Smoke and Stone is the first science fiction book in the City of Sacrifice series by author Michael R. Fletcher.
After the great war between the gods, the last of mankind gathered in Bastion, a giant besieged city. Beyond the outermost wall is an endless desert, haunted by the souls of all the dead in the world.

Trapped in a rigid caste system, Nuru, a young street witch, lives on the outskirts. She dreams of escape and freedom. When something communicates with her from outside the wall. She risks everything and takes chances.

Mother Death, a banished god seeking to regain his place in Bastion’s patchwork temple, has found his way back to the city. Akachi, born into the wealth and splendor of the rings in Bastion, is the priest of the Cloud Serpent, Lord of the Hunt. As a temple-trained wizard, he is tasked with bringing peace to the troubled outer circle.

Caught in a dark and violent world of assassins, gangs and street witches, he battles the pervasive influence of Mother Death in a desperate attempt to save Bastion.

An imaginative, drug-provoking, heartbreaking story set in a post-apocalyptic Central American world of ancient gods and drug-wielding magic. Striking a great balance between epic and small scale. The dual story of characters on opposite sides leaves you wondering who to support. Fletcher writes brilliantly, his characters are real and passionate, and his imagination is dark, twisted, and beautiful. One particular drug-induced image a character goes through left me gasping and if I were only allowed to recommend this book for one reason, it would be just that scene. I look forward to what comes next. Also recommend the wonderful audio version narrated by Rosa B. Watkinson.

Michael R. Fletcher subtly returns to the dark fantasy world, introducing us to a fascinating new world, different from the one in his excellent Manifest Delusions series. If you enjoyed the world-building and backstabbing of that series, you’ll love this one just as much. This is the first book in the City of Sacrifice series, set entirely in the city of Bastion, whose inhabitants include the entire known world.

Bastion sits on a single rock, about 250 miles in diameter. A quarter of a million people live here, separated by many walls surrounding the core, where the priests live. It was a complex caste system where people lived further away from the center the poorer and more crowded they became.

• Smoke and Stone

• City of Sacrifice, Book 1
• By: Michael R. Fletcher

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