The Day of Creation

‘Classic Ballard. Mesmerising. No one writes with such haunting impact’ William Boyd

‘A unique writer with a distinctive vision unmatched by any other living novelist. In The Day of Creation Ballard is at the height of his powers ... triumphant’ New Statesman

‘An exciting plot unfolded with a master’s cunning. Ballard has brought off something rare in this fine book. He has written an adventure story that constantly surprises and excites’ Guardian

‘Absolutely vintage Ballard ... Compulsively absorbing: the white heat of its images seems to burn off the page, and the surreal landscapes linger on in the mind’ Independent

‘It could only have been imagined by a master of visionary realism ... a country of the mind as vivid and viable as anything this extraordinary writer has ever produced’ Spectator

‘The terrifying thing about Ballard is his logic; is this science fiction or history written ahead of its time?’ Len Deighton

‘Classic Ballard. Mesmerising. No one writes with such haunting impact’ William Boyd

In parched, war-torn central Africa, Dr Mallory watches his clinic fail and dreams of discovering a third Nile to make the Sahara bloom. During his search for water, an ancient tree stump is uprooted by a bulldozer and water wells up, spreading until it becomes an enormous river. With the once arid land now abounding in birds and beasts, the obsessed Mallory forges up-river in an old car ferry, clashing with hostile factions as he tries to find the source of his own creation.

This edition is part of a new commemorative series of Ballard’s works, featuring introductions from a number of his admirers (including Ali Smith, Iain Sinclair, Martin Amis and Ned Beauman) and brand-new cover designs from the artist Stanley Donwood.