The Ghosts of Heaven

Last updated

First edition (publ. Indigo) TheGhostsOfHeaven.jpg
First edition (publ. Indigo)

The Ghosts of Heaven is a novel by Marcus Sedgwick, published on October 2, 2014. The book is divided into four brief quarters, with each part telling a different story. The book circles around the idea "Spirals are everywhere". The story begins in the past and ends in the future, essentially the development of mankind. The novel was shortlisted for the 2015 Carnegie Medal and received a Michael L. Printz Honor Award in 2016.

The first story is written in verse, from the perspective of a cave girl. The second quartet describes the life of a girl living in a small village in medieval Europe, who is later accused of witchcraft. The third quarter is about a man who has lost his wife and is conducting research on a mental asylum, and the final story is from the perspective of a man in the far future who is controlling a ship holding 500 people in deep sleep. They are headed for a distant planet and on this journey, the man discovers that he has been victim to misinformation on the government's behalf. It ends with the man landing on a planet he stumbles across during the ship's journey, and it is implied this planet is that on which the first quartet took place.

An author's note at the beginning of the book tells the reader that the four stories may be read in any of the twenty-four different orders, with each making a slightly different type of sense.


Related Research Articles

<i>The Illustrated Man</i> Short story collection by Ray Bradbury

The Illustrated Man is a 1951 collection of 18 science fiction short stories by American writer Ray Bradbury. A recurring theme throughout the stories is the conflict of the cold mechanics of technology and the psychology of people. It was nominated for the International Fantasy Award in 1952.

<i>Time Enough for Love</i> 1973 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein

Time Enough for Love is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, first published in 1973. The work was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1973 and both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction</span> Genre of fiction

Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of science fiction, science fantasy, dystopia or horror in which the Earth's civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronomical, such as an impact event; destructive, such as nuclear holocaust or resource depletion; medical, such as a pandemic, whether natural or human-caused; end time, such as the Last Judgment, Second Coming or Ragnarök; or more imaginative, such as a zombie apocalypse, cybernetic revolt, technological singularity, dysgenics or alien invasion.

Lazarus Long is a fictional character featured in a number of science fiction novels by Robert A. Heinlein. Born in 1912 in the third generation of a selective breeding experiment run by the Ira Howard Foundation, Lazarus becomes unusually long-lived, living well over two thousand years with the aid of occasional rejuvenation treatments. Heinlein "patterned" Long on science fiction writer Edward E. Smith, mixed with Jack Williamson's fictional Giles Habibula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex and sexuality in speculative fiction</span>

Sexual themes are frequently used in science fiction or related genres. Such elements may include depictions of realistic sexual interactions in a science fictional setting, a protagonist with an alternative sexuality, a sexual encounter between a human and a fictional extraterrestrial, or exploration of the varieties of sexual experience that deviate from the conventional.

<i>Hyperion Cantos</i> Science fiction series by Dan Simmons

The Hyperion Cantos is a series of science fiction novels by Dan Simmons. The title was originally used for the collection of the first pair of books in the series, Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, and later came to refer to the overall storyline, including Endymion, The Rise of Endymion, and a number of short stories. More narrowly, inside the fictional storyline, after the first volume, the Hyperion Cantos is an epic poem written by the character Martin Silenus covering in verse form the events of the first two books.

Andrew "Ender" Wiggin is a fictional character from Orson Scott Card's 1985 science fiction novel Ender's Game and its sequels, as well as in the first part of the spin-off series, Ender's Shadow. The book series itself is an expansion, with some changes to detail, of Card's 1977 short story "Ender's Game."

<i>The Songs of Distant Earth</i> 1986 English-language utopian novel by Arthur C. Clarke

The Songs of Distant Earth is a 1986 science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke, based upon his 1958 short story of the same title. He stated that it was his favourite of all his novels. Clarke also wrote a short step outline with the same title, published in Omni magazine and anthologized in The Sentinel in 1983.

<i>Galápagos</i> (novel) 1985 novel by Kurt Vonnegut

Galápagos (1985) is the eleventh novel published by American author Kurt Vonnegut. Set in the Galápagos Islands after a global financial disaster, the novel questions the merit of the human brain from an evolutionary perspective. The title is both a reference to the islands on which part of the story plays out, and a tribute to Charles Darwin, on whose theory Vonnegut relies to reach his own conclusions. It was published by Delacorte Press.

<i>The Female Man</i> 1975 English-language book by Joanna Russ

The Female Man is a feminist science fiction novel by American writer Joanna Russ. It was originally written in 1970 and first published in 1975 by Bantam Books. Russ was an ardent feminist and challenged sexist views during the 1970s with her novels, short stories, and nonfiction works. These works include We Who Are About To..., "When It Changed", and What Are We Fighting For?: Sex, Race, Class, and the Future of Feminism.

<i>A World Out of Time</i> 1976 novel by Larry Niven

A World Out of Time is a science fiction novel by Larry Niven and published in 1976. It is set outside the Known Space universe of many of Niven's stories, but is otherwise fairly representative of his 1970s hard science fiction novels. The main part of the novel was originally serialized in Galaxy magazine as "Children of the State"; another part was originally published as the short story "Rammer". A World Out of Time placed fifth in the annual Locus Poll in 1977.

<i>Entry to Elsewhen</i>

Entry to Elsewhen is a collection of science fiction short stories by John Brunner, published in 1972. It contains the following stories:

<i>Tau Zero</i> 1970 novel by Poul Anderson

Tau Zero is a hard science fiction novel by American writer Poul Anderson. The novel was based upon the short story "To Outlive Eternity" appearing in Galaxy Science Fiction in 1967. It was first published in book form in 1970. The book is a quintessential example of "hard sci-fi", as its plot is dominated by futuristic technology grounded in real physics principles. It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1971.

<i>Ender in Exile</i> 2008 novel by Orson Scott Card

Ender in Exile is a science fiction novel by American writer Orson Scott Card, part of the Ender's Game series, published on November 11, 2008. It takes place between the two award-winning novels Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead. It could also be considered a parallel novel to the first three sequels in the Shadow Saga, since the entirety of this trilogy takes place in the span of Ender in Exile. The novel concludes a dangling story line of the Shadow Saga, while it makes several references to events that take place during the Shadow Saga. From yet another perspective, the novel expands the last chapter of the original novel Ender's Game. On the one hand, it fills the gap right before the last chapter, and on the other hand, it fills the gap between the last chapter and the original (first) sequel. Ender in Exile begins one year after Ender has won the bugger war, and begins with the short story "Ender's Homecoming" from Card's webzine Intergalactic Medicine Show. Other short stories that were published elsewhere are included as chapters of the novel.

The Heinlein juveniles are the science fiction novels written by Robert A. Heinlein for Scribner's young-adult line. Each features "a young male protagonist entering the adult world of conflict, decisions, and responsibilities." Together they tell a loosely-connected story of space exploration. Scribner's published the first twelve between 1947 and 1958, but rejected the thirteenth, Starship Troopers. That one was instead published by Putnam. A fourteenth novel, Podkayne of Mars, is sometimes listed as a "Heinlein juvenile", although Heinlein himself did not consider it to be one.

<i>Anathem</i> 2008 science fiction novel by Neal Stephenson

Anathem is a science fiction novel by American writer Neal Stephenson, published in 2008. Major themes include the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and the philosophical debate between Platonic realism and nominalism.

<i>The Story of Martha</i>

The Story of Martha is a BBC Books anthology with a framing device written by Dan Abnett. David Roden, Steve Lockley and Paul Lewis, Robert Shearman and Simon Jowett write the stories presented. It features the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones. It was published on 26 December 2008, at the same time as Beautiful Chaos and The Eyeless. It takes place between "The Sound of Drums" and "Last of the Time Lords" and details Martha's journey around the world during the Master's reign over Earth.

Mark Crilley American comic artist

Mark Crilley is an American comic creator, artist and children's book author and illustrator. He is the creator of Miki Falls and Brody's Ghost. He produces instructional videos on drawing on YouTube in various styles, including manga-styles. He was at one point an English teacher in Fukushima, Japan, as well as Changhua, Taiwan.

<i>Medusa: A Tiger by the Tail</i> 1983 novel by Jack L. Chalker

Medusa: A Tiger by the Tail is a science fiction novel by American writer Jack L. Chalker, the fourth book in the Four Lords of the Diamond series. First published as a paperback in 1983. It concludes the saga started in Lilith: A Snake in the Grass, Cerberus: A Wolf in the Fold and Charon: A Dragon at the Gate.

Erekosë is a heroic warrior in different fantasy adventure stories by English writer Michael Moorcock. The character repeatedly assumes different forms and identities during adventures across Moorcock's multiverse. He first appeared in the 1962 novella The Eternal Champion, which was later expanded into a novel of the same title in 1970. The book became the first of the Erekosë book series, which includes the novels Phoenix in Obsidian and The Dragon in the Sword. The Erekosë canon The Swords of Heaven, the Flowers of Hell, is a graphic novel plotted by Moorcock that was scripted and illustrated by Howard Chaykin. In Moorcock's novels The Vanishing Tower and The King of the Swords, Erekosë is described as a man with "jet black skin", often wearing a bear-skin cloak.