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A History of What Comes Next

The captivating speculative fiction perfect for fans of The Eternals

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Imagine everything you thought you knew about human progress was wrong. What would you do?

Mia is not sure what she is, but she isn't human. Smarter, stronger than her peers, all she knows are the rules: there can never be three for too long; always run, never fight.

When she finds herself in Germany, 1945, she must turn the Nazi's most trusted scientist with an offer: abandon the crumbling Nazi party, escape Germany with your life, come to work for the Americans building rockets.

But someone is watching her work. An enemy who's smarter, stronger, decidedly not human and prepared to do anything to retrieve something ancient that was long lost.

If only she had any idea what it was . . .

© Sylvain Neuvel 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

 20th Century Fiction First Contact Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Military Science Fiction War & Military Fantasy

Critic reviews

It's fascinating to see how Neuvel weaves together fact and fiction . . . a blast. Seriously clever
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
A dark and ambitious book. Neuvel is forging ahead
Wry narration, wired action . . . Fans of alternate history and intelligent sci-fi will love this

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
Highly crafted and unique
A blast. Seriously clever fun
Praise for the THEMIS FILES
A stellar debut which masterfully blends sci-fi, political thriller and apocalyptic fiction. So much more than the sum of its parts - a page-turner of the highest order
All stars
Most relevant
Loved the story and how it weaves real life history with a fictional narrative. Cast were all excellent, particularly loved the portrayal of Mia. Sylvain Neuvel didn't disappoint again, after reading his sleeping giants trilogy I was eagerly anticipating this new book!

Brilliant story excellently narrated

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I have read the previous stories from author and do enjoy a good syfy read. But felt in some parts it did lag a little.

Good audio version but does lag in parts

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Loved everything about it! Unexpected most of the time, hard to stop listening. Great book.

Pure excellent

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probably the best audio book performance I've ever heard!
Imagen Wilde is brilliant..
A story Brough to life.

amazing

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OK for a start to the series although a little short, can't wait for the next one to see where the story goes.

Brief but good

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