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Lightbreakers

A Novel

Author Aja Gabel
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Hardcover
$30.00 US
| $39.99 CAN
Penguin Adult HC/TR | Riverhead Books
On sale Nov 04, 2025 | 352 Pages | 9780593329702
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A Belletrist Book Club Pick

One of the Most Anticipated Books of the Fall: LA Times, Harper's Bazaar,
LitHub, The Millions

“Riveting . . . Lightbreakers is a marvel. . . propulsive and unforgettable.”–Washington Post

“You will love this genre-busting book. . . A beautiful meditation of grief, time, and love.” –Samin Nosrat

What would you give to relive the past?

Maya, an artist, and Noah, a quantum physicist, share an insatiable curiosity about the world. But their happy marriage has a shadow over it: Serena, the child Noah had with his first wife, who died before she turned four.

When Noah is invited by the Janus Project to unravel the secrets of time travel, he jumps at the opportunity. At a laboratory deep in the Texas desert, he begins participating in a dangerous experiment that could result in something he thought impossible: seeing his daughter again.

Meanwhile, Maya embarks on a journey back to her own past in Japan, and to a formative lover who once shattered her heart. As Noah and Maya grapple with hope and despair, new information emerges that the experiments might not be exactly what they seems.

A heartachingly moving novel, Lightbreakers plumbs the mysteries of human connection, and explores how to love in a world where time is both a healer and a thief.
"Riveting . . . A moving story about art, time, loss and the possibility of love. Lightbreakers is a marvel. . . propulsive and unforgettable." –Washington Post

"Satisfying. . . Gabel hits a winning combination in this tale of modern love and time travel.” –Publishers Weekly

"A phenomenal portrait of profound grief." –Booklist, starred review

"A poignant and sharp novel about love, loss, and finding light in the darkness." –Kirkus Reviews

"Readers will love the novel’s impressive pacing, and the ideas it presents about the intersection of art and science will linger in the mind." –Bookpage, starred review

"A deeply moving, mind-bending read." –Real Simple

"Absolutely fascinating." –Literary Hub

"Beautifully written. . . a thoughtful, compelling and moving examination of the human instinct for love and meaning-making." —BookReporter

"A novel about grief, ambition, and love . . . as breath-taking as it is mind-bending." –Rachel Khong, New York Times bestselling author of Real Americans

"Magisterial and moving. . . Lightbreakers is complex, startling, and impossibly alive." –Kevin Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to See Here

"A marriage story that twists into a sci-fi thriller, posing questions about the elusiveness of the past and the time-jumping nature of grief. . . Lightbreakers made me see things anew." –Ling Ma, author of Severance

"You will love this genre-busting book. . . A cross of literary fiction and sci-fi, it’s also a beautiful meditation of grief, time, and love." –Samin Nosrat, author of Salt Fat Acid Heat

"A wrenching story of love and loss, suffused with an alluring science-fiction premise." —Elle

"Soulful science fiction that speaks to the mind as well as the heart." –Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists

"Audaciously tackles life’s most formative experiences: love and loss." –Rumaan Alam, New York Times bestselling author of Entitlement
© Angi Welsch
Aja Gabel is the author of the novel The Ensemble. Her prose can be found in The Cut, the Los Angeles Times, Oprah Daily, and elsewhere. Her short story “Little Fish” was adapted into a feature film, and she has written extensively for television. She lives in Los Angeles. View titles by Aja Gabel

About

A Belletrist Book Club Pick

One of the Most Anticipated Books of the Fall: LA Times, Harper's Bazaar,
LitHub, The Millions

“Riveting . . . Lightbreakers is a marvel. . . propulsive and unforgettable.”–Washington Post

“You will love this genre-busting book. . . A beautiful meditation of grief, time, and love.” –Samin Nosrat

What would you give to relive the past?

Maya, an artist, and Noah, a quantum physicist, share an insatiable curiosity about the world. But their happy marriage has a shadow over it: Serena, the child Noah had with his first wife, who died before she turned four.

When Noah is invited by the Janus Project to unravel the secrets of time travel, he jumps at the opportunity. At a laboratory deep in the Texas desert, he begins participating in a dangerous experiment that could result in something he thought impossible: seeing his daughter again.

Meanwhile, Maya embarks on a journey back to her own past in Japan, and to a formative lover who once shattered her heart. As Noah and Maya grapple with hope and despair, new information emerges that the experiments might not be exactly what they seems.

A heartachingly moving novel, Lightbreakers plumbs the mysteries of human connection, and explores how to love in a world where time is both a healer and a thief.

Reviews

"Riveting . . . A moving story about art, time, loss and the possibility of love. Lightbreakers is a marvel. . . propulsive and unforgettable." –Washington Post

"Satisfying. . . Gabel hits a winning combination in this tale of modern love and time travel.” –Publishers Weekly

"A phenomenal portrait of profound grief." –Booklist, starred review

"A poignant and sharp novel about love, loss, and finding light in the darkness." –Kirkus Reviews

"Readers will love the novel’s impressive pacing, and the ideas it presents about the intersection of art and science will linger in the mind." –Bookpage, starred review

"A deeply moving, mind-bending read." –Real Simple

"Absolutely fascinating." –Literary Hub

"Beautifully written. . . a thoughtful, compelling and moving examination of the human instinct for love and meaning-making." —BookReporter

"A novel about grief, ambition, and love . . . as breath-taking as it is mind-bending." –Rachel Khong, New York Times bestselling author of Real Americans

"Magisterial and moving. . . Lightbreakers is complex, startling, and impossibly alive." –Kevin Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to See Here

"A marriage story that twists into a sci-fi thriller, posing questions about the elusiveness of the past and the time-jumping nature of grief. . . Lightbreakers made me see things anew." –Ling Ma, author of Severance

"You will love this genre-busting book. . . A cross of literary fiction and sci-fi, it’s also a beautiful meditation of grief, time, and love." –Samin Nosrat, author of Salt Fat Acid Heat

"A wrenching story of love and loss, suffused with an alluring science-fiction premise." —Elle

"Soulful science fiction that speaks to the mind as well as the heart." –Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists

"Audaciously tackles life’s most formative experiences: love and loss." –Rumaan Alam, New York Times bestselling author of Entitlement

Author

© Angi Welsch
Aja Gabel is the author of the novel The Ensemble. Her prose can be found in The Cut, the Los Angeles Times, Oprah Daily, and elsewhere. Her short story “Little Fish” was adapted into a feature film, and she has written extensively for television. She lives in Los Angeles. View titles by Aja Gabel

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