It begins with Peter, a devoted man of faith, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, one that takes him galaxies away from his wife, Bea. Peter becomes immersed in the mysteries of an astonishing new environment, overseen by an enigmatic corporation known only as USIC. His work introduces him to a seemingly friendly native population struggling with a dangerous illness and hungry for Peter’s teachings—his Bible is their “book of strange new things.” But Peter is rattled when Bea’s letters from home become increasingly desperate: typhoons and earthquakes are devastating whole countries, and governments are crumbling. Bea’s faith, once the guiding light of their lives, begins to falter. Suddenly, a separation measured by an otherworldly distance, and defined both by one newly discovered world and another in a state of collapse, is threatened by an ever-widening gulf that is much less quantifiable. While Peter is reconciling the needs of his congregation with the desires of his strange employer, Bea is struggling for survival. Their trials lay bare a profound meditation on faith, love tested beyond endurance, and our responsibility to those closest to us. Marked by the same bravura storytelling and precise language that made The Crimson Petal and the White such an international success, The Book of Strange New Things is extraordinary, mesmerizing, and replete with emotional complexity and genuine pathos.


彼得是虔誠的基督徒，他受召到異地傳教，不得不與妻子碧兒相隔好幾個銀河系之遠。身處一個被神祕組織USIC監管的新環境，彼得身邊開始發生一樁樁離奇事件。彼德因傳教而接觸到一群看似和善的當地居民，他們受到危險疾病的威脅，迫切需要彼得發揮宗教的力量帶領他們。彼得的聖經就是當地居民眼中的「奇事之書」。然而，隨著碧兒信中的內容愈來愈顯絕望，彼得也愈來愈憂心惶恐。碧兒在信中寫道，他們的家園受到颱風、地震的破壞，全世界的國家都遭受到嚴重打擊，許多政府開始分崩離析。碧兒的信念曾經引領他們突破難關，但是此刻連她也動搖了。突然間，分處兩個遙遠世界的夫妻面臨了極大的考驗，一個身在新發現的星球，另一個則陷於即將崩毀的家園，他們之間的鴻溝愈來愈深，感情受到了前所未有的威脅。當彼得正在會眾的需求與奇異雇主的期望之間努力尋求平衡點時，碧兒則在掙扎求生。他們所經歷的試煉，揭露了有關信仰的沉思、經受嚴酷考驗的愛，以及我們對至親的責任。本書與眾不同，極具吸引力，內容充滿錯綜複雜而真摯的情感；大膽的敘事和精準的用字和作者另一聞名世界的傑作《The Crimson Petal and the White》如出一轍。