
Those Beyond the Wall
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Angel Pean
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By:
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Micaiah Johnson
About this listen
A searing sci-fi thriller about a woman reckoning with her past to solve a series of sudden and inexplicable deaths in the face of a coming apocalypse—from the Compton Crook Award-winning author of The Space Between Worlds.
“A bold, beautiful, gut-punch of a story, at turns ferocious and poetic—and sometimes both at once.”—Veronica Roth, New York Times bestselling author of Chosen Ones
“[Those Beyond the Wall] reads like Mad Max: Fury Road was written by Phillip K. Dick and N.K. Jemison.”—CrimeReads
SHORTLISTED FOR THE URSULA K. LE GUIN PRIZE FOR FICTION • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, NPR, Elle
In Ashtown, a rough-and-tumble desert community, the Emperor rules with poisoned claws and an iron fist. He can’t show any sign of weakness, as the neighboring Wiley City has spent lifetimes beating down the people of Ashtown and would love nothing more than its downfall. There’s only one person in the desert the Emperor can fully trust—and her name is Scales.
Scales is the best at what she does: keeping everyone and everything in line. As a skilled mechanic—and an even more skilled fighter, when she needs to be—Scales is a respected member of the Emperor’s crew, who’s able to keep things running smoothly. But the fragile peace Scales helps to maintain is fractured when a woman is mangled and killed before her eyes. Even more incomprehensible: There doesn’t seem to be a murderer.
When more bodies start to turn up, both in Ashtown and in the wealthier, walled-off Wiley City, Scales is tasked with finding the cause—and putting an end to it by any means necessary. To protect the people she loves, she teams up with a frustratingly by-the-books partner from Ashtown and a brusque-but-brilliant scientist from the City, delving into both worlds to track down an invisible killer.
But the answers Scales finds are bigger than she ever could have imagined, leading her into the brutal heart beneath Wiley City’s pristine façade and dredging up secrets from her own past that she would rather keep hidden. If she wants to save the world from the earth-shattering truths she uncovers, she can no longer remain silent—even if speaking up costs her everything.
©2024 Micaiah Johnson (P)2024 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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What if you’ve sworn to protect the one you were born to destroy? Tarisai has always longed for the warmth of a family. She was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as the Lady. The Lady sends her to the capital of the global empire of Aritsar to compete with other children to be chosen as one of the crown prince’s Council of Eleven. If she’s picked, she’ll be joined with the other council members through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood. That closeness is irresistible to Tarisai. But the Lady has other ideas....
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Critic reviews
“A bold, beautiful, gut-punch of a story, at turns ferocious and poetic—and sometimes both at once.”—Veronica Roth, New York Times bestselling author of Chosen Ones
“Those Beyond the Wall is a standout novel with painful clarity of voice; [it is] savage, yet humane. Micaiah Johnson has more than delivered on the promise of her exceptional first novel with a follow-up that is even more tightly plotted and more vividly characterized.”—Elizabeth Bear, Hugo Award-winning author of Ancestral Night
“[Those Beyond the Wall] reads like Mad Max: Fury Road was written by Philip K. Dick and N. K. Jemisin.”—CrimeReads
A tale our world needs right now!
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Beautifully powerful
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Can’t get enough
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Poetic
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starting immediately after the first novel, The Space Between Worlds, I expected similar pacing and story arcs, so II stopped listening a few chapters into this one. I disliked all the characters and, this story being told in the first person, I was always in the head of a character that made me uncomfortable. Always. In. The. Head. In other words, there was too large of an internal monologue to action ratio. And - *spoiler alert* - Mr. Scales is not always a faithful narrator.
The voice performer was good at staying in character and keeping voices distinct. The smooth delivery was what allowed me to return to the novel for what turned out to be a gripping listen with a most satisfying second half. It was only the first quarter of the book that dragged, in retrospect.
Easy to recommend this title.
Slow start, but worth the wait
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An unusual, unexpected, fantastic voice in sci-fi
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Finally, not another trash sci-fi sequel
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I enjoyed getting to know new characters as well as reconnect with the characters from The Space Between Worlds.
So glad she wrote the second book
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The Best Sociology Lesson.
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This is a lovely sequel.
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