Description
You don’t need to reach Mars to reach your dreams.
Robbed of their chance at leaving Earth to pursue green-energy innovations, Ryn embraces new dreams—fighting deep sea threats in conjunction with a giant cephalopod. It’s 2139 in the Cali-Coastal Corporate Zone, and Ryn struggles with their own body and brain as they fight to survive five days locked up with academic rivals and the military-backed billionaires who’ve misled them all since their teenage years.
Ryn needs an exit strategy but doesn’t know whether to trust Akira, the hacker-spy who may have saved their life, or Jay, the geeky military rebel with a secret stash of hot chocolate. Not to mention, Jay keeps falling asleep in their bed, and Ryn’s not sure if either of them is interested in more—but at least they like the same shows!
Five Days. One Ocean. Unlikely allies connect to Dream the Deep.
Cover illustration by Matthew Spencer.
Author Clara Ward will be donating 100% of their royalties from Dream the Deep to conservation efforts for our global ocean.
Reviews:
“Nobody writes solarpunk like Clara Ward. Dream the Deep is a shimmering, geeky delight of a story about the profound connections between humans and our ecosystems, as well as the promise of the unknown.” —Annalee Newitz, bestselling author of Automatic Noodle and The Terraformers
“Clara Ward has written another fantastic book! If you enjoy ecological fiction featuring characters from a variety of marginalized queer backgrounds, check out Dream the Deep.” —Dawn Vogel, History That Never Was
“A fascinating queer dystopian story with sentient octopi and mysterious forces in the deep sea, sure to please haters of billionaires and lovers of ocean science and queer-platonic relationships. I enjoyed this quite a lot! —Dani Finn, author of Disposable Magic
“Dream the Deep is a short but intense story about Ryn, a neurodivergent, queer scientist. The story really intrigued me and never had a dull moment.” —Minerva Cerridwen, author of The Dragon of Ynys
“Dream the Deep is a compelling eco-novella with an incredibly empathetic main character. From touch aversion to alien cephalopod embodiment, Ward’s writing lets the reader experience another’s mental thought processes. For those who enjoy science in their science fiction, the theory and process is really cool. For those who prefer a character-centric story or a well-paced dystopia escape tale, there’s that too. And lastly, for those who enjoy an embodiment story, it might be a relief to have one where the possession is not about colonizing and taking control, but about a shared journey and mutual help. In all these ways, Dream the Deep is a gift. —Andrew Hiller, author of Hornytown Chutzpah
