Vakov Fukasawa is a Reaper. An elite soldier injected with a dangerous drug called stormtech: the DNA of a genocidal alien race, the Shenoi. It makes him stronger, faster, more aggressive. At a price.
A price that, if the House of Suns cult isn't stopped, all of humanity will have to pay.
Vakov saved his estranged brother from the cult and killed their leader. Now they want his head on a spike, and they're hunting him and his friends down to get it, while continuing their mission to awaken the Shenoi and plunge the galaxy into mindless violence and chaos.
There's a dangerous journey ahead, but Vakov and his misfit crew of eccentric aliens, troubled bounty hunters and rogue hackers will take any risk to stop the alien awakening.
Only there's one risk Vakov hasn't shared: the one he himself poses. He got a terrifying glimpse of the Shenoi in the depths of interstellar space, and the violent nightmares he's suffered since suggest their DNA isn't just inside his body - he might already be fighting them for his mind . . .
' This is what 21st century Sci-Fi ought to be' - Miles Cameron, author of ARTIFACT SPACE
'A serious punchy space opera espionage that never loses sight of the human cost. Szal is adept at interweaving big SF ideas and fast-paced action to craft a compelling story' - Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of CHILDREN OF TIME
'Vakov Fukasawa is a former soldier, addicted to the biotech inside his own body that makes him constantly crave for action. And there is plenty of action in this fast moving novel, but not at the expense of ideas, or of humanity, or of vivid descriptions of Szal's carefully imagined war-torn galaxy' - Chris Beckett
BIPOC
Science Fiction, Space Opera, Dark, Science Fantasy, Military Science Fiction, Aliens, Own Voices
About The Author
Jeremy Szal was born in 1995 and was raised by wild dingoes, which should explain a lot.
He writes epic fantasy and dark space opera of a character-driven, morally grey nature. His main series is the Common trilogy from Gollancz/Hachette, which includes STORMBLOOD, BLINDSPACE, and WOLFSKIN, about a drug harvested from alien DNA that makes users permanently addicted to adrenaline and aggression.
He’s the author of over fifty short stories, translated into sixteen languages, many of which appear in his short fiction collection BROKEN STARS.
He was the editor for the Hugo-winning StarShipSofa until 2020 and has a BA in Film Studies and Creative Writing from UNSW.
He carves out a living in Sydney, Australia with his family, where he loves watching weird movies, eating Japanese food, exploring cities, learning languages, cold weather and dark humour.
