Blood State

Three generations ago, the Modernist Mission arrived on the ice planet Tählti to find it already inhabited by the Firsts, humanoids who have evolved an antifreeze glycoprotein in their blood. With the next ice age nipping at everyone's heels, the Modernist government will do anything to get the protein – even experimenting on the Firsts in secret.

Despite Modernist general Lucian Devereaux's best efforts, what began as a medical research facility to ensure his people's survival becomes a concentration camp. When an exiled vigilante learns this secret, he threatens to tell the world and spark a war between Modernist and First – a war neither can afford before the ice age.

Surrounded by enemies, Lucian must figure out whom to trust, or neither subspecies will survive much longer.

Raluca Balasa has penned a dark, gripping tale of colonialist and indigene as the world around them begins to freeze. Blood State is a slick, twisty, chess game of a novel that sucked me in and held me until the last page. – Stephen Graham King, author of A Congress of Ships

"I was completely entranced by Blood State's tale of competing factions struggling for survival on a frozen planet. Raluca Balasa delivers reams of political intrigue, complex and conflicted characters, and gripping action sequences, all in a setting both brutal and exotic. Blood State is a terrific sci-fi novel by an exciting and talented young writer." - David Anthony Durham, author of The Acacia Trilogy

"Blood State intrigued me with its timely premise of state-sanctioned violence and intercultural tensions, however, I was pleased to discover that it also delivers on pulse-pounding action and complex characters. A marvelous read!" - Elizabeth Hirst, author of The Face in the Marsh and Distant Early Warning