Web-Exclusive Reviews: Week of 9/3/2007

-- Publishers Weekly, 9/3/2007

NONFICTION

60 On Up: The Truth About Aging in America
Lillian B. Rubin. Beacon, $22.95 (208p) ISBN 978-0807029282

With honesty, compassion and a large measure of wit and wisdom, 83-year-old author Rubin (Intimate Strangers, Just Friends, etc.) describes in full the world of the elderly in America, where social circles diminish as friends die, sexual desire and ability fade and the wish to "die with dignity" conflicts with the "often vain hope of putting off our meeting with it just a little longer." Rubin, a psychotherapist for 35 years, has gathered numerous interviews with seniors and combined them with her own reflections to illustrate clearly the difficult questions today's seniors face, both in the day-to-day and the long run. Straightforward, revealing and thought-provoking, this book makes a fine, thorough primer for middle-aged adults preparing for "this business of getting old" in "a society that sees old age as repugnant at the same time that it… dream[s] of extending life still further"; however, it's best avoided by anyone who wants to keep believing that "if you eat right, sleep right, exercise your body and your brain right, you'll never get really old." The elderly will find much to nod along with, and a handy tool for getting their point across to middle-aged children whose fearful attitudes toward aging can keep an otherwise normal sense of understanding at bay. (Sept.)

All the Money in the World: How the Forbes 400 Make—and Spend—Their Fortunes
Peter W. Bernstein and Annalyn Swan. Knopf, $26.95 (384p) ISBN 978-0307266125

Two accomplished New York writers, Bernstein (coeditor of The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything) and Swan (coauthor of Pulitzer Prize-winning bio de Kooning) delve into the Forbes 400, that august group of rich folks ranked each year since 1982 by the business magazine of the same name. Not only businessmen and women, but sports stars, entertainment figures and wealthy heirs are profiled in fascinating detail, but the authors eschew the magazine's list format for a topical taxonomy that includes "blue collar billionaires," "West Coast money," "giving it away" and, naturally, "power and politics." Among dramatic stories of cutthroat competition, outrageous spending habits, skirmishes with the law and family feuds, intriguing observations abound, such as the admonishment that "as a rule, the Forbes 400 is not for the fainthearted," but those with the fearlessness and "winner-take-all outlook" to "turn convention on its head, [or] destroy an old business model in the interest of a greater good and larger profits." Sidebars cover tangential topics like trophy wives, palatial homes, the small Silicon Valley town (Woodside) that's the nation's sixth wealthiest, and blurbs from the original Forbes lists. Full of colorful characters and meticulous research, this book is inspired, insightful and lots of fun. (Sept.) 

Beyond Human: Living with Robots and Cyborgs
Gregory Benford and Elisabeth Malartre. Forge, $24.95 (272p) ISBN 978-0765319828

The simple title of this book belies its profundity—and its sense of humor. Besides an up-to-date, comprehensive overview of developments in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence, physicist Benford and biologist Malartre also address deeper questions about the relationship between the brain and the mind, as well as humankind's nervous relationship with increasingly sophisticated machines. Looking at robots' use in all areas, such as unskilled labor, precision work (like surgery), the home and the battlefield, Benford and Malartre take into account not just the latest research and developments, but the long popularity of robots and cyborgs in pop culture (citing movies like A.I. and The Day the Earth Stood Still). Their concluding argument, that consciousness and the intellectual power of the human mind emerge from the complexity of the brain, and thus cannot be reduced to the functioning of its individual components, leads them to doubt, convincingly, that robots (machines that mimic humans) and cyborgs (man-machine hybrids) will ever amount to more than sophisticated tools, enhancing human life but never replacing it. Throughout, the authors maintain a playful sense, an optimistic view of the future and a steady grip on this rapidly expanding field. (Sept.)

I Want Those Shoes!
Paola Jacobbi. Scribner, $18 (160p) ISBN 978-0743277747

In this collection of brief essays, journalist Jacobbi misses by at least two seasons the "One can never have too many shoes!" era roughly bracketed by Imelda Marcos on one end and the finale of television's Sex in the City on the other. Passing up the opportunity to examine that phenomenon, or to document the history of women's footwear, Jacobi instead focuses on familiar observations and glib, sitcom-ready aphorisms: "In the end that's what shoes are: our best friends." Jacobbi considers a dozen types of women's shoes with writing that's not only shallow and uninformative, but strange and occasionally indecipherable: "Usually the collector of ankle boots looks down on the 'shoe' shoe, the 'skirt' skirt and the woman who dresses too much like a woman." Those who spent the last 15 years barefoot will be interested to find out that "[m]usic, in particular hip-hop culture, has launched and continues to launch ever newer and hipper models of athletic shoes"; similarly, long-divorced Nicole Kidman is reported, more than once, to be happier in heels than she was in her marriage to diminutive first husband Tom Cruise. Even Jacobbi's rules for "Happy Feet" are antiquities; aside from Sujean Rim's lovely illustrations, footwearphiles will find most of this shoe-gazing material old hat. (Sept.) 

The Manhattan Project: The Birth of the Atomic Bomb in the Words of its Creators, Eyewitnesses, and Historians
Edited by Cynthia C. Kelly. Black Dog & Leventhal (Workman, dist.), $24.95 (480p) ISBN 978-1579127473

More than 60 years since WWII was ended by two atomic detonations, the Manhattan Project that made them possible still carries iconic weight, both as an incredible achievement of science and engineering and as the opening salvo in the nuclear arms race. This collection of essays, including excerpts from 45 books and almost twice as many articles, is more than worthy of its subject. The basic science behind the project is detailed in a number of lively accounts by scientists who worked on it; they also recount the lighter side of the experience, including the characters they worked alongside and the camaraderie among them. In-depth analysis of policy and ethical issues take on the justification for Truman's decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki (with fine examples from both sides of the argument) and the still-urgent need for global arms control (as argued in a 2007 Wall Street Journal article by Henry Kissinger et al). With a comprehensive reach (going as far back as 1934 to find a charming story on Oppenheimer, "The Absentminded Professor"), Kelly, president of the Atomic Heritage Foundation and an experienced editor (Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project) does a masterful job covering all aspects of the world-changing enterprise and its legacy. (Sept.) 

The Pocket Renovator
Leslie Banker and Pamela Banker. Rizzoli $19.95 (224p) ISBN 978-0789315724

Mother and daughter team Pamela and Leslie Banker follow up their Pocket Decorator with this handsome if anemic primer to "the language of home improvement and renovation." Like its predecessor, this volume functions more as a glossary than a how-to or troubleshooting resource. Everything from architects to zoning are defined in short passages and clean, clear illustrations. In addition to defining just about every noun and verb associated with home construction, the duo cover the pros and cons of various roof styles, offer a handy guide to symbols used on plans and blueprints and provide basic tips on furniture arranging for a handful of standard rooms layouts. Unfortunately, a lack of elaboration and focus can frustrate; furnaces garner all of two paragraphs, more time is spent on the history of the refrigerator than what homeowners should look for when buying one, and there's a notable lack of tips on maintenance, installation or upkeep. Though it will help novices distinguish between a lintel ("horizontal supports that span an opening such as a doorway") and a joist ("supports for floors and ceilings typically made of lumber"), this reference is best suited for those who prefer to let others do the work. (Oct.)

Tested: One American School Struggles To Make the Grade
Linda Perlstein. Henry Holt, $25 (304p) ISBN 978-0805080827

Though the jury is still out regarding the controversial 2001 education act known as "No Child Left Behind," it's safe to call it a mixed blessing for at-risk "Title 1" schools who rely on federal funding to pay teachers and support staff: under the new policy, federal funding can be taken away if schools fail to make "adequate yearly progress," as measured by country-wide standardized testing. Education reporter and author Perlstein (Not Much Just Chillin') uses an engaging, up-close-and-personal style to examine one such school, suburban Maryland's Tyler Heights Elementary—a failing institution destined for a big turnaround—to discover the positives and negatives of the "school accountability movement" in which "No Child" is rooted; in particular, Perlstein wants to know, "What were the [test] scores about?" Tales of third graders prepping for an exam prove genuinely, surprisingly dramatic; Perlstein crafts a gripping narrative out of the day-to-day business of education through solid reporting, taking into consideration the politics, goals, interests and architects of the program ("Lobbyists for testing and school improvement businesses had a far greater role in the law's creation than… actual educators"). The faces of children, teachers and administrators emerge vividly, and Perlstein largely avoids taking sides in favor of an honest, enlightening look at the complex reality of this much-debated policy. (Aug.)

Tower Stories: An Oral History of 9/11 
Damon DiMarco. Santa Monica, $27.95 (528p) ISBN 978-1595800213

The only widely available oral history of 9/11 from the perspective of New Yorkers, this monumental work (originally released by Revolution in 2004) has been updated for the sixth anniversary of the national tragedy. In the weeks following the World Trade Center attack, DiMarco, in the tradition of Studs Terkel, wandered Manhattan collecting the stories of Gothamites who survived the collapse of the towers, came to help or simply bore witness—whether from elsewhere in the city, across the country or overseas. Two major themes emerge, the first concerning the heroism of common decency: Florence Engoran, five months pregnant on the day of the attack, was helped down 55 flights of stairs by near-strangers, "two men [who] promised that they were gonna stay with me the whole time down, which they did." In the same vein, Jan Demczur relates how he used his window washing tools to save himself and an elevator full of people, and Dr. Walter Gerasimowicz tells of the men who aided him when he was forced to evacuate without his crutches. The rigors of loss and mourning make a second theme: Patrick Charles Welsh, whose wife perished on Flight 93, says, "I was so devastated by this unheard cry of souls… This moan of humanity going straight up to heaven." Though a good idea, the scholarly essays that close the book, concerning the U.S.-Middle East relations, feel off-puttingly distant compared to the stories that precede them. DiMarco's contribution to the memory of that horrific day is enormous; the testimonies collected here form an amazing, one-of-a-kind account. Photos. (Sept.) 

LIFESTYLE

The Enzyme Factor: Diet for the Future that will Prevent Diabetes, Cure Cancer and Stop Arthritis
Hiromi Shinya. Council Oak, $22.95 (192p) ISBN 978-1571782090

A bestseller in Shinya's native Japan, where it was published in 2005, this title introduces his theory of a "source enzyme" to American readers. Shinya came to New York in 1963 as a medical resident and later pioneered the use of a colonoscope to remove polyps from the colon without abdominal incisions. Now a professor of surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and head of the Endoscopic Center of Beth Israel Hospital in New York, he runs private clinics in New York and Japan. Here, he identifies a precursor enzyme that the body converts to specific types of enzymes as they are needed to support, maintain or repair the body and its functions. Shinya broadly discusses how enzymes work and are exhausted by poor lifestyle habits, medications, environmental pollution, electromagnetic waves and daily stress, and provides simple directives for holistically accessing the power of enzymes, including supplements. Myriad observations from his years of practice include that humans should not eat meat from animals with a higher body temperature than their own; the strength of Americans' digestive systems contributes to illness and obesity; drinking pasteurized milk from cows is lethal to the body; and anticancer drugs do not cure cancer. The real message of Shinya's book is that lifestyle is essential to health. To help readers develop one in tune with nature, he describes his own ascetic daily routine. While some readers may find Shinya's ideas unusual, others may welcome his unorthodox approach. (Oct.) 

The Family Intervention Guide To Mental Illness: Recognizing Symptoms & Getting Treatment
Bodie Morey and Kim T. Mueser. New Harbinger, $17.95 paper (228p) ISBN 978-1572245068

Detailed but not overwhelming, Morey and Mueser have created an extremely helpful addition to the family medical reference library. Morey and Mueser's straightforward writing style and common sense approach guide readers through a step-by-step process for helping a mentally afflicted loved one. Chapters begin with a "fundamental step" ("Discuss the situation openly," "Get a correct diagnosis"), and end with a list of "good steps" ("Familiarize yourself with the symptoms") and "missteps" ("Thinking that it's none of your business") which give readers extra guidance. Practical information and advice are well illustrated by vignettes and case histories; included are strategies for introducing the idea of getting help, thumbnail descriptions of a wide range of mental illnesses, coping with long-term interventions and how to keep on "living your own life." Therapies, including medication, are also surveyed, as well as resources for further information. Comprehensive, compassionate and rooted in solid research, this easy-to-read guidebook is suitable for any family in search of answers. (Aug.) 

Focus On The Good Stuff: The Power of Appreciation
Mike Robbins. Jossey-Bass, $22.95 (240p) ISBN 978-0787988791

Motivational speaker and professional coach Robbins sets out for well-worn territory, turning out a useful but unsurprising exploration of the power of positive thinking and the art of appreciation. Like self-help titles such as The Secret, Robbins insists that like attracts like, and to get what we want in life we must focus on what we want (rather than what we don't). In this never preachy three-part primer, Robbins explains how the simple act of appreciation can change our lives, making up in empathy, anecdote and readability what he lacks in fresh ideas. In part one, Robbins analyzes the effects of living in a culture of negativity and fear, which keeps individuals from connecting with others, and from seeing the good in both people and life. Part two elucidates his Five Principles of Appreciation ("be grateful," "use positive words," etc.) and part three is about putting the principles into action ("it's not what we know, but what we do that matters"); exercises and "positive practices" throughout give readers further steps to put appreciation's power to work in daily life. (Aug.)

Fresh from the Oven: Over 70 Recipes for Delicious Home Baking
Edited by Nicky Hill and Leanne Bryan. Hamlyn/Pyramid, $11.95 paper (128p) ISBN 978-0600617129

Baking at home is a sensory delight that's all too often passed up by cooks fearful of the precision required and the spectre of wasted effort. With the help of this handy little volume, featuring recipes culled from a number of Hamlyn titles (Fresh Baked, Delicious Food for Diabetes, etc.), whipping up a chocolate cake to rival the neighborhood bakery's couldn't be easier. First-timers should try the foolproof Blueberry and Vanilla Loaf, which requires nothing more than a handful of ingredients stirred together with fresh blueberries; the result is a moist, crumbly delight. Just a bit more complicated, Whisked Sponge Cake with Lemon Curd is filled with a delicate spread of lemony cream. Anyone with a muffin tin can turn out respectable Cranberry Muffins or the more exotic Black Currant and Almond Muffins, which taste ever so faintly of buttermilk. While most of these recipes are beginner-proof, a few demand more advanced skills: a Chocolate Truffle Gateau calls for chocolate modeling paste—a mix of chocolate and liquid glucose—that isn't photographed, making it tough to tell whether your paste looks right. Same goes for a Chocolate Cappuccino Slice, but the result, a pairing of Kahlua-flavored cream and coffee-flavored cake, is so good, one will hardly care how it's supposed to look. Color photographs. (Sept.)

Pure Dessert: True Flavors, Inspiring Ingredients, and Simple Recipes
Alice Medrich. Artisan, $35 (272p) ISBN 978-1579652111

If vanilla is your idea of plain, Medrich will revolutionize your thinking. In her vocabulary, vanilla is a flavor; she distinguishes among the nuances of Bourbon, Mexican, and Tahitian extracts, powders, and beans. Plain means tasting the milk, butter, flour or fresh cheese that defines a cake or custard. She describes 10 different sugars, from "neutral" granulated white to slightly "smoky" dark brown piloncillo. Her three previous cookbooks (including BitterSweet) won awards from the International Association of Culinary Professionals, and her new book is sure to attract the new generation of cooks devoted to elaborate simplicity. Readers should be aware, however, that the brevity of ingredient lists may mislead; some gardens and markets may lack such nonfungible items as lemon verbena, chestnut flour and muscovado sugar. But all will welcome the ultimate summer pudding recipe—berries, bread, sugar, whipped cream—and the liberating range of frozen desserts. (Sept.) 

Spiced: Recipes from Le Pré Verre
Philippe Delacourcelle, trans. from the French by Adele King and Bruce King. University of Neb./Bison, $29.95 (288p) ISBN 978-0803260108

This English translation of a popular French cookbook gives American cooks the chance to experience the worldly flavors restaurateur Delacourcelle melds with traditional French bistro fare at his Parisian restaurant, Le Pré Verre. Borrowing heavily from Middle Eastern, Asian and African cuisines, Delacourcelle incorporates flavors such as ginger, turmeric, lemongrass and the spice blend ras el-hanout to expand palates and challenge preconceptions. The result is an engaging approach to bistro cooking. Most recipes are fairly basic, such as Terrine of Rabbit, Egglplant, and Fenugreek (a licorice-like seed) and Apples Roasted with Garam Masala, garnished with crème fraiche, walnuts, raisins and mustard seed. A classic haricot vert salad gets an unexpected burst of flavor from fresh cilantro, and his whitefish steamed en papillote with kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, ginger and lemon is a surefire hit. While few dishes call for more than a handful of ingredients, some steps may prove a challenge for those unfamiliar with the techniques involved; Fillet of Pork with Caramelized Star Anise, for example, is a fairly straightforward dish, but Delacourcelle's instructions for preparing the star anise-infused sauce has the potential to confuse novices. Still, this is a solid, intriguing cookbook that should please anyone comfortable with French cooking. (Oct.) 

ILLUSTRATED 

The 4 Dreams of Miss X
Mike Figgis. Anova UK/Pavilion (IPG, dist.), $40 (144p) ISBN 978-1862057661

A new photo book featuring Kate Moss romping in filmy lingerie by global retailer Agent Provacateur (AP), originally of the UK, proves that the line between art and advertising is thinner than a G-string. The tome, along with an enclosed DVD, is the brainchild of film director Figgis (Academy Award winner for Leaving Las Vegas), who uses four hallucinogenic dream sequences to showcase the diaphanous undergarments that have made AP a fashion favorite. Moss's own introduction explains how pleased she is with the "eerie atmosphere that is reflected in the photographs," but the volume's wealth of sexy, arresting images make it hard to focus on the style icon's introduction, much less the nonsensical text scattered throughout. While some of the photography hits kinky, ethereal, Brassa¿-like notes—most notably in the use of oddly realistic, carefully posed mannequins—the majority exhibit a playfully sexy tone, with a few half-hearted stabs at genuine provocation (a woman with a gun pointed at her, a "murder victim" outlined in chalk); less successful are a smattering of heavily pixilated digital stills seemingly meant to evoke arthouse grit. Though Moss is at her sensual best, lesser-known models hold their own—their lack of celebrity baggage lets the expensive lingerie shine, proving itself an art form that's equal parts cutting-edge fashion design and delicious excess. (Sept.)

Irish Travellers: Tinkers No More 
Alen MacWeeney. New England College, $60 (116p) ISBN 978-0979013003

From 1965 to 1970, the Travellers of Ireland, a people thought to be "descendents of a mixture of nomadic craftsmen and those who had literally taken to the roads… for a variety of reasons," welcomed Dublin-born photographer MacWeeny (Spaces for Silence) to their campsites outside his hometown. His quest to publish the photos, stories and music he took with him is at last realized in this spare but lovely book, a stirring cultural miscellany from a community that remains invisible to many—in both the general public and the historic record ("like so many marginalised people"). As MacWeeney notes, "Theirs was a bigger life than mine, with its daily struggle for survival"; in page after page of beautiful black and white photos, that struggle is captured in the Travellers' faces, by turns despairing, hopeful, joyous and solemn, but also belied in scenes of celebration, laughter and music-making. MacWeeney sees in these portraits "a dignity, a raw beauty, a deep uncertainty and perhaps a stripped-down Irishness," a sentiment deepened by the lyricism and sly humor of songs ("The Old Hag's Death") and stories ("The Grey-Headed Norrisey's Skull") transcribed throughout, and also captured on an enclosed CD. If there's a fault to find, it's in the volume's brevity; like the Travellers themselves, it's gone before you're ready to stop looking and learning. B&W Photos. (Sept.)

Starring Sherlock Holmes: A Century of the Master Detective on Screen
David Stuart Davies. Titan (www.titanbooks.com), $35 (208p) ISBN 978-1845765378

British Holmes expert Davies has updated the original 2001 edition of his comprehensive, copiously illustrated look at the film and TV portrayals of the great detective. As such, this is a must-have for die-hard Sherlockians, though film students and others may fault the author for not having done a better job of balancing breadth with depth. There are interesting tidbits and trivia throughout, starting with the earliest known Holmes film, Sherlock Holmes Baffled (1900), which ran for less than a minute. Davies intersperses his chronological survey of the films with chapters on such topics as Dr. Watson, prominent actors in the Holmes role (most notably Basil Rathbone and Jeremey Brett), and radio adaptations. Some might wish for more comparative analysis of, say, the many (mostly unsuccessful) efforts to translate The Hound of the Baskervilles to film. In addition, given that the last serious Holmes movie, Murder by Decree, appeared in 1979, more discussion of why such a staple of the cinema has fallen on hard times would have been welcome. Finally, in a page devoted to unmade films, Davies (Sherlock Holmes and the Scroll of the Dead) devotes disproportionate space to his own pastiches. Still, those who fondly remember Chris Steinbrunner's classic The Films of Sherlock Holmes (1978-) will find much to like. (Oct.) 

FICTION

The Accidental Mother
Rowan Coleman. Pocket, $14 paper (432p) ISBN 978-1416532705

Coleman makes her U.S. debut with a disarmingly sweet tale of motherhood and reluctant love. London party planner Sophie Mills becomes the improbable guardian of sisters 6-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Izzy after their single mom, Sophie's childhood best friend Carrie Stiles, dies in a car accident. Life suddenly gets very complicated and dirty for the hyper-organized career chick, and a panicked Sophie figures she'd better launch a search for the girls' long-missing dad before maternal mayhem wreaks havoc on her busy life. But once found, mysterious charity worker Louis Gregory triggers Sophie's own overwhelming sense of loss for her late dad and dead pal Carrie. And for the first time in her life, Sophie is forced to jump into the middle of life instead of planning it from a safe distance. Love isn't the instant fix for Sophie's fragile makeshift family, but Coleman shows how it can kick-start a lonely heart. (Sept.) 

Cinema Stories
Alexander Kluge, trans. from the German by Martin Brady and Helen Hughes. New Directions, $11.95 paper (336p) ISBN 978-0811217354

German filmmaker and novelist Kluge turned 75 this year, and will be honored at the Venice Film Festival. His aphoristic, anecdotal, not-quite-fictional "stories," most less than a page long, seek to encapsulate film's enigmatic essence. At one moment, Kluge finds that film, like music, inveigles an audience into believing in a larger world. At another, he quotes the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas in suggesting that the cinema offers "an indication of 'blind happiness'": as the news spread throughout the first part of the 20th century, "[t]he indication that there could be such moments at all is sufficient to justify the founding of a new medium." The mysterious drug death of silent superstar Olive Thomas, Kluge's 1950s meetings with Fritz Lang (the "blind director") and an envisioning of the end of cinema are all here. While not on par with Robert Bresson's Notes on the Cinematographer, Kluge's book will appeal to anyone interested in 20th century film. (Sept.) 

Dante's Ballad
Eduardo González Viaña, trans. from the Spanish by Susan Giersbach-Rascón. Univ. of Houston/Arte Publico, $23.95 paper (320p) ISBN 978-1558854871

Viaña's second book to be translated into English (after story collection American Dreams) is a kaleidoscopic fever-dream that drags long-suffering illegal immigrant Dante Celestino from Oregon to Las Vegas and back a few times as he searches for his runaway daughter. The day of Dante's daughter's quinceañera, she runs away with her low rider-driving gangster boyfriend. After hearing they may have fled to Las Vegas, Celestino repeatedly attempts journeys to find her, and passes the time between telling Virgilio (a donkey), among other things, the story of his and his deceased wife's long-ago border crossings. Celestino is undaunted by losing everything and starting over again, just as Viaña is unafraid of periodically chucking the narrative and starting again almost from scratch. The doubling-back of Dante's journey allows Viaña to set up straw men of his ideological bogeymen—uninformed liberal educators, touchy-feely types, unreconstructed South American fascists—and ridicule them. Though Viaña's subject is certainly worthy of a sprawling story, this epic meanders in its long middle section and skimps on the denouement and resolution. The topics are of interest, but the telling goes over the top. (Sept.)

The Devil's Right Hand
Lilith Saintcrow. Orbit, $6.99 (432p) ISBN 978-0316021425

Dante Valentine, the necromancing, half-demon bounty hunter, returns for a third installment in this entertaining series from Saintcrow. This time out Dante is summoned, along with her demon lover Japhrimel, by Lucifer himself, who makes her an offer she can't refuse: it seems that four demons have escaped from hell, and Lucifer wants Dante to track them down and return them to his dark domain. Though there isn't much negotiating room when dealing with the Devil, Dante strikes a bargain and accepts the assignment. With the help of Japhrimel, she recruits a posse of supernatural beings and sets out to accomplish the Devil's dangerous mission. Of course, not all is what it seems—the Devil isn't called the Prince of Lies for nothing—and soon she and her crew find that their souls are at stake. Saintcrow's distinctive heroine is a tough, sarcastic, deadly swordswoman cursed with a vulnerable heart; she makes a sharp and likable lead. Though it's slow to take off, and Valentine spends too much time musing over events from previous books, readers will find the wait worthwhile once the story kicks into high-octane gear. (Sept.) 

The Dowry Bride
Shobhan Bantwal. Kensington, $14 paper (352p) ISBN 978-0758220316

A young Indian bride flees her marriage after overhearing her husband and mother-in-law plot her murder in Bantwal's middling debut. Angry that, a year after the arranged marriage, Megha's father has not paid the dowry and Megha has not yet become pregnant, Amma, her husband's mother, wants her dead. Megha bolts and turns to Kiran, her husband's cousin, whom she remembers as being kind. While Amma searches for Megha, Megha and Kiran feel a forbidden spark. Bantwal lays on thick rich cultural detail, but it's not enough to overcome the uninspired prose and thin characters: the villains are poor, ugly, boorish and lack motivation for their cruel acts, while the heroes are rich, handsome and polite (says Kiran: "I happen to believe in things like decency and integrity, you know"). The ending may surprise, but getting to it can be exasperating. (Sept.) 

The Hades Project: A Cotten Stone Mystery
Lynn Sholes and Joe Moore. Midnight Ink, $14.95 paper (432p) ISBN 978-0738709307

More action-laden suspense than mystery, the latest Cotten Stone novel fails to stand out from the growing ranks of religious-themed thrillers. Stone, the daughter of "the only forgiven Fallen Angel," is a correspondent for a CNN-like television network, killing time until the next battle with the forces of Lucifer. An interview in the Kremlin is interrupted by a terror attack that kills her entire crew and leaves her and the Russian president scuttling through hidden passages that lead to an escape route via Lenin's tomb. Meanwhile, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Rizben Mace, secretly a Satanic priest, conspires to shatter civilization with a massive Internet attack code-named the Hades Project. While the outcome is never in doubt, the tension builds as Stone and her mortal and otherworldly allies race to avert catastrophe. (Sept.)

L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future: Volume XXIII
Edited by Algis Budrys. Galaxy, $7.99 (554p) ISBN 978-1592123988

Those looking for a new group of classic, hard science fiction writers need look no further than the latest volume of Galaxy's always-reliable original anthology series. A distinguished panel of judges, including Orson Scott Card, Larry Niven and Jack Williamson, selected 13 quality stories by relative newcomers touched with imagination and inventive plotting. The standout is Jeff Carlson's "The Frozen Sky," a pulse-pounding account of an encounter with extraterrestrial life beneath the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa, but several others will linger in the reader's mind. Fresh names worth watching include Tony Pi, who presents a chilling story of the world's end, and Douglas Texter, whose vision of reality television's future features time-traveling lensmen sent to capture historic events. Also included are essays by Hubbard and artist Judith Miller, and illustrations from a number of different artists, a mixed collection marked by occasional brilliance. While readers will relish these short pieces, many of the ideas explored in them would likely work well in a longer format, auguring well for the future of these talented up-and-comers. (Sept.) 

Midori by Moonlight
Wendy Nelson Tokunaga. St. Martin's Griffin, $13.95 paper (256p) ISBN 978-0312372613

Aspiring Cinderella Midori Saito does not heed her mother's warning—"Running off with a foreigner will bring you nothing but trouble"—in Tokunaga's delectably frothy debut. Trouble is exactly what Midori finds after following English teacher Kevin Newbury from her native Japan to San Francisco, where Prince Charming quickly becomes Prince Alarming after a nightmarish engagement party. After Kevin dumps her to return to his ex-girlfriend, Midori doesn't want to tell her parents or return to Japan, although with little savings, no green card and only a temporary visa, she may have to. Fortunately, Kevin's old friend Shinji Nishimura, who met Midori at the ill-fated party, offers Midori refuge while she figures out her next moves—she's a talented baker—and Shinji ponders his. Tokunaga, author of the self-published No Kidding, depicts Midori's determination to create her own version of the American dream with exuberance. (Sept.)