Liu Cixin

'Cixin Liu is the author of your next favourite sci-fi novel' WIRED. Eight years ago and eight light years away, a supermassive star died. Tonight, a supernova tsunami of high energy will finally reach Earth. Dark skies will shine bright as a new star blooms in the heavens and within a year everyone over the age of thirteen will be dead, their chromosomes irreversibly damaged. And so the countdown begins. Parents apprentice their children and try to pass on the knowledge they'll need to keep the world running. But the last generation may not want to carry the legacy of their parents' world. And though they imagine a better, brighter future, they may not be able to escape humanity's dark instincts... 'China's answer to Arthur C. Clarke' THE NEW YORKER. 'Wildly imaginative, really interesting ... The scope of it was immense' BARACK OBAMA.

The Supernova Era

This was more interesting at the beginning than it was in the middle and end. 

The best game is war, tanks are children's favourite toys, the pacifist in me hated this concept.

Liam Richardson

This was more interesting at the beginning than it was in the middle and end. 

The best game is war, tanks are children's favourite toys, the pacifist in me hated this concept.

Supernova Era is a foundational work from New York Times bestselling author of The Three Body Problem. Written in 1989, it's now being translated into English for the first time and includes a new afterword from the author. In those days, Earth was a planet in space. In those days, Beijing was a city on Earth. On this night, history as known to humanity came to an end. Eight light years away, a star has died, creating a supernova event that showers Earth in deadly levels of radiation. Within a year, everyone over the age of thirteen will die. And so the countdown begins. Parents apprentice their children and try to pass on the knowledge they'll need to keep the world running. But the last generation may not want to carry the legacy of their parents’ world. And though they imagine a better, brighter world, they may bring about a future so dark humanity won't survive.

Supernova Era

brendan sudol

fascinating and grim story, clear and lyrical prose

Shafel McDowall

Lord of the Flies, but make it sci-fi.
Instagram|Twitter|Blog Website

Ben Nathan

I really like the first half of the book. Really interesting premise and the way it started seemed like something really cool was going on. Then the early thread (it's being looked at from the future) is lost and it gets bogged down in the "olympics" and that was not enjoyable. Plus his way of talking about kids was either genius or sociopath and nothing much in between. I wish it had continued in terms of what would building that world look like, not what pointless side quests might occupy people. If the olympics had been a short short short thing to get to the ending and then did more after, I would have enjoyed more.

MJ Oberer

Erik Pavletic

Satyajeet Pal

Bastian

Cory Forsyth

Evan Huang

Yeng Tan

When radiation from a supernova kills all the adults, the children become divided: some forge an imitation of the previous society; the others devolve into savagery and violence. Celestial giants don't go peacefully. They tear themselves to pieces, unleashing a tsunami of ultra high-energy radiation. Eight years ago and eight light years away, a supermassive star died and tonight its supernova shockwave will finally reach Earth. Dark skies will shine bright as a new star blooms in the heavens and within a year everyone over the age of thirteen will be dead, their chromosomes irreversibly damaged. And so the countdown begins. Parents apprentice their children and try to pass on the knowledge they'll need to keep the world running. But the last generation may not want to carry the legacy of their parents' world. And though they imagine a better, brighter future, they may not be able to escape humanity's darker instincts.

Annalena Sell

From science fiction legend Cixin Liu, the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of The Three-Body Problem, comes a vision of the future that reads like Lord of the Flies on a global scale in Supernova Era. In those days, Earth was a planet in space. In those days, Beijing was a city on Earth. On this night, history as known to humanity came to an end. Eight light years away, a star has died, creating a supernova event that showers Earth in deadly levels of radiation. Within a year, everyone over the age of thirteen will die. And so the countdown begins. Parents apprentice their children and try to pass on the knowledge needed to keep the world running. But when the world is theirs, the last generation may not want to continue the legacy left to them. And in shaping the future however they want, will the children usher in an era of bright beginnings or final mistakes? "This audacious and ultimately optimistic early work will give Liu's English-reading fans a glimpse at his evolution as a writer and give any speculative fiction reader food for deep thought." -- Shelf Awareness At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Supernova Era

Reviews