Science Fiction

A History of What Comes Next: The captivating speculative fiction perfect for fans of The Eternals

A History of What Comes Next: The captivating speculative fiction perfect for fans of The Eternals

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-11-30 00:16:06
  • Update Date：2025-09-24
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Sylvain Neuvel
  • ISBN：1405945532
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Summary

The gripping new speculative fiction as rich as The Man in the High Castle and as packed with thrills as Ready Player One

'Alt-history with a difference' GUARDIAN
' There's real cleverness at work here' THE TIMES

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

Germany， 1945。

Mia， a nineteen-year-old girl， is sent by the OSS to find Wernher von Braun。 Her mission: stop the Russians getting hold of Germany's - and the world's - foremost rocket scientist。

Von Braun is suspicious。 And so he should be。

For Mia is no ordinary girl。 She only looks human。 And helping the Allies win the Second World War is only one part of her plan。

Because there's an even darker conflict taking place on Earth。 A secret struggle thousands of years old that has engulfed and taken generations of Mia's people。

Can the firing of rockets finally bring about its end？ Will Mia， as the last of her kind， bring the stars down to Earth？

And if she succeeds， what will happen to us？
_________

'Wry narration， wired action 。 。 。 Fans of alternate history and intelligent sci-fi will love this' Publishers Weekly

' Clever and compelling， it will keep you enthralled until the end' Robert J。 Sawyer， Hugo Award-winning author of The Oppenheimer Alternative

' Highly crafted and unique' Library Journal

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Reviews

Daniel ，

A History of What Comes Next was a really good book。 Love the weaving of history and fiction。 The main characters were great and I can't wait to see what happens in the next book！ A History of What Comes Next was a really good book。 Love the weaving of history and fiction。 The main characters were great and I can't wait to see what happens in the next book！ 。。。more

Catherine Holloway ，

This book is written in stream of consciousness style （which I don't like） and Neuvel is a bit self indulgent， but I like the retelling of the space race and the sci Fi horror elements。 This book is written in stream of consciousness style （which I don't like） and Neuvel is a bit self indulgent， but I like the retelling of the space race and the sci Fi horror elements。 。。。more

Subplot enthusiast ，

4。5 - just a pleasure to read/listen to， i loved the style of this book ad enjoyed jumping right in without too any info dumps。 Instantly engaging and easy to accidentaly finishn 1 or 2 sittings。The audiobook was on point！ I dont understand all the negative reviews of this book。

Kelsey Berry ，

I honestly enjoyed Neuvel's story and this book is a worthwhile read for someone who enjoys historical fiction sliced with a bit of fantasy as well as mystery。 Although I wish the book had taken more time to go into the characters' past， I found myself engrossed in following their journey and finding out how they will make it through the challenges they face （without giving away spoilers）。 I can't say this is my favorite， but I am eager to read the second novel in the series when it is released I honestly enjoyed Neuvel's story and this book is a worthwhile read for someone who enjoys historical fiction sliced with a bit of fantasy as well as mystery。 Although I wish the book had taken more time to go into the characters' past， I found myself engrossed in following their journey and finding out how they will make it through the challenges they face （without giving away spoilers）。 I can't say this is my favorite， but I am eager to read the second novel in the series when it is released to see how their storyline continues and what other things we might learn from their past。 。。。more

Alik Tam ，

Carries the same kind of tone and style we've all come to love about Sylvain。 You can tell he is passionate about the stuff he writes and it really does come through。 I found myself enjoying this first book in his new series。 It made me have frequent flashbacks of The Themis Files， with how the characters interact with each other and how the story unfolds。 As always the audiobooks are incredibly voiced and produced。Will be eagerly waiting on what comes next。。。 #2。 Carries the same kind of tone and style we've all come to love about Sylvain。 You can tell he is passionate about the stuff he writes and it really does come through。 I found myself enjoying this first book in his new series。 It made me have frequent flashbacks of The Themis Files， with how the characters interact with each other and how the story unfolds。 As always the audiobooks are incredibly voiced and produced。Will be eagerly waiting on what comes next。。。 #2。 。。。more

Matt Sayler ，

（I read this as a free Tor ebook） I suppose this is historical fiction， though it certainly is fantastic as well。 Our protagonists are a female line of super-human — probably alien — survivors。 Scores of mothers and their clone-daughters have toiled to survive and eventually to build a world advanced enough to escape from。 There are some sadistic baddies to chase them across the globe， but they're almost comically gruesome and incompetent。 Nuevel's writes lightly， in a way that feels like it wou （I read this as a free Tor ebook） I suppose this is historical fiction， though it certainly is fantastic as well。 Our protagonists are a female line of super-human — probably alien — survivors。 Scores of mothers and their clone-daughters have toiled to survive and eventually to build a world advanced enough to escape from。 There are some sadistic baddies to chase them across the globe， but they're almost comically gruesome and incompetent。 Nuevel's writes lightly， in a way that feels like it would sit well in a graphic novel or as the plot of an ironic miniseries。 But he seems to care just enough about his characters to keep you attached to them。This would have been a solid 3-star fantasy， but I enjoyed the historical fiction quite a bit。 Extra bonus for adding a long chapter at the end explaining what parts were history and which were fiction。 （Take note， Neal Stephenson）。 。。。more

Sharon ，

The plot idea is sort of interesting， but I feel like this whole book was more or less a （very slow） build up to the next one in the series。 Exciting sci-fi things could happen， but they don’t happen yet。 I might read the next one because the interesting part （who are the daughters？ Where did they come from？ What is their relation to the Tracker？ What happens when they get off earth？） should happen in the next one。 The style of writing was also not my favorite but we will see if I like it more w The plot idea is sort of interesting， but I feel like this whole book was more or less a （very slow） build up to the next one in the series。 Exciting sci-fi things could happen， but they don’t happen yet。 I might read the next one because the interesting part （who are the daughters？ Where did they come from？ What is their relation to the Tracker？ What happens when they get off earth？） should happen in the next one。 The style of writing was also not my favorite but we will see if I like it more when the plot picks up。 。。。more

Elizabeth Morgan ，

I could not put this down at my self-appointed 'go to sleep now you're an adult with work in the morning' hour for an entire week and if that's not a ringing endorsement， I don't know what is。 I could not put this down at my self-appointed 'go to sleep now you're an adult with work in the morning' hour for an entire week and if that's not a ringing endorsement， I don't know what is。 。。。more

Jaka Tomc ，

Sylvain did it again！ Starts a bit slow but then it develops into a nail-biting page-turner。 I can't wait for Book #2。 Sylvain did it again！ Starts a bit slow but then it develops into a nail-biting page-turner。 I can't wait for Book #2。 。。。more

Nick Reno ，

This was。。。 fine？I was expecting great things because I really liked the Themis Files， but it's just a little lackluster I guess。 There's not really even any satisfying explanations at the end。 It does make me want to go re-read Seveneves though。。。 This was。。。 fine？I was expecting great things because I really liked the Themis Files， but it's just a little lackluster I guess。 There's not really even any satisfying explanations at the end。 It does make me want to go re-read Seveneves though。。。 。。。more

L。 Scott ，

If you liked Kowal's Lady Astronaut series but thought the social commentary could be a bit ham-handed （and even a bit trope-ic） or if you want a less grounded alternate history （with more supernatural elements， like Butler's Patternmaster series）， and especially if your favorite Asimov short story is my favorite "Does a Bee Care？"， then you'll love this。 Can't wait to read Until the Last of Me。 （Hope the high bar of cleverness holds to the key reveal）。 If you liked Kowal's Lady Astronaut series but thought the social commentary could be a bit ham-handed （and even a bit trope-ic） or if you want a less grounded alternate history （with more supernatural elements， like Butler's Patternmaster series）， and especially if your favorite Asimov short story is my favorite "Does a Bee Care？"， then you'll love this。 Can't wait to read Until the Last of Me。 （Hope the high bar of cleverness holds to the key reveal）。 。。。more

Jeremy Vaughan ，

This was an interesting re-telling of a surprising amount of real history， with the main characters thrown in the middle of it。 It was not as good as The Themis Files （absolutely loved that series）， but was entertaining in its own right。 I'd put it on the high side of 3。5 stars， rounded up to 4 for the rating。 This was an interesting re-telling of a surprising amount of real history， with the main characters thrown in the middle of it。 It was not as good as The Themis Files （absolutely loved that series）， but was entertaining in its own right。 I'd put it on the high side of 3。5 stars， rounded up to 4 for the rating。 。。。more

Nikita Yurovski ，

Very well written。 Original idea。 Cant wait fir the second book。

Renee Babcock ，

It's been a while since I sat down to read a book and just kept reading it。 This was a terrific story。 A line of female clones over thousands of years are working to get back to the stars after losing that knowledge in the deep past。 It's clear they aren't quite human to begin with。 The story opens in Germany during WWII and is the story of the beginnings of the space race between the US and Russia。 And the women behind the story are doing their best to keep just ahead of The Tracker， an ancient It's been a while since I sat down to read a book and just kept reading it。 This was a terrific story。 A line of female clones over thousands of years are working to get back to the stars after losing that knowledge in the deep past。 It's clear they aren't quite human to begin with。 The story opens in Germany during WWII and is the story of the beginnings of the space race between the US and Russia。 And the women behind the story are doing their best to keep just ahead of The Tracker， an ancient enemy。 This is just the first book， there's clearly another to come （maybe more？）。 I got this as a freebie from Tor。com， no doubt to pique my interest to buy the next one， which I very likely will do。 （Free books like this work on me all the time。） 。。。more

Pavit ，

This is my first read of Neuvel's work and of couse I intend to get more works of his。 This one is good I should actually give it 5 stars。 That fifth one was withheld because the book 1 is too short to quenchmy thirst。 Sorry， Neuvel。 This is my first read of Neuvel's work and of couse I intend to get more works of his。 This one is good I should actually give it 5 stars。 That fifth one was withheld because the book 1 is too short to quenchmy thirst。 Sorry， Neuvel。 。。。more

Mike ，

I had enjoyed the first couple of books from the Themis Files series。 The style was different and at the end of each book the author gut punched me with the death of characters。 I was given a copy of the book from the publisher， as the second book in the Take Them to the Stars series is getting tee’d up。 What I found wasn’t something that was really interesting and seemed like more of a rehash of character types from the earlier series。It is an interesting idea， though one that starts to fall ap I had enjoyed the first couple of books from the Themis Files series。 The style was different and at the end of each book the author gut punched me with the death of characters。 I was given a copy of the book from the publisher， as the second book in the Take Them to the Stars series is getting tee’d up。 What I found wasn’t something that was really interesting and seemed like more of a rehash of character types from the earlier series。It is an interesting idea， though one that starts to fall apart once dissected。 On one side we have mother-daughter pairs who have a directive to take the humans to the stars。 On the other， are a father-son group that sole reason to live is to track down the women and stop them。 Both are Kibsu， huan looking aliens that need humans to reproduce， the product of which is an exact clone of the alien。 How do the mother-daughter pairs know through their 100 generation history know the path to take humans from the ancient Greeks through to living among the stars？ The Kibsu seem to have a super ability to learn and do math， but they seem limited by the current civilizations perception of reality。 How does someone in ancient Greece know the path to the stars requires higher math， metallurgy， radio， etc？The Kibsu are also hyper violent in their missions。 They have an innate ability to massacre humans when deemed necessary。 They don’t want to be found out， but will destroy without emotion in order to keep their secrets。About half way through， I found myself wondering if anything interesting was to be revealed。 The blurb calls it a satirical view of the space race。 I get it is a message of how women， who were continually held back from science， could have helped vault us forward faster if educated equally as men。 That men want to hold back progress。 Using the style from the Themis Files didn’t work here。 At first I liked Mia， but through the style， she acts more like a modern era teen than one from the 1940’s。 But the style makes the characters here feel like characters from the earlier series。 Then make up weird reasons for why Sarah and Mia decamp from the USA to the USSR: To build out a Soviet rocket program to force the Americans to take the space race seriously。 In my readings， the Soviets didn’t need any outside force to feed their paranoia。While it is fast to move through， the book wasn’t all that satisfying。 。。。more

Katie ，

“Writing in the past was the biggest challenge。 Basically， nothing exists and woman can’t do anything。”Delightfully vicious！ A wild ride and I’m still not quite sure what I’ve just experienced。 Some kind of （view spoiler）[AU with aliens， like a cross between The Matrix and Frankenstein and Carmen San Diego （hide spoiler）]。 The voice of the daughter was a bit anachronistic。 I didn’t mind the oddly formatted speech， although others might。 I wanted to know more about the various histories of the Ki “Writing in the past was the biggest challenge。 Basically， nothing exists and woman can’t do anything。”Delightfully vicious！ A wild ride and I’m still not quite sure what I’ve just experienced。 Some kind of （view spoiler）[AU with aliens， like a cross between The Matrix and Frankenstein and Carmen San Diego （hide spoiler）]。 The voice of the daughter was a bit anachronistic。 I didn’t mind the oddly formatted speech， although others might。 I wanted to know more about the various histories of the Kibsu。 。。。more

Peter Baran ，

A frustrating stab at a conspiracy history of spaceflight whose central premise ends up having too many holes in it for me to enjoy。 The premise is that a family of women （always women and normally just a mother and daughter for reasons which are shakily explained in one of the many historical flashbacks）， have been secretly guiding the course of human technological development to get mankind to take to the stars。 Why， we - and more importantly - then don't know。 Who are they？ They have forgotte A frustrating stab at a conspiracy history of spaceflight whose central premise ends up having too many holes in it for me to enjoy。 The premise is that a family of women （always women and normally just a mother and daughter for reasons which are shakily explained in one of the many historical flashbacks）， have been secretly guiding the course of human technological development to get mankind to take to the stars。 Why， we - and more importantly - then don't know。 Who are they？ They have forgotten。 They know they are different， Mothers always beget daughters who are identical to them。 Where are they from？ They don't know。 Why are they being chased by another family who have a similar simple instruction - namely stop them？ The book throws out a lot of questions and is coy about many of them （there is a suggestion that our family's task will hasten an invasion of earth）。 Around this big plot we have tales of daring-do and spies in WWII and the Cold War where our woman are rescuing Werner Von Braun and helping the Russians design their rockets。 As with any nudge theory the book has to convince it wouldn't have happened without them， and their abject lack of curiosity about their own history and bodies （they are of course mildly superhuman） runs counter to their advanced scientific acumen。 This is the 100th generation - we get historical flashbacks to previous iterations who basically are the Amazons of myth etc and how their rules came about - but they seem too smart and engaged to not be interested in themselves。 And so as the film wraps up with Gagarin in space， and the space race starting （and a whizzbang action climax which adds nothing） it just didn't work for me。 。。。more

Kira ，

DNFI loved The Test， that's why I picked this book up but I just couldn't get into it。 DNFI loved The Test， that's why I picked this book up but I just couldn't get into it。 。。。more

Jeegers ，

I wanted to give Sylvain Neuvel another try， even though I really disliked the last book of the Themis Files but this book has done nothing to change my mind。 It was simultaneously boring， gratuitously icky， and - after reading the epilogue - a weird take on actual historical events and people。

Trigger Warning Database ，

Trigger & Content WarningsRacism & racial slursAntisemitismHomomisiaSuicideMiscarriageBlood & gore depictionBody horrorForced institutionalisationGrief & loss depictionDeath of a childDeath of a parentGenocideGun violenceTortureCar accidentAnimal death

Melliott ，

I was really up for reading this book， based on its description （and some of the reviews）。 I just finished 11-22-63 by Stephen King， and this had a somewhat similar premise in that there were "people" （aliens） interfering with history to direct humankind to a particular path （in this case， building the apparatus to leave Earth for the stars）。 I am a big science fiction fan， a liker of alternate histories， and don't have a problem with hard science in my fiction。 This book includes science-heavy I was really up for reading this book， based on its description （and some of the reviews）。 I just finished 11-22-63 by Stephen King， and this had a somewhat similar premise in that there were "people" （aliens） interfering with history to direct humankind to a particular path （in this case， building the apparatus to leave Earth for the stars）。 I am a big science fiction fan， a liker of alternate histories， and don't have a problem with hard science in my fiction。 This book includes science-heavy sci-fi， historical fiction， stuff about space exploration， a treatment of invisible minorities， mother-daughter relationships， and an intriguing take on aliens。 It sounds perfect。Well。。。it was the most intriguing set-up with the most stultifyingly dull execution ever。 The characters were one-dimensional， self-involved， and isolated， so that you only got to know them through the conversations they had within their own minds。 There was a lot of angst and personal insecurity （the protagonist is a teenager）， a lot of violence， and not much in the way of story。 I say all of this having read only 45 percent of the book， at which point I decided to cut my losses and give it a DNF。 。。。more

Judy ，

I enjoyed this one quite a lot; it was fun envisioning the space program（s） as initiated and encouraged by aliens。 As one who remembers the impact of the launch of Sputnik， cried about Laika， and watched a man walk on the moon， it was all personal to me。

Sarah Louise ，

This is my first Neuvel novel - and I am enthralled！ In a one-sentence synopsis， I would call this book a historical account of the space race if aliens had been the ones orchestrating it， which is a concept that is really interesting to me。 The plot itself moved perhaps a little slow overall and I thought the climax at the end was a little。。。 lackluster？ Maybe happened too quickly？ The author does not shy away from the science and engineering of it （a positive for me， but might not be for every This is my first Neuvel novel - and I am enthralled！ In a one-sentence synopsis， I would call this book a historical account of the space race if aliens had been the ones orchestrating it， which is a concept that is really interesting to me。 The plot itself moved perhaps a little slow overall and I thought the climax at the end was a little。。。 lackluster？ Maybe happened too quickly？ The author does not shy away from the science and engineering of it （a positive for me， but might not be for everyone）。 But overall， I read it quite quickly and was really enjoying the experience。 Neuvel includes a 'further reading' section at the end of the story where he talks about the different events and people and history that he included throughout the novel。 I would strongly recommend not to skip！ His passion for the subject matter， including the space race， climate change， the Amazons， linguistics， etc。， really shines through and made me all the more excited to read more of his collection just to see what he does！ It's very clear that he did a large amount of research for this project just because he's interested and finds it cool。 And finally， Neuvel decided to create a soundtrack for this book which is available on spotify and apple music which I just think is so unique and creative。 。。。more

Roberto ，

Intriguing start to a series， mostly because I am a sucker for the space race。 Preordered the second one。

Rosa ，

Neuvel weaves a very believable tapestry of science fiction and history。 Great Historical Science Fiction。Further Reading: I really appreciated the author not just citing the books used in his research but giving us a quick summary。 That was very informative。 I would have saved a lot of time if I had read that first。 I like to look things up as I read。 Things that I keep thinking about: If you don't know what the cause is， would you still continue the battle？ Where is the "Device" for ET to phon Neuvel weaves a very believable tapestry of science fiction and history。 Great Historical Science Fiction。Further Reading: I really appreciated the author not just citing the books used in his research but giving us a quick summary。 That was very informative。 I would have saved a lot of time if I had read that first。 I like to look things up as I read。 Things that I keep thinking about: If you don't know what the cause is， would you still continue the battle？ Where is the "Device" for ET to phone home？ Are there any birth certificates or Social Security cards for the Aliens？I look forward to the sequel for possible answers and closure。 Rules:Preserve the knowledge。Survive at all costs。Don’t draw attention to yourself。Don’t leave a trace。Fear the Tracker。Always run， never fight。There can never be three for too long。 。。。more

John ，

Meh。 Intriguing concept， mediocre execution。 The jumping around in time said to me that the author wanted a chance to share these other stories from the concept that didn’t relate to the main tale and didn’t have a better way to make them relevant。 I would have wanted a little more explanation OR character depth to make this satisfying。

Angie Boyter ，

The description says "fast moving"。 On the contrary， I found it tedious。 The description says "fast moving"。 On the contrary， I found it tedious。 。。。more

Kaytee ，

This was entertaining and good， and I really loved the historical fiction aspect of it - the post war/space race period is endlessly fascinating。 The complicated relationship between mothers and daughters is an interesting addition to it， and I love a good use of curse words in any book。 I will def read the sequel。

Jester ，

This is a solid 3 star book。 It's enjoyable， it was an easy enough read， just wasn't AMAZING which I'm lucky enough to have been on a tare with recently。 I am curious about how it'll continue but I'm not aching to read more at this point。 This is a solid 3 star book。 It's enjoyable， it was an easy enough read， just wasn't AMAZING which I'm lucky enough to have been on a tare with recently。 I am curious about how it'll continue but I'm not aching to read more at this point。 。。。more

Reference

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