Welcome to the virtual book tour for
Unreachable Skies by Karen McCreedy.
In a world where it is normal to fly, what happens when you can’t?
About Unreachable Skies:
When a plague kills half the Drax population, and leaves the hatchlings of the survivors with a terrible deformity – no wings – suspicion and prejudice follow. Continuously harassed by raids from their traditional enemies, the Koth, the Drax are looking for someone, or something, to blame.
Zarda, an apprentice Fate-seer, is new to her role and unsure of her own abilities; but the death of her teacher sees her summoned by the Drax Prime, Kalis, when his heir, Dru, emerges from his shell without wings.
A vision that Dru will one day defeat the Koth is enough to keep him and the other wingless hatchlings alive – for a time. Half-trained, clumsy, and full of self-doubt, Zarda must train Dru to one day fulfil the destiny she has foreseen for him, even if it is quickly becoming clear that the Prime’s favourite adviser, Fazak, is not only plotting against the wingless, but is gaining more of Kalis’ trust by the day.
Efforts to fight prejudice and superstition are certain to lead to death for some and exile for others; while Zarda’s own journey to understanding her role in events may lead her to abandon all tradition in order to protect her peoples’ future.
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Book Information:
Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Adventure - This book is targeted toward a general audience.
Page Count: 242 pages
Publish Date: August 17, 2018
Publisher: Mirror World Publishing
Purchase Links:
Review Quotes:
"In the tradition of Ursula K. LeGuin and Anne McCaffery, with Unreachable Skies Karen McCreedy has created a nuanced alien culture populated by compelling characters." ~ James Swallow, bestselling author
The Spirax awed me. It always had. The black cone towered over the councillors’ dwellings as a mountain dwarfs the foothills around it. Some said it had been built by the God of the Great Spiral himself, descended from the skies; others swore that the Ancestors had been blessed with special powers. No-one had any idea how long it had dominated the landscape, or how long it had taken to construct, for the Spirax was not built of stone: it had been carved from the hard black rock of the promontory on which it sat, its tapering sides polished to a shine. When approaching from a distance, it seemed to be one with the sheer cliffs below it; now, as we moved towards it, its surface shone purple under a cloudless blue sky.
“Zarda!” The call was heralded by a clatter of wings, and I turned to find Shaya, the leader of the Hunters, folding her wings and hurrying towards me along the landing path. I always found her rather intimidating, with her sleek brown fur, slender snout and odour of self-confidence. She had the air of someone who wouldn’t even need a waste bucket, let alone forget to put it outside. At least she wasn’t carrying her spear – she would not have been allowed to land on the plateau if she’d still had that in her paw. “My egg will be hatching in a few days. Would you ask Vizan to attend on it? I—” She stopped, and looked down her snout at the badge I wore.
Her stare was disapproving, the set of her ears disbelieving, and I reached up a paw to touch the badge, reminding myself that Vizan had told me to take it. “I have Vizan’s authority—”
“And an urgent summons from Kalis.” Morel’s ears twisted with impatience, his whiskers quivering as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. “We can’t delay, Shaya. I’m sure Zarda will visit your egg as soon as she can.”
“It wasn’t Zarda I asked for,” she said, flicking an ear dismissively. “I’ll be on my way. There’s a dead floater over the estuary. We need to haul it down before the breeze carries it over the Expanse. We don’t want it falling on one of the clusters.” As she turned to head for the nearest take-off spot, she added: “It’s dangerous work. Not something we leave to the apprentices.”
Morel gave me no time to contemplate her point. “Come on, Zarda! The egg will have hatched by the time we get there!”
Meet the Author:
Brought up in Staffordshire, England, Karen McCreedy now lives in West Sussex where she recently retired from the University of Chichester. She has written articles on films and British history for a number of British magazines including ‘Yours’, ‘Classic Television’, and ‘Best of British’.
Karen has had a number of short stories published in various anthologies. She also won second prize in Writers’ News magazine’s ‘Comeuppance’ competition in 2014 with her short story ‘Hero’.
‘Unreachable Skies’ is her first novel.
Thank you for sharing Unreachable Skies today!
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