What's New

+ Fixed a problem that could cause Testimonials to not be marked as read.
+ Added support for devices set to use the Japanese calendar.

App Description

Honored by Apple as a Hidden Gem!

** The download price includes access to Volume One, a 20-part serialization covering the first decade of the phenomenon. **

The Silent History is a groundbreaking innovation in digital fiction, the story of a generation of unusual children, told through serialization, collaboration, and exploration.

“Entirely revolutionary.” —Wired

“A landmark project that illuminates a possible future for e-book novels.” —LA Times

In the early years of the 21st century, doctors begin to notice more and more children being born with a strange condition: silence. No speech, no comprehension, and soon a complete lack of engagement with most human interaction. The kids are seen as not much more than empty vessels, and many are sent to orphanages and group homes — until a teacher at one of these facilities realizes that the children have developed enigmatic, powerful skills of their own.

The story is told via daily updates, called Testimonials: 120 parts, divided into six volumes, unfolding over the course of a year. Each day is a glimpse into a different character touched by the phenomenon — parents, doctors, classmates, skeptics, followers, mimes — intertwining and colliding to weave an epic narrative.

For readers who would like to explore more deeply, the app also includes hundreds of Field Reports — smaller incidents taking place across the U.S. and around the world, mapped upon the alleys, buildings, and overlooked artifacts that surround us. The Reports can be read only while you are present at the location in which they occur. (Note: the Field Reports are not necessary for a full enjoyment of the central narrative.) Readers of The Silent History are also invited to participate in the creation of the next wave of Field Reports.

The project is the result of a unique collaboration between the former managing editor of McSweeney’s (Eli Horowitz), award-winning authors (Kevin Moffett and Matthew Derby), Wired magazine’s “Most Wired Storyteller” (Russell Quinn), and contributors on five continents.

"Exquisitely designed… The overall effect is one of total immersion."
—Boston Globe

"A book-app chimera with the weight and flow of a good novel and the open-ended world-making potential of a collaborative game. … A revelation."
—Contents

"One of the most talked-about new experiments."
—NY Times

"Absolutely stunning… Brilliant. I am firmly hooked."
—AppAdvice

"The Silent History is both an experiment and a dramatic statement: what is possible when fiction and technology merge in a meaningful and innovative way?"
—KQED

"Incredibly interesting."
—TUAW

"No interactive or electronic book in existence has ever come close to the creativity or the uniqueness or the altogether newness of The Silent History."
—TeleRead

"Will change your reading experience forever."
—BuzzFeed

App Changes