Stars and Soil bookcover

Stars and Soil

Dax Murray 

(Author)
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Description

Die as a queen or live as a rebel?

Caitlin Peddigree faces a dire choice: accept a loveless marriage to the crown prince, or die as a traitor to the throne. While Caitlin still grieves the death of her wife, a rebellion simmers in Fayn, the streets filled with cries for the monarchy's fall and the rise of democracy. When Caitlin unwittingly befriends a rebel leader, she believes she may have a way out of her unwanted relationship.

Marrying the prince would protect her family's fortune, but can she also be an informant for the rebellion? Caught in a tangled web of political intrigue and court gossip, Caitlin treads a treacherous path, made more dangerous when a spirited new lady arrives at court and ignites a new fire in Caitlin's heart.

But power in Fayn is ever-shifting. Whispers of magic and long-forgotten gods stir beneath the surface. Religious orders conspire against each other. New nobles scramble for power and old bloodlines seethe with resentment. The rebellion fractures into factions as they bicker over strategy. But underneath it all and unbeknown to most, dark and ancient forces are waiting, watching, and plotting. Surrounded on all sides, Caitlin finds herself a pawn in a deadly game.

But she must decide for herself: remain a prisoner of her circumstances-or reclaim her own life. And she must decide fast, otherwise the flames of revolution may be put out by a force far darker than a tyrannical king.

Stars and Soil is the exciting first novel in the Scions and Shadows series from Dax Murray. A finalist for the 2024 Indie Ink Awards for "Writing the Future We Need: Best Disability Representation by a Disabled Author" and "Writing the Future We Need: Best Gay and Lesbian Representation," Stars and Soil is perfect for those who like their fantasy full of shifting alliances, deep worldbuilding, backstabbing and betrayal, and sapphic and disability representation set in a magical, queer-normative world.

Note: This book contains LGBTQ+ characters who use gender-neutral pronouns such as they/them/their, xie/xir/xirs, and more.

Product Details

PublisherKraken Collective
Publish DateApril 26, 2024
Pages446
LanguageEnglish
TypeBook iconHardback
EAN/UPC9798869342140
Dimensions9.0 X 6.0 X 1.1 inches | 1.8 pounds

About the Author

Dax is an author of revolutionary fantasy that focuses on trauma, healing, and justice. After realizing their dream of being a curmudgeonly hedgewitch in the woods of Western Pennsylvania was not possible due to the construction of an outlet mall, Dax took up a new form of sorcery, where they whispered to rocks in arcane languages and taught them how to spy on you, colloquially known as software engineering.But this new career lead to an epic battle between the valiant forces of Ethics and all-powerful legion of Student Loan Payments, and Dax left that behind to join the magical order of word-placing. Today, they can be found waiting on the two god (ie: cat) who has allowed them to live in their abode and use their word-magic to make others cry.Dax studied political science and creative writing at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania and is a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association. When not writing, they can be found at the Crystarium in Norvrandt.

Reviews

A complex story about grief and trying to find both agency in one's life and what one wants out of it, Stars and Soil has a large, diverse cast of characters - some charming, some despicable, but all complex and real. Tons of description paints vivid pictures that really draw you into the environment and the story, and the intrigue will leave you second-guessing everyone's motives as the events of the present eerily echo events of the past that refuse to let go.

Liz Sauco, Author of the Blades of the Goddess



Stars and Soil hits the ground running with the introduction of Caitlin, a woman coming to terms with everything that's happened to her while simultaneously navigating her moral proclivities in a society filled with pirates, religious zealots, and the ever-shifting world mercantile business. She comes to odds with her own family, battling frustrations she buried in her heart for years, the anger and isolation of being uprooted, and the resentment towards having others direct her life. Dax has a very emotionally convincing main character, making her journey through her fantastical world all the more engaging. I look forward to seeing the rest of Caitlin's journey.

Ka'ua Lara, Author of A New World For You

I loved Stars and Soil by Dax Murray. The exquisite world-building provides a smorgasbord of characters that any epic fantasy reader will adore. Dax Murray creates a convincing universe with unrivaled details of the political factions, the religious pressures, and cultural expectations, topped off with a believable need for societal change.

K T Bowes of Reader's Favorite

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