Moby-Dick meets The Bone Shard Daughter in this swashbuckling queer fantasy adventure packed with piracy, political intrigue, and the eternal souls of the drowned, for fans of The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi and Black Sun. An exiled pirate queen hunts a killer whale on the high seas, while caught between a power-hungry empress and a revolutionary conspiring to end her reign . . . Pasha the Northern Storm was once the most infamous Meridian pirate who ever sailed the sister oceans. Now, a decade into her exile, Pasha’s afterlife is being held hostage by Atle, an absurdly attractive noble who knows far too much about pirate magic—but not enough about sailing to realize how dangerous Pasha really is. Minister Atle Itaavar is duty-bound to serve the Kingdom of Garda, but as Queen Thivaldís gathers support for her ambitions of empire, Atle turns to treason to stop her. In order to destroy the Queen’s new necromantic navy, Atle plans to steal the Queen’s flagship, kidnap a washed-up pirate to sail it, and track down a legendary killer whale to bring it down. But the hunt for the great undying whale drags Pasha, Atle, and the crew of the Dog into a cosmic reckoning as they face threats from ghosts and gods alike—and the Queen of Garda is close behind. Praise for Linda Codega “ Pasha the Storm is incorrigible, irreverent, and utterly irresistible. I think I’m in love.” —C. L. Clark , author of The Unbroken “Pasha is a perfect gremlin of a woman—if you don’t fall in love with her within a couple paragraphs, I think you might be beyond help.” —Alexandra Rowland , author of A Taste of Gold and Iron on Pasha the Storm “Feral, wanton, fun, likely illegal, and definitely worth the risk.” —Kieron Gillan , co-creator of The Wicked and the Divine on Pasha the Storm “Imbued with the awe-inspiring might of the Appalachians, this impressive work of ecofiction explores the tension inherent in balancing respect for the natural world and the need to make use of its resources.” — Booklist, STARRED REVIEW on Motheater “The detailed worldbuilding and prose will inspire comparisons to Alix E. Harrow.” — Library Journal on Motheater “Appalachia comes alive in Codega’s atmospheric debut fantasy…Codega weaves Appalachian magic and Southern cunning throughout their protagonists’ crusade and brings in an exploration of what it is to be queer in the South. Readers will find lots to love.” — Publishers Weekly on Motheater “With a voice as unique and haunting as the Appalachian setting, Codega delivers an enchanting story of witchcraft, nature and industry, and the power of a love that can move mountains.” —Hester Fox , author of The Book of Thorns on Motheater “What an amazing read! Richly textured and full of bright, beating hope, Motheater is a captivating debut.” —Rory Power , New York Times- bestselling author of Wilder Girls “With Motheater, Codega weaves a darkly enthralling yarn steeped in loss and rage, deftly spinning Appalachia's past, present, and its rich folkloric tradition into something much more than the sum of its parts.” —Gretchen Felker-Martin , USA Today- bestselling author of Manhunt and Cuckoo “A haunted church, a living mountain, an Appalachian witch called from a sleep lasting more than a century—this is a unique tale of love and magic, of a curse to be undone and an environmental disaster to be averted. Motheater will enchant all readers of witch stories!” —Louisa Morgan , Endeavor Award finalist for A Secret History of Witches Linda H. Codega is a nonbinary queer Virginian living in the hills of the San Gabriel Mountains, where they can often be found hiking, sailing, or haunting the local movie theater. They are a writer and entertainment journalist currently working in television production. Their articles appear on Rascal, i09, Reactor, Polygon, and The Observer. They are a Hugo Award-winning first reader at Strange Horizons. You can find them at LinCodega.com.