You can currently read The Deep-Sea Duke for free here as a part of the #COP26 Virtual Book Showcase, alongside a range of other eco-themed books.
This is a short, romantic novella which you could read over a coffee. The Deep-Sea Duke is a mermaid/android romp at a royal alien court on an underwater planet. The aliens are facing a climate crisis as refugees from a nearby planet keep arriving. It’s a scavenger hunt, a love story, and a drama of courtly intrigue in the nobility.
“Curious and anarchic fun . . . themes around diversity, equality and the environment that are treated in a light touch fashion and without being preachy.” – The Letterbox Project
“A rich and brilliantly bonkers story of aliens and androids. Its themes of social justice and equality really set it apart in the sci-fi genre.” – The Belfast Telegraph about The Starlight Watchmaker.
Hugo is spending the holidays on his friend Dorian’s home planet, Hydrox. Although thrilled at the invitation, Hugo is still astonished that Duke Dorian could possibly want to be friends with an android watchmaker like him. But when the pair land on Hydrox along with their friend Ada, they soon discover that there are much bigger problems afoot. A race of butterflies from a neighbouring star system have evacuated their now-uninhabitable planet, and Hydrox is struggling to find space for the growing number of refugees. Meanwhile, deep in the seas beneath Dorian’s home, a strange creature is on a path of destruction… Can the unlikely trio step in before the crisis gets out of control?
Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers aged 12+, this is a sequel to The Starlight Watchmaker, which was shortlisted for the STEAM Children’s Book Prize 2020 and nominated for the Carnegie medal.
Wren James 