It Takes Death to Reach a Star

by Stu Jones and Gareth Worthington

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Book cover for It Takes Death to Reach a Star

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WE ALL HAVE DEMONS. SOME DEMONS HAVE YOU.

The world you know is dead. We did this to ourselves.

The epidemic struck at the end of the Third World War. Fighting over oil, power, and religion, governments ignored the rise of an antibacterial-resistant plague. In just five years, the Earth was annihilated. Only one city survived—Etyom—a frozen hellhole in northern Siberia, engulfed in endless conflict.

The year is 2251.

Two groups emerged from the ashes of the old world. Within the walled city of Lower Etyom dwell the Robusts—descendants of the poor who were immune to the New Black Death. Above them, in a metropolis of pristine platforms called lillipads, live the Graciles—the progeny of the superrich, bio-engineered to resist the plague.

Mila Solokoff is a Robust who trades information in a world where knowing too much can get you killed. Caught in a deal gone bad, she's forced to take a high-risk job for a clandestine organization hell-bent on revolution.

Demitri Stasevich is a Gracile with a dark secret—a sickness that, if discovered, will get him Ax'd. His only relief is an illegal narcotic produced by the Robusts, and his only means of obtaining it is a journey to the arctic hell far below New Etyom.

Thrust together in the midst of a sinister plot that threatens all life above and below the cloud line, Mila and Demitri must master their demons and make a choice—one that will either salvage what's left of the human race or doom it to extinction …

Awards
  • Bronze Winner — 2019 Independent Publisher Book Awards — Science Fiction
  • Gold (1st Place) Winner — 2019 Feathered Quill Book Awards — Science Fiction/Fantasy
  • Finalist — 2018 Dragon Awards — Science Fiction
  • Winner — 2018 New York Book Festival — Science Fiction
  • ISBN10 1645480127
  • ISBN13 9781645480129
  • Publish Date 3 March 2020 (first published 1 May 2018)
  • Publish Status Active
  • Publish Country US
  • Imprint Vesuvian Books
  • Format Hardcover
  • Pages 324
  • Language English