A History of What Comes Next

I really enjoy an alternative history / timeline story and this book kept me very happy indeed, a story that intrigued and infuriated me almost simultaneously, I have listened to waking gods and almost human and can see how the authors storytelling is maturing and creativity is expanding, I really like this book, thank you Netgalley for allowing me to listen early, and the narration is class, pure class

The majority of the book is set during the late 40s, when the space race is really starting to take off. Throughout the novel, we follow two main characters, Sara, and her daughter Mia. They are the 99th generation, in a line of mothers and daughters who call themselves the Kibsu. The Kibsu are not quite human, and because of this they have to make sure they never draw attention to themselves. They have four rules, which they follow like gospel in order to achieve their goal of protecting humanity, “Before evil comes and kills them all”.

1. Always Run, Never Fight
2. Preserve the knowledge
3. Survive at all costs
4. Take them to the stars

Many generations ago the Kibsu lost their knowledge and understanding of who they really are and what this evil is. The only thing they know is that their rules and goal must be followed no matter what, or who gets in their way. They also know that they are being hunted by a mysterious group of men, called The Trackers. If a Tracker finds them, they know that only pain and death awaits them, despite this nobody has seen a Tracker for hundreds of years, and as a result they have become a boogeyman to the Kibsu, to always keep them on their toes.

The story is often brutal. There is quite a bit of gore and sexual harassment, the author does not shy away from the realities of the time it is set. The POV of the villain is quite disturbing, basically like looking into the head of a sociopathic serial killer. But the narratives of the women are also very harsh. They do not have much empathy for those around them, too focused on their rules. They also have no problem sacrificing themselves, as another rule that the Kibsu follow is that there can never be more than three Kibsu at any one time, and there cannot be three for long. When the time comes, the grandmother knows she must sacrifice herself for the cause, and the story is peppered with the histories of past Kibsi women who broke the rules and the disastrous and deadly consequences that this brought about.

I do enjoy science fiction as a genre, but I do not often go for stories that focus on the scientific and technological side of things, rather than the emotional connection. Despite this, I did not feel like the story was too bogged down by it, and although I did not always follow the science, I could understand the essence behind it and why it was important to the plot. I also did struggle to form an emotional connection with the characters, but I think that this was an intentional decision by the author. For generations, the Kibsu have been taught to keep themselves separate from everybody else and not form emotional attachments with people, and this outlook not only determined their relationships with other characters, but with us the readers as well.

One gripe I did have is that Mia and her mother manage quite a lot of criminal behaviour, without discussing any of the logistics behind this. How did they acquire the dead bodies that allowed them to fake their own deaths, or how did they manage to get the paperwork they used to change their identities as they moved from place to place? How did they manage to place themselves so easily in key positions that would help them manipulate people, without drawing any attention to themselves? It would have made the novel a lot longer, and perhaps affected the flow and pace of the story, but I felt it would have made it a more interesting read, rather than just glossing over it completely.


Overall, I found this really absorbing. We have all heard of stories of women throughout history that spied and manipulated their way into positions of power, using societal prejudices of women being weak and non-threatening to better achieve their goals. There have been a lot of alternative history fantasy novels, but what sets this one apart, is that the author does not change history, only retelling the ‘off-screen’ manipulations that helped bring key events about. It was a very creative and original storyline. I loved the narration, I have always much preferred multicast narration, and it definitely worked here. Each narrator perfectly captured their character. At the end of the book, the author’s note contains a lot of information about the history of the space race, and really makes a fascinating read. The ending did feel a little abrupt, and there are a lot of unanswered questions, but hopefully they will be addressed in book two.

A History of What Comes Next is book one in Sylvain Neuvel's Take Them To The Stars trilogy and the first full length novel from Neuvel since the conclusion of his Themis Files trilogy in 2018. Beginning in Germany in the final months of World War 2, it follows 19 year old Mia and her mother Sara as they attempt to extract German rocket scientists out of the country and into the custody of the USA. Why? Because Mia and Sara aren't like other humans, they're stronger, smarter and live by a strict set of rules. The most important being "Take them to the stars, before evil comes and destroys them all."

As a fan of the Themis Files both for it's cast of characters and interesting format I was excited and curious to see what Neuvel would do with a historical setting. From the first track the most notable change is the way in which we as listeners are told the story. Whereas the Themis Files was mostly told through interview transcripts and the logs of military personnel, A History of What Comes Next is predominantly told through the personal accounts of Mia and Sara. This format change allows for slower paced world-building which beautifully details Mia and Sara's relationship and how it is changed and challenged as Mia takes on more authority in their mission. Additionally it gives space for our own historical timeline which remains impressibly unchanged, with Mia and Sara acting more as puppeteers from the shadows than front and centre players. All converging to create that most delicious element of great sci-fi, the plausibility of it all being real.

From a character perspective, Mia is a wonderful protagonist. She's ambitious, idealistic, always asking questions and still to make the key mistakes in life that will allow her to grow. Her progression throughout the book is a pleasure to witness and I'm eager to find out how she will develop further in the next installment. In contrast Sara provides information, maturity and knowledge that only be gained through lived experience. She is the gatekeeper to their history. As we're meant to sympathise with Mia at times Sara can feel like an overbearing character. However I believe we will develop a greater understanding of her actions in the following books and I'm intrigued to learn more about her true motivations. Nuevel also delivers a brilliant supporting cast of which my highlights are the 'no bullshit' Billy, the endearing Qian Xuesen and a worryingly charming serial killer.

The audio production also doesn't disappoint, and these books certainly highlight the collaboration of Penguin Random House and ID Audio at it's very best. I love audiobooks that really lean into the format, and having a multicast of narrators allows you to connect to the characters on a much deeper level. The narration was brilliant and my only complaint is that the credits didn't include a cast list. I can safely deduce that Imogen Wilde and Jilly Bond led the cast as Mia & Sara, and given her American accent assume that Laila Pyne was the scene-stealing Billy. Yet will have to do some more digging to figure which narrator had me swooning as the voice of Charles.

A lovely little easter egg at the end of the audiobook is a 45 minute track from the author himself summarising key highlights of the historical research he undertook to write the novel. Honestly Nuevel's enthusiasm and brilliant delivery made it a pleasure to listen to and left me with the desire to did more into the readings he suggests. I do hope the commercial addition comes with a PDF for easy access to the resources mentioned.

I'm very much looking forward to what comes next and whether book two will confirm my theory that this is a prelude to the aforementioned Themis Files.

This was an interesting one for sure! It felt like a really gritty plot to get your teeth stuck into, and I couldn't help but be invested in the story. The multi-cast narration of the audiobook really made this one for me - the voice of Mia specifically worked so well in audio format, with her snark and humour being one of the highlights for me. This same humour also provided a nice balance for the darker elements of the story, something that seems to be a trait of Sylvain Neuvel. Though the plot of this didn't have me quite so gripped as his Themis Files series, it still proved to be one I was glad to read!