#BookExtract -‘Ruin’s Wake’ by Patrick Edwards

Today I am delighted to share an extract from new novel, ‘‘Ruin’s Wake’ by Patrick Edwards published by Titan Books.

About the book…

A moving and powerful science fiction novel with themes of love, revenge and identity on a totalitarian world.

A moving and powerful science fiction novel with themes of love, revenge, and identity. A story about humanity, and the universal search to find salvation in the face of insurmountable odds.

An old soldier in exile embarks on a desperate journey to find his dying son.
A young woman trapped in an abusive marriage with a government official finds hope in an illicit love.
A female scientist uncovers a mysterious technology that reveals that her world is more fragile than she believed.

Ruin’s Wake imagines a world ruled by a totalitarian government, where history has been erased and individual identity is replaced by the machinations of the state. As the characters try to save what they hold most dear – in one case a dying son, in the other secret love – their fates converge to a shared destiny

And here, is the extract!

Kelbee

‘Someone was there. Glancing up, she saw a Monitor standing on the other side of the desk, his head poking over the top of her machine. Ganada, who liked to watch her. His tiny eyes were even narrower than usual.

‘You were late,’ he said, his voice nasal.

Kelbee tried to look blank. ‘Mr Ganada?’

He walked around to her side of the desk. He was a small and portly, made even shorter by his hunched shoulders. Speckled hair receded back from a sharp point in the centre of his forehead and he had the habit of rubbing his knuckles as he talked. He smiled an oily smile as he drew a baton from his belt and rested its tip on the desk. ‘I saw you. You missed the callisthenics.’

There was no let-up in the sound of the women around her but Kelbee knew they were listening. ‘I’m sorry, sir,’ she said. ‘I was delayed at home.’

‘That’s no reason. If chores keep you, rise a little earlier, no?’ He lifted her chin so she was looking into his murky brown eyes. ‘Is that so hard?’

‘No, Mr Ganada.’

‘No, Mr Ganada,’ he repeated, sing-song. ‘It’s very simple, if you miss the morning exercises you will become unfit, which means you will be less efficient, which means I will have to move you back down the line. That’s how it works.’ His tongue darted over pale lips. ‘You don’t want me to do that, do you?’

‘No, sir.’

‘I’ve had my eye on you, you’re one of the good ones. But rules are rules, girl, so I have to give you a stamp.’

‘Sir, please— ’

There was a crack like a pistol shot as he smacked the metal desk with his baton. Kelbee heard another woman gasp, which drew an annoyed look from the monitor. Then he held out his hand.

‘Your book. Now.’ The smile was gone.

Kelbee felt inside her bag with trembling fingers for the slim black notebook. The pages were blank and unmarked.

‘Hmm, your first one,’ he said, the sickly grin back. ‘What a good girl you are.’ He drew a heavy metal stamp and an ink sponge from a pouch and pressed them together.

Kelbee’s heart was beating fast. She would have to get the Major to sign the stamp and present it back tomorrow. He would be angry. He would hit her, she was sure of it. It might be bad. She’d never been cautioned herself, but she’d seen other women who had come in with bruising on their faces. Once, a girl she’d shared lunch with had been given a stamp for dropping a pail of black dye on fresh cloth and hadn’t returned for days; she still refused to speak to anyone, save for the Monitors, and when she did her words were muffled.

Just as the Monitor was about to stamp the page there was a loud crash from a few rows over and a high-pitched scream. Kelbee craned her neck and saw a crowd was gathering over by the cutting tables. Ganada, the stamp held in ink-stained fingers, took a step away from her desk and called out to a colleague.

A thin wail carried over the factory floor.’

And there we have it!

Hope that sneak peek has tickled your tastebuds so please follow the blogtour for more reviews and extracts,then help yourself to this fabulous new paperback!