
For the First Time, Again
Sylvain Neuvel(Author)
Penguin Books Ltd (Publisher)
Published on 12. October 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-1-4059-4557-8 (ISBN)
Description
Discover history's biggest secret . . .
For millennia an unbroken line of alien mothers and daughters have secretly been shepherding human technology towards the stars.
Twelve-year-old Aster is the last of this line.
But the loss of her mother in early life means she knows nothing of her alien heritage - believing she is just an ordinary young girl.
Not only is she about to discover how wrong she is - but she'll also learn she's not the only alien on Earth: others are here to stop her.
Yet with revelation comes recovery.
Now Aster has a purpose.
Her life, the future of her species
and that of all life on Earth is at stake.
She's history's biggest secret.
But can she save the future?
'Alt-history with a difference' GUARDIAN
'There's real cleverness at work here' THE TIMES
For millennia an unbroken line of alien mothers and daughters have secretly been shepherding human technology towards the stars.
Twelve-year-old Aster is the last of this line.
But the loss of her mother in early life means she knows nothing of her alien heritage - believing she is just an ordinary young girl.
Not only is she about to discover how wrong she is - but she'll also learn she's not the only alien on Earth: others are here to stop her.
Yet with revelation comes recovery.
Now Aster has a purpose.
Her life, the future of her species
and that of all life on Earth is at stake.
She's history's biggest secret.
But can she save the future?
'Alt-history with a difference' GUARDIAN
'There's real cleverness at work here' THE TIMES
Reviews / Votes
Praise for Take Them To The Stars series * - * Sylvain Neuvel proves once again he deserves the title of the hottest new SF writer of the 21st century * Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of The Oppenheimer Alternative * Series fans and readers of speculative thrillers built around actual historical events will eagerly anticipate book three. * Booklist * ...[T]he stakes of this series have risen exponentially * Tor.com * Praise for Sylvain Neuvel * - * It's fascinating to see how Neuvel weaves together fact and fiction . . . a blast. Seriously clever * SFX * An alt-history with a difference. Traces the true story of the development of rocket science but adds an alien-conspiracy-theory edge . . . Good fun * Guardian * Wry narration, wired action . . . Fans of alternate history and intelligent sci-fi will love this * Publishers Weekly *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 133 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
270 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4059-4557-8 (9781405945578)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Person
Sylvain Neuvel has a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Chicago. He is an amateur robotics enthusiast and lifelong fan of all things science fiction. He is the author of two critically-acclaimed series: Themis Files novels: Sleeping Giants, Waking Gods and Only Human, and Take Them To the Stars: A History of What Comes Next, and Until the Last of Me. He lives in Montreal.