Description

The Sunday Times bestseller. Winner of the Kitschies Golden Tentacle award.

A stunning science fiction debut, The Space Between Worlds is both a cross-dimensional adventure and a powerful examination of identity, privilege, and belonging.

‘My mother used to say I was born reaching, which is true. She also used to say it would get me killed, which it hasn’t. Not yet, anyway.’

Born in the dirt of the wasteland, Cara has fought her entire life just to survive. Now she has done the impossible, and landed herself a comfortable life on the lower levels of the wealthy and walled-off Wiley City. So long as she can keep her head down and avoid trouble, she’s on a sure path to citizenship and security – on this world, at least.

Of the 380 realities that have been unlocked, Cara is dead in all but 8.

Cara’s parallel selves are exceptionally good at dying – from disease, turf wars, or vendettas they couldn’t outrun – which makes Cara wary, and valuable. Because while multiverse travel is possible, no one can visit a world in which their counterpart is still alive. And no one has fewer counterparts than Cara.

But then one of her eight doppelgangers dies under mysterious circumstances, and Cara is plunged into a new world with an old secret. What she discovers will connect her past and future in ways she never could have imagined – and reveal her own role in a plot that endangers not just her earth, but the entire multiverse.

Publisher Review

A witty, deep and savvy tale . . . Fresh and interesting * New Scientist * An imaginative tale of multiverses and doppelgangers * Choice Magazine * Gorgeous writing, mind-bending worldbuilding, razor-sharp social commentary, and a main character that demands your attention - and your allegiance * Rob Hart, author of The Warehouse * A riveting story filled with adventures and emotions * The Nerd Daily * Micaiah Johnson's debut is a punk album, presenting a world where even our possibilities are colonized. I loved every twisting minute of it * Alex White, author of A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe * A dark, provocative read that's both challenging and satisfying * SFX * Johnson excels at contrasting lives of privilege and poverty, and at drip-feeding information that gradually reveals Cara's complex character * Guardian * Johnson bursts onto the scene with this thought-provoking, high-concept sci-fi debut that impresses with exceptional worldbuilding and a distinctive protagonist * Publishers Weekly * Clever characters, surprise twists, plenty of action, and a plot that highlights social and racial inequities in astute prose * Library Journal Starred Review * Fascinating, complicated, compelling . . . this is a jewel of a novel, all the more impressive for being Johnson's debut * Locus * A strong new voice in science fiction * Sunday Times Culture * A gritty, riveting, and ultimately hopeful novel about the people, choices, and relationships who make us who we are - in this world, and in those we can only imagine * Kameron Hurley, Hugo and Locus award-winning author of The Light Brigade * Profoundly satisfying . . . [it] remained two steps ahead of my imagination, rattling it out of complacency and flooding it with color and heat * The New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice * Johnson's debut is a rare bird in any reality: a novel that is twisting, suspenseful, and profound * Max Gladstone, co-author of the Hugo and Nebula-winning THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR *