No Harm Can Come to a Good Man

How far would you go to save your family from an invisible threat? A terrifyingly original thriller from the author of The Machine.

Soon, we'll be able to predict everything. We'll predict weather patterns, traffic jams. We'll predict who is going to run countries.

Laurence Walker wants to be President of the United States. He's a sure thing: adored by the public, ex-military, a real family man.

A good man.

But then ClearVista, the world's foremost prediction software, tells the world his chances. And not only will he not be President, but it predicts that he's going to do the worst thing he can imagine.

But can he change that destiny? Or is ClearVista simply showing him the man that he's always meant to be?

It will predict that Laurence's life is about to collapse in the most unimaginable way.

Reviews

‘A writer of bold imagination and verve’ Lauren Beukes

‘Savage, intimate and inexorable’ Nick Harkaway

‘Powerful and distinctive’ Guardian

‘Smythe’s storytelling is pacey and addictive; he has a fiendish talent for springing surprises’ The Times

‘Fully formed, fundamentally affecting, forward-thinking fiction. The sort of story that reminds us why we read, and what we, the people, need’ Tor.com

About the author

James Smythe was born in London in 1980. He has worked as a computer game writer and currently teaches creative writing. Previous novels include The Testimony, The Explorer (published by Voyager) and The Machine. The Machine was shortlisted for the 2014 Arthur C Clarke Award. He lives in London.