A tense, claustrophobic and gripping science fiction thriller from the author of The Testimony. A jounalist’s dreams of securing himself a place in literary history, documenting the first manned deep space mission, turn into a nightmare as millions of miles from Earth the body count rises. Please don’t be put off by the Sci Fi tag this is fresh exciting writing; a story with a killer plot, superbly executed and a fantastic series of unguessable twists. With a writing style compared to Kazuo Ishiguro, JM Coetzee, and early Ian McEwan it’s a book everyone should read.
A tense, claustrophobic and gripping science fiction thriller from the author of The Testimony. When journalist Cormac Easton is selected to document the first manned mission into deep space, he dreams of securing his place in history as one of humanity's great explorers. But in space, nothing goes according to plan. The crew wake from hypersleep to discover their captain dead in his allegedly fail-proof safety pod. They mourn, and Cormac sends a beautifully written eulogy back to Earth. The word from ground control is unequivocal: no matter what happens, the mission must continue. But as the body count begins to rise, Cormac finds himself alone and spiralling towards his own inevitable death ...unless he can do something to stop it.
'It's like an episode of Star Trek written by JM Coetzee' Guardian
'The Explorer has the dreamlike detachment of an Ishiguro novel' Financial Times
'Beautifully written, creepy as hell. The Explorer is as clever in its unravelling as it is breathlessly claustrophobic' Lauren Beukes, author of The Shining Girls
'As you marvel at this twist-laden deep-space exploration thriller, it's hard not to draw comparisons with Duncan Jones' film Moon' Shortlist
'A fascinating character study that could only exist in a science-fictional world' io9.com
'The SF novel everyone should read' Foyles
Author
About James Smythe
James Smythe was born in London in 1980. Since completing a PhD in Cardiff University, he has taught creative writing, and is currently writer/narrative designer for a major forthcoming video game. He lives on the grounds of a boarding school in West Sussex. He has also written a novel called The Testimony, which was published by Blue Door/HarperCollins in 2011.
