
An underground city. A deadly project. And an Intelligence agent who can help Jossey take down the City...if she can trust him again.
Jossey grew up believing the Onlar, creatures of the aboveground, were monsters. But when they kidnapped her, she found out terrible secrets about her city and her family. Her choice to help the Onlar against the City almost cost her her life. And the Intelligence agent she'd thought was her friend was the one tasked with carrying out her execution.
But he didn't quite succeed.
Now Jossey, barely alive, has been sent to the Onlar by a mysterious figure from the City. And time is of the essence - her solar network project could mean disaster not only for the Onlar, but for thousands of citizens as well. She can't do much from the Onlar camp, but Gavin, Jossey's Patrol leader and longtime friend, isn't convinced she's dead. And Patrol has started to learn the truth.
As tentative alliances form, Jossey begins to think this might be easier than she'd thought. But a terrible miscalculation has been made, one that may cost her and her friends both the City and their lives. Can she see it before it's too late?
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.
"Aestus II is one of those excellent works of literature that challenges its readers and upends their expectations, but somehow still manages to maintain the most loved elements of the first book: the complex characters, the detailed world, and the inspirational story that manages to speak to our time (without shouting out too many simple answers as some works seeking to have a 'message' are liable to do). The book is remarkable for many things, but I particularly appreciated the delicate balance Attwell struck in terms of the pace of the story, not too fast that we don't get to live with the depth and tensions of the tale, but always pulling you along....I can only hope this isn't the last we'll see of this world and these much beloved characters!" - I. M.
"....exciting, emotional, suspenseful, philosophical, riveting ride!" - Adriana A.
"A captivating and intense story paired with lovable characters....I couldn't put this down and I think I enjoyed it even more than the first book in the series. Attwell has an incredible talent for not only developing characters, but developing the relationships between characters. There are a lot of complex and varied relationships in this book, and I was here for it the whole way through." - Beth S.