Sequoia Nagamatsu

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2022FINALIST FOR THE BARNES & NOBLE DISCOVER PRIZE 2022FINALIST FOR THE URSULA LE GUIN PRIZE FOR FICTION 2022WATERSTONES AND ESQUIRE BEST BOOKS OF 2022'Haunting and luminous ... An astonishing debut' - Alan Moore, creator of Watchmen and V for Vendetta'A powerfully moving and thought provoking read. At times sublime, strange and deeply human' Adrian Tchaikovsky, bestselling author of the Children of Time seriesSiberia, 2031. After a virus, unearthed from melting permafrost, unleashes a deadly plague upon humanity, those left alive are forced to adapt to a new world, and do so in myriad moving and inventive ways. Among those adjusting to this new normal are an aspiring comedian, employed by a theme park designed for terminally ill children, who falls in love with a mother trying desperately to keep her son alive; a scientist who, having failed to save his own son from the plague, gets a second chance at fatherhood when one of his test subjects -- a pig -- develops human speech; and a widowed painter and her teenage granddaughter who must set off on cosmic quest to locate a new home planet. A story of unshakeable hope that seamlessly crosses literary lines, How High We Go in the Dark follows a cast of intricately linked characters spanning hundreds of years as humankind endeavours to restore the delicate balance of the world.Wonderful and disquieting, dreamlike and all too possible. [How High We Go in the Dark] reaches far beyond our stars while its heart remains rooted to Earth, and reminds us that our wellbeing depends on the wellbeing of our world - Samantha Shannon, author of The Priory of the Orange Tree

How High We Go in the Dark

Lindsay

Imie Kent-Muller

Esmée Mangoensoewito

Maybe tonight I’ll look at the stars and make up a new constellation for the both of us, a woman standing at the precipice of a great chasm. I'll be here with you.

I consider the stories of the newcomers—what if we did come from above? And what does above mean in a place where we can touch the air beneath our feet? For all we know, we’ve been walking in circles.

Nate

I moved as if the stone path had turned to quicksand. Each step had the potential to stop me in my tracks, my selfish thoughts racing, wanting to keep Fitch here with us somehow, the three of us together. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, told myself to think happy thoughts about intergalactic victory with the help of Space Commander Fitch. I tried to imagine him at his worst, when his paper-thin skin turned impossible colors, as if every cell in his body had been set aflame. I reminded myself that the virus eating at his brain had wrapped around his synapses, stealing a little part of him with each minute—and then I opened my eyes and saw him more alive than he had ever been.

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