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  • Published: 29 October 2024
  • ISBN: 9781761343490
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $34.99

This Kingdom of Dust

The stunning new novel from the author of The Midnight Watch




'Pacy, exciting and often unexpectedly moving storytelling.'
THE AUSTRALIAN
Like the moon landing itself, a feat of enormous ingenuity imagining the lives of the Apollo mission heroes, and those on planet earth in the tumultuous 1960s.

You'll never look at the Moon in quite the same way ever again. - Ceridwen Dovey

The whole world has just watched Neil and Buzz walk on the Moon. Now they are struck by terror: the lunar module’s engine has failed. There is no back-up, no other way off the surface. If the astronauts can't fix the problem, they'll slowly run out of oxygen and die.

This Kingdom of Dust explores this harrowing scenario through the intertwined narratives of three distinct voices: Buzz on the Moon, his wife Joan back on Earth, and Aquarius, the journalist compelled to craft a story he doesn’t want to write.

Marooned, Buzz confronts his fate with a mix of dread and awe. On Earth, Joan wrestles with grief and sacrifice against the backdrop of 1960s America – a nation riven by war and seismic social change.

Caught between professional duty and personal turmoil, Aquarius soon discovers that he will need all his skill to capture this unfolding drama, and all his courage to follow it through to its breathtaking conclusion.

With page-turning suspense and emotional heft, this reimagining of an epic moment in history combines public spectacle with private despair, reframing what the Moon landing has meant not only for the astronauts and those who loved them, but for all humankind.

  • Published: 29 October 2024
  • ISBN: 9781761343490
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $34.99

About the author

David Dyer

David Dyer grew up in a small, coastal town in New South Wales. After school, he pursued an eclectic career that included studying medicine, travelling the world in merchant ships, and working as a lawyer in Sydney and London. Upon his return to Australia, he decided to embrace his lifelong love of literature, and so became an English teacher and writer. In 2013, he was awarded a doctorate in creative arts, and in 2016 published The Midnight Watch, a novel about the ship that witnessed the Titanic’s distress rockets but failed to respond. He then turned his attention to space, a fascination sparked in early childhood by the book You Will Go to the Moon, and later by the wonder and wisdom of Carl Sagan. In 2019, David was lucky enough to meet moonwalkers Buzz Aldrin and Charlie Duke at a gala celebration of the Apollo 11 mission, where he was inspired anew by the vision and courage of those who dared to leave our small Earth and explore the depths of space.
David currently lives in Sydney, where he teaches, writes and makes cocktails.

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Praise for This Kingdom of Dust

A tautly-paced literary thriller. The short, punchy perspectives maintain a sense of urgency across the tight timeline. The characters - a mix of entirely fictional figures and those based loosely on real people - are exquisitely crafted, complex and flawed. The research is fascinating and educational, completely transporting the reader to the setting.

Kate Dunphy, Books + Publishing

Riveting and elegiac, This Kingdom of Dust is a beautifully bold reimagining - and critique - of space history, and of the status quo. You'll never look at the Moon in quite the same way ever again.

Ceridwen Dovey

An absolute triumph. It’s strange and beautiful and expansive in all the right ways. And Aquarius and Buzz are fantastic, although Joan is even better - what a wonderful character.

James Bradley

I greatly enjoyed and admired David Dyer’s second novel, This Kingdom of Dust. It’s an ambitious, accomplished and original attempt at answering a question central to the imagination of a generation. It offers engaging meditations on religion, writing, meaning and death, all animated and illuminated by Dyer’s pacy, exciting and often unexpectedly moving storytelling.

Mark Dapin, The Australian

What i loved about this book, a reimagining of the moon landing, was the story of those left behind, in particular Joan, the wife of Buzz. I've heard that parallels are being drawn between Joan and Elizabeth Zott from Lessons in Chemistry and i totally get that. Both are incredibly strong independent women pushed down by the mores of 1960s America. But both of them are subversive in shining their light through at the end.

Anne, Devonport Bookshop

This fascinating novel by David Dyer contains multitudes. So if you're up for a dramatic thriller set in space, it's got you covered, but if you're looking for a riveting socially-conscious story of life as a woman in 60s America then you'll also find it within this gorgeous cover. An incredible story that we'd recommend to any readers.

State Book Store

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This Kingdom of Dust book club questions

An epic reimagining of the Apollo mission to read with your book club.

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This Kingdom of Dust by David Dyer TEASER

PRE-ORDER HERE: https://www.penguin.com.au/books/this-kingdom-of-dust-9781761343490 Like the moon landing itself, a feat of enormous ingenuity imagining the lives of the Apollo mission heroes, and those on planet earth in the tumultuous 1960s. "You'll never look at the Moon in quite the same way ever again." - Ceridwen Dovey The whole world has just watched Neil and Buzz walk on the Moon. Now they are struck by terror: the lunar module’s engine has failed. There is no back-up, no other way off the surface. If the astronauts can't fix the problem, they'll slowly run out of oxygen and die. This Kingdom of Dust explores this harrowing scenario through the intertwined narratives of three distinct voices: Buzz on the Moon, his wife Joan back on Earth, and Aquarius, the journalist compelled to craft a story he doesn’t want to write. Marooned, Buzz confronts his fate with a mix of dread and awe. On Earth, Joan wrestles with grief and sacrifice against the backdrop of 1960s America – a nation riven by war and seismic social change. Caught between professional duty and personal turmoil, Aquarius soon discovers that he will need all his skill to capture this unfolding drama, and all his courage to follow it through to its breathtaking conclusion. With page-turning suspense and emotional heft, this reimagining of an epic moment in history combines public spectacle with private despair, reframing what the Moon landing has meant not only for the astronauts and those who loved them, but for all humankind.

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