Award-winning author Carrie Vaughn’s sequel to The Naturalist Society follows a young scientist unlocking her magical abilities amid a high-seas adventure filled with international intrigue.

The year is 1902, and the world is changing with the new century. Twenty-one-year-old Ava Stanley, the daughter of two celebrated Arcane Taxonomists, has much to live up to—however scarce her magical abilities may be.

While her parents draw power from spectacular birds and megafauna, Ava’s connection to the natural world is much smaller, stemming from the microscopic. This is useful in her quest to become a doctor, as she studies the burgeoning links between bacteria and disease, but it means Ava’s power itself is also smaller. Even so, she plans to make the most of it when she boards a ship to Nassau, where she’ll continue her research.

But those plans change when pirates take over the ship, bringing with them danger, mystery, and the stirrings of war. Amid the chaos, Ava forges connections with her fellow travelers. And in them, she begins to find that every tiny piece of the world has the power to strengthen it…or shatter it completely.

Carrie Vaughn is the author of more than twenty novels and over a hundred short stories, two of which have been finalists for the Hugo Award. Her most recent novel, The Naturalist Society, received starred reviews in Library Journal and Booklist. She’s well known for her New York Times bestselling series of novels about a werewolf named Kitty, who hosts a talk radio advice show for the supernaturally disadvantaged. In 2018, Vaughn won the Philip K. Dick Award for the postapocalyptic murder mystery Bannerless. A graduate of the Odyssey Fantasy Writing Workshop, Carrie is also a contributor to the Wild Cards series of shared world superhero books edited by George R. R. Martin.

Vaughn survived her nomadic childhood as an air force brat and managed to put down roots in Boulder, Colorado, where she currently collects hobbies. You can visit the author online at www.carrievaughn.com. For writing advice and essays, check out her Patreon page at www.patreon.com/carrievaughn.