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The Deep Sky

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What to expect

They left Earth to save humanity. They'll have to save themselves first.

'The Deep Sky is a beautiful tightly-wound mystery. It is both an intimate character portrait and a thriller' Mary Robinette Kowal, winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards

'One of the best debuts of the year' Book Riot

A Washington Post Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Novel of 2023, a Kirkus Reviews Best Debut of 2023, a Goodreads Choice nominee for Best Science Fiction, and a Tor.com Must-Read Sci-Fi Release of 2023

It is the eve of Earth’s environmental collapse. A single ship carries humanity’s last hope: eighty elite graduates of a competitive program, who will give birth to a generation of children in deep space. But halfway to a distant but livable planet, a lethal bomb kills three of the crew and knocks The Phoenix off course. Asuka, the only surviving witness, is an immediate suspect.

As the mystery unfolds on the ship, poignant flashbacks reveal how Asuka came to be picked for the mission. Despite struggling through training back on Earth, she was chosen to represent Japan, a country she only partly knows as a half-Japanese girl raised in America. But estranged from her mother back home, The Phoenix is all she has left.

With the crew turning on each other, Asuka is determined to find the culprit before they all lose faith in the mission—or worse, the bomber strikes again.

Critics Review

“The Deep Sky is a beautiful tightly-wound mystery. It is both an intimate character portrait and a thriller.” Mary Robinette Kowal, winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards

“There are so many things to love about Yume Kitasei’s debut, but I especially adored how real every moment felt: the politics of boarding school and our future world; the lapsed friendships and estranged parents; the guilt of surviving, of being chosen. In The Deep Sky, Kitasei puts us under the microscope not in judgment but with a fair and caring eye; she looks for the best in us.” C. L. Clark, author of The Unbroken

“One of the best debuts of the year.”
Book Riot

“Smart and exhilarating…A study in belonging and how Asuka’s intersecting identities (Japanese-American, crew member, classmate, friend, daughter and woman) buttress her during the most important moments in her life.” BookPage

“The Deep Sky is a smart, emotionally mature, quick-paced climate fiction space whodunit that I already wanted to read again before I even finished it.” Associated Press

“Gripping, apocalyptic… Complete with sabotage, secrets, explosions, flashbacks, existential dread and, ultimately, hope, this is a winner.” Ms. Magazine

“There’s just so much to love about The Deep Sky...It’s a fast-paced read that invites readers to slow down and really think, an impressive feat for a debut.” Geekly, Inc.

“Evocative, engaging, and hard to forget, I really loved this novel.” Alex Segura, LA Times Book Prize-winning author of Secret Identity

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