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  • Published: 3 July 2014
  • ISBN: 9781448191260
  • Imprint: Vintage Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 528

The Silent History





A ingenious thriller about a generation unable to speak - 'entirely revolutionary' (Wired)

A generation of children are born without speech, without comprehension, without language entirely.

At first, they are just medical curiosities. But their numbers swell, and soon they grow into an established underclass, occupying squats and communes around the world. To some they are seen as a threat; to others, as a salvation. Some suspect they may have other abilities beyond our understanding.

The children cannot tell you their story. Instead we rely on The Silent History, a collection of testimonies from those touched by the phenomenon. Parents, doctors, opportunist inventors, cult leaders, and vigilantes, recall what they have endured and what they have inflicted on others. They will take you from a recognisable present to a real and unsettling future. You will not want to look away.

  • Published: 3 July 2014
  • ISBN: 9781448191260
  • Imprint: Vintage Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 528

Praise for The Silent History

A completely new kind of novel.

Bookseller

For all technology can add to storytelling, it’s better as a proper book… Very funny… Makes some keen observations about the trouble people have understanding one another.

Stuff

The high-concept premise is brilliantly simple.

i

The plot more than stands on its own two feet, driven by classic narrative virtues: chases, hints of the supernatural, a dystopian thriller, intellectual mystery and cosmic jigsaw puzzle.

James Kidd, National

A compelling story about difference, rights and power.

Richard House, Guardian

An imaginative investigation into the besetting issues of our information-saturated society… Manages to feel relentlessly thoughtful and new.

Tim Martin, The Times

Chilling and intelligent thriller about words and intelligence, youth and politics.

New Scientist

an engaging portrait of the iGeneration

Independent

Entirely revolutionary

Wired

The technological dimension of the project is cool, and the execution is fantastic. But I’m hooked on the story itself.

Jon Mooallem, New York Times