Invisible Things

A Novel

By: Mat Johnson

Narrated by: Nicole Lewis

Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

A sharp allegorical novel about a hidden human civilization, a crucial election, and a mysterious invisible force that must not be named, by one of our most imaginative comic novelists

LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/FAULKNER AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post

When sociologist Nalini Jackson joins the SS Delany for the first manned mission to Jupiter, all she wants is a career opportunity: the chance to conduct the first field study of group dynamics on long-haul cryoships. But what she discovers instead is an entire city encased in a bubble on Europa, Jupiter’s largest moon.

Even more unexpected, Nalini and the rest of the crew soon find themselves abducted and joining its captive population, forced to start new lives in a place called New Roanoke.

New Roanoke is a city riven by wealth inequality and governed by a feckless, predatory elite, its economy run on heedless consumption and income inequality. But in other ways it’s different from the cities we already know: it’s covered by an enormous dome, it’s populated by alien abductees, and it happens to be terrorized by an invisible entity so disturbing that no one even dares acknowledge its existence.

Albuquerque chauffer Chase Eubanks is pretty darn sure aliens stole his wife. People mock him for saying that, but he doesn’t care who knows it. So when his philanthropist boss funds a top-secret rescue mission to save New Roanoke’s abductees, Chase jumps at the chance to find her. The plan: Get the astronauts out and provide the population with the tech they need to escape this alien world. The reality: Nothing is ever simple when dealing with the complex, contradictory, and contrarian impulses of everyday earthlings.

This is a madcap, surreal adventure into a Jovian mirror world, one grappling with the same polarized politics, existential crises, and mass denialism that obsess and divide our own. Will New Roanoke survive? Will we?

©2022 Mat Johnson (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Invisible Things is a science fiction novel with an eye on the now. Mat Johnson’s latest book delivers a biting satire of American politics and class issues—from the vantage point of outer space. . . . Characters or events in his book call to mind Kurt Vonnegut’s The Sirens of Titan and Cat’s Cradle; Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles, especially the story ‘Mars Is Heaven!’; Robert A. Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land . . . various Twilight Zone episodes; and even the B-movie classic Forbidden Planet, especially notable for its invisible ‘Monsters from the Id.’ . . . [It’s] tempting to employ the language of literary theory and dub Invisible Things an affectionate, intertextual construct, one that draws on half the tropes of modern sf. Still, awareness of echoes and borrowings merely enriches an already exciting story.”—The Washington Post

“In the sense of being an intergalactic adventure, it’s a wild departure for the author. But it’s also of a piece with work that’s become instantly recognizable for its blend of satiric wit, heavy underlying themes (including his own mixed-race origins) and a stubborn undercurrent of optimism. You just know a Mat Johnson novel when you read one. . . . Taking off from its wild setup, the novel delivers belly laughs and gut punches in quick succession. . . . Even if American society is turning dystopian fiction into a sucker’s game, Invisible Things feels au courant.”—Los Angeles Times

“In this biting comic allegory, Johnson (Pym) uses a space mission gone awry to expose our preference for embracing mass denial over grappling with distressing truths. . . . Johnson’s showstopping finale reminds us how much we can accomplish if we dare to face reality.”—Star Tribune

Just meh

Based on the reviews I thought I was in for biting social criticism with a sci-fi twist. The "invisible things" of the title are just that, invisible, until the very last page, and then we don't get any description of them - it's like a scene in a movie where you see people staring at something horrible but the camera never turns to show you what they see. Meanwhile, the story, characters, dialogue, and world-building are so very ordinary. The possibilities afforded by setting the story on a moon of Jupiter are completely unexplored; Johnson could have put them in an isolated place on earth and the story wouldn't have been any different. He *barely* explores the racial and caste dimensions of the situation. And not nearly as funny as I had hoped. Overall, pretty disappointing. The narrator's great though! I would listen to another book read by her in a heartbeat.

Disappointing Story Line

Sigh…. While the premise of a colony discovered on a moon of Jupiter is interesting, the story line is to the point of being trite. I get that it is an allegory, of sorts, about the origins and nature of the USA and current politics. But it comes off as too obvious. An election called early because the party in control willed it otherwise? Come on! At the end, I thought a great insight was coming in the last few minutes. And then it just dropped. Disappointing and I felt it a waste to read. Too bad as I think the author has many insights.

His best work yet.

A must read for fans of scifi literature. Johnson is a certifiable genius. Mind blown.

Refreshingly unique storyline!

Refreshingly unique storyline that refuses easy categorization. I will be on the lookout for Invisible Things part 2 and the movie.

Super interesting and compelling

Very interesting book with a unique premise. The woman that reads it was excellent. Definitely held my attention.

Move this to the top of your pile!

I just finished Mat Johnson's INVISIBLE THINGS. I want to give it more than five stars. Read this novel as soon as you can! Brilliant political insight, a great story, and the ending is a triumph of writerly self-control. Read it!

Fantastic

I did not know what to expect when I started this book. The allegory was very tasteful, even when it was very pointed at certain moments. Really well crafted story.

Unbelievable and poorly written.

We have to believe in undergraduate level astronaut planned the details of social interaction for a mission to Jupiter. The details of the spaceflight are so poor I cannot finish the story.

Meh meh meh

It started slow and ended abruptly. Main character was annoying. Oh well, I did enjoy the similarities to the current political
Climate and Bob = Trump! Haha

Quite an ordinary book

Did not even come close to expectations and I persevered to the end and was as disappointed there as I was throughout the whole story.