Amtrak Wars

Cloud Warrior is the first novel in Patrick Tilley's futuristic epic The Amtrak Wars. In 2015, nuclear war reduces humanity's cities to rubble, poisons the air and turns the grass the color of blood, killing most of the world's population. The series itself takes place in the year 2989, when humanity has split into two groups. The Trackers belong to the Amtrak Federation and live in a network of advanced underground cities. The Mutes survived on the surface and adapted to the radiation, growing stronger through mutation.

The Amtrak Federation is determined to reclaim the surface world for humanity, and over the centuries it expands, killing or enslaving any Mutes in its way. In time, though, the Mutes and their magical powers prove a match for even the Trackers' advanced technology.

Steve Brickman, a newly trained Tracker wingman, joins an elite unit launching a major strike against the Mutes. When he is shot down and captured, he falls in love with one of the supposed enemy and learns that these people are more than the Federation says they are. The film rights to the series have been optioned and are reportedly in development.