WHAT WILL BECOME OF US? In the deep future beyond the burn line of the Anthropocene and the extinction of humanity, the city states of an intelligent species of bear have fallen to a mind-wrecking plague. The bears' former slaves, a peaceable, industrious and endlessly curious people, believe that they have inherited the bounty and beauty of their beloved Mother Earth. But are they alone? After the death of his master, a famous scholar, Pilgrim Saltmire vows to complete their research into sightings of so-called visitors and their sky craft. To discover if they are a mass delusion created by the stresses of an industrial revolution, or if they are real - a remnant population of bears which survived the plague, or another, unknown intelligent species. Risking his reputation and his life, Pilgrim's search for the truth takes him from his comfortable home in the shadow of a great library to his tribe's former home on the chilly coast of the far south, and the gathering of a dangerous cult in the high desert. Whether or not the visitors are real, one thing is certain. Pilgrim's world and everything he thought he knew about his people's history will be utterly changed. McAuley's fabulous far future, impacted by the consequences of global warming, colonisation and historical injustices, explores and reflects our own challenges while telling a fast paced story of discovery and adventure.
Paul J. McAuley Book order
Paul McAuley is a British author of science fiction. His works often explore themes such as genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and the future of humanity. McAuley is known for his detailed world-building and complex characters. His stories delve into the dark and intricate aspects of technology and its impact on society.







- 2022
- 2020
War of the Maps
- 432 pages
- 16 hours of reading
Across a massive structure hanging in space, the lucidor hunts a criminal. The maps of the world are under attack from an unknown genetic invader, but nothing is more important than justice.
- 2017
Into Everywhere
- 384 pages
- 14 hours of reading
The Jackaroo gave humanity access to alien worlds and technologies, yet we still know nothing about them. As humanity spreads wider into the universe, will we discover what secrets they are hiding?
- 2017
Austral
- 276 pages
- 10 hours of reading
A dazzling new science fiction novel from the multiple award winning author of SOMETHING COMING THROUGH
- 2015
Something Coming Through
- 384 pages
- 14 hours of reading
The aliens are here. And they want to help. The extraordinary new project from one of the country's most acclaimed and consistently brilliant SF novelists of the last 30 years. The Jackaroo have given humanity fifteen worlds and the means to reach them. They're a chance to start over, but they're also littered with ruins and artifacts left by the Jackaroo's previous clients. Miracles that could reverse the damage caused by war, climate change, and rising sea levels. Nightmares that could forever alter humanity - or even destroy it. Chloe Millar works in London, mapping changes caused by imported scraps of alien technology. When she stumbles across a pair of orphaned kids possessed by an ancient ghost, she must decide whether to help them or to hand them over to the authorities. Authorities who believe that their visions point towards a new kind of danger. And on one of the Jackaroo's gift-worlds, the murder of a man who has just arrived from Earth leads policeman Vic Gayle to a war between rival gangs over possession of a remote excavation site. Something is coming through. Something linked to the visions of Chloe's orphans, and Vic Gayle's murder investigation. Something that will challenge the limits of the Jackaroo's benevolence ...
- 2014
Evening's Empires
- 374 pages
- 14 hours of reading
ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD-winning author Paul McAuley concludes his thrilling epic of war between post-humans in the far future.
- 2014
Brazil
- 96 pages
- 4 hours of reading
Widely believed to be Terry Gilliam's best film, Brazil's brilliantly imaginative vision of a retro-futuristic bureaucracy has had a lasting influence on genre cinema. Exploring its complex history and relationship with other dystopias, Paul McAuley explains why this satire on the unchecked power of the state is more relevant than ever.
- 2014
- 2012
In the brilliant new hard SF novel from Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author Paul McAuley, a war between human and posthuman civilisations is about to erupt.
- 2011
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
- 214 pages
- 8 hours of reading
World War Terminus has left the Earth devastated. Those humans who have chosen to stay on Earth have to deal with the radioactive fallout leftover from the war. Bounty hunter Rick Deckard is one of those who has chosen to stay. When one of his colleagues is injured on the job, Rick takes over his big assignment. He must track down and 'retire' six sophisticated androids which have been banned from the planet.