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Title details for The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves - Wait list

The Book of Elsewhere

A Novel

by Keanu Reeves
China Miéville
Audiobook
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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An “action-packed [and] profoundly stylish” (Los Angeles Times) epic from Keanu Reeves and China Miéville, unlike anything these two genre-bending pioneers have created before, inspired by the world of the BRZRKR comic books

“[The Book of Elsewhere is] a pulpy, adrenaline-fueled thriller, but it’s also a moody, experimental novel about mortality, the slippery nature of time, and what it means to be human.”—The New York Times
“An exceptionally innovative collaboration from two remarkable minds.”—William Gibson, author of Neuromancer
She said, We needed a tool. So I asked the gods.

There have always been whispers. Legends. The warrior who cannot be killed. Who’s seen a thousand civilizations rise and fall. He has had many names: Unute, Child of Lightning, Death himself. These days, he’s known simply as “B.”

And he wants to be able to die.
 
In the present day, a U.S. black-ops group has promised him they can help with that. And all he needs to do is help them in return. But when an all-too-mortal soldier comes back to life, the impossible event ultimately points toward a force even more mysterious than B himself. One at least as strong. And one with a plan all its own.
 
In a collaboration that combines Miéville’s singular style and creativity with Reeves’s haunting and soul-stirring narrative, these two inimitable artists have created something utterly unique, sure to delight existing fans and to create scores of new ones.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 23, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593943922
      • File size: 346529 KB
      • Duration: 12:01:55

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 29, 2024
      Reeves’s collaboration with bestseller Miéville (The City and the City), based on the actor’s BRZRKR comic books, disappoints. The U.S. government’s secret Belief Systems and Ancient Technology Migration Unit is “dedicated to the collaboration with; study, decoding, and keeping secret of; questioning and protecting (laughable as that was) of; and performing necessary wetwork with an eighty-thousand-year-old warrior who would not die.” This immortal warrior is Unute, also known as B, who periodically loses his supernatural powers only to be reborn out of a large egg, and is eager to finally die. Diana Ahuja, who works with the Unit, investigates Unute’s connection with the Life Project, a shadowy organization premised on the idea that society needs to be weaned off its addiction to death. She gets a lead on the project’s members by searching the dark web for people who are “interested in ancient magic and who are also investigating the biology of echidnas and platypuses, and who are big fans of Solange Knowles and Millie Jackson, and who speak German and Polish and Farsi and who are very keen on baking.” That risible, random assortment of qualities is consistent with an overall tone that undercuts suspension of disbelief. Leaden writing (“Thereafter would come to her the fundamental rewritings of history and prehistory occasioned by her new subject”) doesn’t help. This is tedious.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      A cadre of stunning narrators--including both authors--bring this unusual tale to life. The focus is an immortal warrior who is seeking the release of death. Unute was born untold ages ago to a human woman and a literal bolt of lightning. In modernity, Unute works alongside a military group as they seek to cure his immortality. Keanu Reeves and China Miville narrate a few sections of the story, specifically the chapters told from an eclectic cast of characters' perspectives. The unusual story shifts from military thriller to an introspective memoir as Unute attempts to understand himself. The narrators capture the ear as the story becomes an intriguing exploration of an ageless and godlike being with an intense power of empathy. J.M.M. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      December 6, 2024

      The moody and metaphysical nature of Mi�ville combined with the guts and action of actor Reeves create an astounding new project for the world of BRZRKR. "B"/Unute/Child of Lightning, a half-man and half-immortal who comes back every time he dies, is the main subject of this novel as he uses a black-op group to try to find a way to finally die and not come back. But instead, the group (which is using him to study to create the perfect soldier) finds it has awakened something new, ancient, and very, very dangerous. The cerebral story is performed by Mi�ville, Reeves, Allan Corduner, Asia Kate Dillon, Edoardo Ballerini, Joshua Manning, Lily Rabe, and Michiel Huisman. The best thing (besides all of them being excellent narrators) is that each voice represents feelings for the material, helping the listener grasp more of the mood the authors were aiming for with the story. VERDICT Even with confusing opening chapters, staying with the story pays off in a major way, and the audio helps the audience to understand what "B" is going through. Sci-fi and weird-fiction fans will love this, and many will pick it up who are BRZRKR or Reeves fans.--Richard Winters

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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