Hold Back the Stars by Katie Khan

Hold Back the Stars

Katie Khan

Complicated futuristic dystopian novel. Two young people who wish to challenge the rule which forbids permanent relationships before a certain age are sent on a space mission to test their suitability to be permitted to break the rule. Brilliantly imaginative and great fun. A debut novel from an author to watch.

Extract
'We've only got ninety minutes of air remaining.' Finally a sob escapes, a short burst drowning out his reassuring talk, his air of calm - because this is what he does under duress. Detaching himself from confrontation, from stress, from her overwhelming emotion: this what he does. He'll make a joke in a minute.
'Well I don't know about you,' he says, 'but I'll be putting a very bad review of space travel on the MindShare.'
'Shut up Max,' she says, though his predictability soothes her somewhat. 'This is no time for your shitty sense of humour.'
Parallels
  • Holophin by Luke Kennard
  • The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson