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Saltcrop
- Author
- Yume Kitasei
- Narrator
- Eunice Wong
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date
- 25 September 2025
- Run Time
- 11 hours 36 minutes
- Format
- x-book®
- Genre
- Dystopian and utopian fiction, Science fiction: near future, Science fiction: apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic, Sea stories, Narrative theme: coming of age, Narrative theme: journeys and voyages, Narrative theme: love / relationships, Narrative theme: environmental issues / the natural world, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Science fiction: cyberpunk / biopunk, Metaphysical / philosophical fiction
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What to expect
From the acclaimed author of The Deep Sky and The Stardust Grail comes the tender and gripping tale of two sisters who sail across oceans to find their missing third sister – and Earth’s salvation.
ONE OF ELLE'S BEST FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION BOOKS OF 2025
LONGLISTED FOR GOODREADS READER'S FAVOURITE SCIENCE FICTION 2025
'An absorbing, compelling tale of love, loyalty and danger' Guardian
'A deft and intimate family saga set against the backdrop of an utterly believable dystopian world' Elle
'An unforgettable novel that teems with big ideas and abundant heart' Michelle Min Sterling, New York Times bestselling author of Camp Zero
'A brilliant triumph and a heartfelt love letter' J.R. Dawson, award-winning author of The First Bright Thing
'Urgent and gorgeously written' Sarah Brooks, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands
In Earth's near future, seas consume coastal cities and mutant fish lurk in their depths. Skipper, a skilled sailor and the youngest of three sisters, earns money skimming and reselling plastic from the ocean to care for her ailing grandmother.
Her eldest sister, Nora, left home in pursuit of a cure for failing crops all over the world. Now, she’s missing. When Skipper and her other sister, Carmen, receive a cryptic plea for help, they must put aside their differences and set out across the sea to save her.
But their voyage through a dying world both beautiful and strange brings them to question what dangerous attention did Nora attract, and how well do they really know their sister – or each other?
Thus begins an epic journey spanning oceans and continents and a wistful rumination on sisterhood, friendship, and ecological disaster.
'Get a copy of Saltcrop for all the perpetually warring siblings you know' Vajra Chandrasekera, author of the Nebula, Ignyte, Crawford, and Locus award-winning The Saint of Bright Doors
'Luminous, credible, and engrossing from beginning to end' Kirkus, starred review
'A tale that feels both intimate and expansive. It’s an impressive feat' Publishers Weekly, starred review
Critics Review
-
Praise for Saltcrop :
'Part eco-thriller, part sisterhood epic, Kitasei has written an unforgettable novel that teems with big ideas and abundant heart.' Michelle Min Sterling, New York Times bestselling author of Camp Zero
'This is a beautiful book about the people you'd cross oceans for. A brilliant triumph and a heartfelt love letter to the siblings we don't understand but are irrevocably sworn to.' J.R. Dawson, award-winning author of The First Bright Thing
'Urgent and gorgeously written, Saltcrop is an adventure, a family drama, an ecological thriller, and above all a story of ordinary humans doing extraordinary things.' Sarah Brooks, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands
'The blighted and ruined landscapes the Shimizu sisters traverse, and the disease-struck, semi-feral communities they encounter, all feel dangerously nearby, a world three minutes into the the future of our present disastrous trajectory. The love they bear for each other, even if it’s often tangled up in old pains and many mutual irritations, make even that future feel survivable' Vajra Chandrasekera, author of the Nebula, Ignyte, Crawford, and Locus award-winning The Saint of Bright Doors
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Yume Kitasei
- Narrator
- Eunice Wong
- Duration
- 11 hours 36 minutes
- Release Date
- 25 September 2025
- ISBN
- 9780008764692
- Format
- x-book®
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Genre
- Dystopian and utopian fiction, Science fiction: near future, Science fiction: apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic, Sea stories, Narrative theme: coming of age, Narrative theme: journeys and voyages, Narrative theme: love / relationships, Narrative theme: environmental issues / the natural world, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Science fiction: cyberpunk / biopunk, Metaphysical / philosophical fiction
Synopsis
From the acclaimed author of The Deep Sky and The Stardust Grail comes the tender and gripping tale of two sisters who sail across oceans to find their missing third sister – and Earth’s salvation. ONE OF ELLE'S BEST FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION BOOKS OF 2025 LONGLISTED FOR GOODREADS READER'S FAVOURITE SCIENCE FICTION 2025 'An absorbing, compelling tale of love, loyalty and danger' Guardian 'A deft and intimate family saga set against the backdrop of an utterly believable dystopian world' Elle 'An unforgettable novel that teems with big ideas and abundant heart' Michelle Min Sterling, New York Times bestselling author of Camp Zero 'A brilliant triumph and a heartfelt love letter' J.R. Dawson, award-winning author of The First Bright Thing 'Urgent and gorgeously written' Sarah Brooks, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands In Earth's near future, seas consume coastal cities and mutant fish lurk in their depths. Skipper, a skilled sailor and the youngest of three sisters, earns money skimming and reselling plastic from the ocean to care for her ailing grandmother. Her eldest sister, Nora, left home in pursuit of a cure for failing crops all over the world. Now, she’s missing. When Skipper and her other sister, Carmen, receive a cryptic plea for help, they must put aside their differences and set out across the sea to save her. But their voyage through a dying world both beautiful and strange brings them to question what dangerous attention did Nora attract, and how well do they really know their sister – or each other? Thus begins an epic journey spanning oceans and continents and a wistful rumination on sisterhood, friendship, and ecological disaster. 'Get a copy of Saltcrop for all the perpetually warring siblings you know' Vajra Chandrasekera, author of the Nebula, Ignyte, Crawford, and Locus award-winning The Saint of Bright Doors 'Luminous, credible, and engrossing from beginning to end' Kirkus, starred review 'A tale that feels both intimate and expansive. It’s an impressive feat' Publishers Weekly, starred review
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