In the late 1980s, two teenage girls found refuge from a world of cosy conformity, sexism and the nuclear arms race in protest and punk. Then, drawn in by a promise of meaning and purpose, they cast off their punk outfits and became born-again Christians. Unsure which fate would come first – nuclear annihilation or the Second Coming of Jesus – they sought answers from end-times evangelists, scrutinising friends and family for signs of demon possession and identifying EFTPOS and barcodes as signs of a looming apocalypse.Fast forward to 2021, and Rebecca and Maz – now a science historian and an engineer – are on a road trip to the West Coast. Their journey, though full of laughter and conversation and hot pies, is haunted by the threats of climate change, conspiracy theories, and a massive overdue earthquake.End Times interweaves the stories of these two periods in Rebecca' s life, both of which have at heart a sleepless fear of the end of the world.
"'End Times is an urgent and important book about much more than coal, climate change and Christianity. It is a profound act of listening - an insightful, compassionate, and surprisingly funny exploration of where we have come from, how we got here, and where to now. It is also a story of a magnificent friendship. I have read nothing quite like it. At once terrifying and in some deeply human way, hopeful. Rebecca Priestley is our Rebecca Solnit but funny. I love this book so much.'"
Ingrid Horrocks, author of Where We Swim
"'This is a book about doing science in Antarctica, about a curious, committed individual trying to concentrate herself into a brief experience to make sense of things for herself and - professionally, scrupulously - for others. It's a book about learning, understanding and communication, but also about rapture and dread and awe. It's an important book, and one that is a joy to read.'"
