Media Kit

Bio || Contact || Aestus: Images | Awards | Media & Interviews | Reviews | Retail Data || Other Writing

BIO

S.Z. Attwell is a bestselling science-fiction author as well as a sci-comm writer. She is a member of the SFWA (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association) and her work has been featured in Simultaneous Times. The first book in her series Aestus was a 2021 finalist for the Kindle Book Award and B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree and is currently a finalist in the SPSFC2.

In her free time, she does photography and archery. She lives in the Boston area.

Find her on social media at @szattwellauthor (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) and on Mastodon!

CONTACT

S. Z. Attwell (Sabrina) | sabrina@szattwell.com | Further contact information available upon request

Social media: @szattwellauthor

PUBLISHED WORKS

An underground city, built centuries ago to ride out the devastating heat. A society under attack. And a young solar engineer whose skills may be the key to saving her city…if she doesn’t get herself killed first.

When Jossey was ten, the creatures of the aboveground took her brother and left her for dead, with horrible scars. Now, years later, she’s a successful solar engineer, working to keep her underground city’s power running, but she’s never really recovered. After she saves dozens of people during a second attack, she is offered a top-secret assignment as a field Engineer with Patrol, but fear prevents her from taking it…until Patrol finds bones near where her brother disappeared.

She signs on and finds herself catapulted into a world that is far more dangerous, and requires far more of her, than she ever imagined. The creatures and the burning heat aboveground are not the only threats facing the City, and what she learns during her assignment could cost her her life: one of the greatest threats to the City may in fact lie within. With thousands of lives at stake, can she act in time?

Aestus is an adult dystopian science-fiction series set centuries after climate change has ravaged much of Earth. An epic story of vengeance, power, shifting loyalties, and survival that looks at just how far people will go to protect what they love, brought to you by science writer S.Z. Attwell, Aestus paints a picture of a world in which far too little has changed.

Retail information (ISBN, page count, price, etc.)

IMAGES

Please contact for full version and for permission to use

AWARDS

B.R.A.G. Medallion (Book Readers Appreciation Group) — *Aestus, Book 1: The City*

MEDIA AND INTERVIEWS

Interviews

Nicolas Lemieux, Under Scorching Earth, February 13, 2023

Time to Feed My Reads, Author Interview, July 19, 2022

Space Cowboy Books, Interview and Reading: September 21, 2021

Alina Leonova, Interview, July 2, 2021

Podcast feature: Author Answers, Episode 61 (Fable and the Verbivore), November 5, 2020

Space Cowboy Books/Simultaneous Times Podcast

Flash Fiction Night, April 26, 2022 (reading “Attempted Contact”)

Podcast Episode #41, starting at 5:55

Other Coverage and Book Reviews

Alina Leonova, “7 Sci-fi And Fantasy Books that Stole My Heart in 2021”

IHeartSci-Fi Podcast, January 31, 2021 (“More Galaxy-Sized News This Week! Movies, Series & Books!”) (Book 1)

S. R. Algernon, May 14, 2022 (Book 1)

Books and Chocaholic, Series Review

Chris Durston, Skullgate Media (Book 1)

The Book Wormhole, Review (Book 1)

Alina Leonova, June 29, 2021 (Book 2)

Alina Leonova, June 22, 2021 (Book 1)

Calvin Fisher, June 20, 2021 (Book 1)

Glenn Frank, March 9, 2021 (Book 1)

REVIEWS

BOOK 1

“…at the level of Frank Herbert’s Dune.” – IHeartSci-Fi

“…masterful…on par with the best in the genre.” – A. R. Saida

“It’s been a while since I read something this genuinely unputdownable….I always appreciate when details of worldbuilding are actually considered as far as their implications, and that happens really well here; there’s a lot of thought behind how energy, food, etc would have to be managed. There are several memorable characters – even the minor ones are done well….The quality of the edit often makes or breaks indie books, and here it’s excellent….it reads smoothly and professionally, and that’s a big deal. So… yeah…it’s tightly executed, and it’s memorable for all kinds of reasons. Read this book.” – Chris Durston, Skullgate Media

“One of the best books I’ve ever read.” – TheVeryBookish

“Aestus Book 1: The City is flat out one of the best science fiction novels I’ve read in recent years. It’s hard to believe that this is the author’s first book….The plot of the novel is complex, the relationships between the characters far from simple. The depth of characterization is stunning, especially with regard to Jossey. But what stands out is that the book is a page-turner. I regretted every time I had to put it down and looked forward to picking it back up….As a science fiction writer myself, I have to say that S.Z. Atwell [sic] is a gifted writer who knows how to maintain suspense as well as anyone writing today….” – C. Dorman

“This book is nearly 700 pages. I read it in two days and immediately bought the second one. The world building, the characters, the plot, the SUSPENSE… The author does a brilliant job of introducing a whole new world construct without ever falling into the trap of drawn-out description….As for the characters, it’s been a long time since I’ve cared this much about their outcomes!….And despite its length, this book never lags: I kept wondering how things could possibly ratchet up more. But they always did. Cannot recommend this book enough!” – Aildreda

“It’s hard to write a review of this book because I’m afraid that my description won’t do it justice. This is a phenomenal read….I can’t remember the last time I read a book this fast nor one that stayed with me for so long.” – Amanda W.

“…one of the best dystopian sci-fi novels I’ve read….The characters….react to the events unfolding around them and the mysteries that they solve in brilliantly human fashion….Aestus has been the best fiction book I’ve read this year, and I’d strongly recommend it to anyone, even those not fans of the genre.” – R Sha

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BOOK 2

“I maintain my comparison [to Dune] throughout book two – not only in its likeness to the harsh conditions and dueling factions but also in the author’s brilliant world development and character building.” -IHeartSciFi

“Aestus II is one of those excellent works of literature that challenges its readers and upends their expectations, but somehow still manages to maintain the most loved elements of the first book: the complex characters, the detailed world, and the inspirational story that manages to speak to our time (without shouting out too many simple answers as some works seeking to have a ‘message’ are liable to do). The book is remarkable for many things, but I particularly appreciated the delicate balance Attwell struck in terms of the pace of the story, not too fast that we don’t get to live with the depth and tensions of the tale, but always pulling you along….I can only hope this isn’t the last we’ll see of this world and these much beloved characters!” – I. M.

“A captivating and intense story paired with lovable characters….I couldn’t put this down and I think I enjoyed it even more than the first book in the series. Attwell has an incredible talent for not only developing characters, but developing the relationships between characters. There are a lot of complex and varied relationships in this book, and I was here for it the whole way through.” – Beth S.

“….exciting, emotional, suspenseful, philosophical, riveting ride!” – Adriana A.

“….This is an incredibly strong sequel, which may be even better than the extraordinary first book!….It’s hard not to be invested in every character that is introduced….If you haven’t already, read this book, and get ready for the next one in the series!” – Amanda W.

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All review text used with permission

Retail Data

Aestus, Book 1: The City

Paperback

ISBN: 978-1735479002

Publisher: S. Z. Attwell

Page count: 704 pages

Suggested retail price: $19.99 USD

Links: Amazon | Waterstones | Barnes & Noble | Space Cowboy Books

E-Book

ISBN: 978-1735479095 (EPUB)