Today, Neom is a utopian dream―a megacity of the future yet to be built in the Saudi desert. In this deeply imaginative novel from the award-winning universe of Central Station , far-future Neom is already old. Sentient machines roam the desert searching for purpose, works of art can be more deadly than weapons, and the spark of a long-overdue revolution is in the wind. Only the rekindling of an impossible love affair may slow the inevitable sands of time. “This is Tidhar at his best: the crazily proliferating imagination, the textures, the ideas, the dazzling storytelling. A brilliant portrait of community and its possibilities.” ―Adam Roberts, author of Purgatory Mount The city known as Neom is many things to many beings, human or otherwise. It is a tech wonderland for the rich and beautiful; an urban sprawl along the Red Sea; and a port of call between Earth and the stars. In the desert, young orphan Elias has joined a caravan, hoping to earn his passage off-world. But the desert is full of mechanical artefacts, some unexplained and some unexploded. Recently, a wry, unnamed robot has unearthed one of the region’s biggest mysteries: the vestiges of a golden man. In Neom, childhood affection is rekindling between loyal shurta-officer Nasir and hardworking flower-seller Mariam. But Nasu, a deadly terrorartist, has come to the city with missing memories and unfinished business. Just one robot can change a city’s destiny with a single rose―especially when that robot is in search of lost love. Lavie Tidhar's ( Unholy Land , The Escapement ) newest lushly immersive novel, Neom , which includes a guide to the Central Station -verse, is at turns gritty, comedic, transportive, and fascinatingly plausible. Locus Award Finalist Gizmodo 's Sparkling New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books A Foreword Book of the Day Antick Musings Best Books of 2022 The Speculative Shelf ’s Top 10 Books of 2022 “Tidhar ( Central Station ) writes another story that takes place within his Central Station universe. Neom is a future-oriented, techno city: a port of call to the stars for humans and a neighbor to the robots that roam the nearby desert searching for a purpose. Destinies will collide as a mechanical man initiates a robotic revolution, a former “terrorartist” seeks her buried memories, and three humans―Saleh, Mariam, and Nasir―have a chance to realize their dreams. Tidhar is a unique voice in science fiction and an author with many awards to his name. An enrapturing conglomeration of philosophy, psychology, and storytelling, the novel melds the what-ifs with a believable and relatable scenario. This is not a sequel so much as another saga in a well-developed and thought-out world. VERDICT Old and new fans alike will adore this fascinating new addition to Tidhar’s future Earth universe, and science fiction buffs would do well to put Tidhar on their radar of must-read authors.” ― Library Journal “Yet again, Lavie Tidhar’s future world of Neom is exciting and distinctive, his characters complex and fascinating, and his themes powerful and thought-provoking. [Tidhar] is the best sort of science fiction.” ―Kij Johnson, author of The River Bank [STARRED REVIEW] “In his signature style, Tidhar laces his future-set, fascinating tale with biblical references and nods to science fiction classics, here revitalized with added empathy…. Neom is an extraordinary and compassionate trek into the hearts of AI.” ― Foreword “Vivid and techno-mythological, Neom infects you with something special that transcends all the incidents and terrors―a shimmering current of guarded optimism.” ―David Brin, author of Existence, Earth and The Postman “This is Tidhar at his best: the crazily proliferating imagination, the textures, the ideas, the dazzling storytelling. A brilliant portrait of community and its possibilities.” ―Adam Roberts, author of Purgatory Mount “I must warn you: immediately upon finishing Neom , you may find yourself smitten with the need to plunge into the idea-dense milieu of Central Station . Here’s hoping Tidhar will treat us to more visits to absolutely anywhere in his astounding future, whether that’s on or off our home planet.” ― Analog “ Neom is a treasure, and Tidhar says that there are so many more stories from this complicated world. Every new one is a compelling chapter in this future history that reflects so much about who we are and the basic things we yearn for.” ― SciFi Mind “Lavie Tidhar’s Neom is a deliciously inventive wild ride through a future Middle East full of unexpected wonders: dutiful jackals, traumatized robots, terrifying terrorartists, caravans of elephants and great slinkying robotic khans, preserves for wild mechas and monasteries that are also singularities. But more than that, the world of Neom is deeply, richly lived in: the past and the present and the future are not just unevenly distributed, they are marbled together―tiny slithering tadpole robot