The Sunless Countries
{4.5/5} “Her hands and feet had taken the whole weight of her body so that while she seemed to be sitting in her chair, in reality she hovered a fraction of an inch above it. For long seconds she sat, paralyzed in midflight or midattack by a decade of self-taught lessons in how to play along, when to remain silent, when to smile and agree with the boss. A thousand words were caught in her throat along with her breath.”
The Sunless Countries by Karl Schroeder, published in 2009
Leal is an instructor and tutor in history at the university. Although the dean agrees she should get a professor position the board passes her over. Wit the government of Abyss the way it is, they wanted someone older, with more gravitas. She discovers that Hayden Griffin, the sun lighter, is in town. Then she has a conversation with him, but doesn’t realize who it is until later.
This is the sequel to Pirate Sun.
It’s about people who know that the truth is the truth, and people who think that the truth is whatever the government says it is. It’s about people who live without a sun.
I’ve read 11 books by Schroeder.