Description

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD 2022
LONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE

A monumental speculative fiction story of love, loyalty, politics and conscience set in parallel Londons

The Ark was built to save the lives of the many, but rapidly became a refuge for the elite, the entrance closed without warning. Years later, Markriss Denny is one of the select few granted entry. He carries with him a closely guarded secret: the ability of his spirit to leave his body and transcend the known world.

But once in, he learns of another who carries the same power, and their existence could spell catastrophe for humanity. Denny is forced into a desperate race to understand his abilities, and in doing so uncovers the truth about the Ark, himself and the people he thought he once knew.

Publisher Review

Courttia's writing is rich with passion and humanity. He manages to convey great depth without ever losing his lightness of touch. A rare feat only reserved for the few -- STEVE McQUEEN Courttia Newland is a formidable writer . . . extraordinary . . . Newland offers a brilliant remix of history . . . This may be a work of speculative fiction but its critical lens is present and prescient * * Financial Times * * A dystopian multiverse imagined at thrilling scale . . . extraordinary . . . the excitement lies largely in its ideas about power and personal responsibility * * Times Literary Supplement * * A vast and wildly ambitious piece of speculative fiction that asks what the world would look like if slavery and colonialism never existed * * Observer * * If you want to know the story of Britain, it's really important to read Newland. There's a reason why the Oscar-winning McQueen is working with him -- LEMN SISSAY * * Observer * * Mightily impressive . . . An extraordinary . . . exploration of history, identity and time * * Daily Mail * * A master storyteller returns with this piece of astonishing speculative fiction, interrogating social inequality, the complexities of truth and the very essence of what it is to be human, all in Newland's precise and powerful prose -- NIKESH SHUKLA Gloriously enthralling. An immersive, ambitious reimagining of the city from a formidable British voice. Newland's magnum opus -- IRENOSEN OKOJIE There is something televisual in the way Newland pitches his new novel: lots of visual description, busy with incident and plotty twists and turns . . . readable and absorbing . . . no one can doubt the sheer energy and verve of Newland's vision * * Guardian * * A masterful reimagining of the African diaspora's influence on England and on the world. It's a grand tale and still an intimate portrait of loss and love. What glory and influence would Africa enjoy if colonialism had never occurred? Courttia Newland reshapes our vision of the past, present and future by taking this one question seriously. The result is something truly special. No other way to put it, this book is true Black magic -- VICTOR LaVALLE