Angry Robot Books has announced that they have acquired Him, the long-awaited new book from multi-award winner Geoff Ryman (pictured above) and is a retelling of the story of Jesus. It is ‘a story dealing with themes of religious belief, gender identity, and the historical roles of men and women’, Angry Robot says.
“The opportunity to publish an author you’ve long been a fan of is always exciting,” said Simon Spanton, Acquiring Editor. “To discover that their new book is as exciting, as challenging and yet as full of love and empathy as Him is very special.
“Him drew me in, made me fiercely protective of all its characters and then pulled my preconceptions about the world and the history it introduced me to from under me as only the very best SF can. It’s a pleasure and a privilege to be able to welcome Geoff to Angry Robot.”
Sold to Simon Spanton from Antony Harwood at the Antony Harwood Literary Agency for World English and Audio, Him will be published on 5 December 2023.
“Geoff Ryman’s Him, like so many great novels, is as challenging and important as it is exciting and compelling.” added Antony Harwood. “The enthusiasm and commitment of the team at Angry Robot is the stuff of every author’s dreams.”
Here is the official synopsis for Him…
“Women, of course, can not be sons of God,”
In the village of Nazareth, virgin Maryam and the wife of Yosef barLevi gives birth to a miracle: a little girl. She is named Avigayil, after her grandmother.
But as Avigayil grows, it’s clear she believes that she is destined to be someone greater than just the daughter of Maryam. From leading a gang of village boys to challenging the priests in the temple, Avigayil is determined to find her way as Yeshu, a man.
Yeshu can work miracles. He can see futures. He can speak for God.
A gripping, thoughtful sci-fi novel, tackling family, the multiverse and the survival of love through immense change and crisis.
“I wanted to imagine the thrill people must have felt when finally someone preached that everyone is equal in the eyes of God,” Geoff Ryman explained. “I wanted to imagine those thirty years of his life before the eklesia began. I wanted to find a pathway through the different versions of his life and teaching.
“After years of reading, stalling, and false starts the writing was finally sprung from me by one simple idea. Parthenogenesis—virgin birth—would work like cloning. If Jesus were actually female, why don’t we know it? Then I heard an angry child say with terrifying certainty and power, ‘I am a boy,’ and I had my first scene.”
Him will be published on 5 December 2023.