A brilliant, character-driven debut novel . . . An imaginative journey that's absorbing, thoughtful and deeply humane

Lisa Tuttle, Guardian

A rousing achievement – the intergenerational sci fi novel is an aspiration for many – yet what makes Here and Beyond stand out is its dedication to character, richness of emotion, and a tender eye for the humanity of all. Hal LaCroix's world feels warm, lived in, a future we can barely dare to dream. He's smart enough to know when to deliver the answers we crave, and precisely how to give us hope

Courttia Newland, author of A RIVER CALLED TIME

A multi-generational epic ... A rich plum-cake of a book which the author packs with all kinds of goodies – sentient robot birds, a circular river, Dürer's self-portrait, Kubrick's 2001 – as he charts the life of a tiny and precarious community as it travels for three centuries between the stars, asking itself all the while what life is for

Chris Beckett, author of DARK EDEN

This is a cracker . . . Hal LaCroix shows us the difficulties that mount for those on board from disease to rebellions to some travellers who come to doubt that they are even on a ship at all . . . Don't just take my word for its brilliance

Alison Flood, NewScientist

A marvellously vivid tale of past and future worlds. Hal LaCroix has produced a haunting exploration of the human spirit that is both celebration and warning

Helen Gordon, author of THE METEORITES

Rather than relying on spectacle to carry the plot, LaCroix chooses instead to focus on the philosophical, psychological and cultural evolution of his pocket world… It is an approach that trusts the imagination of the reader, and every bit as satisfying as the sugar-rush of an all-action blockbuster

Otago Daily Times