THE FINAL STRIFE

Saara El-Arifiweaves Ghanaian and Middle Eastern culture and myths together in her impressive debut novel.

- David West

RELEASED 23 JUNE

614 pages | Hardback/ ebook/audiobook

Author Saara El-Arifi

Publisher Harper Voyager

The Wardens’ Empire is built on blood, with a society divided into three strata: red-blooded Embers at the top, blue-blooded Dusters below them, and clear-blooded Ghostings at the bottom. El-Arifi’s protagonists are Sylah, an Ember child snatched by Dusters as a baby, and Anoor, the Duster infant left in Sylah’s place to be raised by the cruel Warden Of Strength. Through a case of mistaken identity, Anoor recruits Sylah to train her for the upcoming trials to select the next generation of Wardens, a competition Sylah was supposed to enter before getting addicted to narcotics.