SHORTLISTED FOR THE ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD 2022
LONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE

A monumental speculative fiction story of love, loyalty, politics and conscience set in parallel Londons

The Ark was built to save the lives of the many, but rapidly became a refuge for the elite, the entrance closed without warning. Years later, Markriss Denny is one of the select few granted entry. He carries with him a closely guarded secret: the ability of his spirit to leave his body and transcend the known world.

But once in, he learns of another who carries the same power, and their existence could spell catastrophe for humanity. Denny is forced into a desperate race to understand his abilities, and in doing so uncovers the truth about the Ark, himself and the people he thought he once knew.

"Courttia Newland is a formidable writer . . . extraordinary . . . Newland offers a brilliant remix of history . . . This may be a work of speculative fiction but its critical lens is present and prescient" - * Financial Times *

"A dystopian multiverse imagined at thrilling scale . . . extraordinary . . . the excitement lies largely in its ideas about power and personal responsibility" - * Times Literary Supplement *

"A vast and wildly ambitious piece of speculative fiction that asks what the world would look like if slavery and colonialism never existed" - * Observer *

"If you want to know the story of Britain, it's really important to read Newland. There's a reason why the Oscar-winning McQueen is working with him" - * Observer *

"Mightily impressive . . . An extraordinary . . . exploration of history, identity and time" - * Daily Mail *

"There is something televisual in the way Newland pitches his new novel: lots of visual description, busy with incident and plotty twists and turns . . . readable and absorbing . . . no one can doubt the sheer energy and verve of Newland's vision" - * Guardian *