In her debut novel, San Diegan Kirsten Imani Kasai takes readers to the frozen land of the Sigue where the tale of Sorykah Minuit unfolds. In Ice Song (2009, Del Rey, $15, paper) Kasai weaves the concepts of gender identity, science and the fierce devotion of a mother who will go beyond all odds to save her children.

Sorykah, an engineer and the sole woman aboard the ice-drilling submarine, Nimbus must reclaim her infant twins, from a madman who abducts babies to use in his dreadful experiments. In this futuristic sci fi thriller, Sorykah and her male alter-ego, Soryk, must cross icy wastes and a primeval forest to get the children back. Complicating the dangerous journey is the fact that Sorykah and Soryk do not share memories: Each disorienting transformation is like awakening with a jolt from a deep and dreamless sleep.

The world through which the alternating lives of Sorykah and Soryk travel is both familiar and surreal. Environmental degradation and genetic mutation run amok; humans have been distorted into animals and animal bodies cloak a wild humanity. But it is also a world of unexpected beauty and wonder, where kindness and love endure amid the ruins.

Available at local booksellers, http://www.icesong.com and online at borders.com and amazon.com.