The End is Nigh: PSALMS FOR THE END OF THE WORLD Hits Shelves in ONE WEEK!
Updated: Aug 23, 2022
In one week my debut novel PSALMS FOR THE END OF THE WORLD hits shelves, the culmination of four years of dedicated work and nearly twenty years of research and preparation. It’s many things, but I think, at its heart, it’s a story about love and grief and connection in all its forms. I look forward to sharing it with you.
Recently, author Dominic Nolan said PSALMS was, ‘A kaleidoscope of narrative strands where each one is not only completely compelling, but a fully-integrated part of the larger work. A holistic triumph.’ Sure, that sounds great and very flattering, but I think I might prefer a tweet of his about the book – ‘A fuckton of fun.’
My friend author and director Nicholas Meyer, who provided notes on an early draft of PSALMS, describes it this way: ‘By turns mystifying, infuriating, and finally heart-breaking, Cole Haddon’s mad romp through the universe – no, make that several universes – mixes magic, philosophy, action, and metaphysics with the whimsical dexterity of Melville in MOBY DICK.’ That’s probably the only time in my life anyone is going to compare me to Melville, so I’m going to force myself not to disagree with Nick here.
I'm still pinching myself over THE TIMES' review: 'Haddon's invention is ingenious and compelling.'
You can read more about PSALMS FOR THE END OF THE WORLD below or watch the video of me below, explaining its origins and pretending to look comfortable on camera. The book will be published by Hachette Australia and Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand on 30th August and Headline in the UK and elsewhere around the world on 1st September.
Pre-orders are a critical part of any book’s early success for many reasons, especially for first-time authors. Please consider ordering a copy here.
PSALMS FOR THE END OF THE WORLD
It's 1962 and physics student Grace Pulansky believes she has met the man of her dreams, Robert Jones, while serving up slices of pecan pie at the local diner. But then the FBI shows up, with their fedoras and off-the-rack business suits, and accuses him of being a bomb-planting mass-murderer.
Finding herself on the run with Jones across America's Southwest, the discoveries awaiting Gracie will undermine everything she knows about the universe. Her story will reveal how scores of lives - an identity-swapping rock star, a mourning lover in ancient China, Nazi hunters in pursuit of a terrible secret, a crazed artist in pre-revolutionary France, an astronaut struggling with a turbulent interplanetary future, and many more - are interconnected across space and time by love, grief, and quantum entanglement. Spanning continents, centuries, and dimensions, this exquisitely crafted and madly inventive novel - a triple-disk, concept-album of a book - is a profound yet propulsive enquiry into the nature of reality - the perfect immersive read for fans of David Mitchell, Emily St. John Mandel, Neil Gaiman, and Margaret Atwood.
