Publication Date 12 August 2021
It's hard to fit in where you don't belong ... particularly if you belong on a planet 2,500,000 light-years away.
Despite living on Earth for almost thirty years, Simon Armstrong knows he is not of our world.
Still, with his interplanetary mission almost over, he’ll soon be saying goodbye to a life he’s struggled to navigate and the humans he doesn’t much like. The only creature he’ll likely miss will be Merle, the antisocial cat he shares his home with.
Simon does, however, have a minor problem — he has no idea how They will orchestrate his extraction from our planet. With the threads of his earthly existence unravelling by the day, all he can do is wait patiently for a sign.
Then, with time running out, he stumbles upon a significant clue to his departure.
What Simon doesn’t know is that clue could uncover a truth more arcane than any alien world.
Five Star Review
If you thought you had Keith A Pearson's writing style labelled, think again. He has defied being pigeonholed into a genre and brought us a powerful contemporary novel that will keep readers thinking long after they have read it. I was in tears at how beautiful it was. The only similarity to his other work is the laugh out loud moments, the strong well rounded characters and the accomplished writing. And of course there is always a mystery to be solved.
In "Waiting in the Sky" the prose has a gorgeous lyrical tone to it and a depth that touches your soul. Simon doesn't care if you like him or not. What boring piece of gossip you might tell him. And he certainly doesn't want your pity or care. He hasn't the time for all that because every minute of his day is routinely planned. But care you will.
And when horrible things happen, when the tension heightens, you want to jump into the book and protect him. Honestly there was one point in the book where I could barely keep reading because I had a terrible sense of foreboding and Simon couldn't see it. That's how much the narrative evoked my emotions. Keith can make you cry one minute, hide behind your hands the next and laugh the other.
There is so much more I want to say about this book but I am conscious that I may give spoilers away. For me there is a flavour of Matt Haig's The Humans. Louise Beech's This Is How We Are Human and Gail Honeymoon's Eleanor Oliphant. Thought provoking, heart wrenching and poignant you will fall in love with Simon and his story.
Full of mystery, twists and turns this book might be Keith's most personal novel yet and although I adore his other books, this one holds real meaning for me. I suspect it will for many, many others.
I urge you to buy this wonderful novel.
