystopian science-fiction series set centuries after climate change has ravaged much of Earth. An epic story of vengeance, power, shifting loyalties, and survival that looks at just how far people will go to protect what they love, brought to you by science writer S. Z. Attwell, Aestus paints a picture of a world in which far too little has changed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781735479002
Publisher:	S.Z. Attwell
Publication date:	08/22/2020
Series:	Aestus , #1
Pages:	704
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.55(d)

Editorial Reviews

" at the level of Frank Herbert's Dune." - Seth at IHeartSci-Fi

"One of the best books I've ever read." - The Very Bookish

"Aestus Book 1: The City is flat out one of the best science fiction novels I've read in recent years. It's hard to believe that this is the author's first book....The plot of the novel is complex, the relationships between the characters far from simple. The depth of characterization is stunning, especially with regard to Jossey. But what stands out is that the book is a page-turner. I regretted every time I had to put it down and looked forward to picking it back up....As a science fiction writer myself, I have to say that S.Z. Atwell is a gifted writer who knows how to maintain suspense as well as anyone writing today...." - C. Dorman

"...masterful...on par with the best in the genre." - A. R. Saida

"This book is nearly 700 pages. I read it in two days and immediately bought the second one. The world building, the characters, the plot, the SUSPENSE... The author does a brilliant job of introducing a whole new world construct without ever falling into the trap of drawn-out description. This makes the world feel very practical....As for the characters, it's been a long time since I've cared this much about their outcomes! Even when you can't tell where their loyalties lie, they are fascinating. And despite its length, this book never lags: I kept wondering how things could possibly ratchet up more. But they always did. Cannot recommend this book enough!" - Aildreda

"...I haven't been this engrossed in a book in a long time!....This novel has so so many surprises and is a many-layered exploration of humanity and justice (like all good sci-fi novels are!). Highly highly recommend. Plus it's so entertaining! I bought book II as soon as it was out and am only pulling my head from its pages to write this review before I get in too deep! Read this book! It says so much about our world, who we are, the challenges we face...." - I. M.

"....This was amazing....I have never finished a book this long, let alone this quickly. I think it only took me a week or so to read. And then, instead of losing momentum near the end I instead picked up and was so into the story that I read book 2 in the span of two days!....Also...I am very picky about plotlines and twists, and I have to say I felt refreshed by the amount of well executed twists and turns this book took...." - Schara Reeves

"Aestus is one of the best dystopian sci-fi novels I've read....beautifully vivid, with descriptions so specific and detailed that I felt like I was there alongside the characters, watching events unfold as if through my own eyes....It's difficult to speak in much detail about Aestus without ruining one of the dozens of mysteries posited by the novel, but every page within the book's covers is worth reading. Aestus has been the best fiction book I've read this year, and I'd strongly recommend it to anyone, even those not fans of the genre." - R Sha

"It's hard to write a review of this book because I'm afraid that my description won't do it justice. This is a phenomenal read....I can't remember the last time I read a book this fast nor one that stayed with me for so long." - Amanda W.

From the Publisher