XX: A Novel, Graphic

XX is a sci-fi novel that explores the idea of ghostly entities from our own past occupying an alien realm, and asks who we think we are and where we may be headed next. It incorporates NASA transcripts, newspaper and magazine articles, fictitious Wikipedia pages, undeciphered alphabets, and 'Ascension, a forgotten novelette by 1960s counterculture guru Herschel Teague.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 1008 pages
Publication date: 19 August 2021
Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Extraordinary stuff indeed! I believe there are ideas larger and more mind-bending than those I've encountered in any other sci-fi novel. Mark Haddon, the author of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time," expressed such admiration for the novel.

At Jodrell Bank, a mysterious signal of extraterrestrial origin has been detected. Artificial intelligence expert Jack Fenwick believes he can decode it. However, when he and his associates at Hoxton tech startup Intelligencia find a way to step into the alien realm the signal encodes, they discover that it's already occupied by ghostly entities that may come from our own past.

Have these 'DMEn (Digital Memetic Entities) been created by persons unknown for just such an eventuality? Are they our first line of defense in a coming war, not for territory, but for our minds?

XX presents a compelling vision of humanity's unique place in the universe, and of what might happen in the wake of the biggest scientific discovery in human history. As compelling as it is visually striking, Rian Hughes' first novel incorporates NASA transcripts, newspaper and magazine articles, fictitious Wikipedia pages, undeciphered alphabets, and 'Ascension, a forgotten novelette by 1960s counterculture guru Herschel Teague that mysteriously foreshadows events. Wrapping stories within stories, Rian Hughes' XX unleashes the full narrative potential of graphic design. Drawing on Dada, punk, and the modernist movements of the twentieth century, it asks us who we think we are and where we may be headed next.

The battle for your mind has already begun.

Weight: 1118g
Dimension: 155 x 238 x 61 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781529020588