Always run, never fight.
Preserve the knowledge.
Survive at all costs.
Take them to the stars.

Over 99 identical generations, Mia’s family has shaped human history to push them to the stars, making brutal, wrenching choices and sacrificing countless lives. Her turn comes at the dawn of the age of rocketry. Her mission: to lure Wernher Von Braun away from the Nazi party and into the American rocket program, and secure the future of the space race.

But Mia’s family is not the only group pushing the levers of history: an even more ruthless enemy lurks behind the scenes.

A darkly satirical first contact thriller, as seen through the eyes of the women who make progress possible and the men who are determined to stop them… 

When I originally picked up A History of What Comes Next by Sylvain Neuvel, I was intrigued. As someone who has had a lifelong love of space and science fiction, I have always enjoyed reading books where characters dream (and often achieve) going to the stars.

Unfortunately though, what I got when reading A History of What Comes Next was vastly different than what I was expecting. While the general story itself was quite interesting, the writing was often dry and lackluster. The characters of mother Sarah and daughter Mia were difficult to connect to. It was difficult to actually care about what happened to them over the course of the book. Much like the characters do with the people around them, we too are held at arms’ length and are not let in close.

Neuvel relies heavily on the scientific and technical details throughout A History of What Comes Next. And while this is fine for some scenes, it simply does not work for others. It also means a good bit of background information is left out. Like, who exactly are the Kibsu? Why must there only be two? Why do the daughters look exactly like the mothers? What is the significance of the necklace mother passes down to daughter?

None of the questions are answered and when there is the occasional interlude into previous eras it leaves one with only more questions and few answers.

There is a second book in the series and I am curious about it. It continues where the first book leaves off with Mia. I will likely be reading it only to see if any of my questions are answered.

It would be hard for me to recommend this book to any but the most hardcore space enthusiasts out there. Perhaps if the book were handled differently, written in a smoother style it would be easier to read and enjoy.