“A History of What Comes Next is a riveting blend of historical thriller and scientific speculation, which never loses its core of humanity.”—James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling authorFor generations, Mia’s family has shaped human history to push them to the stars. The year is 1945 and now it is her turn. Her mission: to lure scientist Wernher Von Braun away from the Nazi party and into … away from the Nazi party and into the American rocket program, securing the future of the space race.
But there is a threat.
A ruthless enemy lurks behind the scenes.
Sylvain Neuvel’s genre-bending sci-fi thriller is a dark and gripping exploration of the amorality of progress and the nature of violence, as seen through the eyes of the women who make that progress possible and the men who are determined to stop them.
Always run, never fight.
Preserve the knowledge.
Survive at all costs.
Take them to the stars.
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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Sylvain’s Neuvel’s latest genre-bending bit of genius, A History of What Comes Next, is a riveting blend of historical thriller and scientific speculation, which never loses its core of humanity. It’s exciting, thought-provoking, and ultimately shocking in both scope and plotting. It’s the opening gambit in a trilogy that spans decades and promises much more to come. I’m in for the ride to the very end!
An extraordinary twist on the space race and a paean to what smart, strong women can accomplish. I’m always over the moon for Neuvel’s stories!
I was provided an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This comes out Febraury 2, 2021.
I really enjoyed this. It blends two of my favorite genres in a fairly complex storyline. If you have read Neuvel’s work before you will notice a similar feel with the mixed media style of writing and his own brand of humor. There is that same type of format here, where there will be traditional paragraphs of writing then it will break in to dialogue between characters. I actually really enjoyed that, but that format is not something everyone likes and is worth noting.
This follows Sarah and Mia, a mother-daughter pair, who come from a long line of mother-daughter pairs not of this earth. They are the Kibsu, women who live by simple rules but who are always at the forefront of technology and discovery. Sarah has positioned Mia to be part of the space race, and with her brilliant mind and ability to convince other scientists to do her bidding Mia is able to get the smartest men from Germany and Russia to build rockets for her. Meanwhile, Sarah and Mia always have to be on the lookout for the Tracker, an unknown entity that is constantly hunting them.
We slowly learn about the Kibsu, who they are and what they are doing on Earth. There are plenty of unanswered questions, but Sarah and Mia carry out their mission though they aren’t always sure why. For generations the women of the Kibsu have done as their mother’s have bid them, but Mia is trying to break that mold a bit and wants answers to questions math, science, and her mother can’t give her. She doesn’t want to continue running and hiding from an unknown enemy. She does however want to see her ideas and rocketry designs make it to space. The character development is complicated in this book, as we have Mia who wants to break the mold, but there is only so much she can do to get away from who she is at a base level. Sarah has similar feelings, but at the end of the day she must follow the rules all Kibsu women have for generations. While we don’t see much from the perspective of the Tracker, he also has a bit of a struggle with mission over personal choice. This is all set in the real world, during real events beginning in the 40s, so the world building is done very well.
I highly recommend reading the “Further Reading” chapter, as it is basically an author’s note and summary about all of the research he did to write this book. As many of the events in the book are historically accurate, I really appreciate the care he took with the history while also weaving a really wonderful science fiction take around them. I’m a huge fan of this era of history as well as science fiction and I feel that that Neuvel did a great job blending the two. That being said this book is not going to be for everyone. I absolutely loved it, however sci-fi fans who are not big on historical fiction may not and historical fiction fans may find the science and math a bit too technical.
I’m hoping this is a series, as Goodreads now has this labeled as if it is one. I went into reading it as though it were a standalone. It ends as if it could go either way. No major cliffhanger, but definitely room for more. I’d especially like to know more about the Kibsu, I felt like we only learned part of their story and there is so much more to it. If there is more to this story I’d gladly read more.
I really enjoyed this. The way that the author weaves history throughout makes it more interesting as you try to figure out who the Kibsu are. I am hoping that some of the questions I had at the end of this book will be answered in the next novel. I added it to my wishlist. I picked up this book for free from Tor and I’m glad I did. It was a great read for January and I think I will look into reading the other books of this author.
If you enjoyed Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All or The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, you will probably enjoy this book.
Sylvain Neuvel proves once again he deserves the title of the hottest new SF writer of the 21st century ― and this time he does it by looking back at the storied development of rocketry in the 20th. Clever and compelling, with a succession of kick-ass heroines propelling events along via mayhem and murder behind the scenes, A History of What Comes Next blasts off on page one and will keep you enthralled until the end.
Through 99 generations, a pair of Kibsu have shaped Earth’s quest for the stars. The pair is always a mother/daughter and they will go to any lengths to ensure that Earthlings reach the stars. But not everyone wants them to succeed. The Trackers are on their trail and are gaining on them. As the book opens, the Trackers are only 13 years behind Mia and her mother.
This book is hard to categorize as it crosses and blends several genres but doesn’t really settle into any of them.
This may be one of those books that you either like or dislike with equal intensity.
My thanks to Tor and Edelweiss for an eARC.