Chaos science is part of the ‘new sciences’ which examine the behavior of complex systems of the universe. Literary narratives which engage with questions of identity can be studied based on the principles of chaos science. The novel form which utilizes experimental narrative style is best suited for such examination. David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas (2004) has a unique structure of six individual, interlocking stories which ultimately form a single novel. Mitchell’s novel represents the principle of ‘self-organization’ at the ‘edge of chaos’ as propounded by chaos science. The paper attempts to examine the potentials of applying concepts from chaos science to study literary texts, especially the novel. It argues how Cloud Atlas is a landmark in the novel form through its use of chaos science in the construction of its narrative and how it presents itself as a harbinger for what the future holds for the art of the novel.