The Coral Bones

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What to expect

Shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the British Science Fiction Association award for best novel, and the Kitschies Red Tentacle

Marine biologist Hana Ishikawa is racing against time to save the coral of the Great Barrier Reef, but struggles to fight for a future in a world where so much has already been lost.

Seventeen-year-old Judith Holliman escapes the monotony of Sydney Town during the nineteenth century, when her naval captain father lets her accompany him on a voyage, unaware of the wonders and dangers she will soon encounter.

Telma Velasco is hunting for a miracle in a world ravaged by global heating: a leafy seadragon, long believed extinct, has been sighted. But as Telma investigates, she finds hope in unexpected places.

Past, present and future collide in this powerful elegy to a disappearing world - and vision of a more hopeful future.

Critics Review

A rich and brilliant novel about the connectedness of humanity in itself and with its world: beautifully written and compellingly drawn, layering history, present day and the future with brilliancy and power. It's a novel about the climate crisis, but it's a naturalist's novel too, with some wonderfully, vividly observed writing about sealife from coral to sharks and seahorses. Just marvellous
Adam Roberts, author of The Thing Itself
A beautifully crafted love letter to our endangered coral reefs. E.J. Swift confirms her reputation for writing elegant, heartfelt and compelling eco-fiction
Anne Charnock, Arthur C. Clarke award-winning author of Dreams Before the Start and Bridge 108
Beautifully realised, vivid versions of past, present and future combine in The Coral Bones to powerful effect. It gave me much to think about. I won't forget it
Aliya Whiteley, author of Skyward Inn and The Loosening Skin
E.J. Swift pulls no punches in this beautiful and terrifying yet boldly hopeful novel. The wonder of the Great Barrier Reef is laid out for us via a vivid multi-dimensional tour through the lenses of past, present and future'
Vicki Jarrett, author of Always North
A thoughtful, immersive, very human story that speaks to current fears and hopes for our world
Guardian
E.J. Swift's The Coral Bones is a piercing and acute novel which cannot leave you indifferent. It rages like a stormy ocean, but it also offers you a serene picture of the world's beauty - something not to be lost
British Fantasy Society

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