With a new introduction by Deborah Levy and a striking new cover design by the artist Stanley Donwood, Ballard's final novel sees consumerism evolve into something even more sinister.

A gunman opens fire in a shopping mall. Not a terrorist, apparently, but a madman with a rifle. Or not, as he is mysteriously (and quickly) set free without charge.

One of the victims is the father of Richard Pearson, unemployed advertising executive and life-long rebel. Now he is driving out to Brooklands, the apparently peaceful town on the M25 which has at its heart the very shiny shoppers' paradise where the shooting happened - the Metro-Centre.

Then the main suspect is released - thanks to the testimony of self-styled pillars of the community like the doctor who treated Richard's father on his deathbed. Richard, determined to unravel the mystery, starts to believe that something deeply sinister lurks behind the pristine facades of the labyrinthine mall, its 24-hour cable TV and sports club...

About the Author

J. G. Ballard was born in 1930 in Shanghai. After internment in a civilian prison camp, his family returned to England in 1946. His 1984 bestseller 'Empire of the Sun' won the Guardian Fiction Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. His controversial novel 'Crash' was made into a film by David Cronenberg. His autobiography 'Miracles of Life' was published in 2008, and a collection of interviews with the author, 'Extreme Metaphors', was published in 2012. J. G. Ballard passed away in 2009.

Reviews

'"Kingdom Come" is important, germaine, timely and creepy, a tidal wrack of ideas washed up on the artificial beach of our resort culture.' Will Self

'As outre as ever, and still as keen to understand the national psyche ... Ballard retains a clear-sighted, almost vatic quality' Spectator

'As fertile as ever ... "Kingdom Come" is impressively packed with brilliant apercus' Observer

'Ballard's vision is scary and utterly real ... compelling' Financial Times

Book Information
ISBN 9780007232475
Author J. G. Ballard
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Fourth Estate Ltd
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
Weight(grams) 210g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 20mm