The Gone-Away World

The Gone-Away World is Harkaway's first novel. The rights were acquired by Heinemann in a seven-way auction in the summer of 2007 for a considerable advance of £300,000. At that time it went by the title, The Wages of Gonzo Lubitsch. It concerns a number of ex-special operatives turned truckers who are hired to perform a dangerous mission in a post-Apocalyptic world. The story is told through the perspective of an unnamed narrator.

Although apparently a fan of Google generally, Harkaway has been an outspoken critic of the Google Book Search Settlement Agreement, posting on his blog and speaking out on BBC Radio’s The World at One in May 2009, and appearing on a television debate with Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Tom Watson MP in September 2009.