Böcker av Monica Byrne

David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas meets Octavia Butler's Earthseed series, as acclaimed author Monica Byrne (The Girl in the Road) crafts an unforgettable piece of speculative fiction about where humanity came from, where we are now, and where we're going?and how, in every age, the same forces that drive us apart also bind us together."A stone-cold masterpiece."?New ScientistThe Actual Star takes readers on a journey over two millennia and six continents?telling three powerful tales a thousand years apart, all of them converging in the same cave in the Belizean jungle.Braided together are the stories of a pair of teenage twins who ascend the throne of a Maya kingdom; a young American woman on a trip of self-discovery in Belize; and two dangerous charismatics vying for the leadership of a new religion, racing toward a confrontation that will determine the fate of the few humans left on Earth after massive climate change.In each era, a reincarnated trinity of souls navigates the entanglements of tradition and progress, sister and stranger, and love and hate?until all of their age-old questions about the nature of existence converge deep underground, where only in complete darkness can they truly see.

A young woman called Meena wakes up one morning covered in blood. There are mysterious snakebites across her chest. She knows she's in danger but something has happened to her memory. All she can do is run - but why? And from whom?As Meena plots her escape she hears of the Trail - an extraordinary, forbidden bridge that spans the Arabian sea, connecting India to Africa like a silver ribbon. Its purpose is to harness the power of the ocean - Blue Energy - but it also offers a subculture of travellers a chance for sanctuary and adventure.Convinced the Trail is her salvation, Meena gathers supplies - GPS, a scroll reader, a sealable waterproof pod. And so begins her extraordinary journey - both physical and spiritual - from India to Ethiopia, the home of her birth. But as she runs away from the threat of violence she is also running towards a shocking revelation about her past and her family.'It's transfixing to watch Monica Byrne become a major player in science fiction with her debut novel . . . Beautifully drawn people in a future that feels so close you can touch it, blended with lush language and concerns of myth. It builds a bridge from past to future, from East to West. Glorious stuff' - Neil Gaiman