The Last Gifts of the Universe

A dying universe. A search for answers. An adventure at the end of a trillion lifetimes.

When the home worlds finally achieved the technology to venture out into the stars, they found a graveyard of dead civilisations. What befell these worlds is unknown. All they know is that they are the last ones left – and whatever came for the others will one day come for them.

Scout is an Archivist who scours the dead worlds of the cosmos for their last gifts: interesting technology, cultural rituals – anything left behind that might be useful to home and their survival. During an excavation on a lifeless planet, Scout unearths something unbelievable: a surviving message from an alien who witnessed the world-ending entity thousands of years ago.

Now Scout, their brother and their sometimes-fearless, space-faring cat, Pumpkin, must race to save what matters most.

Come for the space archeologists and adorably violent Pumpkin the cat, but stay for a science fiction novel that will repair your soul with its beautiful, uplifting earnestness in the face of true peril. Riley August is a major new voice in science fiction and I will read anything they write

Nadia El-Fassi, author of Best Hex Ever

About Riley August

Riley August is a speculative fiction writer, animal lover, nature walker and all-around nerd. When they aren't writing stories about lonely voyages through space, you can find them playing video games, the guitar or a myriad or TTRPGs. They live in Rhode Island with their cat and husband. The Last Gifts of the Universe is their debut novel.
Details
  • Imprint: Del Rey
  • ISBN: 9781529934892
  • Length: 208 pages
  • Dimensions: 223mm x 21mm x 143mm
  • Weight: 320g
  • Price: £14.99