Explorers of the New Century

The brilliant satirical novel by the Booker Prize-shortlisted author of The Restraint of Beasts
'To write one unique book is a rare achievement. The ability to produce several is truly special' Independent
'A demented, deadpan comic wonder' Thomas Pynchon
It is the beginning of the century, and two teams of explorers are racing across a cold, windswept, deserted land to reach the furthest point from civilisation.
It is, they find, 'an awfully long way'. Johns and his men take the western route, along a rocky scree, gossiping, bickering and grumbling as they go. Meanwhile, Tostig's men make their way along the dry riverbed in the east - they are fewer, with just five men and ten mules, and better organised than their rivals.
But with Johns' team keeping apace in the distance, the race is on to reach the Agreed Furthest Point ...

Magnus Mills is the author of The Field of the Cloth of Gold and eight other novels, including The Restraint of Beasts, which won the McKitterick Prize and was shortlisted for both the Booker Prize and the Whitbread (now the Costa) First Novel Award in 1999. His most recent novel, The Field of the Cloth of Gold was published to great critical acclaim and was shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize 2015. His books have been translated into twenty languages. He lives in London.