Aestus, Book 1 - Outside of a Dog

Paperback, 704 pages

Published Aug. 18, 2020 by S.Z. Attwell.

ISBN:: 9781735479002

(1 review)

An underground city, built centuries ago to ride out the devastating heat. A society under attack. And a young solar engineer whose skills may be the key to saving her city…if she doesn’t get herself killed first.

When Jossey was ten, the creatures of the aboveground took her brother and left her for dead, with horrible scars. Now, years later, she’s a successful solar engineer, working to keep her underground city’s power running, but she’s never really recovered. After she saves dozens of people during a second attack, she is offered a top-secret assignment as a field Engineer with Patrol, but fear prevents her from taking it…until Patrol finds bones near where her brother disappeared.

She signs on and finds herself catapulted into a world that is far more dangerous, and requires far more of her, than she ever imagined. The creatures and the burning heat aboveground are not the …

An underground city, built centuries ago to ride out the devastating heat. A society under attack. And a young solar engineer whose skills may be the key to saving her city…if she doesn’t get herself killed first.

When Jossey was ten, the creatures of the aboveground took her brother and left her for dead, with horrible scars. Now, years later, she’s a successful solar engineer, working to keep her underground city’s power running, but she’s never really recovered. After she saves dozens of people during a second attack, she is offered a top-secret assignment as a field Engineer with Patrol, but fear prevents her from taking it…until Patrol finds bones near where her brother disappeared.

She signs on and finds herself catapulted into a world that is far more dangerous, and requires far more of her, than she ever imagined. The creatures and the burning heat aboveground are not the only threats facing the City, and what she learns during her assignment could cost her her life: one of the greatest threats to the City may in fact lie within. With thousands of lives at stake, can she act in time?

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.

“…at the level of…Dune” - IHeartSci-fi

“One of the best books I’ve ever read.” - The Very Bookish

2021 Kindle Book Review SFF Finalist 2022 SPSFC2 Quarterfinalist

1 edition

Matthew reviewed Aestus, Book 1 by S. Z. Attwell

Awesome!

5 stars

I just finished reading Aestus Book 1: The City. It was incredible. Totally blew me away - could hardly put it down, struggled to sleep thinking about it, so good. I rarely describe anything as 'awesome' - it's often used in quite a hyperbolic way; but, in this case, I am in awe.

There's so much I want to write about this book, so many thoughts running through my head the last few days, but I don't want to spoil the experience for anybody by giving away any details.

The first thing that struck me is how well written the characters are. This author has a real talent for writing genuine, believable characters. I feel sure many of them must be real people she knows - all the little moments that she captures just bring them to life so vividly. Just get such a sense of familiarity from them. It's …

I just finished reading Aestus Book 1: The City. It was incredible. Totally blew me away - could hardly put it down, struggled to sleep thinking about it, so good. I rarely describe anything as 'awesome' - it's often used in quite a hyperbolic way; but, in this case, I am in awe.

There's so much I want to write about this book, so many thoughts running through my head the last few days, but I don't want to spoil the experience for anybody by giving away any details.

The first thing that struck me is how well written the characters are. This author has a real talent for writing genuine, believable characters. I feel sure many of them must be real people she knows - all the little moments that she captures just bring them to life so vividly. Just get such a sense of familiarity from them. It's a very human story, with people front and centre.

The pacing is spot on - there's never a dull moment, nor a scene that passes too quickly; the action is tight, intense and exciting; the story is incredibly compelling and an absolutely fascinating take on a plausible future for our species. And there is so much subtlety in the writing - a wealth of small details that just bring the scenes to life and provide a sense of depth and place; it's quite masterful stuff. This is an author who really understands her craft.

It absorbed me so much that reading this book has taken up all my free time for the last week. This one is really special - if you've got any interest in speculative science fiction works, I strongly recommend it. Started on Book 2 immediately after finishing Book 1 - it's taken me a few days to write my thoughts on Book 1, and already halfway through Book 2; my opinion has certainly not changed. Safe to say I'm loving it so far too!

Subjects

science fiction
dystopian
climate fiction
adventure

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