Sean McMullen is one of Australia’s leading SF and fantasy authors. His works span genres and styles ranging from epic fantasy to steampunk, and reach out to audiences of all ages. He has won fifteen Australian and international awards, has had over twenty books and eighty stories published in more than a dozen languages, and has been a guest of honour at many Australian and international conventions. He has published seven books with Ford Street Publishing: Before the Storm and Changing Yesterday for young adults, and The Warlord’s Child series (with Paul Collins). Sean was runner up in the 2011 Hugo Awards for his novelette Eight Miles.

Ford St could not have picked a better debut novel. Before the Storm is a highly original tale that brings to mind an unlikely though satisfying marriage between The Terminator and the Bronte sisters. It is an expertly written mix of SF, heart-thudding adventure and humour (with the merest hint of romance). This story delivers on so many levels. Rather than causing distance, McMullen’s use of an omniscient narrator creates an intimacy with all these characters, and is possibly one of the best uses of the viewpoint I have encountered. A thoroughly riveting read, Before the Storm will appeal equally to male and female YA readers everywhere. - Jenny Mounfield