A River Called Time

A Novel

By: Courttia Newland

Narrated by: Michael Obiora

A monumental speculative fiction story of love, loyalty, politics, and conscience, set in parallel Londons.

"This mystical coming-of-age tale...is sure to please fans of thought-provoking speculative fiction."
—Publishers Weekly

"A River Called Time is a masterful reimagining of the African diaspora's influence on England, and on the world. It's a grand tale and still an intimate portrait of loss and love. What glory and influence would Africa enjoy if colonialism had never occurred? Courttia Newland reshapes our vision of the past, present and future by taking this one question seriously. The result is something truly special. No other way to put it, this book is true Black magic."
—Victor LaValle, author of The Changeling

"Courttia Newland's writing is rich with passion and humanity. He manages to convey great depth without ever losing his lightness of touch. A rare feat only reserved for the few."
—Steve McQueen, Academy Award–winning film director

The Ark was built to save the lives of the many, but rapidly became a refuge for the elite, the entrance closed without warning.

Years after the Ark was cut off from the world—a world much like our own, but in which slavery has never existed—a chance of survival within the Ark's confines is granted to a select few who can prove their worth. Among their number is Markriss Denny, whose path to future excellence is marred only by a closely guarded secret: without warning, his spirit leaves his body, allowing him to see and experience a world far beyond his physical limitations.

Once inside the Ark, Denny learns of another with the same power, whose existence could spell catastrophe for humanity. He is forced into a desperate race to understand his abilities, and in doing so uncovers the truth about the Ark, himself, and the people he thought he once knew.

Critic reviews

What would London be like if the UK had not colonized half the world? That’s the question that drives Courttia Newland’s A River Called Time. When young Markriss has the opportunity to move into the Ark—a massive structure that promises a utopian existence for the invited—he takes it, only to find that the world of his dreams isn’t as idyllic as he was promised. —Bustle

A deftly crafted dystopian science fiction novel by an author with a genuine flair for originality and the kind of narrative driven storytelling that reaches out and grabs the reader’s totally engaged and compulsive page turning attention from cover to cover.—Midwest Book Review

This mystical coming-of-age tale . . . is sure to please fans of thought-provoking speculative fiction.—Publishers Weekly

This is an ambitiously imagined book that, by removing the European lens on African cultures, creates a new reality that allows us to question how we view our own. Complex and multilayered, this novel opens the door to the possibilities of noncolonial worlds.—Kirkus Reviews

No one can doubt the sheer energy and verve of Newland’s vision.—The Guardian (UK), Book of the Day selection