A History of What Comes Next

A Take Them to the Stars Novel

By: Sylvain Neuvel

Narrated by: Andrew Byron, Dugald Bruce Lockhart, Imogen Wilde, Jilly Bond, Kevin Shen, Laila Pyne, Richard Trinder, Sylvain Neuvel, Thomas Judd

Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

This program includes additional material read by Sylvain Neuvel, and a bonus conversation with narrators Jilly Bond and Imogen Wilde.

Showing that truth is stranger than fiction, Sylvain Neuvel weaves a sci-fi thriller reminiscent of Blake Crouch and Andy Weir, blending a fast moving, darkly satirical look at 1940s rocketry with an exploration of the amorality of progress and the nature of violence in A History of What Comes Next.

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

Over 99 identical generations, Mia’s family has shaped human history to push them to the stars, making brutal, wrenching choices and sacrificing countless lives. Her turn comes at the dawn of the age of rocketry. Her mission: to lure Wernher Von Braun away from the Nazi party and into the American rocket program, and secure the future of the space race.

But Mia’s family is not the only group pushing the levers of history: an even more ruthless enemy lurks behind the scenes.

A darkly satirical first contact thriller, as seen through the eyes of the women who make progress possible and the men who are determined to stop them....

This program is read by: Jilly Bond, Imogen Wilde, Richard Trinder, Laila Pyne, Andrew Byron, Thomas Judd, Dugald Bruce Lockhart, and Kevin Shen, with additional material read by the author.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor.com

©2021 Sylvain Neuvel (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Adventure, suspense, mystery, sci fi

I really enjoyed this book. The performances of the narrators were good and compelling, and really gave life to the characters without it feeling like I was listening to radio theatre. i found the story to be compelling as well. Some aspects of it felt a bit "fanfiction"-y considering the main characters being inserted in key moments in modern human history/being the first to realize a scientific discovery, etc, but i didn't mind it at all. I love alternate history stories, and this was an interesting take on the idea of people working in the shadows to move society in a certain direction. i would recommend this book, definitely.

interesting, convoluted-can't wait for the next!

The narrators were EVERYTHING in this slightly confusing story! they kept me on the edge of my seat even though I wasn't always sure what was going on at all times. Historical fiction-CHECK. SF-CHECK. ALTERNATE REALITY-CHECK. can't wait to get more answers about what's actually going on in this interesting & wholly original story in the next installment!

stale at best

this book was very stale and pretty cut and paste-like. but good job on the research. it's a lot like more than human from the sleeping giants trilogy.

Not great

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it is not what I got. It just wasn't a compelling story and I struggled to finish. The voice actors were fine, but they'd interject shouts and groans that were really jarring and a different volume. I did NOT like that at all. I don't dislike it enough to return it but I wouldn't read any sequels. One was enough.

Great book!!!

A History of What Comes Next by Sylvain Neuvel was the 5th novel by the author I've read now, and I find I really enjoy his writing style and subject matter.

Without giving away too much of the story, we follow a mother and daughter with a very unique set of skills and knowledge, and a singular life goal to move humanity closer to human space travel by any means necessary. And there is another being that is tracking them to stop them, and kill them at any cost.

This particular novel has to be destined to be another trilogy, or at least it better be, because so much is left undone, and so many questions left to be answered. And the next book should make for an awesome story with this novel setting the stage. I recommend this book, or any of the authors novels, especially The Themis Files trilogy. A 4 out of 5 star read, and I'm looking forward to his 2nd in the series.

Great story, riveting narration

My only problem was that it ended too abruptly. Need to set up the sequel...

really cool

enjoy this much more than I thought I would, based on the first quarter so of the book. can't wait to read the next one, and if you do read this, I highly highly highly recommend the companion recordings. they are fascinating.

Sylvain Neuvel has a theme and he marvels at it

Turning historical facts, and scientific ideas into a goldmine of a story and doing so while exploring obscure made up civilizations is something Neuvel is doing so so well.
I couldn’t stop listening to this first book (which I came to read after plowing through The Themis Files) and I’m stopping to write this before diving into the second book.

The performance in the audiobook is fantastic and adds so much life to the world Neuvel created.

Get it. Now.

Entertaining

While not my kind of literature, I found this entertaining and creative but not something I would choose again.

Surprising story

I liked the story, I really wanted to know more by the end. I wish there was a second book. The interview at the end was great.