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Celestial Lights
- Author
- Cecile Pin
- Narrator
- Dane Williams, Leah Marks
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date
- 26 March 2026
- Run Time
- 6 hours 41 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
‘Exquisite and deeply felt’ VOGUE
‘Beautifully rendered’ GRAZIA
‘Magnificent … melds sharp insight with great heart’ NICOLA DINAN
‘Thoughtful and beautifully compelling’ ALICE WINN
A beautiful, heartbreaking novel about ambition, love and space from the award-winning author of the Women’s Prize longlisted Wandering Souls.
28 January, 1986: Moments after launch, the Challenger shuttle falls from the sky. At the same time, in a small English village, Oliver Ines is born.
Ollie spends his childhood in a bedroom covered in glow-in-the-dark wallpaper, bearing the planets and stars. Decades later, he has become one of the most renowned astronauts of his time. When an enterprising billionaire approaches him to lead a landmark, ten-year mission to the distant moon Europa, Ollie cannot resist the call of history.
As the mission advances deeper into uncharted territory, Ollie finds himself retreating into the past: his school days and years in the Navy, relationships found and lost, becoming a husband and father. But will the world he remembers still be waiting for him when he returns?
Celestial Lights is a breathtaking story of fate, love, and sacrifice that questions what we owe ourselves and our loved ones, when our ambitions and loyalties collide.
‘An affecting study of childhood romance hitting the brick wall of adult reality’ JONATHAN COE, author of The Proof of My Innocence
‘Truly lovely … the scope of an epic’ JO HAMYA, author of The Hypocrite
‘A wonderful and singular reading experience’ JENNY MUSTARD, author of What A Time To Be Alive
‘Incredible … stayed with me long after I stopped reading’ RED MAGAZINE
‘Atmospheric, original, and beautiful’ ELA LEE, author of Minbak
‘Masterful … I was totally absorbed from start to finish’ JYOTI PATEL, author of The Things That We Lost
‘A moving story that stays with you’ ROMALYN ANTE, author of Agimat
‘Stunning, exhilarating and unforgettable’ ELIANA RAMAGE, author of To the Moon and Back
Critics Review
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‘Exquisite and deeply felt … finding powerful new ways to examine the sacrifices we all have to make in order to pursue our passions’ Vogue
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‘An affecting study of childhood romance hitting the brick wall of adult reality – not to mention a canny retelling of The Odyssey’ Jonathan Coe, author of The Proof of My Innocence
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‘Ambition, love and life’s big questions collide in one beautifully rendered tale’ Grazia
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‘Incredible … stayed with me long after I stopped reading’ Red Magazine
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‘Thought-provoking and moving – a must read’ Prima Magazine
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‘Deeply ambitious … weaving a tale as luminous as its title suggests’ Foreign Policy
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‘Beautifully explores loneliness, memory, belonging, grief, and the cost of chasing one’s dreams … poignant, and deeply human’ Kirkus
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‘A thoughtful and beautifully compelling exploration of human ambition’ Alice Winn, author of In Memoriam
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‘A masterful meditation on ambition and the vanity of legacy’ Nicola Dinan, author of Disappoint Me
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‘Truly lovely … the scope of an epic, but subtly rendered’ Jo Hamya, author of The Hypocrite
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‘A wonderful and singular reading experience’ Jenny Mustard, author of What A Time To Be Alive
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‘Cecile Pin draws you in with cinematic language and emotional depth. A moving story that stays with you’ Romalyn Ante, author of Agimat
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‘Incredibly beautiful and emotive … a deeply moving story about the cost of the lives we live’ Ore Agbaje-Williams, author of The Three of Us
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‘Atmospheric, original, and beautiful … has you captivated long after the last page’ Ela Lee, author of Minbak
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‘A masterful study of ambition, loyalty and love. I was totally absorbed from start to finish’ Jyoti Patel, author of The Things That We Lost
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‘An exquisitely human story … Cecile Pin is an enormous talent’ Eliana Ramage, author of To the Moon and Back
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‘Absorbing … poses as many questions for our world and how we live on it as it does for the galaxy’ Sarvat Hasin, author of Strange Girls
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Cecile Pin
- Narrator
- Dane Williams, Leah Marks
- Duration
- 6 hours 41 minutes
- Release Date
- 26 March 2026
- ISBN
- 9780008706425
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Genre
- Narrative theme: journeys and voyages, Narrative theme: love / relationships, Science fiction: space exploration, Family life fiction / Stories about family, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Romance: friends to lovers
Synopsis
‘Exquisite and deeply felt’ VOGUE ‘Beautifully rendered’ GRAZIA ‘Magnificent … melds sharp insight with great heart’ NICOLA DINAN ‘Thoughtful and beautifully compelling’ ALICE WINN A beautiful, heartbreaking novel about ambition, love and space from the award-winning author of the Women’s Prize longlisted Wandering Souls. 28 January, 1986: Moments after launch, the Challenger shuttle falls from the sky. At the same time, in a small English village, Oliver Ines is born. Ollie spends his childhood in a bedroom covered in glow-in-the-dark wallpaper, bearing the planets and stars. Decades later, he has become one of the most renowned astronauts of his time. When an enterprising billionaire approaches him to lead a landmark, ten-year mission to the distant moon Europa, Ollie cannot resist the call of history. As the mission advances deeper into uncharted territory, Ollie finds himself retreating into the past: his school days and years in the Navy, relationships found and lost, becoming a husband and father. But will the world he remembers still be waiting for him when he returns? Celestial Lights is a breathtaking story of fate, love, and sacrifice that questions what we owe ourselves and our loved ones, when our ambitions and loyalties collide. ‘An affecting study of childhood romance hitting the brick wall of adult reality’ JONATHAN COE, author of The Proof of My Innocence ‘Truly lovely … the scope of an epic’ JO HAMYA, author of The Hypocrite ‘A wonderful and singular reading experience’ JENNY MUSTARD, author of What A Time To Be Alive ‘Incredible … stayed with me long after I stopped reading’ RED MAGAZINE ‘Atmospheric, original, and beautiful’ ELA LEE, author of Minbak ‘Masterful … I was totally absorbed from start to finish’ JYOTI PATEL, author of The Things That We Lost ‘A moving story that stays with you’ ROMALYN ANTE, author of Agimat ‘Stunning, exhilarating and unforgettable’ ELIANA RAMAGE, author of To the Moon and Back
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