The Neon Sands Trilogy

It was ash on fingertips and vast. Stepping upon it gave the impression that it had come not from below, buffed by millions of years of wind slicing against rock, but rather from above; that, perhaps, it had drifted down and settled here. This is the post-apocalyptic sandscape that Calix and Annora must navigate - when they're old enough to join the scavenger crews outside of the domes, that is.

Life on the plains is tough, dangerous, and just plain boring. Elissa dreams of breaking the monotony and winning the Liberty Trials: a hoverbike race around the perimeter of the plains with entry to Neon City at stake. Her town sits in the shadow of the enormous blister of Neon’s dome, within reach and yet forbidden. If she could only win…everything would change. If only the stranger hadn’t appeared. If only she could get Quintessa, one of the three Queens, off her back. If only the murderous Rohen could get exactly what he deserved. So many questions. So many variants.

Far beneath the city’s depths burns far more than the fuel that feeds it. Stuck in the same dead-end job as his father, Rylan drinks himself into oblivion most nights. Better than the oblivion of the Link, everyone around him a slave to virtual reality. At least that’s what he tells himself. His ex, Clarisse, has found herself a new lover, someone with more than a passing interest in him. They have a job for him, and it involves explosives. Best just to drink this one off. Wait it out, until everyone has regained their senses....

Xi Chen can see beyond the surface level of the work-sleep cycle and the shackles imposed on its population by the city of Neon. He's joined a group of like-minded individuals seeking to force change from the ground up. Only, when change comes, it's not exactly what they had in mind.

The city is divided; which side do you stand on? The authority’s? Or the lowcases? Across Neon, the elite and the protesters are rising to battle for their future; for their children and the generations to come. To keep down the boot, or to rise from the darkness. Just what is freedom anyway when the walls of your oppression are everywhere you look?