Lily Starling and the Death Machine

"Hurst has crafted a richly detailed sci-fi world, with extensive descriptions and atmospheric prose. …the plot is intricate and compelling." — Kirkus Reviews

Survival has a cost. The galaxy always collects.

Lily Starling has survived time displacement, war, and storms that could swallow entire worlds. But survival has never felt this fragile.

When a forbidden technology resurfaces—one capable of preserving life at an unthinkable cost—Lily is drawn into a tightening web of political pressure, institutional secrecy, and moral compromise. As a deadly plague spreads across Union space, the systems meant to protect its citizens begin to fracture, and truth becomes something carefully managed rather than openly faced.

Isolated within structures she no longer trusts, Lily is forced into the role of investigator rather than hero. Every answer deepens the unease. Every solution demands a sacrifice someone else is willing to offer.

Lily Starling and the Death Machine is a YA sci-fi thriller about control, survival, and the quiet decision to hope when the universe is off-kilter. Told with Fincher-style tension and the heart of a character-driven space opera, it asks what it means to choose hope—especially when everything is out of your control.