Quantum Night

It's always darkest before the dawn ...

Canadian experimental psychologist Jim Marchuk has developed a flawless technique for identifying the previously undetected psychopaths lurking everywhere in society. But while being cross-examined in court about his breakthrough, Jim is shocked to discover that he has lost his memories of six months of his life from twenty years previously — a dark time during which he himself committed heinous acts.

Jim is reunited with Kayla Huron, his forgotten girlfriend from his lost period. She is now a quantum physicist and has made a stunning discovery about the nature of human consciousness. As a rising tide of violence and hate sweeps across the globe, the psychologist and the physicist combine forces in a race against time to see if they can do the impossible — change human nature — before the entire world descends into darkness.

Set at the University of Manitoba, the Canadian Light Source (Canada's national synchrotron research facility) in Saskatchewan, and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg

•Winner of Canada's Aurora Award for Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year
•Starred review in Publishers Weekly
•#1 Locus bestseller
•Maclean's bestseller

"Quantum Night is a fast-paced thinking-person's thriller richly informed by modern science. Sawyer has certainly done his homework about psychopaths and he understands well that, far from being just the occasional headline-grabbing serial killer, they're everywhere." —Kevin Dutton, author of The Wisdom of Psychopaths

"What a great, provocative read! From quantum physics to the philosophy of mind, Sawyer's latest novel will leave you pondering deep questions long after you turn the final page." —Dan Falk, author of In Search of Time

"Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Sawyer's latest work is a fast-moving, mind-stretching exploration of the nature of personality and consciousness; it balances esoteric speculation with action and character." —Publishers Weekly (starred review, denoting a book of exceptional merit)

"Quantum Night is literally a psychological thriller, and Sawyer builds heavily on the real-world research of psychologists including Robert Hare (author of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist) and Philip Zimbardo (creator of the infamous Stanford prison guard experiments). It'll leave the reader thinking long after they've read the final page." —Prince George Citizen

"Just the sort of science fiction I'd like to be writing myself if I had the time." —John Gribbin, author of In Search of Schrödinger's Cat

"Thriller fans, science-fiction nuts, armchair philosophers, and psychology teachers alike should enjoy it." —Winnipeg Free Press

"An essential read for anyone interested in the science (and philosophy) of human consciousness, and simply a great dramatic thriller to boot." —James Kerwin, writer and director of Yesterday Was A Lie