fast-paced, fantastical adventure is sharp as a Shogun's sword.” – The LA Times But it's this inventive juxtaposition that makes Stormdancer such a thrilling addition to the increasingly tired yet continuously expanding dystopian scene…. It's startling to witness a country that so reveres nature presented in such an environmentally compromised position, as it is in the kickoff to Jay Kristoff's ''The Lotus War'' series. “With its geisha girls in gas masks and canvas blimps spewing black exhaust as they chug across the sky, Stormdancer paints a vivid picture of a decrepit, steampunk Japan. “Soars higher than the arashitora Kristoff writes about superb.” – Kirkus, starred review “Kristoff’s imaginative debut, the first in a series, presents the feudal, dystopian Shima Empire, a menacing Japanese-inspired setting… The innovative setting, fast-moving plot, vivid descriptions, and thrilling action scenes make this a refreshing addition to the steampunk canon.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review Named one of Kirkus Reviews’ best Teen Books of 2012

Even though she can hear his thoughts, even though she saved his life, all she knows for certain is he’d rather see her dead than help her.īut together, the pair will form an indomitable friendship, and rise to challenge the might of an empire. Accompanying her father on the Shōgun’s hunt, she finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in Shima’s last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled thunder tiger for company. Yukiko is a child of the Fox clan, possessed of a talent that if discovered, would see her executed by the Lotus Guild.

But any fool knows the beasts have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shōgun is death. The hunters of Shima's imperial court are charged by their Shōgun to capture a thunder tiger – a legendary creature, half-eagle, half-tiger. The skies are red as blood, the land is choked with toxic pollution, and the great spirit animals that once roamed its wilds have departed forever. The Shima Imperium verges on the brink of environmental collapse an island nation once rich in tradition and myth, now decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshipers of the Lotus Guild. The first in an epic new fantasy series, introducing an unforgettable new heroine and a stunningly original dystopian steampunk world with a flavor of feudal Japan.

Stormdancer hardcover