Cythera (novel)

Cythera is a science fiction novel by British writer Richard Calder, first published in 1998. While it is not explicitly advertised as a continuation of Calder's previous novels it does appear to be set in the same universe as his "Dead Girls" trilogy, as it references some of the background of the earlier novels and features two supporting characters - Kito and Mosquito - who were introduced in Dead Girls, though knowledge of these novels is not required to understand this stand-alone novel. Due to the timeline given the events of Cythera appear to take place before those of Dead Girls, making this a prequel of sorts.

Richard Calder has said that the inspiration for the novel came from a series of news reports that he heard on the BBC World Service whilst living in Thailand which suggested that England was gripped by hysterical fear that bands of children were committing crime and mayhem and threatening to destroy society as we know it.