'Saturnalia in Aufleur is a time of topsy-turvy revels, of the world turned upside down and transformed before your eyes. The city's theatres produce an annual display of reversals, surprises and transformations.
'In this city, flappers can transform into wolves. Even the rats are not what they seem.
'Evie Inglirra is on a mission to infiltrate the theatrical world of Aufleur and discover what lies beneath their glamorous cabaret costumes and backstage scandals. Has she bitten off more than she can chew?'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
From the award-winning author of Cookie Cutter Superhero and Kid Dark Against the Machine comes a brand new novella about girl reporters, superheroes, and interdimensional travel
'In a world of superheroes, supervillains, and a machine that can create them all, millennial vlogger and girl reporter Friday Valentina has no shortage of material to cover. Every lottery cycle, a new superhero is created and quite literally steps into the shoes of the hero before them--displacing the previous hero. While Fry may not be super-powered herself, she understands the power of legacy: her mother is none other than the infamous reporter Tina Valentina, renowned worldwide for her legendary interviews with the True Blue Aussie Beaut Superheroes and her tendency to go to extraordinary lengths to get her story.
This time, Tina Valentina may have ventured too far.
'Alongside Australia's greatest superheroes--including the powerful Astra, dazzling Solar, and The Dark in his full brooding glory--Friday will go to another dimension in the hopes of finding her mother, saving the day, maybe even getting the story of a lifetime out of the adventure. (And possibly a new girlfriend, too.)'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
After the 'Pulse' destroys most things electronic and electric, Jin and Aisha are two teenagers scavenging together. Jin specialises in batteries, Aisha in pharmaceuticals; Aisha's mutism relieves Jin of having to keep his hearing aids on.
While preparing for the next market to trade for food, they meet a third boy, Billy, who Jin starts crushing on. After a misunderstanding at the market, Billy and Aisha - who can speak and simply chose not to - reveal they knew each other, and moreover, knew the origins of the apocalypse.
Billy and Aisha questioned their world before the Pulse - the android-like plastic foster mothers, the lack of humans besides teenagers, and the city no one has ever left. They discovered it was an experiment, and the researchers ended it with the Pulse. Reunited, the trio plan on going to the laboratory and restarting the city.
'Mistress Gideon is a witch. The locals of Edda’s Meadow, if they suspect it of her, say nary a word—Gideon has been good to them, and it’s always better to keep on her good side. Just in case.
'When a foolish young shapeshifter goes against the wishes of her pack, and gets herself very publicly caught, the authorities find it impossible to deny the existence of the supernatural in their midst any longer; Gideon and her like are captured, bound for torture and a fiery end. Should Gideon give up her sisters in return for a quick death? Or can she turn the situation to her advantage?'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
'Zed has been haunted by the disappearance of a teacher who went missing not long after Zed brought the oddest item for 'show and tell' to school. Now 23, Zed decides to take matters into his own hands and goes out to search for answers. His search takes him to the small town of Sky, somewhere north-west of Sydney. It's known for its 'Cat Food Factory'. It is here that he meets a number of very strange individuals and undergoes experiences that will change him forever... and not for the better.'
In a future Australia ruled by criminal cartels, women are vastly outnumbered by men, leading men to go to haunting lengths to procure (and subsequently utterly control) a wife. One of Paul Haines's most anthologised works, 'Wives' is also rather contentious for the brutality of the world that it shows.