Dystopian books | Stephanie Flint

Woot! Exciting news! *And a happy dance.*

Almost two years after the release of Distant Horizon, the second book in the series is now slated to release on October 9th of this year…

That is, Fractured Skies is now available for pre-order as an ebook, and will soon be available for purchase! 😀

Fractured Skies

YA Sci-Fi Dystopian Thriller

Here’s a look at the blurb:

Not all monsters are beasts.

The government’s secret transformation of beasts—subhuman creatures made from humans with powers—means that the Community’s utopian ideals of safety and security are lies.

Thanks to a high-ranking telepath, nineteen-year-old Jenna Nickleson knows what it’s like to go through one of those transformations. During a mission for the rebellion, the telepath cursed her with false “memory seeds” that attack her mind with horrifying visions of being turned into a beast.

If Jenna ever wants to see the Community be secure, she needs to figure out how to end the transformations, remove the government making her cherished Community a front for a nightmare, and get those memory seeds out of her head before she loses herself.

And here’s an excerpt! 😀

I stepped over Quin’s legs into the other room. He still stared at the wall, his expression blank. I bit my lip, and then slid down next to him. “Hey.”

“Done eavesdropping?”

I stared at him. He hadn’t moved an inch, save to speak. His hands were clasped over his knees, his chin tilted toward the glass window in the ceiling. His black hair was cropped less than half an inch from his ears in a Community-oriented hairstyle, though he wasn’t Community. He had a rounded face, a smooth, beardless chin, and a lean form. His tunic hugged his chest, but gave his arms space for movement.

“You heard me?” I wrapped my vines close. This guy could easily beat me in a fight. Hopefully Pops was right to trust him.

“Didn’t hear you,” he corrected me, still staring at the window. Aside from the reflection of that creepy blue light, there was nothing of interest outside. “You walked by, but once you went to the other room, they didn’t acknowledge your presence. I figured you were trying not to be seen.”

“Um…” I closed my mouth, not really sure what to say. “Does it… I mean—”

A small smile formed at the edge of his lips. “I’m not mad at you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“She’s your partner, so I didn’t know—”

He snorted, still staring at that confounded window. “She’s my sister, and I’m a mercenary. Mercenaries eavesdrop.”

“I’m not a mercenary,” I protested, vines quivering with annoyance. Months ago, they responded to my thoughts at a snail’s pace. Now they responded to all my thoughts.
“I didn’t say you were.”

I scowled. “You implied it.”

“No. I meant only that if I eavesdrop, I should not be angry when others eavesdrop.”

I blinked. Someone who worked for the Camaraderie who talked sense? “Who are you?”

His smile widened. “My name’s Quin. I’m a mercenary.”

“Why?” I asked. “If it hurts people—”

“We need influence to survive.” He stretched out his legs. “For influence, which equates to power, we need money.”

At least he and Private Eye had their stories straight, though I didn’t think Private Eye had been staring so insistently at a window. I pulled my knees to my chest. “What’s so great about power?”

“There’s safety with power. A sense of security, of being someone.”

“The Community is safe, and it doesn’t have power,” I retorted automatically. But with the dead rioters above us and the students being sent to beastie plants, I couldn’t say that. Not really.

“You don’t seem so certain.” Quin held my eyes with his. I swallowed hard. If he wanted power, he had it then. With his enhanced persuasion ability, I couldn’t look away if I wanted to.

“How? How do they have power?” I squeezed my knees tight. This was unnerving. He’d had a staring contest with a window, and though windows didn’t normally blink, I didn’t think the window won.

“The Camaraderie of Evil is power. They hand their power directly to E-Leadership, where it is passed to the Community. Almost everyone in the Community does what they are told, because that’s what is best. It’s a long chain, like a marionette holding a puppet, but nonetheless, it is power.”

That was it—why his expression held such authority. He was telling the truth he knew; a truth I didn’t want to admit existed.