Description

Blight, Book II of The Sleep of Reason

Rachel A. Rosen

What use is a revolution in a world ruled by magic?

A young wizard on the brink of burnout searches for her lost mentor. A bereaved mother, summoned to the sea by an ancient god, risks all to avenge her child. Her ex-husband smuggles weapons to a rag-tag resistance.

The Cascade ruined the world that was; the Blight nearly destroyed what remained. The magical catastrophe unleashed demons and shriekgrass, an endless winter, and a promise of worse to come.

In what remains of Canada, the genocidal Dominion government rules with an iron fist, while the libertarian Silicon Valley Autonomous Region chips away at the country’s sinking west coast.

Can a restive coalition of revolutionaries, defectors, and magicians pick up the pieces?

Advance praise for Blight (The Sleep of Reason, Book II)

“Suffused with masterful horror and black humour and compassion for its beleaguered and all-too-human characters, this spellbinding chronicle of leviathanic magic, political intrigue, and righteous insurrection hurls a molotov cocktail at the evil lurking in humanity’s banal appetites for control.” — Dale Stromberg, author of Maej

“A worthy sequel to an epic ecofantasy. The world’s on fire, it’s time to lick our wounds and start putting it back together.” — Zilla Novikov, author of Reprise

“The second book in the series is even better than the first … Deftly showing that collective action, not individual heroism, is the only way to fight fascism, Blight is a book I know I’ll be coming back to. Rosen is a daring voice in Canadian SFF, and she’ll break your heart while making you laugh.” — Michelle Browne, author of Meaning Wars

“Rosen’s ability to create such a beautifully vivid picture of a vicious world as it slowly chokes to death is simply breathtaking.” — Rohan O’Duill, author of Cold Blooded

Praise for Cascade (The Sleep of Reason, Book I)

“A near-perfect blend of implacable horror, gallows humor, and ecological apocalypse. It seems almost absurd that a novel about chaos magic and bureaucrat magicians (even if they are embedded in the sociopathic morass of Canadian politics) can somehow feel more viscerally relevant than all the earnest mainstream novels and Suzuki-Foundation bulletins you could stuff into a ballot box. Pay attention, people: all magic aside, we’re far closer to this future than any of our rulers will ever admit.  Rachel A. Rosen is some kind of twisted genius. I wish I had even half her moves.” — Peter Watts, author of Blindsight

“Finally, an urban fantasy that kills the cop — and the rest of the  government — in your head. Relentlessly radical and often hilarious, Cascade will change the way you look at magic, and the state, forever.” — Nick Mamatas, author of The Second Shooter

“Cascade is an excellent introduction to the imaginative prose of Rachel A. Rosen. Her debut novel takes us to a futuristic North America filled with vividly realized characters surrounded by magic and the possible end of the world. One of the few novels I’ve read recently in a single weekend. Sharp and thought-provoking, with thrilling moments and crackling with compelling ideas, I wouldn’t miss this one. I’m looking forward to her next instalment!” — Bryan Thao Worra, author of Before We Remember We Dream

“Rachel A. Rosen’s Cascade is one of the best books I’ve read this year. She brings a unique blend of magic environmentalism, Canadian politicking, and indigenous and queer rights to the table. I never thought I would be  so interested in the near-futuristic Canadian political process!” — Marsha Altman, author of The Darcys and the Bingleys