Stone and Steel

by Eboni Dunbar

Overview

In Stone and Steel, when General Aaliyah returns triumphant to the city of Titus, she expects to find the people prospering under the rule of her Queen, the stone mage Odessa. Instead, she finds a troubling imbalance in both the citizens' wellbeing and Odessa's rule. Aaliyah must rely on all of her allies, old and new, to do right by the city that made her.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781952086090
Publisher:	Neon Hemlock Press
Publication date:	09/05/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	91
File size:	4 MB

Editorial Reviews

07/06/2020

Dunbar, a PW reviewer, debuts with an immersive, fast-paced fantasy novella about a general torn between love and duty. When General Aaliyah returns to Titus after years away at war, she’s shocked to see the dilapidated state of her homeland under the rule of her adopted sister and former lover, Queen Odessa. Aaliyah settles back into her life while trying to understand why Odessa broke every promise of progress she made before Aaliyah left. When Aaliyah revisits friends from her and Odessa’s childhood as orphaned street kids, the reunion opens her eyes to Odessa’s true selfish nature and she’s forced to accept that her sister does not share her same desire to raise the people of Titus out of poverty and hunger. As Odessa is consumed by the desire for power, Aaliyah teams up with her friend-turned-lover, Mercy; her long-lost father, Akil; Omar, the king of nearby Galavera; and her most loyal soldiers to save the kingdom from the queen she once loved. The plot is riveting, and readers will cheer for the cast of well-rounded Black characters, led by underdog Aaliyah, as they fights for her people. This will be an easy pick for anyone looking for queer, Black speculative fiction—and for fantasy fans more broadly. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly