Part of Millennium's Rule, book 1
First published 2014
Tyen studies archaeology in a world where magic fuels industrial progress. When he excavates a sentient book named Vella, he learns she was once a young woman transformed by a powerful sorcerer into a living repository of knowledge. Vella carries crucial information about an approaching catastrophe that threatens Tyen's civilization. Meanwhile, Rielle works as a dyer's daughter in a land controlled by priests who teach that using magic steals from the Angels. Despite this prohibition, Rielle possesses magical talent and encounters someone willing to train her in secret arts, though doing so would invoke divine punishment. Both Tyen and Rielle discover that everything they believed about magic, their societies, and the people they trust contains fundamental deceptions. As they uncover these truths, they must choose between the safety of accepted beliefs and the dangerous reality of what magic actually represents.
Genres: fiction, science-fiction, fantasy, magic
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: chosen-one, enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Civilization
Period: Approaching Catastrophe
553 pages · Hardcover · Orbit