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.

Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this book, unfortunately I wasn’t able to get to it before it was archived but I’ll definitely be adding it to my to be read list and getting my own copy at some point.

A brilliant and fun sci-fi, something a little different if you're a fan of exciting and high stakes!

A History of What Comes Next was an interesting read for fans of the history of space travel, but at times the story felt too dry to be compelling.

Over thousands of years, a mysterious family of women have shaped society to best push humanity towards space travel. These women, known as the Kibsu, aren’t human, but their history is lost to them. A single mother-daughter pair follow strict rules to fulfil their goals while remaining hidden from a dangerous enemy known as the Tracker. Mia and her mother Sarah are the current iterations of the Kibsu, this time trying to get aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun out of Nazi Germany and into the hands of the Americans. This marks the first in many of their engagement and manipulations in the space race. Meanwhile, Mia struggles to accept her duty. Instead, she pushes against her mother’s adherence to the Kibsu rules and dreams of a life of her own choosing.

A History of What Comes Next was a unique, detailed alternate history focusing on the history of space travel. It described a vivid, believable picture of the past and filled it with recognisable figures and their contributions to the space race. By mixing historical elements with sci-fi and a touch of thriller, A History of What Comes Next was an ambitious read that’s difficult to forget. The coming-of-age story that Mia goes through was well developed – it was easy to feel sympathetic towards her struggles. The book has a dialogue-heavy, stream-of-consciousness writing style, which is an intriguing narrative technique. It might not be for everyone but, it works especially well in the audiobook form, which was fully cast and well-performed. At the same time, the characters lack emotional depth, and it was difficult to fully understand their motivations. This wasn’t helped by the dry tone, especially in the middle where the plot drops off. It took me a long time to read this book, as although I enjoyed it when I picked it up, it wasn’t compelling enough to come back to. Despite this, fans of alternative history novels should check A History Of What Comes Next out as it is a worthwhile read.

Enjoyed this listen, something different.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest feedback.

A thoughtful and harrowing piece that really pulls on your heartstrings.

The voice is personal, intricate and pulls you in from the first line.

I loved this one.

This was an interesting one for sure! It felt like a really gritty plot to get your teeth stuck into, and I couldn't help but be invested in the story. The multi-cast narration of the audiobook really made this one for me - the voice of Mia specifically worked so well in audio format, with her snark and humour being one of the highlights for me. This same humour also provided a nice balance for the darker elements of the story, something that seems to be a trait of Sylvain Neuvel. Though the plot of this didn't have me quite so gripped as his Themis Files series, it still proved to be one I was glad to read!

I think I enjoyed the concept of this book more than actually reading it.
The general plot points , and speculative fiction / science fiction blend was interesting, and the full cast narration of the audiobook was excellent. Each narrator was brilliantly individual. How ever I really struggled
with the writing style, it was very harsh and stilted and alot of the time seemed to be characters inner monologue and observations.
I am not entirely sure if I would carry on the series. If so I would definitely choose the audio.

I’m a huge fan of Neuvel’s Themis files so I was very much looking forward to this book. Sadly it didn’t do it for me. I listened to it as an audio book, and though the narrators were both pleasant, I did find the production a little confusing and hard to follow at times in terms of timeline.

The book is slow. Very slow. If you’re after a fast paced, historical scifi novel, this is not for you. It presents a sort of alternative history — if we had help from a human-like female alien that clones itself — but it is very heavy on the history and light on the action, so unfortunately I did not finish it. I would have liked way more information on the aliens/bigger plan to keep me interested. As it was I found it too invested in detailed historical scenes to work for me.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me the audio book!

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.

This is my first what I would call proper try of an audiobook and what a book to pick and listen to.

I found that the story swept me away and that the narrators helped me enjoy this book so much more than if I were to read it. You could hear the emotion coming through with the narrators voices at the tense parts and it made me feel like I was watching a film of the book being played out in front of me.

The book though not my normal pick was really interesting and enjoyable. The book is about a mother-daughter team Mia (the daughter) and Sarah (the mother) they are an alien race called the Kibsu. They have been around for generations and there is always a mother and daughter of the Kibsu tribe around. The book is about the Kibsu manipulating events so that "man" or the human race can get to Space - take them to the stars before evil comes and kills them all. The problem is as they have been around for generations the real reason why they were racing to the stars has become murkier and less known to the newer generations of the Kibsu and they are racing against the Trackers to get the first man into space.

As I said the book focuses on Mia and Sarah. They navigate through World War II, USSR and even America on their race against who can get the first man in space. Mia the daughter has different thoughts to what her mother Sarah has. I definitely was taken on a ride through the world with this book. I not only learnt more about World War II but also the history of the rocket and how it came about. At times this book was so tense I could feel my heart pounding, this was usually when the Trackers were on the tail of Mia and Sarah.

I felt that at times that I had more questions than answers in regards to the Kibsu, the Trackers and why they were fighting against one another. I got the idea that they were both not from Earth and that they were both on a mission to get back to their home planet - or rather the Kibsu were trying to stop the Trackers from building a rocket to allow others to come to Earth.

The book definitely opened my mind to space travel and that there might be life out there. It was definitely a great book to listen to via audiobook. I don't normally listen/read Sci-Fi books

Absolutely loved the narrators style, in love with her voice. The voice makes us travel and we feel like we are Inside the book, we are part of the journey. It is more of world war stories and aftermath in the beggining, but an absolute perfect one. The narrator makes you feel all the emotions that the character in the books are feeling. The narrator uses voice modulation very brilliantly.

The multi-cast audiobook of A History of What Comes Next by Sylvain Neuvel grabbed me from the introductory chapter and I devoured the whole thing in one night. I was utterly gripped and couldn't bring myself to press pause for any reason.

A History of What Comes Nest is a fast-paced sci-fi thriller and I got completely lost in the story. This is a must-listen to any fans of Ready Player One or The Man in the High Castle. My favourite part of the audiobook was Mia's narration, it felt like a friend telling you a story, her voice was just so real and authentic. I also loved the slow unraveling of the mystery behind Mia, her mother and the generations of women before them, the women in history who have been working to put humanity in to space.

I think this could be thoroughly enjoyable to read in physical form but I definitely recommend the audiobook, I felt it was the perfect way to experience the story, especially with how much of the story is told through dialogue between characters. The cast was perfect and I eagerly await the second book in this series.

Ok, so this is SO GOOD and you need to get your hands on this. It is an alternative history of the Space Race in the 20th century intertwined with the story of the Kibsu, a sort of anomaly where generations of mothers and daughters appear like clones and possess superior brains for science. We meet them at the point where they’re the 99 – the 99th generation, with Sarah as the mother and Mia the daughter. At the start of the story, Mia is nineteen, and on a mission to extract Wernher von Braun for the Americans at the end of World War 2. The story continues until Mia has her own daughter and they become the 100.

One of my favourite aspects of this was the extensive historical notes at the end of the book, explaining about the sources, further reading and historical figures. Can you tell that I’m a nerd? I also really enjoyed the interludes of earlier generations of the Kibsu, visiting eras such as the Dutch witch trials or the medieval Rus’. A History of What Comes Next is meticulously researched, and in addition to being a wonderful novel and story of its own, teaches the reader much about cultural history.

I loved Mia from the start – she is a young woman, headstrong and determined to find her own path. The narration adds to that, portraying her as she is, with nuance and detail – it sounds as if it’s Mia directly speaking to the reader. The interplay of text and delivery is astounding and adds to the enjoyment of the story. The book is narrated by 5 or 6 different narrators, giving each point of view a distinct character.

I cannot recommend this book enough. If you are fascinated by space at all or love science fiction, you have to make sure to give this a shot.

This was a really interesting story. It is a very slow moving book, that moves slowly through the developments leading up to the Space race, from just after the development of the V2 at the end of world war 2 to the first man in space. However, we don’t observe any of these events directly, instead we see them through the eyes of a very mysterious family, a mother and daughter that maybe have more influence on these events that anyone else thinks.

Its one of those books I really can’t quite put my finger on what I liked as when I try to reason it out it doesn’t seem to come out positive, despite that it just really resonated with me. This is a character heavy book, focusing on our mother and daughter pairing and there ancestries contributions to history, but we don’t really get to find out who or what they are. The plot is exciting yet also glacial in speed. Not much seems to actually happen as its not a direct action of the protagonist but more set in motion by their more subtle actions. The reflections on the main pairs ancestors was fun and fascinating but again we didn’t really establish why it was relevant to the plot of this book, yet! I could see some people finding this book weird and confusing but I genuinely really enjoyed it.

I like Neuvel’s writing style, I liked the narrative voices of the characters and how we were teased along by little bits of information about who they are, what they might be, what there mission ultimately is. I have theories and it is making me eager for the next book in the series. I loved the incorporation of real history. I wasn’t completely sure how much was fact and how much was fiction until I reached one of the ancestor flashbacks, where I knew the historical context quite well, and was impressed at how well Neuvel had weaved the fictional characters into the historical events. Probably the most interesting part was the authors note at the end. Neuvel discusses (It is voiced by him in the audio version) his various inspirations from historical events, to places, people, a dog or two and how he tried to incorporate all these events, including some tiny beautiful little details into the work.

As an Audio book this was brilliant. It was full cast which is always awesome. The female voice actresses were fantastic, Jilly bond is a well known narrator and really gives a strong feeling to the character. I did find the male actors a little too similar to distinguish between them sometimes.

When I heard Sylvain Neuvel had a new book releasing, I was beyond excited as I was a big fan of his Themis files. I started reading the galley as soon as I was approved for it but even after days I could barely any headway. Even though the first two chapters were intriguing, the interest soon fizzles out. I couldn’t bring myself to care about the characters or the plot even with the unique and interesting premise. I finally had to dnf the book at 70% as I found myself slipping into a slump. I am sorry to say, this book was not for me.

I was looking forward to reading this book but very disappointed that it was only an extract. I have also been approved for the audiobook so looking forward to finding the time to listen to the full story. So much promise from that one chapter!!!

A History of What Comes Next is book one in Sylvain Neuvel's Take Them To The Stars trilogy and the first full length novel from Neuvel since the conclusion of his Themis Files trilogy in 2018. Beginning in Germany in the final months of World War 2, it follows 19 year old Mia and her mother Sara as they attempt to extract German rocket scientists out of the country and into the custody of the USA. Why? Because Mia and Sara aren't like other humans, they're stronger, smarter and live by a strict set of rules. The most important being "Take them to the stars, before evil comes and destroys them all."

As a fan of the Themis Files both for it's cast of characters and interesting format I was excited and curious to see what Neuvel would do with a historical setting. From the first track the most notable change is the way in which we as listeners are told the story. Whereas the Themis Files was mostly told through interview transcripts and the logs of military personnel, A History of What Comes Next is predominantly told through the personal accounts of Mia and Sara. This format change allows for slower paced world-building which beautifully details Mia and Sara's relationship and how it is changed and challenged as Mia takes on more authority in their mission. Additionally it gives space for our own historical timeline which remains impressibly unchanged, with Mia and Sara acting more as puppeteers from the shadows than front and centre players. All converging to create that most delicious element of great sci-fi, the plausibility of it all being real.

From a character perspective, Mia is a wonderful protagonist. She's ambitious, idealistic, always asking questions and still to make the key mistakes in life that will allow her to grow. Her progression throughout the book is a pleasure to witness and I'm eager to find out how she will develop further in the next installment. In contrast Sara provides information, maturity and knowledge that only be gained through lived experience. She is the gatekeeper to their history. As we're meant to sympathise with Mia at times Sara can feel like an overbearing character. However I believe we will develop a greater understanding of her actions in the following books and I'm intrigued to learn more about her true motivations. Nuevel also delivers a brilliant supporting cast of which my highlights are the 'no bullshit' Billy, the endearing Qian Xuesen and a worryingly charming serial killer.

The audio production also doesn't disappoint, and these books certainly highlight the collaboration of Penguin Random House and ID Audio at it's very best. I love audiobooks that really lean into the format, and having a multicast of narrators allows you to connect to the characters on a much deeper level. The narration was brilliant and my only complaint is that the credits didn't include a cast list. I can safely deduce that Imogen Wilde and Jilly Bond led the cast as Mia & Sara, and given her American accent assume that Laila Pyne was the scene-stealing Billy. Yet will have to do some more digging to figure which narrator had me swooning as the voice of Charles.

A lovely little easter egg at the end of the audiobook is a 45 minute track from the author himself summarising key highlights of the historical research he undertook to write the novel. Honestly Nuevel's enthusiasm and brilliant delivery made it a pleasure to listen to and left me with the desire to did more into the readings he suggests. I do hope the commercial addition comes with a PDF for easy access to the resources mentioned.

I'm very much looking forward to what comes next and whether book two will confirm my theory that this is a prelude to the aforementioned Themis Files.

The concept of this book was just amazing and right up my alley, but that concept seemed to get lost in amongst the real factual history used in this book. I didn’t realise the concept of aliens already being on earth and fighting their own battle would be woven around real people and real events. The real life stuff is actually fascinating but seemed to constrain the fictional idea within this story which made the story telling seem a little flat in places. Would try something else by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK Audio for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this book, I just couldn't get into it at all, I wasn't invested in the story and wasn't going to force myself through it. I'm not going to leave a bad rating because I'm sure this isn't a bad book, it just isn't the one for me.