Third book announced in dystopian YA trilogy comparable to The Hunger Games and Divergent
DARTFORD, KENT – 23 June 2016 – Elsewhen Press, an independent UK publisher specialising in Speculative Fiction, is delighted to announce the forthcoming publication of the explosive conclusion to Katrina Mountfort’s widely acclaimed Blueprint Trilogy and reveal the cover. The dystopian YA trilogy, which was launched in 2014 with Future Perfect, and continued in 2015 with Forbidden Alliance, takes us to a future Britain (now called State Eleven) in which men and women are almost identical and personal relationships are forbidden. Following a bio-terrorist attack, the population live within comfortable Citidomes, believing that life outside is no longer possible. But along with the utopian security and safety that appears to come from such controlled isolation and segregation, freedom of choice and individuality have been sacrificed in favour of conformity and unreserved acceptance of the authorities. MindValues advocate non-attachment, while the BodyPerfect cult encourages a tall thin androgynous appearance and looks are everything. In a society where every thought and action is controlled, informers are everywhere. Anyone who dares question the status quo is labelled a subversive thinker and quietly disappeared. But, in fact, there are communities living outside the Citidomes and some of them are actively trying to set free those still inside, most of whom don’t even realise they are effectively imprisoned. As the efforts of the rebels become more daring, the Citidome authorities are forced to go beyond their usual pernicious techniques to use more destructive and shocking tactics – and what started as a campaign to maintain control becomes a vendetta targeted at the rebel leaders.
A dark undercurrent runs through these books: the enforcement of conformity through fear, the fostering of distorted and damaging attitudes towards forbidden love, manipulation of appearance and even the definition of beauty. But life outside the Citidomes is not without problems and the books explore the burden of leadership, family loyalties and whether it is possible to justify the sacrifice of human lives for the greater good. Freedom’s Prisoners examines betrayal, guilt, hope and endurance as the rebels undertake their most ambitious mission yet – to see if there is anyone in the world beyond the shores of State Eleven who cares enough to help.
As with Forbidden Alliance, the cover artwork for Freedom’s Prisoners was produced by talented Sheffield-based artist Alex Storer. When she saw Alex’s cover design for the first time Katrina said “I love it… I had no clear idea of exactly what the RotorFighters looked like, but your vision seems perfect.”
In reviews the trilogy has been favourably compared to Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games and Veronica Roth’s Divergent trilogies, while others have been reminded of Orwell’s 1984, Huxley’s Brave New World and Nolan and Johnson’s Logan’s Run. Future Perfect was described as “one of the best modern YA sci-fi novels ever written” by RisingShadow. Katrina Mountfort’s Freedom’s Prisoners, the final book of the Blueprint Trilogy will be published in digital formats on the 9th September and launched in paperback at Novacon in November in Nottingham.
Notes for Editors
About Katrina Mountfort
Katrina Mountfort was born in Leeds. After a degree in Biochemistry and a PhD in Food Science, she started work as a scientist. Since then, she’s had a varied career. Her philosophy of life is that we only regret the things we don’t try, and she’s been a homeopath, performed forensic science research and currently works as a freelance medical writer. She now lives in Saffron Walden with her husband and two dogs. When she hit forty, she decided it was time to fulfil her childhood dream of writing a novel. Future Perfect was her debut novel and the first book in the Blueprint Trilogy. Freedom’s Prisoners is the third and concluding book of the trilogy.
About Alex Storer
Alex Storer is a graphic designer, artist/illustrator and musician from Sheffield, UK. The advent of pixel art and the vibrant graphics of the Commodore Amiga in the early 1990s was a turning point for Alex, giving him his first taste of digital artwork, leading to a career in graphic design. However, a lifelong interest in science fiction came full circle in 2010 when Alex began producing his own brand of science fiction artwork. Taking influence from classic science fiction and the space art greats of the 1970s and 80s, his work pays homage to yesterday’s visions of tomorrow yet remains contemporary and distinctive in style. In 2012, Alex was invited to join the Initiative for Interstellar Studies as an honorary musician and artist.
In 2015 Elsewhen Press commissioned Alex to produce the cover art for Forbidden Alliance, the second book in Katrina’s Blueprint Trilogy. Now in 2016 he has produced the cover art for Freedom’s Prisoners.