The Burning Years by Felicity Harley

The perfect blend of hard science and imaginative fiction.

As the harsh realities of climate change become more apparent every year, readers are sure to be drawn to groundbreaking stories like Felicity Harley’s debut science fiction novel, The Burning Years.

The first in a five-book series, The Burning Years provides the perfect blend of hard science and imaginative fiction in its portrayal of a not-so-distant future devastated by climate change — and the passionate individuals fighting to keep humanity alive.

A Harsh Yet Realistic Future

The world has changed drastically by the year 2060 thanks to the unchecked power and greed of the elite few. The Burning Years were a time of harsh changes to Earth’s surface — when the world was stripped of its drinkable water and vast expanses of land were left dry and uninhabitable.

Since then, the remnants of human civilization — led by an unjust plutocracy — have moved into expansive (yet isolated) underground communities. Now, it’s only a matter of time before the air aboveground becomes unbreathable. But thanks to the actions of one top scientist, the world has a chance to eventually recover.

Fighting for Future Generations

After Sophie dismantles the world’s weather modification program in an attempt to stop its harmful affects on the atmosphere, she and her husband Peter flee with his highly sought-after creations — the first successful male and female cyborgs (called trans-humans). But the elite rulers will stop at nothing to get Inanna and Rajeev back, for they hold the secrets to humanity’s future.

Meanwhile, Captain Rachel Chen and her team of 200 civilians and scientists guide the worldship Persephone to Proxima Centauri on a mission to find a new world for the remnants of the human race. What will they find on their journey, and will they be able to build a better world than the one they left behind?

Insightful and Thought-Provoking

The Burning Years boasts a unique and bold vision of humanity’s future, revealing both the good and the bad.

Author Felicity Harley paints a devastating and heart-wrenching picture of the world if something doesn’t change — specifically, if we don’t stand up to the unchecked corporate greed that’s driving climate change. Yet the innovative solutions she portrays are fascinating and well thought out, answering questions readers may have about how humanity could continue after we’ve destroyed our planet.

Whether our future lies underground or in the stars, Harley believes humanity’s future is worth fighting for. Her in-depth characters and their interactions with each other reveal the innate goodness found when collaborative survival is placed over individual advancement.

More to Come in Visionary Sci-Fi Series

Readers are sure to become enthralled with the author’s visionary future — and don’t worry, she’s promised the story will continue in Homo Deus. The second book will follow familiar characters in their search to find a source of energy that will allow them to once again live on Earth’s surface. Get a sneak peek of Homo Deus on the author’s website.

With all its impressive sci-fi technology and expansive world-building, at its core, The Burning Years is about the people — their courage and their sacrifices, and what they’re willing to do to make sure future generations still have a world to call home.

Book Trailer

About Felicity Harley:

Felicity Harley’s work appears in the anthology Gathered Light – On the Poetry of Joni Mitchell, alongside writers like Wally Lamb. She won the Anita McAndrews Award from Poets for Human Rights in honor of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ 65th anniversary. In 2014, she was commissioned by Hartbeat Ensemble to write the play Transplant. Her short story collection Portraits and Landscapes (2015) is available on Amazon. She recently completed the sci-fi series Until This Last, with the first book, The Burning Years, published in July 2024.

Felicity spends summers and falls in Connecticut and winters in Bequia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. She co-founded a Community Foundation with Karen Hinds, supporting local nonprofits serving the island’s population.

The Burning Years by Felicity Harley