Tomorrow: A Novel

by Damian Dibben

Overview

A loyal dog embarks on an odyssey across centuries in an epic fantasy “beautifully rich in perseverance, love . . . and memorable, evocative scents” (Kirkus Reviews).

Venice, 1815. A two-hundred-year-old dog is searching for his lost master. So begins Tomorrow, a story of loyalty and love that spans the centuries, and of hope as the world collapses into war. Tomorrow is a dog who must travel through the courts and battlefields of Europe in search of the man who granted him immortality. His is a journey of loyalty and determination. Along the way he befriends both animals and humans, falls in love, marvels at the human ability to make music, and despairs at their capacity for destruction.

Tomorrow is a spellbinding novel of courage and devotion, of humanity across the ages and of the eternal connection between two souls.

A Book Riot Best Fantasy Book

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781488080555
Publisher:	Harlequin
Publication date:	01/18/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	245
Sales rank:	82,917
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

DAMIAN DIBBEN is the creator of the internationally acclaimed children’s book series the History Keepers, translated into 26 languages in over 40 countries. Previously, he worked as a screenwriter, and actor, on projects as diverse as The Phantom of the Opera and Puss in Boots and Young Indiana Jones. He lives, facing St Paul’s Cathedral, on London’s Southbank with his partner Ali and dog Dudley.

Editorial Reviews

04/23/2018
Courageous canine capers and evocative historical interludes anchor Dibben’s uplifting but often melancholy tale of an immortal dog and his centuries-spanning life with his equally everlasting master. Injected with an elixir as a puppy, the large brown dog, who narrates the novel, becomes companion to an itinerant physician and chemist who serves the royalty of Europe during the Age of Enlightenment. In 1688, the dog loses his beloved master in Venice, then spends the next 127 years waiting at the Venice cathedral for the physician to return. After befriending an abandoned pooch named Sporco, the dog recounts tales of traveling with his master through the battlefields of Europe, attending lavish balls, meeting composer Schubert and poet Byron, and taking a witty mate. Then, in 1815, the dog spots Vilder, an old and also immortal business associate of his master who is bent on revenge for a long-ago tragedy. Although Vilder once tried to kill the dog, he follows Vilder, believing the man will lead him to his lost companion. Despite some disjointed time jumps, Dibben’s tearjerker is a lyrical commentary on war, rivalry, sacrifice, and, above all else, loyalty. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

A grand sweep of adventure and travel, war and romance — along with a generous amount of face licking — that will have dog lovers enthralled. … Tomorrow offers a rich exploration of love, life and loyalty, in a world whose sensory atmosphere is irresistible.” —NPR

“A tale of love and unbreakable bonds.” —New York Post

“Celebrating the strength of human and animal ties, this compelling and satisfying novel is similar in spirit to Bruce Cameron’s A Dog’s Purpose and A Dog’s Journey. But fans of time travel fiction such as Diana Gabaldon’s “Outlander” books will also enjoy this work’s descriptive cultural and historical detail.” —Library Journal (Starred Review)

“Ornate, vivid, deeply coloured, and so precise I could smell and taste the world …. the story of a dog who will wait for the man he loves is moving and tender. I was captivated by its charm from the beginning.” —Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

“The memoir-like story is beautifully rich in perseverance, love, the sweetness of life, and memorable, evocative scents.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A lyrical commentary on war, rivalry, sacrifice, and, above all else, loyalty.” —Publishers Weekly

“The writing is filled with sensory descriptions, and the smells and sights of the evolving world are beautifully rendered by the diligent canine narrator. Humanity’s foibles and failings are on full display, as well as the more heartfelt and loving moments between people and their dogs. This reads like a memoir but includes a touch of magic that makes the dog’s journey back to his master feel both ephemeral and timeless. For fans of historical fiction or animal tales, Dibben’s soulful debut is a charmer.” —Booklist

“With a hint of Mary Shel­ley’s Frankenstein and a dash of W. Bruce Cameron’s A Dog’s Purpose, Tomorrow confronts big questions about life’s purpose and celebrates life’s pleasures.” —BookPage

“Tomorrow is a richly imagined tale of canine devotion, the meaning of faith, and the price of immortality.” —Susan Wilson, author of One Good Dog

“With a beautiful voice worthy of its epic scope, Tomorrow grabs your attention, makes you think, and forces you to wonder just how powerful love can be." —Robert Repino, author of Morte

“Tomorrow is a profoundly magical journey into the soul of a dog and the transformative power of love. If you care about animals or humans, Damian Dibben's novel must be on your to-read list." —Neil Abramson, author of Unsaid and Just Life

"What a debut! What a novel! Ambitious but wonderfully achieved. A book to read again and again, especially for lovers of history and dogs." —Michael Morpurgo, author of War Horse

From the Publisher

11/01/2017
From the court of King Charles I to the War of the Spanish Succession to dark-lit 1800s Venice, a stoic dog trots along in search of the master who granted him immortality. He's friendly with pawed and hoofed creatures as well as bipedal humans, though he thinks their proclivity for war is outrageous. From the creator of the internationally acclaimed children's book series "The History Keepers"; how can you resist?

Library Journal

2017-12-24
In 1688 Venice, an eloquent, cultured dog who has survived war and revolution becomes separated from his owner, a physician who dabbles in the "chemystry" of immortality.After a confusing prologue in which a dead body is found on a beach in Denmark in 1602, the story opens properly in Venice in 1815, long after the dog and his owner have become separated. The dog lived a mostly comfortable life prior to the separation, but in the aftermath, his days are impoverished and worry-filled. The dog's first-person narrative is both a joy and a frustration. The memoirlike story is beautifully rich in perseverance, love, the sweetness of life, and memorable, evocative scents. But the dog's owner and their nemesis, Vilder, another "chemyst," are known only through the dog's limited point of view. Neither the dog nor his owner is named until late in the story. Until then, the dog is only "my champion," the owner just "my master." The dog's canine love interest, Blaise, and companion-in-adventure, Sporco, a skinny stray transformed into a loyal sidekick, are sympathetic partners in the dog's life.After 127 years of patiently waiting, a supremely loyal dog sets off across Europe, through the battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars, hoping to be reunited with his owner.

Kirkus Review