On March 1st, Sim Kern’s Seeds for the Swarm was released and is now available everywhere books are sold. If you loved the 2010s YA dystopias, but are looking for an updated version with radical politics and optimistic, solarpunk roots, this is for you.
What are Readers Saying about Seeds for the Swarm?
Check out some of the amazing reviews coming in about this book.
Kern doesn’t pull any punches on the environmental consequences of consumer capitalism, nor do they avoid the social and emotional impacts of living through an age of mass extinctions. The subject lends itself to nihilism, but Rylla’s commitment to family, friends, and justice provides a glimpse of hope that is badly needed in the coming fights, real and fictional. Perfect for teen readers struggling with their own feelings of despair in our own unstable world, it is also a welcome and provocative read for all fans of YA.
Amy Nagopaleen for Strange Horizons
A coming-of-age story set in the Dust States in the year 2075.
Sassparylla McCracken is just another Dusty, a White girl destined to a life of working for the oil refinery or running with outlaw scrounger gangs, stealing water in drought-stricken Texas. Rylla dreams of escaping her overbearing mother by going to college and learning how to improve things in the Dust. Her opportunity comes when a video of her protesting in the State Senate against environmental destruction piques the interest of elite institution Wingates University in the Lush State of Michigan. She soon finds herself in an alien environment of wealthy, accomplished college students—and seemingly unlimited water. Wingates’ diverse student population also forces Rylla to challenge her homogeneous, socially conservative Texas upbringing: Her new friends include her White, nonbinary roommate, Magenta; Latino bioengineer Theo; chemical engineer Azam, a gay, Iranian hijabi; Nigerian and Jewish American mechanical engineer Dae-Dae; and her Latina research teammate, Ynez. Through Rylla’s Humanity major, Kern explores the ethics and morality of cutting-edge science and technology. However, whispers of a secret department and alleged sightings of military personnel build tension and suggest covert machinations afoot at Wingates. The author emphatically establishes the desperate circumstances climate change has brought to the West while drawing parallels with immigrant experiences by portraying how painful it is for Rylla to leave her home and family behind for a better life. A satisfying ecological take on the dystopian science-fiction novel.
Kirkus Reviews
Learn More or Pick up a Copy
Head over to the Stelliform shop to pick up a copy of the book or read more about it. This book is available wherever books are sold, including:
- Bookshop.org
- Weightless Books (for DRM-free ebooks)
- Barnes and Noble
- Alibris.com
- Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com.au (etc.)