The Last Gifts of the Universe

A dying universe. A search for answers. An adventure at the end of a trillion lifetimes. When the Home worlds finally achieved the technology to venture out into the stars, they found a graveyard of dead civilisations. What befell them is unknown. All Home knows is that they are the last ones left - and whatever came for the others will one day come for them. Scout is an Archivist who scours the dead worlds of the cosmos for their last gifts: interesting technology, cultural rituals - anything left behind that might be useful to Home and their survival. During an excavation on a lifeless planet, Scout unearths something unbelievable: a surviving message from an alien who witnessed the world-ending entity thousands of years ago. Now Scout, their brother and their sometimes-fearless, space-faring cat, Pumpkin, must race to save what matters most.

About the author

Riley August is a speculative fiction writer, animal lover, nature walker and all-around nerd. When they aren't writing stories about lonely voyages through space, you can find them playing video games, the guitar or a myriad or TTRPGs. They live in Rhode Island with their cat and husband. The Last Gifts of the Universe is their debut novel.

Report

Come for the space archeologists and adorably violent Pumpkin the cat, but stay for a science fiction novel that will repair your soul with its beautiful, uplifting earnestness in the face of true peril. Riley August is a major new voice in science fiction and I will read anything they write Nadia El-Fassi, author of Best Hex Ever

Product details

• Authors: Riley August
• Publisher: Penguin Books Uk
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 31.07.2025
• EAN: 9781804950647
• ISBN: 978-1-80495-064-7
• No. of pages: 208
• Dimensions: 129 mm x 197 mm x 13 mm
• Subjects: Fiction > Science fiction, fantasy; Science Fiction, Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), Fiction: special features, FICTION / Science Fiction / Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic, FICTION / Science Fiction / Humorous, FICTION / Science Fiction / Space Exploration, Humorous fiction, Science fiction: space exploration, Science fiction: apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic, Narrative theme: Journeys and voyages