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Fire In The Clouds
Venus was supposed to be uninhabitable. The MacIver kids are about to discover how wrong that assumption was.
When an ancient call for help draws the MacIver family across the solar system, they arrive on a Venus hidden beneath toxic clouds and violent storms—and find a civilization that should not exist.
The Aphaeans are descendants of the ancient Minoans, carried from Earth thousands of years ago and transformed by generations of life on another world. Their cities hang within the clouds. Their technology is extraordinary. Their culture has survived where humanity believed survival was impossible.
But survival is becoming harder.
Storms are changing. Food systems are failing. One faction believes the answer is greater technological deeper resource extraction, larger interventions, and machines capable of reshaping the atmosphere itself. Others fear that the attempt to save their civilization may be accelerating the very collapse they are trying to prevent.
The MacIvers have not come to Venus as conquerors—or as saviours. They have come as witnesses.
As Deane and the fearless sky-rider Ariaka push toward places Aphaeans have been taught never to go, Brad begins questioning who profits from the systems meant to keep everyone alive, and Allen finds himself at the centre of a conflict where listening may matter more than fixing. What they uncover could change not only what the Aphaeans believe about Venus, but what they believe about their own history.
Blending planetary science fiction, Minoan history and mythology, environmental adventure, disability representation, and found family, Fire In The Clouds asks a question with consequences far beyond one
When does adaptation become control—and how do you know when the thing you are trying to save needs protecting from your solution?
Fire In The Clouds is Book 4 of The MacIver Kids Adventures, a young adult science-fiction series about ordinary kids discovering extraordinary worlds—and learning that courage sometimes begins with seeing a problem differently.
When an ancient call for help draws the MacIver family across the solar system, they arrive on a Venus hidden beneath toxic clouds and violent storms—and find a civilization that should not exist.
The Aphaeans are descendants of the ancient Minoans, carried from Earth thousands of years ago and transformed by generations of life on another world. Their cities hang within the clouds. Their technology is extraordinary. Their culture has survived where humanity believed survival was impossible.
But survival is becoming harder.
Storms are changing. Food systems are failing. One faction believes the answer is greater technological deeper resource extraction, larger interventions, and machines capable of reshaping the atmosphere itself. Others fear that the attempt to save their civilization may be accelerating the very collapse they are trying to prevent.
The MacIvers have not come to Venus as conquerors—or as saviours. They have come as witnesses.
As Deane and the fearless sky-rider Ariaka push toward places Aphaeans have been taught never to go, Brad begins questioning who profits from the systems meant to keep everyone alive, and Allen finds himself at the centre of a conflict where listening may matter more than fixing. What they uncover could change not only what the Aphaeans believe about Venus, but what they believe about their own history.
Blending planetary science fiction, Minoan history and mythology, environmental adventure, disability representation, and found family, Fire In The Clouds asks a question with consequences far beyond one
When does adaptation become control—and how do you know when the thing you are trying to save needs protecting from your solution?
Fire In The Clouds is Book 4 of The MacIver Kids Adventures, a young adult science-fiction series about ordinary kids discovering extraordinary worlds—and learning that courage sometimes begins with seeing a problem differently.
285 pages, Paperback
Published August 25, 2026
About the author
Lawrence Nault
34 books4 followersLawrence Nault is a Canadian author, filmmaker, and host of Stone & Signal whose work explores the intersections of ecology, technology, and human meaning. Writing across speculative fiction, poetry, and other narrative forms, he creates stories that reflect on the futures we are building, the systems that shape our lives, and our evolving relationship with the natural world.
Rooted in Alberta’s Badlands, Nault’s work is grounded in landscape, reflection, and a deep attention to both fragility and resilience. Whether exploring identity in an AI-shaped future, ecological disruption, or the quiet forces that shape human lives, his writing is driven by a belief in the power of story to question, connect, and imagine what comes next.
Beyond the page, his creative practice also includes documentary film and podcasting, including Stone & Signal, a narrative-driven project exploring climate, technology, and the human condition.
Rooted in Alberta’s Badlands, Nault’s work is grounded in landscape, reflection, and a deep attention to both fragility and resilience. Whether exploring identity in an AI-shaped future, ecological disruption, or the quiet forces that shape human lives, his writing is driven by a belief in the power of story to question, connect, and imagine what comes next.
Beyond the page, his creative practice also includes documentary film and podcasting, including Stone & Signal, a narrative-driven project exploring climate, technology, and the human condition.
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