Annals of Altair Books in Order

The Annals of Altair is a dystopian fantasy series set in a future southwestern United States where the government keeps a close grip on gifted children. At the center is the Prometheus Institute, a school system that identifies, trains, and controls young people with unusual abilities.

The first book, A Boy Called Hawk, begins with a chase. Ten-year-old Oliver Dunn is told to help retrieve four children who have escaped the Institute: Hawk, Hummer, Honey, and Happy West. Oliver has a handler named Emily, official backing from the powerful Government-Civilian Alliance, and a job that sounds simple until he learns the West siblings had good reasons to run.

The series gets much of its tension from the gap between what the authorities say and what the children experience. Oliver begins as someone trying to follow the system's rules, while the West siblings know the system is not built to protect them. Their gifts give the story a speculative edge, but the real pressure comes from surveillance, loyalty, manipulation, and the question of who gets to decide a child's future.

A Rumor of Real Irish Tea shifts more attention to Oliver and Emily after they land at Prometheus Institute's F Campus. The West children are still looking for clues about the mysterious Altair, and Oliver is again pulled into the effort to stop them. New allies and adversaries widen the world while the government response becomes more dangerous.

Nothing stays simple for long.

In Oliver Invictus, Oliver faces an even more personal crisis when he is sent toward a secretive campus where anomalies disappear. A revolt at Prom-F and the arrival of a powerful rogue projector force him into a difficult position: the people in charge need his help, but helping them may mean serving the very system he no longer trusts.

These books are best read in order. Expect a fast-moving, clean-minded mix of escape story, government conspiracy, unusual powers, and young characters learning that obedience and safety are not always the same thing.