Ruins - by Lily Brooks-Dalton (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

From critically acclaimed, bestselling author of The Light Pirate comes a powerful, deeply resonant novel about an ambitious archaeologist in pursuit of a rare artifact from an ancient civilization that would not only change her life but potentially society at large.

"Lily Brooks-Dalton's novels are rich literary feasts." --Geraldine Brooks, bestselling author of Horse

Professor Ember Agni is a rising star in archeology, trying to balance an unfulfilling career in academia and a crumbling marriage, all while pursuing her true passion: unearthing a lost empire that no one else believes existed. Just as she's about to give up on the ambitious expedition she spent a decade trying to fund, a message arrives from overseas. A former student claims to have found something extraordinary--an artifact that hints at the forgotten world lying beneath history's tidy surface.

With vindication finally within reach, Ember risks everything for the sake of discovery and undertakes an odyssey that will either make her name or ruin her. Driven by unwavering faith in her vision of the past, she challenges the limits of her nation, her colleagues, and herself in order to exhume the missing pieces of how humanity began. But as she journeys deep into an untouched wilderness, in dogged pursuit of a dead civilization, she collides with the wreckage of her own life.

On the brink of either discovery or destruction, Ember must choose who she wants to be, and to what kind of world she wants to belong.

Review Quotes

PRAISE FOR THE LIGHT PIRATE

"Brooks-Dalton has a different sort of vision for the post-apocalypse, one that's not so dystopian . . . It's good to read an alternate and more hopeful story of how life might be experienced on a planet that is partly dying but also evolving, even if fewer humans remain."--New York Times

"A devastatingly beautiful, yet heavy story that pictures a dystopian American in the midst of climate change disaster . . . Wanda's deep connection to her home and a special ability keep her tethered to a place she loves, with people she loves, even if disaster has diminished the community."--Buzzfeed

"A devilishly clever mystery. . . . Brooks-Dalton, the author of The Light Pirate and Good Morning, Midnight, doesn't just know how to craft a gripping story. She knows much about archeology, and those details are part of what makes her book a puzzle that rewards attention." --BookPage

"A formidable young woman's coming-of-age . . . Brooks-Dalton creates an all-too-believable picture of nature reclaiming Florida from its human inhabitants, and her complex and engaging characters make climate disaster a vividly individual experience rather than an abstract subject of debate."--Kirkus, Starred Review

"A reverent observation of nature's power . . . The novel rewards readers with peace and solace after persevering through a series of tragedies that feel too close to home. The Light Pirate is a symphony of beauty and heartbreak, survival and loneliness. Combined, it's a haunting melody of nature."--Associated Press

"A stunning mystery wedded to an adventurous journey, RUINS is a unique and beautiful novel from a major talent who goes from strength to strength. Highly recommended."--Jeff VanderMeer, New York Times bestselling author of ABSOLUTION

"A stunning work of literary fiction . . . Both an urgent reminder of the various crises that our planet faces and a tender meditation on change and adaptability, The Light Pirate is one of the best, most sobering and downright gorgeous novels I have read in quite some time. Right from the start, Brooks-Dalton immerses readers in the tension and immediacy of an approaching storm, employing the crackling energy not just in the atmosphere but also in her characters' inner lives . . . A searing call to action that is as daring as it is luminous and moving, [Brooks-Dalton's novel] is an instant classic and a damning portrait of our time."--BookReporter.com

"A symphony of beauty and heartbreak, survival and loneliness. Combined, it's a haunting melody of nature."--Winnipeg Free Press

"Brooks-Dalton paints a luminous and wrenching portrait of a frighteningly possible future."--Booklist, Starred Review

"Deeply captivating, bracingly sobering, and somehow still hopeful and galvanizing, RUINS is the best of Lily Brooks-Dalton, a startling talent whose forward-facing bravery and compassionate gaze make clear the value of knowledge and the risks we all must be prepared to take to preserve it."--Bookreporter

"Feels like a small miracle: a book about a world wrecked by climate change that manages to be full of warmth and compassion . . . The real genius of The Light Pirate lies in the gentleness with which Brooks-Dalton treats her characters . . . Proof that climate fiction is maturing, producing works that are both nuanced and nourishing."--Washington Post, Charlie Jane Anders

"Gripping . . . sustains a steady pace from one storm to the next. Climate fiction aficionados will eat this up."--Publishers Weekly

"Harrowing and hopeful, Pirate reveals an all-too-possible future."--People, Book of the Week

"I read this book in a whirlwind, voracious as the hurricanes at its heart. Lily Brooks-Dalton writes with the kind of intricate sensitivity that leaves one grateful to be--faultily, flimsily, adaptably, temporarily--human. Harrowing, tender, and urgent, The Light Pirate is a novel of global scope and exquisite intimacy."--Rachel Lyon, Author of Self-Portrait With Boy

"Lily Brooks-Dalton is an audacious, exquisite writer whose work pulses with humanity and hope. In The Light Pirate, her mesmerizing new novel, Brooks-Dalton achieves the impossible: she leaves us feeling grateful to be alive even as she describes, with pinpoint precision, the end of the world as we know it. Gripping, poetic, and wholly original, this book changed how I see the future. I'll never forget it."--Jillian Medoff, Author of When We Were Bright and Beautiful

"Lily Brooks-Dalton's novels are rich literary feasts. They're also page turners with breathtaking twists. As we follow her complicated, flawed protagonist on the hunt for an artifact that will change history, the ground of our own understanding constantly shifts and re-forms itself. Ruins is a quest novel and a story of obsession: what is knowledge worth, and what should you sacrifice to get it?"--Geraldine Brooks, New York Times bestselling author of HORSE

"Riveting, imaginative, and encouraging."--Christian Science Monitor

"The adventure story is cunningly crafted, and Ember is a fascinating character: prickly, ambitious, and obsessive in her search for the truth. It adds up to a captivating mind-bender." --Publishers Weekly

"There is a luminescence here, a force that takes on a quality of the intelligence of the universe. In the glow of that light, hope and exhilaration bloom. And in these moments before the new, violent storm hits its readers, the world of this novel is unforgettable."--New York Journal of Books

"This is fiction of rare and riveting achievement: it is equal parts prophecy, elegy, and revelation. The Light Pirate describes a world much like ours, one of rising seas and changing coastlines, and peers around the corner into the future to show us what awaits. How will human beings endure such loss? How will we mourn, and how will we persist? Lily Brooks-Dalton has captured the fragile beauty of our world, and our lives, with a tenderness that is both moving and galvanizing."--Anna Pitoniak, Author of Our American Friend

"This is one of the most daring, deeply imagined and moving novels I have read. The writer asks us to consider a near-apocalyptic future, but, in prose that is beautiful and precise, Brooks-Dalton offers us hope that we are capable of remaking this world as a gentler and more generous-hearted place. Readers will not forget this beautiful book."--Meredith Hall, Author of Beneficence

"Timely . . . Reminiscent of Delia Owens' Where the Crawdads Sing, readers especially loved Brooks-Dalton's vivid writing style."--Marie Claire

About the Author

Lily Brooks-Dalton's previous books include the national bestseller The Light Pirate, which was the runner-up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and Good Morning, Midnight, which was adapted into the film The Midnight Sky. Her work has been translated into 20 languages and she is a recipient of the PEN America/L'Engle Rahman Prize for Mentorship. She currently lives in Los Angeles.