Older, Daniel José

Daniel José Older, a lead story architect for Star Wars: The High Republic, is the New York Times bestselling author of the sci-fi adventure Flood City, and the monthly comic series The High Republic Adventures. Shadowshaper, part of the YA series the Shadowshaper Cypher, was named one of the best fantasy books of all time by Time magazine and one of Esquire’s 80 Books Every Person Should Read. In Ballad & Dagger: An Outlaw Saints Novel (Rick Riordan Presents), we meet Mateo Matisse. Almost 16 years ago, Mateo’s island homeland disappeared into the sea. The survivors of San Madrigal’s sinking escaped to New York and still dream of finding a way back home. But Mateo, now a high school junior and piano prodigy, just wants to get the attention of music legend Gerval. He gets his chance on the night of the Grand Fete, an annual party celebrating the blended culture of pirates, Cuban Santeros, and Sephardic Jews that once created San Madrigal. But the evil that sank the island has caught up with the survivors. After he witnesses a brutal murder, deadly secrets unravel, and Mateo awakens a power within himself that could unlock the mystery behind his lost homeland.