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How High We Go in the Dark

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How High We Go in the Dark

By: Sequoia Nagamatsu
Narrated by: Jason Culp, Stephanie Komure, Micky Shiloah, Joe Knezevich, Brianna Ishibashi, Kotaro Watanabe, Matthew Bridges, Kurt Kanazawa, Greg Watanabe, Jeanne Sakata, MacLeod Andrews, Keisuke Hoashi, Brian Nishii, Julia Whelan
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About this listen

 Bloomsbury presents How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu, read by Jason Culp, Stephanie Komure, Micky Shiloah, Joe Knezevich, Brianna Ishibashi, Kotaro Watanabe, Matthew Bridges, Kurt Kanazawa, Greg Watanabe, Jeanne Sakata, MacLeod Andrews, Keisuke Hoashi, Brian Nishii and Julia Whelan.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2022
FINALIST FOR THE BARNES & NOBLE DISCOVER PRIZE 2022
FINALIST FOR THE URSULA LE GUIN PRIZE FOR FICTION 2022
WATERSTONES AND ESQUIRE BEST BOOKS OF 2022

For fans of Cloud Atlas and Station Eleven, Sequoia Nagamatsu's debut is a wildly imaginative, genre-bending work spanning generations across the globe as humanity struggles to rebuild itself in the aftermath of a climate plague.

‘Haunting and luminous … An astonishing debut’ – Alan Moore, creator of Watchmen and V for Vendetta

'A powerfully moving and thought provoking read. At times sublime, strange and deeply human' Adrian Tchaikovsky, bestselling author of the Children of Time series

Dr. Cliff Miyashiro arrives in the Arctic Circle to continue his recently deceased daughter’s research, only to discover a virus, newly unearthed from melting permafrost. The plague unleashed reshapes life on earth for generations. Yet even while struggling to counter this destructive force, humanity stubbornly persists in myriad moving and ever inventive ways.

Among those adjusting to this new normal are an aspiring comedian, employed by a theme park designed for terminally ill children, who falls in love with a mother trying desperately to keep her son alive; a scientist who, having failed to save his own son from the plague, gets a second chance at fatherhood when one of his test subjects—a pig—develops human speech; a man who, after recovering from his own coma, plans a block party for his neighbours who have also woken up to find that they alone have survived their families; and a widowed painter and her teenaged granddaughter who must set off on cosmic quest to locate a new home planet.

From funerary skyscrapers to hotels for the dead, How High We Go in the Dark follows a cast of intricately linked characters spanning hundreds of years as humanity endeavours to restore the delicate balance of the world. This is a story of unshakable hope that crosses literary lines to give us a world rebuilding itself through an endless capacity for love, resilience and reinvention.

Wonderful and disquieting, dreamlike and all too possible. [How High We Go in the Dark] reaches far beyond our stars while its heart remains rooted to Earth, and reminds us that our wellbeing depends on the wellbeing of our world – Samantha Shannon, author of The Priory of the Orange Tree©2022 Sequoia Nagamatsu (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers Disaster Fiction Dystopian Fiction Genre Fiction Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Funny

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All stars
Most relevant  
This book requires one’s full attention. I enjoy sometimes relaxing with a read and letting the author carry me away on adventures and ideas. This read required that I ‘walk.’

The storyline and the reality of that storyline and its proximity to the Covid outbreak in recent times.

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Very much enjoyed the first half but it tailed off a bit in the second. Thought provoking though not entirely original. I wouldn't put you off the purchase. Well performed by the cast.

Decent read

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It's beautifully performed meloncoly and hopeful a wonderful read. I love how it loops and each story seems interconnected beyond the main setting.

Enjoyable and interesting

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Very different to what I expected but mostly enjoyable if that’s the right word … incredible imagination by the author

Difficult but intriguing

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Lot of great ideas, some excellent chapters but dest quite flow or link together

Doesn't quite hit the spot

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it's a good book, lost me a bit in the middle, I know the stories are linked but I struggled getting into some of them, as a result a few probably passed me by. ending wrapped up nicely though.

good premise, good performances

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was an interesting and eery medley of tales linked together through a sci fi plague. interesting concept and right level of dark and sensitive. quite cruel at times. original.

reminded me a lot of black mirror

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The collection of wildly varying short stories interweave seamlessly to create a masterpiece of world building. This really is a must read / listen.

Incredible

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I just didn't engage with the storyline , even though it was an intertwined concept, it just didn't come together for me.

not for me.

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As a voracious reader it takes a lot to really make a book stand out. How High We Go in the Dark is truly special. It couples outstanding storytelling with a dystopian future that is totally credible.
It also brings in incredible elements of the fantastical, and a wonderfully relatable take on the human condition.
I will never forget this book. It’s a must read.

Sublime

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