“Carrie Patel’s post-Catastrophic world has become progressively more rich and complex over the course of her trilogy… [This] engaging political fantasy is full of twists and turns, and The Song of the Dead especially stands out for its imaginative, memorably described characters and settings.”
— Dru Pagliassotti, author of the Clockwork Heart trilogy
“The Buried Life artfully sets a who-dunit murder mystery in a dystopian underground city filled with dark politics and foul secrets. It’s a gripping read from start to finish, with two clever female leads and a delightfully colorful cast. More, please!”
– Beth Cato, author of The Clockwork Dagger
“The Buried Life is a dark, imaginative steampunk gem – tailor-made for mystery fans and history nerds alike, with plenty of cops-and-robbers to keep you on your toes. This is a very fine contribution to the genre.”
– Cherie Priest, author of Boneshaker and Maplecroft
“In the riveting Recoletta series, Carrie Patel is a cultural excavator incisively carving out the recesses of human nature, digging up fossils that reveal both the physical geography of a collapsed United States as well as the existential cartography of humanity. The trilogy is a moving paean wrapped in the rhythms of a steampunk dystopian alternate history that rings with pain, hope, and resistance in a song that will awaken even the dead.”
– Peter Tieryas, author of United States of Japan and Bald New World
“With Regency-era sensibilities and Agatha Christie’s flair for the subtle conundrum, Patel’s debut novel introduces readers to a subterranean city of the future, centuries after what is dubbed ‘The Catastrophe’, and beautifully manages the delicate balance between entertainment and social commentary. The subtly fantastical story is resplendent with surprisingly deep villains, political corruption, and a gripping whodunit feel.”
– Starred Review, Publishers Weekly
“Fans of steampunk alternate histories will enjoy this book, and I suspect that readers of the lighter end of the dystopian genre will too. It’s quick, filled with enjoyable characters, and contains enough socio-political reflectiveness to give you something to chew on. It’s a great debut effort, and, even better, the first in a series.”
– Barnes and Noble
“Patel does it again. This is another great story that takes us from the buried city of Recoletta, to the farming communes, onto a flotilla of ships across the ocean and the Continent where Arnault’s big secret is revealed. I found the resolution of the plot arc very satisfying and Patel did a great job of tying up all the individual plot threads into one satisfying conclusion. It is hard to say much more without risking giving too much away. Suffice to say you will need to find out for yourself.”
– The Qwillery
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