Nalo Hopkinson has gained spectacular acclaim for her unique vision and the way she brings the vibrant traditions of Caribbean literature and lore to modern science fiction. The author of Brown Girl in the Ring, winner of the Locus Award for Best First Novel and finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award, now offers a haunting new tale of innocence and experience.

PRISONER OF NEW HALF-WAY TREE

It's Carnival time and the Caribbean-colonized planet of Toussaint is celebrating with music, dance, and pageantry. Masked "Midnight Robbers" waylay revelers with brandished weapons and spellbinding words. But to young Tan-Tan, the Robber Queen is simply a favourite costume to wear at the festival -- until her power-corrupted father commits an unforgivable crime.

Suddenly, both father and daughter are thrust into the brutal world of New Half-Way Tree. Here monstrous creatures from folklore are real, and the humans are violent outcasts in the wilds. Here Tan-Tan must reach into the heart of myth -- and become the Robber Queen herself. For only the Robber Queen's legendary powers can save her life...and set her free.