"A dystopian satire, a story about storytelling, believing and listening-- A Highly Unlikely Scenario is ultimately a history of our own strange world." -- New York Times Book Review "[A] dizzying fabulist debut." -- Washington Post "Ultimately, more than incantations and codes, it''s family Cantor cares about. A Highly Unlikely Scenario is about just that: Familial wisdom and love lost and found and shared anew, finally, conquering all." -- Daily Beast An io9 pick for the Essential Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of 2014 "[Cantor''s] imagination is exhilarating -- A Highly Unlikely Scenario will appeal to fans of sci-fi and people who just like to laugh." -- Cosmopolitan''s 10 Books by Women You Have to Read This Spring "A treat for those who like zippy sci-fi paced like the stories of Kurt Vonnegut." -- Time Out New York "Rachel Cantor joins the ranks of authors who are able to turn philosophical concepts into whiz-bang plots, and make them funny as well. Throw in some family dysfunction, time travel, a librarian ingénue, and the possible destruction of the world, and you''ve got an adventure story replete with nerdy delights.
" -- Tor "The book''s plot, which concerns a future where fast food corporations run the world, is deliciously weird enough to work in its own warped way, walking the line between straight fantasy and fiction." -- Flavorwire A Hall of Fame Bestseller in The Millions One of Liberty Hardy''s (RiverRun Bookstore) Must-Read Books from Indie Presses for 2014, on Book Riot "A heroic tale unlike any other: a novel that is not about a quest but about learning that the world--our world--is full of extraordinary, mysterious wonders." -- Kenyon Review "This debut novel is a present to both sci-fi and humor fans alike." -- Barnes & Noble Book Blog , January indie books roundup "In this roller-coaster debut, fast-food corporations rule the world and a peon customer-service worker has to save it. Cantor is in control of her material, and successful dystopian satire makes more sense while you''re lost in it." -- Heeb , Best Books of the Year "Brooklyn-based writer Rachel Cantor has created a whole new world in her debut novel -- a humorous and playful science fiction story." -- Brooklyn Eagle "Delightful. The sense of excitement in Cantor''s prose, which propels this familiar story of a few silly, frightened people braving their way through a maddening, baffling world, is what compels us to keep reading.
" -- The Rumpus A Book of the Week pick from WORD bookstore on Largehearted Boy "An intrepid debut." -- Kirkus Reviews "Cantor suspends disbelief and creates a loony world entirely of her own, which is terrifically funny and effortlessly enjoyable. Highly entertaining and adventurous." -- Publishers Weekly "[A] rambunctiously smart, pun-spiked, and sweet dystopian romantic comedy. Cantor''s funny and charming metaphysical adventure and love story is a wily inquiry into questions of perception, knowledge, mystery, legacy, and love." -- Booklist "Cantor''s novel will be a great hit for fans of Douglas Adams''s Hitchhiker''s Guide to the Universe . There''s a lot going on here, and all of it is amusing." -- Library Journal "The great pleasure of such novels is the world-building, in which the author invents a new universe while playfully commenting on our own.
And what Cantor does of this is great, her impish prose and dry wit perfectly suited to the task." -- The Telegraph (UK) "It''s as if Kurt Vonnegut and Italo Calvino collaborated to write a comic book sci-fi adventure and persuaded Chagall to do the drawings. One of the freshest and mostly lively novels I have encountered for quite a while." -- Jim Crace, author of Harvest and The Pesthouse " A Highly Unlikely Scenario is a joyful book, full of the energy of undiluted invention and the thoughtful imagination of a writer to watch. It''s a wild ride and much more--funny, intelligent and entirely pleasing." -- A.L. Kennedy, author of Day "Cosmic and comic, full of philosophy, mysticism and celestial whimsy.
A story of listening, of souls and bodies, that is at once both profoundly wild and wildly profound." -- Charles Yu, author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe "Part Italo Calvino, part Ray Bradbury, in this extraordinary novel, Rachel Cantor explores questions of self-knowledge, true love and family, all while saving the world--and winning readers--in the past, present, and future." -- Hannah Tinti, author of The Good Thief "A sharp, witty, and immensely entertaining debut. Cantor''s skill in rendering complex and highly believable characters makes for an unexpectedly moving tale." -- Emily St. John Mandel , author of The Lola Quartet "I didn''t know I needed a mystical Jewish Douglas Adams in my life, but Rachel Cantor is it, and her Guide makes me shep naches every time I turn a page. Buy this book, bubeleh ! It will surprise you in ways large and small, and it will fill you with delight." --Emily Barton, author of Brookland.