* WINNER OF THE BSFA AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL 2024 *
'Brilliant in its playful inventiveness' - THE FT
'Exceptionally clever, deep and multi-layered story(ies)' - ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY, AUTHOR OF CHILDREN OF TIME
'One of the most original writers of speculative fiction in Britain today' - THE GUARDIAN
YOU WILL KNOW YOUR PLACE WHEN YOU ARE DONE.
In January 2314, Rowena Savalas - a curator of the vast archive of the twenty-first century's primitive internet - stumbles upon a story posted in the summer of 2024. She's quickly drawn into the mystery of the text: Is it autobiography, fantasy or fraud? What's the significance of the recurring number 381?
In the story, the protagonist Fairly walks the Horned Road - a quest undertaken by youngsters in her village when they come of age. The looming presence of the 'breathing man' dogs her heels every step of the way.
As Rowena follows Fairly's quest, both women come to question their choices, and the world they thought they knew is overturned.
'A dream of a book: enigmatic, marvellous, utterly original' - ADAM ROBERTS, AUTHOR OF THE THING ITSELF
'A melancholy and compellingly weird tale of identity in crisis' - SFX
'Funny and thoughtful, frightening and joyful' - MATT HILL, AUTHOR OF LAMB AND THE BREACH
