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Sargassa

Additional information

Author

Sophie Burnham

Release Date

October 8, 2024

Publisher

DAW Books

Genre

Adult – Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction

Tags

Queer

Categories , , Tag Product ID: 20415

Description

In a world where Rome never fell, an unlikely group of protagonists are ready to burn down the empire in the first of this new speculative trilogy

Selah Kleios is twenty-two years old and suddenly one of the most important women in the empires. The role of Imperial Historian is her birthright, something she’s been preparing for since birth—but she was supposed to have more time to learn the role from her father, the previous Historian. In the wake of her father’s sudden and shocking assassination, Selah finds herself custodian of more than just the Imperial Archives, the towering central library that safeguards all collective knowledge of the Roman Imperium and its client empires. There’s also the question of the two puzzling classified items her father left in her care—an ancient atlas filled with landscapes that don’t exist, and a carved piece of stone that seems to do nothing at all.

Soon, though, it becomes clear that the Iveroa Stone is more than just a slab of rock. With the reappearance of an old lost love who’s been blackmailed into stealing it for an unknown entity, Selah finds herself in a race to uncover the mysteries the Stone holds. But she isn’t the only one with an interest in it—she’ll have to contend with the deputy chief of police, an undercover spy, and her own beloved half brother along the way. What begins as an act of atonement and devotion ultimately pulls her into the crosshairs of deep state conspiracy, the stirrings of an underground independence movement, and questions that threaten to shake the foundational legitimacy of Roma Sargassa’s past, present, and future.

About the Author

Photograph of author Sophie Burnham

S ophie (they/she) is the author of Sargassa, the first in a speculative fiction trilogy from DAW Books (pub date October 8, 2024).

They have been a participating writer in multiple studio film and television projects. She received a We Need Diverse Books Writing Grant in 2022, placed as a semifinalist in the 2020 ScreenCraft Fantasy & SciFi Screenplay Competition, and received the Josephine Abady Award for Directing in 2016. They hold a BFA in Acting from Syracuse University.

While Sophie is based out of Rhode Island, they’re more likely to be found somewhere on the road with their dog.

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