From a beguiling new voice in contemporary fantasy/sci-fi comes an astonishing novel about a mysterious group of teenagers: they were genetically engineered prodigies, but then their minds started doing strange things...
Ever since young Milly Bythaway can remember, she's had to hide who she really is - dumbing down an extraordinary genius in order to blend into the background. Tai Jones has been abandoned by his mother and forced to live as a homeless wanderer on the streets of London, but the appearance of a stray cat helps him realise he has a special gift: he can see thoughts and emotions of others in stunningly beautiful colours. A gift that is both wonderful and awful.
When the teenagers are brought together by a mysterious old scientist for their own safety, they are told of a common and forgotten past. One of secret experiments, and a missing family that they yearn to find. But they soon hear of the disappearance of another child, the youngest, and are faced with an impossible dilemma. Saving themselves will require confronting their deepest fears - and risking their own sanity...
But if they can muster the strength to overcome adversity in inventive and ingenious ways, it will bring about the most extraordinary and unexpected change. In the end, the children must work together, unleashing the full force of their intellect and genius, in an epic battle of the world's greatest minds.
The Ingenious and the Colour of Life is J.Y. Sam's beautiful and heart-rending debut - a story that explores the fragility of human nature, with a dash of science, culture, and the natural world, engaging both mind and heart in an eclectic blend of genres.
Sam, J. Y.: - "I've been writing since High School, and it's always been a long-term dream to write a novel. Well, after getting married, having two babies who are now young adults, and working most of my life - I've finally been able to squeeze out that novel. But then submitting it to agents and publishers became in itself a practically insurmountable mountain. Though I do understand why the publishing world is so selective, because of the investment made in an author. But after several spurts of submitting my manuscript, each rejection letter chipped away at my soul, and no matter how much I tried to be philosophical about it, it still hurt. So I finally decided to self-publish, with a hoped-for aim of at least contributing in some small way to making indie authors as relevant and as cool as indie film-makers. And so my first novel, 'The Ingenious, and the Colour of Life', is my contribution toward that aim. The first of a trilogy of books that, in essence, is a book borne, not just from my mind, but also from years of hard work. It's been a heart-wrenching, exciting, and nerve-racking journey. But ultimately if you, the reader, enjoy my work - the story it tells and the message it conveys - then that will have made every step of my journey worthwhile. I hope so."
