Strangeling

2049: The United States… aren’t. Rural Minnesota is a redcap-infested wasteland. The Twin Cities are occupied by fabulous aliens. Waves of wild magic have wrecked most of the world’s high technology. People mutate into beings out of myth and legend, becoming strangelings, and are killed or imprisoned lest the Hunger drive them to rampage.

And there’s no more Wi-Fi.

Aisling lives under an illusion, hiding her half-elven features and trying to finish grad school. She and her friends have been navigating the magic apocalypse through hand-me-down pop-culture geekdom, using “knowledge” gained from old comics and DVDs. On weekends, they hunt monsters or runs strangelings down the Underhill Railroad using their band, the Lumber Punks, as cover.

But a strangeling labor brigade patrols the border between their Runners and freedom, and their Captain Hart blames Aisling for his Change. He’s rapidly losing control of the fae monster inside him, and intends to catch her if it’s the last thing he does.

Meanwhile, catfishmen are attacking the city formerly known as Minneapolis, and fighting them has Connor late for his drag show. His magic might be broken, but on stage or in battle, he’s going to shine.

Space opera and mythology dance the forbidden polka in a geek-filled wasteland. A dystopian future grows from roots in Celtic and Norse mythology. And the most hilarious hot mess of a bisexual love triangle in epic dystopian urban science fantasy begins!

For fans of Shadowrun, Ilona Andrews, Sarah J Maas, and general geekdom, with definite writing influences from Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams.