About this ebook
A New Yorker Best Book of 2026
From Cameron Reed, the acclaimed author of The Fortunate Fall, comes a soaring novel of queer hope and transformation, perfect for readers of Ann Leckie and Amal El-Mohtar.
On the planet Scythia, plants give birth to insects and trees can drag you to your death. Artificial monsters stalk the desert, and alien basket-men have wandered into town.
John Maraintha has been abandoned here, light-years from the peaceful forests that he loves.
The desert is harsh and the people in thrall to a barbaric custom called marriage.
He must find some way to make a life here.
But on Scythia, survival means transformation—and not everyone is willing to change.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
From Cameron Reed, the acclaimed author of The Fortunate Fall, comes a soaring novel of queer hope and transformation, perfect for readers of Ann Leckie and Amal El-Mohtar.
On the planet Scythia, plants give birth to insects and trees can drag you to your death. Artificial monsters stalk the desert, and alien basket-men have wandered into town.
John Maraintha has been abandoned here, light-years from the peaceful forests that he loves.
The desert is harsh and the people in thrall to a barbaric custom called marriage.
He must find some way to make a life here.
But on Scythia, survival means transformation—and not everyone is willing to change.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
A New Yorker Best Book of 2026
From Cameron Reed, the acclaimed author of The Fortunate Fall, comes a soaring novel of queer hope and transformation, perfect for readers of Ann Leckie and Amal El-Mohtar.
On the planet Scythia, plants give birth to insects and trees can drag you to your death. A...
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About the author
Cameron Reed is a science fiction writer and the winner of the 1998 Otherwise Award. Both she and the award had different names in 1998, but as part of a late-in-life gender transition she chose a new one, which is an anagram of “remade crone.” She is an avid dragonfly-watcher, a moderately skilled insect photographer, and a hopeless birder. She lives with her found family in an old house full of books and cats.
Cameron Reed is a science fiction writer and the winner of the 1998 Otherwise Award. Both she and the award had different names in 1998, but as part of a late-in-life gender transition she chose a new one, which is an anagram of “remade crone.” She is an avid dragonfly-watcher, a moderately skill...
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