The Arrows of Time

Hard science fiction’s grand master delivers the stunning conclusion to his Orthogonal trilogy.

In a universe where the laws of physics and the speed of light are completely alien to our own, the travelers on the ship Peerless have completed a generations-long struggle to develop advanced technology in a desperate attempt to save their home world. But as tensions mount over the risks of turning the ship around and starting the long voyage home, a new complication arises: the prospect of constructing a messaging system that will give the Peerless news of its own future.

While some see this as a guarantee of safety and a chance to learn of their mission’s ultimate success, others are convinced that the knowledge will be oppressive or worse—that the system could be abused. The conflict over this proposed communication system tears the travelers’ society apart, culminating in terrible violence. To save the Peerless and its mission, two rivals must travel to a world where time runs in reverse.

Continuing in the tradition of The Clockwork Rocket and The Eternal Flame, Greg Egan’s Orthogonal trilogy has continuously pushed the boundaries of scientific fiction, without ever losing track of the lives of the individuals carrying out this grand mission. The Arrows of Time brings this fascinating space opera to a close while offering insight into human nature and the struggles we face, both as individuals and as a species.

Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.

Greg Egan is a computer programmer, and the author of the acclaimed SF novels Diaspora, Quarantine, Permutation City, and Teranesia. He has won the Hugo Award as well as the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. His short fiction has been published in a variety of places, including Interzone, Asimov’s, and Nature. He lives in Perth, Australia.

“If you haven’t read any Egan, you so should. He takes the wildest frontiers of today’s science and turns them into brainbending speculative fiction that continually challenges the reader’s ideas of both reality and humanity.”
—Jon Evans, author of Dark Places and The Executor

“Greg Egan is a master of ‘what-if’ science fiction. Other physics? Different biology? Egan’s characters work out the implications and outcomes as they struggle to survive and prevail. The most original alien race since Vernor Vinge’s Tines.”
—David Brin, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of Earth and Existence

“Greg Egan achieves something very few SF novels manage: he creates some real, old-fashioned sensawunda.”
—Stefan Raets, Tor.com on The Clockwork Rocket

“The perfect SF novel. A pitch-perfect example of how to imagine aliens. Captivating from the first page to the superb last paragraph.”
—Liviu Suciu, Fantasy Book Critic on The Clockwork Rocket

“More than any Egan story to date, the books of the Orthogonal trilogy place science in a broader social context.”
—Karen Burnham, Strange Horizons on The Eternal Flame

“Egan’s fans as well as lovers of SF that emphasizes hard science should welcome this tale of courage and self-sacrifice.”
—Library Journal on The Eternal Flame

“When most people switch a minus sign for a plus, they re-do the math. Egan re-does the entire universe.”
—Jerry Oltion, Nebula Award-winning author of Abandon in Place