The Celestial Ashes
A powerful and immersive blend of science fantasy and historical inspiration, weaving together themes of empire, identity, forbidden love, and the fragile balance between peace and conflict.
Coming soon from SLKY World Book Publishers LLC. (https://www.slky.world/)
On the far-future planet of Andar, the floating city of Nur-Shahar rules over a civilisation that has known 750 years of fragile peace. Two royal brothers — Prince Zayn and King Malik al-Zaryan — inherit an empire on the brink of collapse. When Zayn's secret love for Princess Seraphina of the rival Solari Dominion is discovered, it sets in motion a chain of betrayals, exile, and war that neither brother can stop. As an ancient forbidden weapon is unearthed and empires march toward destruction, Zayn must transform from a poet-prince into a rebel leader — and choose mercy over revenge when it costs him everything.
Rooted in the true history of the fall of the last Moorish empire in Granada, Spain, The Celestial Ashes is built on a world unlike anything currently in the science fiction and fantasy marketplace. Every piece of technology traces back to real Islamic scientific invention from the Golden Age. The culture, the architecture, the faith — all of it drawn from a tradition that the genre has almost entirely ignored. Until now.
Meet Lamana Ali
Author of The Celestial Ashes, weaving epic tales across galaxies.
Lamana Ali's journey as a writer began in the libraries of Queens, New York, where his family relocated from Central Africa. A lover of books since childhood, he found early inspiration in the gritty, mind-bending science fiction of films like 12 Monkeys and A Clockwork Orange. The seeds for his debut novel, The Celestial Ashes, were sown when he was seventeen, though it would take nearly two decades of life experience to bring the vision to fruition. When he isn’t crafting new worlds, Lamana works in nonprofit fundraising and enjoys life with his young daughter. With many more stories to tell, he remains committed to a future in science fiction authorship.
My Story
I was born in Cameroon, in central West Africa, in the 1980s. My childhood was filled with Tintin comics and 80s sci-fi classics like "Conan the Barbarian," "Terminator," and even horror films like "The Fly." I was definitely too young for these, and I'm sure they left me scarred in some ways. But they certainly instilled in me a love for sci-fi and mind-bending worlds. I still remember the first time I watched "A Clockwork Orange" and the impact it had on me. In 1992, at the age of 10, I moved with my family to Queens, NYC, and the local library became my second home. I used that library card as frequently as people today use their Starbucks loyalty card. Needless to say, from there, I was bitten by the writing bug. At 14, I read the story of the last Moorish empire of Grenada, Spain, and that inspired what would become my first novel, "The Celestial Ashes." I have a passion for telling incredibly emotional and original human stories set in alien settings. I believe that examining human paradigms from an outside perspective allows for greater introspection. I have many stories left to tell and have already started my second manuscript. I hope you enjoy my stories, and I look forward to sharing my next work with you!
In the Press
Check out Lamana Ali's AP News press release on signing with SLKY World Book Publishers and read his interview with the Queens Chronicle Newspaper.
Interview and article in The Queens Chronicle Newspaper
Read the interview here: https://url-shortener.me/JWTG
Press Release on SLKY World Publishers
acquisition of "The Celestial Ashes"
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