In Universes

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A Lilith Magazine Most Anticipated Book of 2024 — A Literary Hub Most Anticipated Sci-Fi Book of 2024

"An explosion of creative beauty and heart." —Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of Chain-Gang All-Stars

"Baffingly good." —Jordy Rosenberg, author of Confessions of the Fox

"A miracle of physics and art." —Julia Phillips, author of Disappearing Earth

For fans of Emily St. John Mandel and Kelly Link, a profoundly imaginative debut novel set in numerous universes, which follows a queer physicist's search for belonging across time and space.

Raffi works in an observational cosmology lab, searching for dark matter and trying to hide how little they understand their own research. Every chance they get, they escape to see Britt, a queer sculptor who fascinates them for reasons they also don't — or won't — understand. As Raffi's carefully constructed life begins to collapse, they become increasingly fixated on the multiverse and the idea that somewhere, there might be a universe where they mean as much to Britt as she does to them...and just like that, Raffi and Britt are thirteen years old, best friends and maybe something more.

In Universes is a mind-bending tour across parallel worlds, each an answer to the question of what life would be like if events had played out just a little differently. The universes grow increasingly strange: women fracture into hordes of animals, alien-infested bears prowl apocalyptic landscapes. But across them all, Raffi — alongside their sometimes-friends, sometimes-lovers Britt, Kay, and Graham — reaches for a life that feels authentically their own.

Blending realism with science fiction, In Universes explores the thirst for genius, the fluidity of gender and identity, and the pull of the past against the desire to lead a meaningful life. Part Ted Chiang, part Carmen Maria Machado, part Everything Everywhere All At Once, In Universes insists on the transgressive power of hope even in the darkest of times.

"A soul-stirring debut....This crackling chronicle of queer love is a must read." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) /

"Emet North beautifully fractures the veil between genres, weaving a kaleidoscopic journey of identity, love, and the choices that make us. This is a multiverse where both tender and painful childhood memories echo through the dark matter of adulthood and finds its way to post-apocalyptic gardens of the dead. An assured and wildly imaginative debut that never loses its heart in any of its realities." Sequoia Nagamatsu, bestselling author of How High We Go in the Dark

"In Universes is a dazzling and inventive exploration of the many people we might become, the possibilities we might discover, and the heartbreak we can't run from. This novel is a breathtaking introduction to a brilliant new voice." Danielle Evans, award-winning author of The Office of Historical Corrections

"Beautiful and surreal, In Universes is a tenderly-crafted maze that brims with emotion — despair and regret, love and hope — as it wrestles with the endless seeking of self and the 'what-ifs' that define a life." Fonda Lee, author of The Green Bone Saga and winner of the World Fantasy Award

"In Universes has a wonderous way of taking the full expanse of the heart (vast! unending!) and collapsing it into a jeweled beauty you can hold in your hands. This novel is brainy and surprising and — in a cartwheeling, star-spinning way — completely real." Ramona Ausubel, author of The Last Animal

"In a feat of narrative structure both dazzling and convincing, North gives us deep and emotionally complex access to one human being's journey across the multiverse, makes us think deeply about our own unchosen doorways, redefines realism as they kick its ass. In Universes is a wonder of a novel." Pam Houston, author of Deep Creek: Finding Hope In the High Country

Emet North has lived in a dozen states over the past decade and has no fixed residence, though they feel most at home in the mountains. In previous lives, they worked in an observational cosmology lab on a grant from NASA, taught snowboarding in Montana, researched Lie algebras, led wine tastings, waited tables, trained horses, and wrote a thesis on the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. They translate from Spanish to English with a particular focus on queer and trans voices and are always looking for new projects.