Set in the ruins of Australia, Straya tells the story of Franga, an affable mutant who is forced to care for a bunch of mutie orphans and his increasingly senile friend and mentor, Ken Ages. The story kicks off when Franga accidentally discovers an ancient technology, starting a deadly chain reaction – and unleashing a terrifying creature – that threatens the lives of everyone in New Sydney, maybe all of Straya itself!
Straya is my first original novel. It’s an odd beast, sort of a cross between Mad Max and The Castle, and contains a shitload of imaginative violence, dystopian world building and amateur theatre.
The book is inspired by a lifetime of enjoying the dystopian visions of stuff like Judge Dredd, RoboCop, Mad Max, Fallout, A Boy and His Dog, Soylent Green etc., but with a main character whose skill set could best be described as “staggeringly unsuited to the problem at hand.”
It’s the sort of thing I hope genre fans, dystopia lovers and fellow Australians enjoy, with plenty of gear to make you chuckle, gasp and maybe feel some feelings in your bitter black heart.