Cover Image: A History of What Comes Next

A History of What Comes Next

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Member Reviews

This was a really interesting and unusual alternative history looking at the space race with a science fiction spin. I loved the way the narrative was structured, split into acts which focused on Mia as she attempted to influence various rocket scientists to reach for the stars. The idea that technological breakthroughs are the result of alien manipulation is not a new one, but it is given a fresh go around here to good effect. The constant push and pull between Mia and Sarah and the Trackers kept the tension levels high and overall, I found the plot very compelling. I will be picking up the sequel very soon.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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This is an engrossing story following the lives of several generations of women as they work to push humanity towards space travel. The main characters have been working towards this goal for almost 100 generations now. The main focus is on Mia and her mother who are referred to as the "99", however there are several flashbacks to previous generations.

The author has clearly done their research, although I didn't have a huge connection to the characters and think I would have enjoyed it more if there was less of a focus on the 99 but more showed a much broader range of characters. Hopefully the sequels will show more of this, along with explaining a bit more about why and how they are able to wield such influence.

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This galley only included the first couple of pages. Not nearly enough to judge the book, apart from its stunning cover that is.

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If this was any other author I probably wouldn't have been interested because of the alternative history in regards to the Nazi party. Thankfully, the plot was much different to what I expected and has the two great female lead characters.
The story flows well and kept me interested. I did sometimes wonder if I had missed something regarding the the 'why' of the mission, however, this was explained later.
The book has a satisfactory ending but also sets up the trilogy very well. I wont be surprised if the subsequent books are even better due to the setup.

I'd strongly advise anyone picking up this book to go for the audiobook. Like the authors previous books this one is not written like a standard novel and it seemed much more like a radio play to me.
The mother and daughter narrators (Jilly Bond and Imogen Wilde) are excellent and I wasn't surprised to learn they are real life mother and daughter. The chemistry is real.
A very minor niggle would be a couple of lines delivered by Male narrators didn't seem to fit the tone of the rest of the performance. I did wonder if these lines were recorded separately.

At the end of the audiobook there were some great additions. The interview with the narrators was very interesting. I especially liked the 'Further reading- Not as boring as it sounds, I swear' section of the book. It explained some of the research that the author undertook and its correlation to real world event. There is also a playlist of music to go along with the book.

Much appreciated.

Excited to see where the next installment of the series goes.

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The sample is interesting, I think this is going to be a very interesting and fascinating story
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

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Thanks to Netgalley for a digital sample in exchange for an honest review :) I find it really hard to rate a sample. This sounded very interesting and I am excited for another book by Sylvain Neuvel. I loved reading his series The Themis Files - one of my all time favoruite series. I was very excited to hear the author is coming with a new science-fiction series. This little extract/sample left me with a lot of questions and I am quite curious about how the story is going to go. Loving it!

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This sneak peek has definitely left me wanting more! I don't have enough to form an opinion that truly reflects the rest of the book, but I'm already intrigued by the plot, by Lili and her relationship with her mother. The writing style is great, very readable! I definitely want to pick up this book when I get the chance.

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Always run, never fight.
Preserve the knowledge.
Survive at all costs.
Take them to the stars.

An interesting example of satire, raising many issues that need further discussion. Blurring the lines of fact and fiction, you won't want to put the book down.

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The Sneak Peek was enough to tempt me to read more but not enough to form a proper opinion. The story starts well, in medias res, and I found myself supporting Lili silently. Let's hope she makes it.

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This was a very intriguing preview!

The strong narration style is what most drew me about these first few pages of the book. First-person narration can be awfully generic or the perfect choice - here it is perfect. I can already get a sense of the complexity of the main character.

Plot-wise, it also seems great! We jump right into the action from the beginning which is a good indication that the rest of the story will be a fast-paced adventure. This extract has definitely convinced me to seek out the full novel.

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Such a tease! Neuvel somehow always gets me hooked on these sci-fi series within very little time.

Must get my hands on the full novel. Mia seems like my kind of main character and the premise is just this side of weird enough to keep me going.

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It is an excerpt but after reading the minimal chapters, I am excited about this novel. I have read Neuvel's books and I am sure that I would love this next book from him.

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e-Arc provided by Penguin Michael Joseph UK via NetGalley for review. All thoughts are my own.

This e-arc only contained the first chapter of the book, so I do not think I was able to get a good view of the story to be able to review it fully.

The writing style was strange, and I definitely think this is a book that would take a few chapters to get into. I would be interested in picking up the full book in future, and seeing if I like it. However, the first chapter preview did not do anything to grab my attention.

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I was very happy to receive a 2-chapter preview of #AHistoryofWhatComesNext
from #Netgalley, thank you. As someone dipping their toe into speculative historical fiction, as well as a fan of the stories of space flight and the Cold War, I was curious to see how the era around the end of World War 2 around the German rocket programme would be treated. This was a just single chapter preview so it didn’t get very far into the backstory and initial plot, but by the end of the preview I was interested enough to want to buy the book.

I especially liked the fact that the author provided a listening playlist to go along with the chapters, I think most people will agree that music heavily influences mood and anything that adds to the feel of a book as you are reading is especially good.

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Great extract. Really left me wanting to read more, especially after reading the description of the book and the sci-fi element to it. I love the idea of a play list. It adds an extra level to it.

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A very intriguing extract - I look forward to reading more! I love the included playlist too, a very cool idea.

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Read the extract whilst listening to the playlist and this little bit is enough to grip me. I definitely want to read this book!

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*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book!*

Oh man. What a book.

For those who enjoyed Sylvain Neuvel's first series, The Themis Files, I think you'll at the very least enjoy this, if not love it. The nerdy, research heavy influences are STRONG in this one and it is glorious to read. The joy and excitement that seeps into your reading experience, purely from knowing that the author had a great time writing it, is wonderful.

Yo this book is SO FAST PACED. I did get the audiobook (and have a physical copy on the way... and have an eARC... anyway) and I could not stop listening. I listened to it from start to finish in one sitting. Do you ever stare at the wall as you're listening to something because you're so captivated? Yeah it was like that.

I do see where other people are coming from when they say the characters didn't have the depth they wanted, but honestly there was just so much going on it would've been difficult to fit that in while keeping it at the length it is. Would I have liked further character study? Yes, definitely. This is probably the thing that made me drop my rating from a 5 to a 4 (or if we're being picky, a 4.5).

HOWEVER. The relationships we get in this book are just so realised. I adore Mia and I loved the mother-daughter relationship in this - the themes of protection and legacy came through so strongly, almost tangibly. If you're a parent, I think this will reach you on a different level. Need I mention that this book is SAPPHIC and is (I think?) a little bit polyamorous???? From your local neighbourhood polyamorous bisexual, let me tell you that this was exactly what I needed.

The book is dark at times - never mind the Nazi stuff, it goes beyond that. Torture, miscarriage, murder, rape, attempted rape, death of animals, and probably more that I'm missing. While I am sensitive to a few of these, they didn't affect me in this instance but I would still urge you to go in with caution.

My heart raced, I held my breath, I listened so intently I missed everything else going on around me... it felt like a genuine Experience.

I love Sylvain Neuvel's writing with my whole heart, and I can't believe I've finished it already. I can't wait to re-read it and I NEED THE NEXT ONE NOW.

*Thanks again to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book!*

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After reading the Themis Files series and loving Neuvel’s characters and world building A
History of What Comes Next seemed like an intriguing story that I just couldn’t pass up. After reading the sample this holds true. I definitely need to read the entire book as I’m a,ready can’t up in the story and need to know what’s going to happen to the main protagonist and the German scientist she’s been sent to capture or kill. The playlist of songs for each cheer of the book and year it’s set in will make the whole story more immersive. It’s off to a great start i just need to know hat happens next! 3 stars for capturing attention

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A highly enjoyable reimaging of the space race driven by an alien mother and daughter. Mia and her mother Sarah are the Kibsu, an alien race who over 99 generations have pushed to get humans to the stars and drive the space race of the 20th century. It mostly focuses on the end of ww2 with Mia getting involved with Operation Paperclip in which the Americans recruited Nazi scientists such as those who worked on the V-2 rocket as part of her and her mother's mission to take humanity to the stars. They later then move to Russia to develop rockets and boom we have the start of the cold war and the space race. I liked how it goes into the science of it, not in so much detail that as someone with a high school understanding of science I was completely overwhelmed but rather intrigued and as such found the afterword in which Neuvel delves deeper into it fascinating.

But that is not the only time period we are shown in the book. We have short chapters that look at the different lives of the 99 generations of the Kibsu, from the Amazons to Olga of Kiev and many more landmark historical moments. It’s a great weaving of history and sci-fi spotlighting the treatment of women through it all. It was the perfect mix for me as I both love history and sci-fi. If you’re not particularly interested in the history side especially that of the space race then this might not be the book for you but it gave me a better insight into a part of history I only vaguely knew about which I loved. I especially liked the inclusion of Lavrentiy Beria, truly one of the most awful people in history and the real life line ‘it’s not a bouquet, it’s a wreath and I hope it rots on your grave’. Pathetically funny in context since he says it after Mia has fought him off and his attempts to rape her but not so much when you find out that the real women he said it too was then sent to the gulags soon after. The afterword also gives more detail about the history explored in the book and I wish more historical books added this kind of afterword to share the weird and wonderful things they found in the research.

I received an audiobook proof from Penguin, and I think this has been one of my favourite audiobooks of all time. It’s a full cast of narrators and all the performances were amazing. After reading some of the mixed reviews for this book I think I can put a lot of the enjoyment not only down to how much I liked the historical setting but due to an excellent listening experience. I loved the accent for Billy, Mia’s girlfriend and I could have listened to a whole book with just that voice. The narrator for the tracker brought a lot to the character. The Tracker is similar to the Kibus, the same race of aliens but they spend their generations tracking down the Kibus and the Kibus live in fear their whole lives of being discovered by them. The narrator brought a lot of terror to the Tracker and some of my favourite chapters were following his pov.

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