ISBN: 978-0-9942463-1-8

FORMATS: Paperback and eBook

EXTENT: 244 pages

AU RRP: eBook: $4.99

Paperback: $20.00

PUBLISHER: Morris Publishing Australia

In the tradition of such writers as H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, Malcolm Wells has created a SciFi/Fantasy that takes the reader into a future world where conflicts, attitudes and social ills reflect many in our current global society.

Atop two great spires, contained within twin domed cities, a race of people has existed for generations believing themselves to be the last humans on earth. Ruled over by a long line of Prefects, these people have been told that the surface below them is inhabited by daemons and that their Great Protector is the power that protects them and sustains them. Divided into Inner and Outer Zones the people are segregated into two classes which are forbidden by ancient laws to freely associate with each other. When Markus, son of the current Prefect, falls in love with Filona, an Outer Zone innkeeper’s daughter a train of events is put into place which rocks the foundations of the domed cities’ civilisation.

Risking everything to escape to the surface, the couple is shocked to discover no daemons but an advanced society of humans spread across a federation of nations, ruled over by the President. Here they learn the true history of their own people, who in effect are prisoners in the domed cities as the result of a long ago rebellion.  The myth of the Great Protector is exposed as Markus and Filona learn that all sustenance and economy of the twin spire cities comes from their growing and supply of the addictive drug Marenge to the surface dwellers.

As the young lovers grapple with understanding the hidden history while being amazed at the nature, landscapes and inventions of the surface dwellers, they are unknowingly embroiled in a plot by Madam President which will remove the domed cities and their inhabitants forever.

Markus and Filona find unexpected allies and forge a path which will ultimately avert the intended disaster for their people, as they create a shared life in their new country.

This is an interesting allegorical work which will appeal to Speculative Fiction readers of around 14 years and up, both boys and girls.