Twenty-five years in the future, and our planet is facing a natural Armageddon that threatens all life on Earth - Professor Jim Al-Khalili combines rip-roaring storytelling and mind-expanding science in his debut thriller.
From renowned theoretical physicist, broadcaster and author Jim Al-Khalili, comes this thrilling debut novel drawing on cutting-edge science and set in a near-future full of dazzling technologies.
2041 and the world as we know it grinds to a halt. Our planet seems to be turning against itself - it would appear that the magnetic field, that protects life on Earth from deadly radiation from space, is failing . . .
Desperate to quell the mass hysteria that would surely follow, world governments have concealed this rapidly emerging Armageddon. But a young Iranian hacktivist stumbles across the truth, and it becomes a race against time to reactivate the earth's core using beams of dark matter.
As a small team of brave and brilliant scientists battle to find a way of transforming theory into practice, they face a fanatical group intent on pursuing their own endgame agenda- for they believe mankind to be a plague upon this earth and will do anything, commit any crime, to ensure that the project fails . . .
And so bring about humanity's end.
Industry Reviews
Excellent, exactly how good science fiction should be: gripping story, beautifully told, while at the same time being scientifically well-informed. -- PROFESSOR RICHARD DAWKINS
Reminiscent of vintage Arthur C. Clarke . . . has a chilling, nail-biting authenticity. -- James Lovegrove * FINANCIAL TIMES *
The Day After Tomorrow meets Neuromancer . . . When the planet's magnetic field fails, the naked sun threatens to deliver an extinction level event now - and every century - unless a high-tech near future humanity can save itself. Sunfall is sizzling stuff. And the best informed techno-thriller you are ever likely to read. -- STEPHEN BAXTER, author of the Xeelee sequence
With its well-crafted world-building, cutting-edge science, and believable, engaging characters caught in a desperate race to stave off the end of the world, this fast-paced near-future thriller is an impressive debut novel from one of our foremost science communicators. Brilliant! -- Professor IAN STEWART, co-author of The Science of Discworld series
A thrilling futuristic page-turner of a novel in which the future of science, and the technology that underpins it, is as gripping as the plot. -- Professor MARK MIODOWNIK, author of Stuff Matters
Packed with insights and action, Sunfall is a pacy and enlightening antidote to the usual dystopian drone about the unexpected consequences of technology, or when perverted science spins out of control. Jim Al-Khalili's debut page-turner describes how, when our local star threatens Armageddon, science really can save the day. -- Professor ROGER HIGHFIELD, science writer and director of The Science Museum
A wonderfully assured fusion of science fact and science fiction that takes the reader on a frightening narrative rollercoaster right up to the last page, exploring what physics might have in store for the future of the Earth. Featuring a wonderful cast of characters, Al-Khalili's novel shows why it's experts like him who humanity will need if we hope to survive. Brilliant. Al-Khalili is the Carl Sagan of our generation.' -- Professor MARCUS DU SAUTOY, author of The Creativity Code
