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"A glittering tale of academic jealousy and ancient artifacts,
The Book of Gems is a pulse-pounding adventure." -Katherine Addison, author of
The Goblin Emperor
Some truths are shatterproof... It's been centuries since the Jeweled Valley and its magical gems were destroyed. In the republics that rose from its ashes, scientists craft synthetic jewels to heat homes, power gadgetry, and wage war.
Dr. Devina Brunai is one of these scientists. She also is the only person who believes true gems still exist. The recent unearthing of the Palace of Gems gives her the perfect opportunity to find them and prove her naysayers wrong.
Her chance is snatched away at the last moment when her mentor steals her research and wins the trip for himself. Soon, his messages from the field transform into bizarre ramblings about a book, a Prince, and an enemy borne of the dark. Now Dev must enter the Valley, find her mentor, and save her research before they, like gems, become relics of a time long forgotten.
More books in the Gem Universe:
The Jewel and Her Lapidary The Fire Opal Mechanism
About the author
Two-time Nebula Award-winner Fran Wilde's novels and short stories have been finalists for six Nebula Awards, a World Fantasy Award, four Hugo Awards, three Locus Awards, and a Lodestar. They include her Nebula- and Compton Crook Award-winning debut novel
Updraft, and her Nebula award-winning, Best of NPR 2019, debut Middle Grade novel
Riverland. Her short stories appear in Asimov's Science Fiction, Tor.com, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Shimmer, Nature, Uncanny Magazine, and multiple years' best anthologies.
Fran teaches for the Genre Fiction MFA concentration at Western Colorado University and the Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She also writes nonfiction for publications including
The Washington Post,
The New York Times, and Tor.com. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and at franwilde.net.
Summary
Some truths are shatterproof...
