"Pain, passions, and violence are conveyed as agonizingly and earnestly here as they were in the Hunger Games and Handmaid's Tale cycles… . Cautious brush strokes help sell this speculative story of art as the basis of a future police state." - Kirkus Reviews
Isobel "Izzy" Ker, the last working artist of the Old Holy Order, lives a life of poverty in the Dumps outside of Mahl City, covertly selling her illegal paintings to the Old Order's few remaining devotees. But when her studio is ransacked by the city's enforcers, her only choice is to seek refuge with the Half-Light Rebels, a gang of anti-art radicals and glorified thieves.
She agrees to help the rebels, but their first mission goes south, and Izzy is arrested and brought before the leader of the oppressive New Art Government, a group that keeps people in check by feeding their addiction to a novel and dangerous craft, Trigger Art. Izzy has a choice: Convert to their way of life, using her skills to debut as a Trigger Artist, or rot in the city's infamous prison. Izzy accepts and is thrust into the spotlight, now intoxicated by the luxury and power afforded her, not to mention her handsome bodyguard, Rilke. The wild, engrossing act of creating her first public piece almost makes her forget what life was like in the Dumps. Almost. All the while, Izzy is fanning the flames of rebellion, working in secret with the rebels and preparing to unveil her audacious debut piece.
Written by a rising star in science fiction, Lavender Spike is a bold, wholly original cyberpunk novel in which art is both drug and religion. In this wholly original cyberpunk novel where art is both drug and religion, Isobel "Izzy" Ker becomes an elite artist of the oppressive governmental regime while secretly fanning the flames of the coming rebellion.
Rachel Tremblay is a painter, writer, and musician. A youth filled with guitar shredding, horror movies, skateboarding, and poetry led her to produce two music albums, study fine arts, and pen stories. She lives in Montreal with her husband and two adult children. Lavender Spike is her fifth novel.
"Pain, passions, and violence are conveyed as agonizingly and earnestly here as they were in the Hunger Games and Handmaid's Tale cycles. ... Cautious brush strokes help sell this speculative story of art as the basis of a future police state." -Kirkus Reviews
"Lavender Spike is that rarest thing in fiction: a truly unique dystopia, one that shuns simple allegory and plays by its own strange and fascinating set of rules. In a just world, everyone would be obsessed with this book and fans would already be having bitter arguments about who should be cast in the film." - Jason Pargin, bestselling author of John Dies at the End and I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom
"Lavender Spike crackles with the spirit of power and creation. Rachel Tremblay's newest novel is a visceral and poignant examination of the purpose of art that poses the question, 'Can art truly be a catalyst for change?' Brimming with action, Lavender Spike will take readers on a journey that will inspire, enthrall, and excite the imagination." - Karen McBride, author of Crow Winter
"Lavender Spike is a luminous adventure, delicate and poignant to the very end. You won't want to miss it!" - Kayla Ancrum, award-winning author of The Wicker King and Icarus
"A wild acid-trip dive into alleyways where art is both drug and religion - with all the vivid color and darkness that comes with both. A very I-need-a-cigarette-after-reading journey." - Nathan Makaryk, actor and author of Nottingham
Sales and Market Bullets
• MAKE WAY FOR REVOLUTION: Readers of The Hunger Games, now all grown up, will love Lavender Spike for its complex heroine and challenge of social constructs. Fans of The Fifth Element and the Mad Max franchise will also connect with Tremblay's
