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A History of What Comes Next: A Take Them to the Stars Novel Kindle Edition
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“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 author
For 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 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.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherTordotcom
- Publication dateFebruary 2, 2021
- File size5874 KB
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Editorial Reviews
Review
Praise for A History of What Comes Next:
“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!” ―James Rollins
"All good fun." ―The Guardian
"[This series] is filled with virtually limitless narrative possibilities." ―Kirkus
"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!"―Delilah S. Dawson
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.
―Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of The Oppenheimer Alternative
"A highly crafted and unique look at the space race, through the eyes of those who exist only to ensure its success... Neuvel’s intriguing first-contact story is set through centuries of manipulation and pursuit. It’s a promising start to what looks to be a dark and exciting trilogy." ―Library Journal
"The balance of wry narration, wired action, and delicate worldbuilding make for deeply gratifying reading. Fans of alternate history and intelligent sci-fi will love this." ―Publishers Weekly starred review.
More Praise for Neuvel:
"Thought-provoking and disturbing. A cautionary tale illuminated with dark enlightenment."―Kirkus reviews, starred review on The Test
“As high-concept as it is, Sleeping Giants is a thriller through and through. . . . Not only is Sleeping Giants one of the most promising series kickoffs in recent memory, it’s a smart demonstration of how science fiction can honor its traditions and reverse-engineer them at the same time.” ―NPR
"But the most surprising thing about the book may just be how compelling the central characters are in the midst of these larger-than-life concepts. . . . I can’t stop thinking about it." ―The Chicago Review of Books
“Reminiscent of The Martian and World War Z, Sleeping Giants is a luminous conspiracy yarn that shoots for (and lands among) the stars.” ―Pierce Brown
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B0879GLMQ9
- Publisher : Tordotcom; 1st edition (February 2, 2021)
- Publication date : February 2, 2021
- Language : English
- File size : 5874 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 290 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #72,461 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Sylvain Neuvel dropped out of high school at age 15. Along the way, he has been a journalist, worked in soil decontamination, sold ice cream in California, and peddled furniture across Canada. He received a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Chicago. He taught linguistics in India, and worked as a software engineer in Montreal. He is also a certified translator, though he wishes he were an astronaut. He likes to tinker, dabbles in robotics and is somewhat obsessed with Halloween. He absolutely loves toys; his girlfriend would have him believe that he has too many, so he writes about aliens and giant robots as a blatant excuse to build action figures (for his son, of course).
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Most of this book, which is described as the first in a series, takes place in the 1940s and 1950s. Sarah and Mia are trying to kickstart space travel, first starting in Germany with Wernher von Braun, then moving to the Russian space program and then back to the US. Mia, at 19, becomes the driving force behind "Operation Paperclip", the very real attempt to get von Braun and his chief scientists to escape the oncoming Russians. Mia is a math and physics whiz and gives von Braun advice on how to improve his rockets. She then goes to Russia and does the same for them, always trying to stay a step ahead of The Tracker.
Along the way, there are flashbacks to previous generations of Kibsu women, smart and pragmatic. Nearly all of the events the Kibsu appear in, and the people they interact with, really existed, with some of the actions of the Kibsu being taken from that done by others in the past. Many of these historical events and people I was unaware of, though I did recognize some names thrown out in passing (such as SF author and rocket scientist G. Harry Stine.) Neuvel has an extensive afterword where he talks about the people and events, and gives links to articles about them.
Have I said recently how much I detest books that don't resolve any major plot points and leave everything hanging for a follow-on book? Well, I do, and that's what annoyed me about this one. Yes, a lot of interesting and exciting things happen along the way, many of them requiring me to willingly suspend disbelief, but I got to the end and.. bleah. Who are the Kibsu, exactly? They seem human, but in some ways aren't (for example, they're never supposed to let their blood be examined, and they heal super-fast.) There are some hints along the way, but the answer is not revealed in this book.
In some ways I was reminded of Terry Pratchett's delightful "Bromeliad Trilogy" (Diggers, Truckers, Wings), which also features beings who have lived for many generations alongside humans, fearing discovery and discovering their true purpose (and there is also a "Machine"!) Book two is scheduled to be published in March 2022.
Top reviews from other countries
This book is short but lot of fun reading. Will definitely recommend if you are a sci-fi fan.





