Exiled from the Pale, humachine Hector has found a home with the tribes Outside... Or has he?
While the canini struggle to care for the human twins, Feather travels Broad Plain to reunite them with their father. But his own family is scattered as the Pale sends out its terrifying army and the land itself buckles beneath them. Can anyone survive the ruination of the land?
In this gripping conclusion to the Chronicles of the Pale, the citizens of the mighty Pale have as much to lose as the communities of the Outside.
Praise for The Ruined Land -
"This is the final book in the Pale trilogy, and the imaginative world-building by the author Clare Rhoden is simply stunning. From the first page you are drawn into the story of the factions and species as they struggle for survival in the ruined land, which continues to be distorted by seismic aftershocks and flooded by the torrential autumn rains.
The book opens with Mashtuk, chief scout of his canini tribe, lying seriously wounded followings vicious vulpini attack on his clan. The canini are a tribe of wolf-dogs with the abiility to communicate with mindspeak both amongst themselves and with certain humans. They also have a two metre tall humachine, Hector, living with their pack. Hector is an outcast from the most technologically advanced faction, the Pale who inhabit the sealed dome known as the Policosmos, ruled by a young regent who is manipulated by the Machiavellian “forecaster” Jaxon.
Hector’s enhanced powers are lessening now that he is away from the Pale, but he still has the ability to mindspeak and has a sense of “pack” with the canini. Through his reactions we get to see the importance of a sense of belonging.
The novel has been cleverly structured to present the viewpoint the different factions, The Pale, The Settlement, Newkeep Port, The Storm and the various outlanders and animal species, within each chapter, and is handled impressively by the author, giving the reader an insight into the challenges faced by each faction and driving the story at an impressively fast pace. The mounting tension as the incessant autumn rains threaten their survival leads each of the factions to different courses of action, but I do not want to reveal any plot spoilers here.
I loved the way that the author used names and language from the classical world in this futuristic work, and I could appreciate parallels of events in our current world with the forces of decency and inclusion battling against the darker forces of exclusivity and greed." - Goodreads Review
YA, Science Fiction, Dystopian
About The Author
Clare Rhoden started writing stories as a young child and never really stopped. The author of five novels and many short stories, Clare lives in Bunurong country in the SE suburbs of Narrm (Melbourne) Australia with her husband and a highly intelligent poodle-cross called Aeryn.
Clare’s writing is inspired by society, culture and the march of history, but mostly by dreams. She also LOVES studying!
Clare began her working life as a speech pathologist, and studied her way through a few different careers. She has a B.App.Sci (Speech Path), a B.A. (Hons), a Grad Dip (Professional Studies in Education); a PG Cert (Leadership in Education), an MA (Creative Writing), and a PhD (Creative Writing).
At times, she’s been a speechie, a study skills adviser, a university tutor, and the manager of the University of Melbourne’s Transition Program. Later, she was the head of one the University of Melbourne’s student services departments, a lecturer in English at the University of Melbourne, and an adviser with the University’s Learning Management Systems.
After all that, she became a Story Dog volunteer, a reviewer with Aurealis magazine of science fiction and fantasy, and a feature writer for the international Historical Novel Society.
Clare’s publications include five novels (sic fi, fantasy and historical), one academic book, five non-fiction books, and a lengthy list of short stories, academic articles and non-fiction pieces. Clare has also edited two anthologies and co-edited two others. Most recently, worked in a small team to complete a large non-fiction project covering the history of a University of Melbourne residential college (release date October 2025).
She is passionate about learning and reading. And writing. Family. And dogs, of course. Plus cats. Aliens get a look in too.
