16 blockbuster September science fiction and fantasy releases to kick off Fall
By Lacy Baugher
September 2021 release: The Actual Star
Described as a cross between David Mitchell and Octavia Butler, The Actual Star is a complex, complicated tale spanning two thousand years and untold generations.
It follows three separate timelines: One set a thousand years ago in an ancient Mayan kingdom, another in 2021 America, and the third in a distant future that’s been irrevocably shaped by climate change. The story follows a pair of Mayan twins destined to rule, an American woman on a journey of self-discovery, and an alleged heretic who challenge their society’s supposedly evolved beliefs
The three timelines are linked through religion, as Byrne’s futuristic theology is based on Mayan beliefs and specifically linked through the cave of Actun Tunichil Muknal in Belize where truly transcendent perception may or may not be possible.
In short: This book is a lot (and a lot of its hard to explain), but if you like stories like Cloud Atlas, with shifting perspectives and times, The Actual Star may just be a Fall must-read for you.
The official synopsis describes the story as follows.
"The Actual Star takes readers on a journey over thousands of years and six continents —collapsing three separate timelines into one cave in the Belizean jungle. An epic saga of three reincarnated souls, this novel demonstrates the entanglements of tradition and progress, sister and stranger, love and hate. The book jumps forward and backward in time among a pair of twins who ruled a Maya kingdom, a young American on a trip of self-discovery, and two dangerous charismatics in a conflict that will determine the fate of the few humans left on Earth after massive climate change. In each era, age-old questions about existence and belonging and identity converge deep underground. Because only in complete darkness can one truly see the stars."
The Actual Star is available on September 14.