The Branded

An epic, high-concept speculative novel with explosive ideas around gender and class, served up with romance, conflict and quick-fire narrative pace. In a world split in two, sisters Nara & Osha may have the power to bring it back together, if they can uncover the hidden truth… A century after a virus decimated the population, Isfalk is divided into two classes: the Branded, who are vulnerable to disease, and the Pure, who are stronger and immune. Orphaned twins Nara and Osha are sequestered in the citadel, where their unbranded skin entitles them to a generous life of privilege, albeit as precious breeding stock. Nara itches to escape her confines and return to the wilds of the Fornwood where she and Osha grew up, but when the sisters are ambushed and kidnapped by Wasteland traders, they learn that life outside the safety of the Walls is brutal, and the fraught journey across the Wastelands is only the beginning. When Nara discovers she has mysterious powers linked to her uncanny hunting abilities, the sisters have no choice but to accept the help of an untrustworthy Brand known only as the Wrangler. As she grows closer to mastering the skill, and uncomfortably closer to the Wrangler, she soon discovers her new-found gifts could be the key to their escape, and the balance of power in Isfalk.