WINNER of the Literary Classics Gold Medal for Young Adult Science Fiction of 2018!
WINNER of the Independent Authors’ Network Outstanding Science Fiction book of 2018!
Bronze Medal winner for Teens in United Kingdom’s Wishing Shelf Book Awards!

Joshua is a good kid. A really good kid. But the cards seem stacked against him.

First, his father is killed defending a ship against a Space Pirate heist. But the company town’s crooked politicians blame Joshua’s Dad for the loss of valuable cargo, causing his mother to lose her teaching job. This started their long downward slide into the worst slum of the sole human settlement on the planet.

Being a good kid, Joshua tries to help by making money for his mother’s dream of opening their own restaurant. Problem is, he makes the money by hustling stickball games. Mom does not approve. Not at all.

Next, through no fault of his own, the police try to put him in an institution. Just wanting to be left alone, Joshua evades the authorities, only to find himself trapped outside the mining colony. Now all too alone, he must survive in a rainforest crawling with spidervipers, a creature as deadly as it sounds.

Through incredible perseverance and ingenuity, Joshua finally escapes The Swamp. But soon runs afoul of Bossman, a ruthless drug lord. Now he must not only duck the cops, but also peer into every shadow for the unrelenting killer Bossman has set on his trail.

Yeah, Joshua’s a good kid. But bad things sometimes happen to good people.

Will he ever get a break? Find out.

“There can be little doubt that the plot of this novel is absolutely gripping.” – Leonard Tillerman – Reviewer/Book blogger