Those Beyond the Wall

A Novel

By: Micaiah Johnson

Narrated by: Angel Pean

A searing sci-fi thriller about a woman reckoning with her past to solve a series of sudden and inexplicable deaths in the face of a coming apocalypse—from the Compton Crook Award-winning author of The Space Between Worlds.

“A bold, beautiful, gut-punch of a story, at turns ferocious and poetic—and sometimes both at once.”—Veronica Roth, New York Times bestselling author of Chosen Ones

“[Those Beyond the Wall] reads like Mad Max: Fury Road was written by Phillip K. Dick and N.K. Jemison.”—CrimeReads

A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • SHORTLISTED FOR THE URSULA K. LE GUIN PRIZE FOR FICTION

In Ashtown, a rough-and-tumble desert community, the Emperor rules with poisoned claws and an iron fist. He can’t show any sign of weakness, as the neighboring Wiley City has spent lifetimes beating down the people of Ashtown and would love nothing more than its downfall. There’s only one person in the desert the Emperor can fully trust—and her name is Scales.

Scales is the best at what she does: keeping everyone and everything in line. As a skilled mechanic—and an even more skilled fighter, when she needs to be—Scales is a respected member of the Emperor’s crew, who’s able to keep things running smoothly. But the fragile peace Scales helps to maintain is fractured when a woman is mangled and killed before her eyes. Even more incomprehensible: There doesn’t seem to be a murderer.

When more bodies start to turn up, both in Ashtown and in the wealthier, walled-off Wiley City, Scales is tasked with finding the cause—and putting an end to it by any means necessary. To protect the people she loves, she teams up with a frustratingly by-the-books partner from Ashtown and a brusque-but-brilliant scientist from the City, delving into both worlds to track down an invisible killer.

But the answers Scales finds are bigger than she ever could have imagined, leading her into the brutal heart beneath Wiley City’s pristine façade and dredging up secrets from her own past that she would rather keep hidden. If she wants to save the world from the earth-shattering truths she uncovers, she can no longer remain silent—even if speaking up costs her everything.

©2024 Micaiah Johnson (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A bold, beautiful, gut-punch of a story, at turns ferocious and poetic—and sometimes both at once.”—Veronica Roth, New York Times bestselling author of Chosen Ones

“Those Beyond the Wall is a standout novel with painful clarity of voice; [it is] savage, yet humane. Micaiah Johnson has more than delivered on the promise of her exceptional first novel with a follow-up that is even more tightly plotted and more vividly characterized.”—Elizabeth Bear, Hugo Award-winning author of Ancestral Night

“[Those Beyond the Wall] reads like Mad Max: Fury Road was written by Philip K. Dick and N. K. Jemisin.”—CrimeReads

Beautifully powerful

Johnson created such a rich world. I love the way she wrestles with loyalty and violence. Her writing is so beautiful and the narration enhances it. Highly recommend.

Can’t get enough

Absolutely loved it!! Can’t wait for more. She. Knows how to bring the characters to life in a way that makes them seem familiar, you get to know them intimately..

An unusual, unexpected, fantastic voice in sci-fi

Loved the story line. Plenty of twists and turns. Brings the problems of inequity we see in our world into another. Feels very Star Trek to see our issues in a completely different setting . So happy to have a sequel to the previous book. My favorite part was to have 2 women of color, 1 who wrote and one who read the story give a rarely heard perspective in sci-fi. We need more women in this genre.

This is a lovely sequel.

This book takes you to another world. It's beautiful and layered and complex. The characters are multidimensional and interesting. We'll done.

Worthy sequel

Well paced narration and story. I would definitely recommend listening to The Space Between Worlds before this one to catch some details on this story. that being said the new characters were well thought out and blended in well with familiar characters.

Finally, not another trash sci-fi sequel

Great mix of new ideas complementing the first book’s references and humorous storyline tangents. The characters continue to develop even further than I believed possible. I was so excited to see a sequel come out and my high hopes weren’t let down one bit.

So glad she wrote the second book

As with her previous book, it's a great story well performed. It was a different performer than the first, but she was fantastic as well.
I enjoyed getting to know new characters as well as reconnect with the characters from The Space Between Worlds.

Poetic

This books gets into all the feels and the whys of what you do when you do it. Overall a unique and well written story. I enjoyed it.

Slow start, but worth the wait

*Minor spoiler follows*

starting immediately after the first novel, The Space Between Worlds, I expected similar pacing and story arcs, so II stopped listening a few chapters into this one. I disliked all the characters and, this story being told in the first person, I was always in the head of a character that made me uncomfortable. Always. In. The. Head. In other words, there was too large of an internal monologue to action ratio. And - *spoiler alert* - Mr. Scales is not always a faithful narrator.

The voice performer was good at staying in character and keeping voices distinct. The smooth delivery was what allowed me to return to the novel for what turned out to be a gripping listen with a most satisfying second half. It was only the first quarter of the book that dragged, in retrospect.

Easy to recommend this title.

Ode to siblings

Great second book! The New main character did not disappoint. Such beautiful prose and imagery.