When it comes to eagerly anticipated indie books, then top of the list of titles we could not wait to read in 2017 has to be Porcelain: Ivory Tower from Improper Books. The sequel to Benjamin Read and Christian Wildgoose’s epic steampunk fantasy, it made it’s tentative debut at this year’s Lakes festival but is set to hit stores on October 25th. We take a sneak peak at what’s in store…

Here’s the official synopsis courtesy of Improper Books:

Written by Benjamin Read, illustrated by Chris Wildgoose, coloured by André May, and lettered by Jim Campbell, PORCELAIN: Ivory Tower sees another decade passing, and Lady becoming Mother. Hidden behind the high walls of her tower, cut-off from the world, she has sacrificed everything to keep her Children safe.
Set within a world that’s a magical echo of our own, Ivory Tower is the story of Mother, a revolutionary, who must overcome ruthless enemies and the dark secrets of her past to carve a new future for all her Children.

“This story and this character means everything to Chris and me. We are both endlessly fascinated by her,” said Benjamin Read.
“In this chapter, Lady has become Mother, both to daughters and a nation she has helped create. We see the family she’s built around her, and the lengths she’ll go to protect them. It’s the next great trial, in her grand and terrible life, and in it we will see the scars that she leaves on the world, and those it leaves on her in turn. There’s a cost to everything, especially freedom, and it’s time for her to pay.”
Expanding on this, Chris Wildgoose said, “I’m hoping that for our readers, the world of Porcelain will be opened up even more for them. The whole scope and background is larger, the stakes are higher, but at its core it is still this intimate story of a woman using every power available to her to keep the peace, both on her side of the wall that she has raised and on the other.”

And here are some of the truly gorgeous pages featured within…