In a dieselpunk dystopian world, set in the fractured 1920s, the Men in Black rule with an iron fist. Harnessing the dark power of a fallen crystal, they have created Falena—living war machines powered by unnatural energy. Symbols of tyranny, these monstrous exoskeletons have crushed every trace of freedom.
Amid the ruins of industry, decaying cities, and poisoned landscapes, a group of rebels rises. They are broken souls and silent fighters, bound together by defiance. Among them is Rae, a young woman mysteriously linked to the stone from the sky, and Tim, a former soldier who has faced the heart of the Falena. Their struggle is not only against oppression, but also against the corruption that gnaws at flesh and mind.
Blending action, introspection, and hauntingly poetic visions, the novel pushes toward a crescendo that questions the fragile boundary between humanity and machine, memory and oblivion, resistance and annihilation.
The story unfolds in three acts: the first explores the meteorite's arrival in the northern lands and the strange mutations it sparks; the second leaps forward a decade, as rebellion ignites and the Falena takes its first steps; the third carries the heroes to the flying city of Fenice, where a desperate final battle awaits.
Simone Stefano Marcocchi, an Italian author with a passion for speculative fiction and dark, atmospheric worlds, presents his debut novel: The Moth That Danced in the Fire.