Sometime after the 2030s, in an age of widespread economic and social global turmoil, Earth’s commercial exploitation of space becomes the “Next Big Thing” and hope for a bright tomorrow. Charles Sorrel, an erstwhile astronaut who “washed out” of the program, is eking out a living (and paying alimony) by putting together shady deals for […]
“Dear Cutie: You are invited to the annual Pig Town Party,” reads the invitation that floats through the narrator’s mail slot. The child, tan-skinned with triangular black pigtails, a cartoonishly square jaw, and dots for eyes, agrees that she is a cutie, but she has many questions, not the least of which is, “Where is […]
Magda Batey, the implant physician at a Pittsburgh fertility clinic, directs the lead embryologist, 36-year-old Emily Daugherty, to meet with and gracefully reject two potential clients; they’re risky prospects that could bring down Batey’s success numbers. Emily is surprised when the couple in question turns out to be her former college boyfriend, Ben Holiday (“The […]
Best friends Felix and Harry always look forward to activities at Camp Horizon, which include swimming and diving in Lake Omigosh. One night, the camp’s counselor gathers the boys and girls around the fire to tell them that the lake’s name refers to sightings of a giant, turtle-like creature there. (The narration reassures young readers, […]
Clever wordplay immediately elevates Smith’s story beyond mere moralizing about the value of a growth mindset: “Habit” is the name of a tropical island, home to the eponymous creature, a large, rabbitlike being who prefers the tried-and-true to the new and unfamiliar. A “very small creature,” a bespectacled blue sphere with skinny limbs, encourages the […]
Born in Wales, Owen walks a fine line in 1377 York, where competing forces may tear Britain apart. He knows little of Tom’s life before he bought the York Tavern, married Bess 10 years later, and together, turned the inn into a thriving business. Owen’s wife, Lucie, an apothecary, tells him that Tom had come […]
In the latest in the Critical Lives series, Goodby and Wigginton, Thomas scholars at Sheffield Hallam University, offer a brisk but comprehensive look at the life of Dylan Thomas (1914-1953), eschewing the popular image of a “rumpled, Dionysiac…summoner of elemental powers” in favor of a more nuanced portrait of a driven, focused writer who had […]
All Viscount Langdon wants is a bit of quiet to recover from his terrible railway accident, and his private island seems like just the place. But his solitude is disrupted one dark and stormy night when a beautiful aeronaut washes ashore after her hot air balloon collapses, and when he saves her from the ocean, […]
Confining his selections to athletes active at the beginning of 2024, Buckley dishes up an alphabetically arranged gallery of greats and potential greats that is thoroughly diverse in terms of age, race, nationality, gender, and sport. Some, such as LeBron James and Aaron Judge, will be familiar even to nonsports fans, but there are plenty […]
This novel take place in the aftermath of a high-profile trial, as 72-year-old retired teacher Helen Ryder (known to the other jurors as “Schoolmarm”) and other jurors reconnect after a series of suspicious deaths among their peers. Two months before, they voted to convict basketball player Roger “Buck” Dempsey for the murder of his wife, […]