A History of What Comes Next

Oct 10, 2024 6:35 PM

Author:Sylvain Neuvel

The gripping new speculative fiction as rich as The Man in the High Castle and as packed with thrills as Ready Player One

'Alt-history with a difference' GUARDIAN

'There's real cleverness at work here' THE TIMES

Always run, never fight.

Preserve the knowledge.

Survive at all costs.

Take them to the stars.

_________

Germany, 1945.

Mia, a nineteen-year-old girl, is sent by the OSS to find Wernher von Braun. Her mission: stop the Russians getting hold of Germany's - and the world's - foremost rocket scientist.

Von Braun is suspicious. And so he should be.

For Mia is no ordinary girl. She only looks human. And helping the Allies win the Second World War is only one part of her plan.

Because there's an even darker conflict taking place on Earth. A secret struggle thousands of years old that has engulfed and taken generations of Mia's people.

Can the firing of rockets finally bring about its end? Will Mia, as the last of her kind, bring the stars down to Earth?

And if she succeeds, what will happen to us?

_________

'Wry narration, wired action . . . Fans of alternate history and intelligent sci-fi will love this' Publishers Weekly

'Clever and compelling, it will keep you enthralled until the end' Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of The Oppenheimer Alternative

'Highly crafted and unique' Library Journal

Reviews

It's fascinating to see how Neuvel weaves together fact and fiction . . . a blast. Seriously clever

—— SFX

An alt-history with a difference. Traces the true story of the development of rocket science but adds an alien-conspiracy-theory edge in the shape of a fictional team of mother-daughter clones. Along with the problems faced by women trying to change the world (or at least get men to listen to them), they are threatened by a mysterious 'Tracker' who has spent centuries trying to kill them. Good fun

—— Guardian

A dark and ambitious book. Neuvel is forging ahead

—— SFX Magazine

Wry narration, wired action . . . Fans of alternate history and intelligent sci-fi will love this

—— Publishers Weekly

Clever and compelling, it will keep you enthralled until the end

—— Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of The Oppenheimer Alternative

There's real cleverness at work here. Mia, bent on getting humanity sufficiently technologically developed so that they can leave Earth, makes some dodgy-sounding moral choices as she works towards humanity's salvation

—— The Times

Highly crafted and unique

—— Library Journal

A blast. Seriously clever fun

—— SFX

Horst is a craftsman, and at his best a truly masterful writer of crime novels

—— Stavanger Aftenblad, Norway

Jørn Lier Horst is back with one of the best books in the Wisting series

—— Dagsavisen, Norway

A brilliantly conceived murder mystery set amidst political and social turmoil - beautifully crafted'

—— C. J. Sansom, on Death in the East

The Shadows of Men finds the always reliable ... award-winner Abir Mukherjee on fine form, with his quirky detective duo Sam Wyndham and Surendranath Banerjee struggling to forestall a religious war in 1920s Calcutta after

—— Financial Times

A gripping story, underpinned by the lovely bromance of the two main characters

—— The Times, *Books of the Year*

This is historical fiction of the highest order, and a crime/spy mystery with everything an aficionado of either could want; but it is perhaps the awful timeless resonance of some pervasive background details that hits hardest

—— Quietus

Mukherjee evokes the chaotic atmosphere of his setting wonderfully, and handles his complex plot expertly. Thought-provoking, immersive and gripping in equal measure, this is top-class writing from start to finish

—— Big Issue

Brilliant storytelling; humour, a bit of history and a decent mystery

—— NB Magazine, *Books of the Year*

Captivating, moving and exciting, this is the latest instalment in an unmissable series billed as historical fiction at its finest

—— Sunday Express, *Summer Reads of 2022*

Previous Article：Outbreak Next Article：The Fear Index

Comments

Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.