Road to Ruin

March 1, 2024
Jin is one of the best couriers and Sparkriders in the wastes. She rides her magebike between cities, swerving around raiders and avoiding the vicious storms that she couldn't survive without a city shield. Her biggest job is ferrying letters between the Talentless, sweet Prince Kadrin and the intelligent shieldcaster Princess Yi-Nereen, who knew each other as children but can now only love each other from afar. Jin might be in love with both of them, but as long as she keeps her feelings under control, it's a good gig--at least until Yi-Nereen demands help escaping the city, and they end up tangled in a plot to overthrow the current system, leaving the biggest storm they've ever seen to rage over the land, and deliver power away from the mana-charged magic gifted to the marginalized Talentless. Lee's action-packed, Mad Max: Fury Road-inspired fantasy is a breathless, polyamorous adventure that will delight fans of well-built, fast-paced, queer sf/fantasy. She drops readers straight into a convincing world populated by real-feeling characters with sparkling chemistry. Readers will latch on to Jin and her big heart and love--for her megabike, for the prince and princess, and for her family--and look forward to the next book.

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Starred review from March 11, 2024
Savage, sexy, and deliciously screwed up, Lee’s apocalyptic fantasy debut is sure to draw comparisons to Mad Max but sets itself apart through an inventive magic system and a thorny bisexual love triangle. Jin makes a living as a magebike courier, constantly risking her life in the face of mana storms, human raiders, and saurian predators to transport messages and illegal luxury goods across the wasteland between city-states. Her most lucrative gig involves carrying secret love letters between Prince Kadrin of Kerina Sol and Princess Yi-Nereen of Kerina Rut, neither of whom realizes Jin has developed feelings for them both. When Yi-Nereen asks Jin to help her escape an arranged marriage, the two flee into the wasteland, pursued by both Yi-Nereen’s betrothed, who can read minds, and Jin’s bounty hunter ex-girlfriend. Forced to take refuge during a mana storm, they discover a hidden community and uncover dark secrets about the nature of their world and the magical Talents which, in this highly stratified society, determine a person’s worth. As danger mounts, Jin is forced to call upon Kadrin for help. The twisty plot, complex emotional entanglements, and perilous landscapes keep the pages flying. Examining power, privilege, and passion, this dynamic adventure thrills. Agent: Paul Lucas, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc.