Book Launch for RAGING STAR!

I had the best opportunity to travel down to Moira's hometown of Bath to celebrate with her and many others the publication of Raging Star, the final installment in her Dustlands trilogy. 

Photo by Ferla Paolo

Read Along: Resurrection

'Everythin I thought I knew, pretty much all of it turns out to be wrong.'

It's the final stop in the route for Saba and the gang, but what will happen at the Tonton HQ?

Read Along: The Road to Resurrection

'Life ain't black an white. People ain't neether. Family, friends, lovers. It's all a lot more complicated.'

Saba returns to her family and friends and they set off to rescue Emmi by infiltrating the Tonton base of New Eden - Resurrection...

Read Along: Weeping Water

'DeMalo. The Pathfinder. Master of New Eden. I'm dreamin. This cain't be true.'

Saba finds herself with the one person she never dreamed she would and her eyes are opened to a new world of possibilities and experiences...

Read Along: Sector Nine

'Trickster. Betrayer. Deceiver.' 

It's time for the group to be pretenders in this new environment but with old faces along the way, it's hard not to be recognised.

Read Along: The Lost Cause

'The Lost Cause is lost.'

Saba is as determined as ever to find Jack and the truth behind why he was with the Tonton, but neither is to be found at Moll'y Lost Cause.

Read Along: New Eden

'Long life to the Pathfinder!'

What was meant to be a hijack becomes an alliance as new land is explored.

Read Along: The Wraithway

'I got me some vengeance to wreak with the Tonton.'

Saba thinks she knows best and heads out alone but enemies and friends are close behind.

Read Along: The Snake River

'You...are gonna be somethin else entirely'

At the Snake, the group settle into the camp for a few days, only to have their eyes opened to divinity, betrayal and a visitor.

Read Along: The Waste, one month later

'I'm fallin. Fallin. Fallin.'

Stuck in a wasteland, Saba's mental state experiences rapid deterioration and the group doesn't know how to save their strongest link.

Read Along RETURNED: Jack

   'He'll head west and he'll find her. Saba.'

Jack has some news to share with Molly and along the way, some unexpected twists in normal life occur.

'It's been a parched, mean road all the way'

Jack and Atlas have been travelling since they left Saba and the others. They finally come across some people with 'weary face, wary eyes'. Tired of this hopeless life 'they aren't social people but they aren't mean'. There seems to be a little humanity left. But Jack cannot stay long as he is 'headed to the storm belt' to find the Lost Cause and Molly as he is 'the bearer of bad news. The worst.'

'There's something up ahead'

The Tonton appear on the road ahead of Jack with a young couple. The 'enemy have changed their game' apparently as they wear different clothes and behave in a different manner. They travel towards the shack Jack has just left. He knows it is a part of 'a land grab. A resettlement party' which results in the murders of the two parents, the young boy, Robbie, and the suicide of Nessa, a young girl. 'It chaos'. Jack is almost speechless as he watches and can only pass comment on the Tonton' notorious ways: 'they're rolling over the land like the plague'.

'He's afraid.'

Jack believes that 'Molly's in danger' after seeing this and regrettably admits that 'you can't kill all the badness in the world'. Ge muses on the new commander of the Tonton with his 'new game, new rules'. He concludes that he must be a 'man with a plan', 'determined, disciplined, persuasive and very, very smart'. The match he finds for this description is DeMalo - 'the stiletto in the dark'.

'The Lost Cause. At last.'

As Jack finally arrives at his destination, 'his stomach's jittery with nerves'. He knows the awful news of Ike's death must be passed on. His 'deep' history with Molly makes this all the harder, and results in him putting off the news for a long time. Meanwhile, Molly fills Jack in on the Tonton whose new leader is called the 'Pathfinder' and his men are 'Stewards of the Earth', who have the aim of 'healing' the earth. Molly insists that she can 'take care' of herself in this time. The way in which she talks about Ike and 'acts like a nervous girl' as she awaits his entrance evokes great pathos. As does talk of hers and Jack's deceased child, who'd 'be six by now'.

'She kicked the door down.'

Molly finds Jack's own love just as obvious as she asks 'who is she' about the new woman in Jack's life. Jack gives a brief overview - a very accurate one: 'pigheaded, prickly an stubborn'. But it's not all negative. 'She shines so bright' - causing Molly to believe in the depth of his love. She advises him to 'be with her'.

'Ike's dead.'

The mood is disrupted by Jack's eventual revelation that Ike is dead and won't be returning. He attempts to console Molly by telling her that 'he died well. He went out big' but her grief is immediate and heavy. She resigns to the back rooms of the tavern.

'Two men walk in.'

No, that's not the beginning of a joke. The Tonton have arrived at The Lost Cause also. They hear Molly out back and the reader is left to wonder just what's about to happen next...

~Ella

Our 'emotionally repressed narrator who sweeps you off your feet'

Saba's made it to the headlines! Well, to the Telegraph's online culture forum! 

See article: 

At last, girls are at the centre of the action in books and films

This article tackles the issue of gender representation as the heroic character in popular culture, through various types of media. For me, Saba is a near perfect representative of what should be the norm in literature and film: strong, independent women. Why has it taken the world so long to realise?

I recently stumbled across a video of similar subject that I just have to share in relation to this issue:

So let's hope that 2014 brings a better deal for girls. Especially our Saba as we near the release of Raging Star in May! Moira has page proofs starting on Friday, and the excitement is growing!

Look out for the Rebel Heart read-alongs which will be starting up again soon! 

~Ella

Raging Star COVER REVEAL!

It's here...and we only have to wait another 6 months for the actual content!

We're so keen to here from readers on your thoughts of the final installment of the trilogy's breath-taking cover! We hope to get a poll up soon on who you think the hunk beside Saba is - Jack or De Malo - either way, we're sure it's set to cause heated debate. And what about that beautiful green? Is it symbollic of Saba's dusty world regenerating itself...or could it be to do with the bombshell dropped in Rebel Heart associated with...'new life'. Sound off in the comments, Free Hawks!

All together now...

See some reactions after the jump!

The Coliseum: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

'While stands the Coliseum, Rome shall stand. When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall. And when Rome falls - the world.'

~Lord Byron

This summer, I had the incredible oppourtunity to visit Rome, Italy. Naturally, the Coliseum was the first on the list of places to see: historical, cultural, and simply beautiful, it's rightfully Rome's tourist hotspot. But it also works as the inspiration of the Colesseum where Saba finds herself fighting in the Cage...

Friday's Music: Heaven - Ailee

This song was actually a suggestion by Freehawk @eurecalaurice! It’s a genre, you could call it, that hasn’t featured here before, called Kpop. It’s quite a sweet song, and by looking at the translated lyrics in English, I straight away saw how it relates completely to Saba and Lugh’s relationship, minus the romance.

Where you are, I will be there too
Where you go, I will go there too

Their relationship was a rickety road for me. I got mixed feelings for Lugh in Rebel Heart, I almost found him –excuse my language- bitchy. But as I went on in the book, I felt I could look past that and focus more on Saba’s task at hand.

I smile for you every day, I pray for you
With thoughts of you, I fall asleep - I open my eyes as I call for you

~Bushra

The 1st Annual Dustlands.net Fan Fiction Contest!

Welcome Free Hawks!

Today I bring you a new contest from Dustlands.net, this time a proposed annual one. We'll see where this one goes.

Fan fiction. It's one my favorite things invented. Fans of stories, writing their own versions of their beloved books, movies, television shows, etc...

If you haven't ever read any fan fiction, head over to Fanfiction.net right now! That's your homework! Look up your favorite book/movie/TV show and see if there are any stories within that category. Click right here to head to a section of Fanfiction.net with stories dedicated completely to Blood Red Road! 

For this contest, we want you to submit your own Dustlands themed short story! Here are the rules: 

• Each story must be at least 500 words
• Each story must be related to the characters in the Dustlands series. (Blood Red Road and Rebel Heart)
• Each story doesn't have to necessarily take place IN the Dustlands. (Perhaps a story could feature Saba in a jungle? The possibilities are endless)
• Each story must be submitted by July 31st, 2013. 

Get planning and write your story soon so you don't forget! And make sure to make it the best it possibly can, you have the whole month of July!  Submit using the form below and spread the word! It's greatly appreciated.

Cheers, from the Dustlands.net family.

~Jake

Saba's Narrative - The Ins and Outs

'I’m frequently asked about the narrative voice of the Dustlands books....'

The creator of the Dust Lands trilogy, Moira Young, has answered a frequently asked question from fans below - why is the book told the way it is? And what exactly does Saba's voice consist of, and thus symbolise? Find out after the jump...

Read Along: Evaluation & Review

If you're here, reading this, then it's pretty clear that I don't need to write a review, or give a 5* rating to Blood Red Road, because clearly you feel the same. 

It has been a pleasure to re-enter the Dust Lands and really study Saba, Jack, Emmi, and all the rest in great detail. Sometimes you read for the fun of it, and sometimes you read to find some deeper meaning, either in yourself or in the story. Blood Red Road fulfills all of these aims. 

The read along posts remain available as an archive under our menu options. Hopefully they will be useful upon release of Raging Star, so that readers can enter Saba's world once again with ease. 

There are plans to commence with a read along of Rebel Heart, however, this will probably begin in September, due to the business of admins over the next few months.

Hang in there, Free Hawks!

~Ella

Read Along: Freedom Fields

'Get on up here an lead the way.'

As Midsummer rolls around, and the group arrive at Freedom Fields, it's time for Saba and her friends to rescue Lugh, and possibly take down the Tonton and free they slaves whilst they do!

Raging Star

The name of the highly anticipated Book #3 of the 'Dustlands' trilogy has been revealed by author, Moira Young!

RAGING STAR!

We've compiled a list of reactions below as well as the opinions of our admins! If you'd like to tell us what you think, leave a comment or tweet us at @DustlandsFans!