NPR Books Best Books of 2018 Library Journal Best Books of 2018 Publishers Weekly Top Books of 2018 UK Guardian Best Books of 2018 From the bestselling author of Central Station comes an extraordinary new novel recalling China Miéville and Michael Chabon, entertaining and subversive in equal measures. Lior Tirosh is a semi-successful author of pulp fiction, an inadvertent time traveler, and an ongoing source of disappointment to his father. Tirosh has returned to his homeland in East Africa. But Palestina―a Jewish state founded in the early 20th century―has grown dangerous. Unrest in Ararat City is growing; the government is building a vast border wall to keep out African refugees. Tirosh has become state security officer Bloom's prime murder suspect, while rogue agent Nur stalks them through transdimensional rifts―possible futures to prevented only by avoiding the mistakes of the past. 2020 Planète-SF Prize Winner NPR Best Books of 2018 Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2018 Library Journal Best Books of 2018 UK Guardian Best Books of 2018 Crime Time Best Books of 2018 Locus Recommended Reading List [STARRED REVIEW] “World Fantasy Award winner Tidhar ( Central Station ) will leave readers’ heads spinning with this disorienting and gripping alternate history. Author Lior Tirosh, grieving a personal tragedy, travels home after years abroad and immediately has a series of strange encounters that pull him into a complex plot to destroy the border between worlds. He arrives in Palestina, the land that the Jews were offered on the Ugandan border in 1904, which both closely resembles and is profoundly different from the Israel of our world, and is followed by two government agents who are trying to stop the destruction of ‘borders,’ though it’s unclear whose side they are really on. Tirosh discovers a niece he had forgotten, is accused of murder, narrowly dodges threats to his life, and takes on the role of a detective from one of his own novels as he tries to understand what is endangered and by whom. ‘No matter what we do, human history always attempts to repeat itself,’ Tidhar writes, even as he explores the substantial differences in history that might arise from single but significant choices. Readers of all kinds, and particularly fans of detective stories and puzzles, will enjoy grappling with the numerous questions raised by this stellar work.” ― Publishers Weekly [STARRED REVIEW] “On the suggestion of his agent, pulp fiction writer Lior Tirosh flies back to the home he hasn't seen since childhood: Palestina, an East African Jewish state formed in the early 20th century. He soon discovers a lot has changed. In the capital, Ararat, unrest is at an all-time high. Palestina is creating a border wall to deter refugees from entering. Lior then learns from an old childhood friend that his niece Deborah is missing and takes on the persona of one of his own detective novel characters as he searches for her, only to be hunted by his own state's security. VERDICT Shifting perspectives will keep readers trying to catch up with this fast-paced plot involving incredible twists on multiple realities and homecoming. This latest from Campbell and World Fantasy Award winner Tidhar ( Central Station ) is fascinating and powerful.” ― Library Journal [ STARRED REVIEW ] “ Unholy Land is a wonder and a revelation―a work of science fiction capable of enthralling audiences across the multiverse.” ― Foreword “Tidhar has turned a suspenseful adventure tale into a complex meditation on the possible paths of modern Jewish history.” ― Chicago Tribune “5/5 stars. A world (worlds) of thoughtfulness, suspense, imagery, and beautiful prose. Highly recommended.” ― Fantasy Literature “Adventurous readers will appreciate this well-written and ambitious book. It should find a place at any library that offers high-quality literary fiction.” ― Booklist “ Unholy Land is a wildly inventive and entertaining novel that moves at a breathless gallop . . . [Tidhar] has already staked a claim as the genre’s most interesting, most bold, and most accomplished writer.” ― Locus “Extraordinary, confronting, intriguing. Unholy Land is a dream of a home that’s never existed, but is no less real for that: a dream that smells like blood and gunpowder.” ―Angela Slatter, author of the World Fantasy Award-winning The Bitterwood Bible “There are SFF writers. There are good SFF writers. And there is Lavie Tidhar. In a genre entirely of his own, and quite possibly a warped genius, he rummages in the ruins of our centuries and our genres and makes out of them something strange, dark and utterly unique. There is no one like him writing in genre today . . . [ Unholy Land ] will leave you dazzled and delighted.” ―Ian McDonald, author of Time Was and Luna: Wolf Moon "Lavie takes us through a haunting, mesmerizing Judea, across multiple timelines into the promised night shelter in British East Africa. He