by Wil McCarthy
First published 2020
Harv Leonel and Tara Mukherjee prepare for a brain-hacking experiment that will change everything they know about human history. The two scientists believe they can unlock ancient memories encoded in human DNA, accessing lifetimes of experience from the Antediluvian age. This lost world existed before the great Flood erased coastlines and river valleys, before disaster reshaped the Earth itself. Their dangerous procedure works beyond their wildest expectations. Harv and Tara discover that the Stone Age legends are far older than anyone imagined. They witness a savage world of archetypes and myths, where the deepest stories of humanity were first written into our very genes. Knights and trolls walk this ancient landscape. The birth of humanity itself unfolds before them. But accessing these genetic memories comes with deadly consequences. The legends they uncover are not just stories but real experiences from real people who lived and died in this vanished world. As Harv and Tara dive deeper into humanity's buried past, they must confront the price of their discovery and the dangerous truth about our oldest myths.
Genres: science-fiction, historical-fiction, archaeology, ancient
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: dangerous-knowledge, found-family
Setting: Antediluvian
Period: Stone Age, Flood
448 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Baen