The City in the Middle of the Night

On the tidally locked planet Xis, humanity survives in two polar-opposite cities: the authoritarian, sunlight-blasted Xidelta and the lawless, nocturnal Arcosi. Sophie, a student exiled for a minor political crime, is left to freeze in the dark wilderness but survives through an alliance with the Geometers, an indigenous species of telepathic, six-legged aliens. Alongside a smuggler named Mouth, Sophie navigates a failing human colony where rigid social control and resource scarcity clash with the reality of an alien ecosystem that possesses its own profound intelligence.

This story serves readers interested in hard sociology and the biological realities of colonizing a planet without a day-night cycle. It appeals to those who prioritize complex interpersonal dynamics and the ethics of human-alien cohabitation over standard space opera tropes. Readers finish the book with a specific understanding of how extreme environments dictate political structures and a perspective on how linguistic barriers shape the definition of personhood between different biological species.