out now
What if you could save the universe?
Markusz Zielinski is trying, but what with being sacked, imprisoned, freed, kidnapped and threatened with death, no-one’s making it easy for him.
Trapped in the middle of a factional struggle for dominance on the last planet, it’s up to Markusz to save everyone despite themselves. Only problem is, he may be losing his grip on reality.
Reviews
Review by author Jason Nahrung
A race to the end
In which the Australian writer and publisher turns from the enjoyable space opera of his Lenticular books to harder science fiction, portraying the mad scramble to save a last outpost of life from a collapsing universe. Once again, Stevenson provides a living culture, enough details of the factions and entities to make the world believable without bogging down in details. Indeed, there’s not much room for minutiae, as the story unfolds apace, the conflict driven by a political agenda of greed, ego and self-interest. The titular Markusz, a mathematician who may just be able to save what’s left if given the chance, has the clever foil of a ‘ghost’ of his dead wife as well as a strong supporting cast to contextualise the science clearly enough to allow the reader to follow along. And then there’s the question of the strange haven deep within the planet itself, and the mysterious connection to the force devouring the universe. It’s a blast.
“Markusz Zielinski, is a compelling and unique protagonist … highly recommended” – Aurealis Magazine
Review by Kirkus Reviews
An entertaining read that transports a refugee crisis into futuristic, far-out space.
Stevenson presents an SF thriller in which the fate of the universe depends upon a prickly mathematical genius.
Markusz Zielinski doesn’t have time for incompetence, whether it’s from his fellow mathematicians fiddling erroneously with his equations or from self-interested politicians. His late wife, Helen, understood him—as does the imaginary version of her that he talks to in his head—but that won’t help Markusz with the task at hand: He has to perfect his annulus device to save himself and Thousand Worlds, a civilization made up of hundreds of planets, from the Effect, a systematic collapsing of the universe, its planets, its increasingly displaced peoples, and the energy from all of that matter.
Unfortunately for Markusz, he’s been kicked off the annulus team, kidnapped by a separatist group with its own agenda, and is target no. 1 of a murderous aristocrat, politician Ernes Fontaneau. His best chance lies with Sylfe Cachand, a solar expert who’s hellbent on stopping Fontaneau.
In this quick-paced thriller, the narrative focus shifts between characters as they race against time. Some secondary characters are underdeveloped, but Markusz and Sylfe are both convincing protagonists, driven in part by pigheadedness and morality, respectively. And while the plot hinges on cursory understandings of space and plate tectonic theory, it’s on Markusz and company to figure out the mathematical and cosmological mysteries. The author provides an adequate explanation of the book’s science and math, even for readers whose scientific background is limited to science fiction, such as in this description of the annulus device: “The annulus floated free above the cradle, a colourful spectrum extruded like toffee and twisted around itself into a mobius strip. This was the visible projection of the mathematical transforms Markusz had wrought.”
Related blog posts
- Whispers from The Star River – 4ZZZ
Sarah Xu takes a deeper dive into The End Times of Markusz Zielinski and features a reading from Keith Stevenson from the book, and an interview with Stevenson by Karena Wynn-Moylan from The Narratives Library as well as putting together a playlist of suitable music for the end times. Click the image below to listen… Read more: Whispers from The Star River – 4ZZZ - Designing the cover for End Times
I’ve had some amazing covers for my past novels, but – as publisher with coeur de lion publishing – I’ve also designed some covers myself, most notably for Pyrotechnicon and Anywhere But Earth. For The End Times of Markusz Zielinski, I had a pretty strong concept for what the cover should be, so I decided… Read more: Designing the cover for End Times - The truth about space elevator disasters
Space elevator crashes are classic SF fare. We see a devastating crash in the first episode of Apple TVs Foundation series. After a terrorist bombing, the whole structure topples to the planet’s surface, smashing buildings and creating a deep trench around Trantor. See for yourself: It’s thrilling stuff to watch, but – from what I’ve… Read more: The truth about space elevator disasters - Meet the Cast of End-Times
I’ve casted my novels before (see Dreamcasting the Lenticular). It helps me establish and differentiate mannerisms and speech patterns between different characters. Plus it’s a lot of fun imagining who might play the characters I create in a movie or TV adaptation. And the cast for End-Times is particularly glorious. Markusz Zielinski Tom Hiddleston A… Read more: Meet the Cast of End-Times - Building a world
Worldbuilding is an essential part of any science fiction or fantasy novel. Any world a story is set in has to feel real and believable to draw the reader in and make them feel they’re in the world of the book’s characters. With my current work in progress – The End-Times of Markusz Zielinski –… Read more: Building a world - What is The Effect?
The titular end-times in my current work in progress encompass the end of the universe. You can’t get more end-timesier than that. Trapped on the last planet, my hero – mathematician Markusz Zielinski – and a dead engineer are trying to work out how to stop it. The universe isn’t ending all at once but… Read more: What is The Effect? - The End-Times of Markusz Zielinski – Origins
The End-Times of Markusz Zielinski (or End-Times for short) is my current work in progress. The premise is a simple one. The universe is ending. Not all at once but in pieces. Vast stellar systems are collapsing in upon themselves in frighteningly quick time that suggests even universal laws are not constant. All this is… Read more: The End-Times of Markusz Zielinski – Origins