Orpheus - by M R Carey (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

On a planet where one half is forever in sunlight and the other in endless night, a young colonist must venture into the deadly Nightside to uncover the truth about the disappearance of his mother, in this epic and exhilarating science fiction adventure from million-copy bestselling author M. R. Carey.

HUMANITY CAN'T SURVIVE THE NIGHTSIDE

On the distant colony world of Tessix, the sun never moves in the sky. One side of the planet burns under endless noon, whilst the other is a frozen wasteland in perpetual darkness. Human life is only possible in a narrow strip of land where the terraforming project almost worked.

Growing up on the borderland between light and dark, under the fading sun globes of Tanner's Hook, fifteen-year-old Bead Plessey clings to his friends and his fantasies. Bead dreams of one day escaping the grim realities of life on Tessix - the declining population, the ruthless autocracy of the Noonday government, and the monstrous Daspa that come out of the nightside to feed on human blood.

When a stranger turns up at Bead's home asking for lodgings, he brings the possibility of change. But who is Jud Valery, and where has he come from? Is his interest in Bead benign or sinister? And how is he connected to the disappearance of Bead's mother, Omrid, eight years before? Looking for answers, Bead assembles an ill-assorted band of allies - but their investigation takes them far beyond Tanner's Hook, into the nightside and into the long-buried secrets that shaped their world.

Discover this thrilling standalone science fiction novel from M. R. Carey, author of the Philip K. Dick Award-shortlisted Infinity Gate (a New York Times Science Fiction and Fantasy Book of the Year), perfect for fans of Adrian Tchaikovsky, Alastair Reynolds, and Peter F. Hamilton.

Review Quotes

"Outlaw Planet is a sweeping story of petty violence and heartbreaking loss, set against a backdrop of unimaginably vast interdimensional conflict. Tragic and hopeful, it is at its heart a story of love, vengeance, redemption and the freedom to choose to be something more."

--Claire North, author of The First Fifteen Lives of Henry August on Outlaw Planet

"Classic (almost creaky) Western and science fiction tropes collide to brilliant, fresh effect... Another enjoyable and earnest effort by Carey to celebrate autonomy and sentience in all its forms."

--Kirkus on Outlaw Planet (starred review)

"This is a story that readers will start to read more slowly as it gets near the conclusion because they won't want it to end. Carey has written other books on the Pandominion where animals are anthropomorphized (Infinity Gate, 2023), but this one blends sf and Western like no other."

--Booklist on Outlaw Planet

"An immense achievement, an impeccably crafted book without a single word out of place."--The New York Times on Infinity Gate

"Filled with wildly inventive, lush worldbuilding, this is the story of a character you can't forget in a story that just keeps expanding beyond the weirdest horizon."
--David Wellington, author of the Arthur C. Clarke Award-nominated The Last Astronaut and Paradise-1 on Outlaw Planet

"The production of a brilliant imagination . . . His best novel yet."--SFX on Outlaw Planet

"Told in a twangy voice and studded with wild worldbuilding details, this cinematic saga has nary a dull moment."--Publishers Weekly on Outlaw Planet

About the Author

M. R. Carey has been making up stories for most of his life. His novel The Girl With All the Gifts was a USA Today bestseller and is a major motion picture based on his BAFTA-nominated screenplay. Under the name Mike Carey he has written for both DC and Marvel, including critically acclaimed runs on X-Men and Fantastic Four, Marvel's flagship superhero titles. His creator-owned books regularly appear in the New York Times bestseller list. He also has several previous novels, two radio plays, and a number of TV and movie screenplays to his credit.