Stone Rider

June 22, 2015
After 15-year-old Adam Stone loses his entire family to a parched and toxic environment where citizens rarely reach the age of 50, Adam decides that his only chance for survival is to ride his âbyke,â an intuitive âwonder-machineâ passed down through his family, in the Blackwater Race. The winner of the race is granted entrance to Sky-Base, a space station with fresh water and food. Hofmeyrâs dystopian debut, which may draw some Mad Max comparisons, moves at breakneck speed, pausing only for spare descriptions of the landscape. As Adam takes off on his byke through the âhell-desertâ of the Badland, the merciless, all-powerful Colonel Blood, who oversees the race, doesnât hesitate to âunplugâ (slaughter) his fellow riders. Joining Adam are Kane, a scarred fellow loner, and Sadie, an attractive byke fixer who is also the Colonelâs daughter. Hofmeyr constructs a bleak futuristic world and a landscape both sublime and unforgiving. Gory moments are balanced by majestic ones in a novel about self-preservation and reclaiming oneâs humanity amid brutality. A sequel is planned. Ages 12âup. Agent: Stephanie Thwaites, Curtis Brown.

September 28, 2015
Fifteen-year-old Adam Stone knows only hard work, mining, poverty, and racing “bykes,” wondrous vehicles. The only way out of this dry, deadly life in the futuristic desert town of Blackwater is to win a race like The Blackwater Trail. The winner will be sent to Sky-Base, a space station where there is no poverty or disease. Adam, with his much tougher friend Kane and his love interest Sadie, all enter the race, alongside other riders who are distinctly unfriendly. There is gang warfare, bykes that are psychically attuned to their rider’s consciousness, deadly environmental issues, and a fast-paced action-packed race. Voice actor Morgan reads with quiet intensity. He embodies gruff-voiced, moody young men who are tough-as-nails survivors, but his throaty voice also handles the story’s dystopian teenage drama with ease. The world Hofmeyr has created is bleak and desperate, and Morgan conveys this with a gravelly narration punctuated by husky growls. His intensity leads to some breathing and mouth-noise issues, and his precise enunciations might distract listeners at times, but the action is nonstop, and Morgan’s energy never flags throughout the entire byke race. Ages 12–up. A Delacorte hardcover.