First Mage on the Moon — Cameron Johnston

Cameron Johnston returns in this innovative space fantasy, where wizards race to be the first on the moon â€" also known as the land of the gods. A fast paced read perfect for fans of Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Ella Pickering has been stuck in a never-ending cycle of debt and pain. Formerly a Unity skymage trained to make aerial supply runs in the great war between the Unity and the Ranneas Empire, she must now use a rickety old wheelchair after a devastating skyship crash. To pay off crushing medical debt, Ella works gruelling shifts making magical weapons for the research and design workshop, thinking of better days.

A late night double shift means Ella witnesses an arcane experiment by engineer Jackan Grissom go awry. The device morphs into a crude rocket blasting straight for the moon, ultimately falling into the spell-ravaged No Man's Land between the feuding nations. But that accident inspires hope: if they could make a device to reach the moon â€" the home of the gods â€" then perhaps they could go there and directly ask the gods to intervene and stop the war.

Imbued with new dreams and knowledge, the two begin crafting a device to take them to the moon. But as more people become involved in their blasphemous plot, will they be able to keep it under wraps? Or will discovery of their heresy lead them to the gallows?