Book excerpt: How can such a bright future be so full of darkness? Beautiful young Charity Freestone has it all: the love of a good man, the revelation of her remarkable identity, and her family reunited after their spectacular battle with the Sons of the Crystal Mind. However, at her moment of triumph Charity is tricked into joining the mysterious New Form Enterprise, whose harsh regime seems designed to break her. Before she can learn their strange purpose, a shocking betrayal brings unique and terrifying freedom. Cut off from its advanced technology, Charity is hunted through war-torn, subterranean Diamond City by an enemy who is always closer than she thinks. As she struggles to make sense of her inhumanly ruthless pursuers, Charity must confront her own complicity in the nightmare that engulfs her. And when she does, she discovers there are far worse places than the dreaded Outer Spheres. Book Two of Andrew Wallace’s viscerally thrilling Diamond Roads science fiction series, The Outer Spheres takes extraordinary heroine Charity Freestone into even stranger and more disturbing territory. The novel threads bleeding-edge science through a fearsomely-wrought war story to explore the unimaginable outcomes of our most terrifying decisions. Blending the vast and eerie scale of Peter F Hamilton’s The Reality Dysfunction with the originality and political insight of Anne Leckie’s Ancilliary Justice, The Outer Spheres forges a unique vision of fear and wonder. Diamond Roads is fast becoming a whole new mythology, exploring the way things are against a wildly-imagined backdrop of how they might turn out. To see if Charity survives, and whether she can be truly free of her pursuers and her own demons, buy the book now. Praise for Diamond Roads: Andrew Wallace shows a real talent for world building in this well-written, fast-paced debut novel. From the first page, Diamond Roads is packed with sci-fi smarts. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author – Anne Charnock, winner of the Clarke Award for Dreams Before the Start of Time & the BSFA Award for The Enclave Fast-paced, clever and beautifully written, Diamond Roads is a richly imagined dystopian thriller that introduces the latest in a long line of cool, kick-ass SF heroines. Charity Freestone combines the strength of Ripley with the wiles of Katniss and the vulnerability of Halo Jones. If you liked Wool, you'll love this – Mark Edwards, bestselling author of The Magpies & Follow You Home I loved this smart, continually surprising thriller set in a richly drawn world – Simon Guerrier, author of Doctor Who: The Pirate Loop; Primeval: Fire & Water & Being Human: The Road