Reviews with content warning for Violence - A History of What Comes Next

A History of What Comes Next by Sylvain Neuvel is, in my opinion, a fascinating blend of historical and science fiction with a dash of action and adventure. This first installment in what is to become a series focuses on mother and daughter duo Sarah and Mia Freed, the 99. They are the descendants of a line of women, the Kibsu, with a shared face and single-minded purpose - to take humanity to the stars. But who are the Kibsu, really? And why did they come to Earth in the first place?

I wasn't sure how to feel about this decidedly unique tale when I first picked it up. While I was intrigued by the premise and the author's clearly extensive research, the writing felt choppy and dispassionate - as if I was being held at arm's length from the narrative.

But at some point, maybe a third of the way in, I realized I had become deeply invested in the characters and their mission. Mia, especially, felt deeply human (though her humanity is perhaps in question) and real. She struggles with the path laid out for her by her mother, Sarah, with very little explanation. She agonizes over the violence she has seen and participated in. She wonders if humanity is truly deserving of their help or beyond redemption. And along with these larger questions of morality and purpose, she goes through the same coming of age experiences so many of us have shared - who is she, really, and what does she want out of life?

While Mia was by far my favourite character, there were several others of interest throughout the novel. In fact, even characters with comparatively little page time such as Von Braun, The Tracker, Hsue-Shen, Billie, and Korolev jumped off the page and straight into my imagination. There are no "good" and "bad" guys in the novel, only shades of grey - and that is exceptionally interesting to read.

This story is set predominantly in Germany and Russia from the end of the Second World War through the Cold War and has a clear focus on rocket science. I can't say I have ever read a work of fiction that told the history of the development of modern space travel from this perspective, but I have certainly had my appetite whetted for it!

Interspersed between chapters continuing the primary narrative is a series of Entr'actes exploring past generations of the Kibsu. These Entr'actes were wonderfully immersive vignettes adding depth and nuance to our understanding of these women and their place in history, and I loved them all. They do, however, tend to be extremely violent (as does the primary timeline), so please keep that in mind and check content warnings if you need them (I have included some at the end of my review).

I discovered after finishing the book that there is a playlist associated with it - one song per chapter. I would highly recommend listening to the playlist while reading, as each song evokes the time, place, and mood of each chapter in a delectable way! I ended up skimming through the book again as I listened to get the full experience, and it was just wonderful. I have a feeling that if I had known of the playlist and listened along the first time through, I may have enjoyed the early portion of the book much more.

I would highly recommend this novel to Sci-Fi and history lovers who have an interest in the exploration of human nature and the development of the technology required for space flight. It is perhaps a niche concept and likely won't work for everyone, but for those of us it does work for this could easily become a new favourite! I know I can't wait to read the rest of the series when it becomes available.

Trigger warnings: Suicide, murder, violence, extreme gore, body horror, the Holocaust, war, homophobia and conversation therapy, torture, imprisonment, racism, miscarriage, sexual assault

Thank you to NetGalley for proving an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Content Warnings

sallysimply's review

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I wanted to looooove this book and I'm bummed that I didn't!

The Themis Files is one of my all-time favorite series and I love history, so I was eagerly anticipating this book. I'm not sure what I expected, but it wasn't this. I took some time after finishing the book to sort out how much of my disappointment was because this failed to meet my expectations and how much was because this just didn't work for me.

I like that this centers a mother-daughter relationship, even when Mia was a total pain. Pretty much everything about the tracker vs. the Kibsu worked for me - I love a messy, muddy breakdown of who is really the hero and who is the villain and is there even such a thing. I especially liked when and how we were introduced to the tracker's POV!

My main issue is that I didn't connect to any of the characters. I didn't much care about anything that happened to them in terms of their personal lives and how they lived their lives and where they were and what they were doing. I cared about how events were set up and how history unfolded within this world, but not about any of the people in it. That's a bit of a bummer.

I will still continue the series, and I'm actually really intrigued to see where this is going to go. I also wonder if a re-read might help so that I can more deeply appreciate all the history weaved into the story.

Content Warnings

kayleyhyde's review

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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