The Half-Life Empire
From the Dragon Award-nominated author of Astra Academy: One young woman leads a ragtag band of survivors across a fractured, post-alien-invasion America.
Hacker Kita Yamasaki would do anything to escape the post-apocalyptic landscape that was the result of the Forever Winter. But for a normal person, the only options are the war-hungry nation-state of Ex Cathedra or the isolationist United California. Fortunately, Kita is anything but normal.
When she finds a faded brochure for the BC Oasis—an underground greenhouse capable of sheltering a quarter million people—she jumps at the opportunity, even going so far as to steal a fission battery the oasis requires to operate at full capacity. There's just one problem . . . The battery belongs to the ruthless judges of Ex Cathedra.
Now Kita finds herself the target of a deadly chase. In her race to safety, she picks up three fellow travelers: Dallas; his mute daughter, Crouton; and Bishop, a junk hunter. But will they betray her and take the battery for themselves? Is one of them a member of the cultist Iron-Blooded who worship the few remaining alien invaders scattered across Earth's wasteland?
Faced with certain death if they're caught by the judges' power-armored soldiers, Kita must put aside her suspicions and make a headlong dash for sanctuary—and the promise of a new life.
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Shami Stovall
In a world where magic and myth meet sharp intellect and historical nuance, Shami Stovall stands out as a voice that knows how to twist the familiar into something entirely unexpected. Whether she’s breathing new life into war-torn battlefields or crafting magical academies from scratch, her stories pulse with a vibrant energy—equal parts heart, grit, and wonder.
Raised in Salt Lake City and grounded in a deep love of history and law, Stovall brings a thoughtful, richly layered approach to fantasy and science fiction. Her background—teaching history and criminal law after earning a BA in History and a Juris Doctorate—adds a distinctive texture to her worlds. The politics, conflicts, and character choices in her books often echo real-world dilemmas, but they’re refracted through the lens of griffins, arcanists, and ancient powers long buried.
The Half-Life Empire
Trilogy.
The Half-Life Empire consists of three books and considered as a complete series. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
