Desolation: The Overdue Library

Hetch didn't mean to destroy the world. She was just curious.

A broken spaceship orbits above, winking from the heavens, taunting those who remain with the proximity of their salvation.

Below, the survivors have forgotten the stars. Reverting to steam power, they create a society of strange rituals amongst the planet's fearsome fauna.

Necessary rituals.

Slowly, this hostile world has twisted the DNA of the remaining humans. So few men are born those precious few must be kept cosseted in the palace. The women must reinvent space travel from scratch in an attempt to reach the orbiting craft and send a signal out for rescue.

Then along comes Hetch.