Saltcrop

From the acclaimed author of The Deep Sky and The Stardust Grail comes the tender and gripping tale of two sisters who sail across oceans to find their missing third sister – and Earth’s salvation.

ONE OF ELLE'S BEST FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION BOOKS OF 2025

LONGLISTED FOR GOODREADS READER'S FAVOURITE SCIENCE FICTION 2025

'An absorbing, compelling tale of love, loyalty and danger' Guardian

'A deft and intimate family saga set against the backdrop of an utterly believable dystopian world' Elle

'An unforgettable novel that teems with big ideas and abundant heart' Michelle Min Sterling, New York Times bestselling author of Camp Zero

'A brilliant triumph and a heartfelt love letter' J.R. Dawson, award-winning author of The First Bright Thing

'Urgent and gorgeously written' Sarah Brooks, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands

In Earth's near future, seas consume coastal cities and mutant fish lurk in their depths. Skipper, a skilled sailor and the youngest of three sisters, earns money skimming and reselling plastic from the ocean to care for her ailing grandmother.

Her eldest sister, Nora, left home in pursuit of a cure for failing crops all over the world. Now, she’s missing. When Skipper and her other sister, Carmen, receive a cryptic plea for help, they must put aside their differences and set out across the sea to save her.

But their voyage through a dying world both beautiful and strange brings them to question what dangerous attention did Nora attract, and how well do they really know their sister – or each other?

Thus begins an epic journey spanning oceans and continents and a wistful rumination on sisterhood, friendship, and ecological disaster.

'Get a copy of Saltcrop for all the perpetually warring siblings you know' Vajra Chandrasekera, author of the Nebula, Ignyte, Crawford, and Locus award-winning The Saint of Bright Doors

'Luminous, credible, and engrossing from beginning to end' Kirkus, starred review

'A tale that feels both intimate and expansive. It’s an impressive feat' Publishers Weekly, starred review