All language is artificial. And it has started to disappear.Ink had cut himself off after the death of his partner, Neav, a decade ago. However, he wakes one day to find he has no concept of the past and can only think of Neav in the present tense. Social media reports two dozen cases in a so-called 'amnesia crisis'. Ink knows his new loss has nothing to do with memory. As does Ihlo.Ihlo, a votary in the Order, has sworn an oath to protect Klova – the artificial language that enables everyone to think, speak and know. She's certain the impossible has happened: a corruption in the code. However, her sudden suspension forces her to act alone.As case numbers steadily rise, the Order's security agency race to find the fault and stem the spread. Ink and Ihlo's own desperate efforts to locate the source bring them together and cause them to confront loss and the vulnerability of truth through the lens of perception.When the corruption...

LIVE MUSIC IS OUTLAWED.Set in the sun-scorched city of Wydeye, the totalitarian Authority controls its citizens through fear and cultivated dependence. Live music is deemed a threat to order and is forbidden by law. Punishment for participation is severe.Chase Newell discovers his sister is missing. His search for her leads him to the underground music Scene, with its ageless Troubadours who must risk their lives to perform in order to survive. To do this, they rely on Bluemantle.As the Authority's control-obsessed leader, Governor Blix, and her evil-incarnate Chief of Command, Wulfwin, step up their efforts to seize the Troubadours and destroy the Scene, the risks escalate.While the Troubadours are forced to act, will the citizens of Wydeye wake up to Bluemantle's invitation and find choice beyond the caves of their own making?Karen Langston is a British novelist, writing speculative and science fiction for adults. She has an MA in English from the University of...