A Steampunk Adventure Brimming with Mythology, Magic, and More
Lovers of Treasure Planet, The Mummy, and Anastasia rejoice! Alli Earnest’s science fantasy novel Cities of Smoke and Starlight is the steampunk adventure you didn’t know you were looking for! Earnest’s first installment in her “Gate Chronicles” trilogy captures the futuristic adventure of Treasure Planet, the archaeological period piece aesthetic and mythology of The Mummy, and the slow burn annoyances-to-lovers dynamic of Anastasia’s leading duo in one impossible to put down tale. Earnest not only creates an electric world readers find themselves lost in and a catalogue of sharp-tongued, adventure-seeking characters, but a rich history and mythology that both the readers and main characters explore together as they uncover lost (or perhaps hidden) secrets.
A War Torn World Ridden with Secrets
Cities of Smoke and Starlight takes place on the world of Yalvara, a planet “First Earth” settlers fled to in the hopes of reestablishing their civilization. However, upon arrival the settlers found themselves at war with the planet’s inhabitants resulting in the disappearance of the mystical race and the slow, inevitable destruction of the settlers’ new home as their technology crumbles to ruin with each passing year. With their technology failing with each passing war torn generation, it becomes evident that their time on Yalvara is quickly approaching its end unless a ragtag band of pilots, mechanics, soldiers, and scholars succeed in their quest to make contact with the lost Yalvaran race and forge an unlikely alliance.
“Failure wasn’t an option… It meant something much worse than her returning home.”
The team must best the elements, mystical foes, and the planet’s mystical quirks if they ever want to see another Yalvaran sunrise. Though, as they come face to face with enemies they believed to be only of legend they begin to suspect the history they have been taught, the ancient conflict between the First Earth settlers and the Yalvs, and the very nature of the lost Yalv civilization, may not be more complicated than previously believed.
“‘I feel like something’s amiss about it all. There’s a reason no one’s been able to contact the Yalvs in two decades, and there’s a reason why that book in the package has been banned everywhere.’”
No matter the risks that await our intrepid adventurers, they will not abandon their quest until every last secret is revealed to them and the readers, just as readers will not abandon Earnest’s woven tale until they too see their quest through.
The Leading Dynamic Duo
Hallie Walker is the brightest scholar in her class at the university. With an insatiable thirst for knowledge she will let nothing get in the way of her studies, except… the issue of affording her
university tuition. If Hallie cannot afford education she’ll be sent home, back to her small town and away from the dazzling future she has dreamt of since childhood. Hallie Walker would not let anything get in the way of her pursuit of knowledge and the uncovering of Yalvara’s lost history, so when approached to join the team in pursuit of forging an alliance with the Yalvs, Hallie jumps at the opportunity. Or more specifically, the monetary compensation for completing the quest.
“It was fine. Everything was fine… She would figure it out. Hallie wouldn’t have to move back home to Stoneset, the place where she’d slowly forget all the wonderful things about Kyvena and her dream life studying the ancient Yalvs. No, she would find a way to stay.”
Wise-cracking and risk-taking Kase Shackley is the best pilot in Kyvena and the son of the Lord Kapitan, the head of the nation’s military who wishes his son had turned out more like his
level-headed brothers. Kase, however, does not share the sentiment and would rather live a life of death-defying adventure than precise, military structure.
“But Kase no longer cared. His father could go blast himself to the moons.”
From the moment the duo meet in the bookstore in which Hallie works, sparks fly… just not the heart-pounding kind, more like the dangerous sparks that leap out of a fire and threaten to burn everything it touches to the ground.
“Who was this girl to make such ridiculous assumptions about him? Most people at least waited a half hour before deciding he was a cocky dulkop.”
It’s their first bitter introduction that sets readers up for a wild, banter and bicker-filled ride reminiscent of Anastasia’s Dimitri and Anastasia as the two are thrown together as part of the team tasked with forging an alliance with the lost Yalv civilization. Whether they like it or not, for the sake of the team, the mission, and their world, they must put aside their haughty first encounter and their affinity for butting heads if they wish to survive an impossible quest full of deadly challenges lurking around each corner. It’s in the midst of flying through storms and fleeing from adversaries, Kase and Hallie must come to the realization that despite their unfortunate first impressions, the two are more alike than they seem as they bond over their shared love of Homer’s Odyssey and the fear of not making it to tomorrow. And even with the looming threat of never being able to return home, neither can find it in themselves to want to be anywhere but at the other’s side, facing each challenge as it comes, a realization that will have readers thrusting their fists in the air and shouting “YES!”
“They were possibly stuck here without a way back home, but a strange thought flitted across his exhausted mind: There isn’t anyone else I’d rather be stranded with.”
Not only does Earnest’s storytelling keep her readers on the edge of their seats, turning page after page, eager to know what thrilling adventure the characters will face next, she keeps them guessing and formulating theories right alongside the characters. When Hallie is studying the ancient texts given to her by her professor, translating and piecing together faded puzzle pieces, the readers find themselves also dusting off yellowed parchment as they too decipher clues they don’t yet understand. When Kase is piloting their ship through treacherous storms, the readers are strapped into the seat beside him and fighting off the rain and wind dragging them into the sea. Her characters not only are alive, but are alight with a genuine chemistry many struggle to capture. Even her cast of supporting characters demonstrate emotional depth and developmental arcs of their own that aid the greater story. She creates a vivid world full of rich mythological and magical history that I truly felt like I was a part of and wished I could have stayed in longer. By the end of the novel, readers are running to pick up the sequel faster than Kase can fly a hovership, desperate to know what happens after Earnest’s devious cliffhanger.
You can join Kase and Hallie on their quest to save their world and uncover its hidden secrets wherever books are sold online. For more updates and content on Alli Earnest’s upcoming novels, including the sequel to Cities of Smoke and Starlight and its concluding chapter, you can sign up to be a part of her newsletter.
