Web Exclusive Reviews: Week of 10/29

-- Publishers Weekly, 10/29/2007

NONFICTION

America and the Islamic Bomb: The Deadly Compromise
David Armstrong and Joseph Trento. Steerforth (Random House, dist.), $24.95 (296p) ISBN 978586421373
This chilling exposé from National Security News Service bureau chief Armstrong and author Trento (The Secret History of the CIA) chronicles American foreign policy in relation to nuclear weapons development worldwide, and particularly in Pakistan. Beginning with Truman’s Atomic Energy Act of 1946 and ending with George W. Bush’s hunt for nonexistent WMDs in Iraq, the history is as interesting as it is infuriating. Operating under Cold War paranoia in the 1960s and ’70s, the U.S saw Pakistan as a conveniently located ally and so, in addition to providing hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid, helped jumpstart the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, which gave the country its nuclear capabilities. What followed was decades of mismanagement, culminating in the revelation that Pakistani national hero A.Q. Khan was deeply involved in the nuclear black market; the authors contend that the U.S government knew all about Khan’s negotiations with Libya, Iran and North Korea, but ignored it to keep Pakistan an ally, first against the Communists and now in the “War on Terror.” This accessible history should raise awareness of the many devil’s bargains that the U.S. has struck in the seemingly vain hope of keeping control over perhaps the greatest man-made threat to humanity. (Oct.)

Comeback: Conservatism that can Win Again
David Frum. Doubleday, $26 (272p) ISBN 9780385515337
In his new book, Frum (The Right Man), former speechwriter to President Bush, offers a conservative blueprint for accommodating challenges central to the next half-century of American life. Drawing on his expert knowledge of domestic politics and foreign policy, Frum shows how Republicans must evolve in accordance with the challenges and fluidity of contemporary America to win hearts, minds and elections. After staking out viably conservative positions on the salient political battles in America—healthcare, education, the economy, foreign policy, embryonic stem cell research, taxation and the like—Frum shines when dealing with the grand strategy of taxation, particularly his pro-growth model for accommodating domestic spending obligations such as social security. His analysis is particularly striking in its advocacy for consumption taxation in lieu of taxes that stifle investment and free enterprise. Taxes aimed at upper-class consumers rather than savings and investment is a provocative idea worthy of consideration. And although Frum’s ideas are good, if not brilliant, the final chapter, in which he describes the errant behavior of the Bush administration, seems like a tardy rebuke to a president he once called The Right Man. (Dec.)

The Copa: Jules Podell and the Hottest Club North of Havana
Mickey Podell-Raber with Charles Pignone. Collins, $26.95 (224p) ISBN 9780061240997
The Copacabana was the New York hot spot throughout the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s that hosted the great singers and musicians of the era—Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr., Judy Garland, The Temptations. Jules Podell, a Russian immigrant, was one of the men responsible for the nightclub’s success (the other was business partner Jack Entratter). In this loving and honest memoir, Podell-Raber, Podell’s only child, recalls the club’s heyday and her life as the daughter of the city’s best-known impressario. Augmented by more that 100 b&w photos of the club and performers, Podell-Raber’s narrative is filled with memories of attending shows every Sunday night with her mother and meeting the entertainers afterward (Sammy Davis Jr. once gave her a pet puppy). She doesn’t, however, shy away from discussing mob boss Frank Costello’s involvement in the club, nor does she paint her young life as completely idyllic: “After a short time I didn’t want to be a Podell and live up to a certain standard of perfection.” In the end, with photos and stories, Podell-Raber’s nostalgic look at the club and her father show what made the club legendary. (Nov.)

Hungry: Lessons Learned on the Journey from Fat to Thin
Allen Zadoff. Da Capo, $19.95 (224p) ISBN 9780738211053
In this intimate story, Zadoff describes his “twenty-eight years fighting a war against food, fat, and my body,” and the “food addict” diagnosis that finally made sense of it: “sneaky, secretive, dishonest, and deceptive… I behaved like a junkie with food.” Imparting “what I wish I’d known all those years,” as well as raising the profile of overeaters’ plight, Zadoff’s book begins with snappy chapters detailing his dysfunctional relationship with food, followed by strategies for recovery. A good first step, he suggests, is to create a food “traffic light” list in which “red” foods are triggers to avoid: “Like an alcoholic, if I put a trigger food in my mouth, I will once again be at its mercy.” Readers won’t find a “magic formula,” but will learn not only that commitment and discipline pay off, but that they don’t need to overwhelm: “When I wake up in the morning, I commit to eating three meals, just for today.” Zadoff occasionally relies on self-help clichés (happiness “is like a muscle… If I don’t exercise it, it atrophies”), but his compelling first-person insight into a largely misunderstood condition, not to mention his common-sense solutions (heavy on the need for a support network of family, friends and professionals), is valuable, encouraging reading for problem eaters of all kinds and those trying to help them. (Oct.)

Life’s A Campaign: What Politics has Taught Me about Friendship, Rivalry, Reputation, and Success
Chris Matthews. Random, $24.95 (220p) ISBN 9781400065288
During his decades in Washington, MSNBC newsmagazine host Matthews has collected plenty of insight into the “fine art” of “getting people to do what you want them to.” While fondly recounting his climb from Capitol Hill police officer to presidential speechwriter for Jimmy Carter to Washington bureau chief for the San Francisco Examiner and beyond, Matthews presents a ladder-climbing narrative meant to inform and inspire. Admonishing readers that no one wants to hear your ideas unless you force them to, Matthews shows readers how to get into the game (any game) and face the risks involved: “The more failure you can accept, the greater your chance of success.” Examining political figures from Bill Clinton (“the best politician I’ve ever seen) to Zell Miller (who famously challenged Matthews to a duel on national television), Matthews reveals how “the ability to deal with people” is paramount. Divided (without explanation) into the sections indicated in his subtitle, Matthews provides anecdotes and analysis, as well as a useful (if not exactly surprising) “Bottom Line” at the end of each chapter (“To win the contest, you first have to be a contestant,” “rivalry is as normal as friendship,” etc.). Fans will find Matthews’s honest approach and hard-nosed rhetoric intact, and those turned off by the Hardball host’s loudmouth on-air style may find his print incarnation an insightful, erudite alternative. (Oct.)

A Man’s Life: Dispatches from Dangerous Places
Mark Jenkins. Rodale/Modern Times, $25.95 (358p) ISBN 9781594867071
Jenkins, widely-published travel writer and author (The Hard Way: Stories of Danger, Survival, and the Soul of Adventure), is always up for a challenge, wherever it may be. He’s been almost everywhere, frequently at his peril, and these captivating essays take readers up the most forbidding mountains, through ice caves in Greenland, along India’s “road of blood,” and into Afghani war zones, proving Jenkin’s courage, conviction and humanity along the way. The haunting “No Exit” details a mission to find a lost pair of world-class women climbers, “both of [whom] understood that for alpinists, death is just a mistake away.” High above the Sahara, he introduces “the bard of the nascent art of aviation,” Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and biking through Norway he finds hellish tunnels “long, and black as blindness.” Jenkins’ evocative prose will cause readers to shiver vicariously during impossible ascents and flinch at the inevitable injuries along the way: “The world is one giant garden of cliffs, canyons, and cacti, [where] you’ll discover that flesh is softer than stone, weaker than water, and highly vulnerable to velocity.” Fortunately for readers, however, the spirit thrives; Jenkins’ musings on home, family and lost colleagues add warmth to his riveting tales of derring-do. (Oct.)

Peak Everything: Waking Up to a Century of Declines
Richard Heinberg. New Society (www.newsociety.com), $24.95 (224p) ISBN 9780865715981
In his latest, “Peak Oil” expert Heinberg (Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies) puts that theory in place alongside corresponding peaks in population, food production, climate stability and fresh water availability to paint a grim future of overlapping and accelerating global crises. For an introduction to Peak Oil, the idea that coming fossil fuel shortages will be sudden and drastic, readers should seek Heinberg’s earlier works; this volume assumes familiarity and addresses the challenges a post-carbon world poses for a global community “as reliant on hydrocarbons as it is on water, sunlight, and soil.” The worst-case scenario, “global economic meltdown” and a new round of resource wars, can only be avoided “by proactively reducing our reliance on oil, gas, and coal ahead of depletion and scarcity.” This involves a vast, worldwide change to fossil fuel-free production that prizes handcrafted buildings and objects, durable and simple design, ease of reparability and material conservation. Although Heinberg attempts to inject some optimism, the intersection of peak oil and climate change—not to mention overpopulation, water scarcity, a clueless ruling class and a citizenry largely unaware of the problem’s magnitude—is not a hopeful vantage point, and readers may not want to tackle this downer without other works on deck to provide plans for action. (Oct.)

LIFESTYLE

Levana Cooks Dairy-Free: A Healthy, Simple Approach to Gourmet Cuisine
Levana Kirschenbaum. Skyhorse, $19.95 (160p) ISBN 9781602390836
Trying to prepare a dairy-free mustard sauce is no mean feat; even trickier is concocting a convincing dairy-free crème caramel, tiramisu or yogurt fruit soup. But this imaginative and beautifully-photographed cookbook contains tricks for all these recipes and more, each written in a friendly, step-by-step manner. That Cold Yogurt Fruit Soup, for instance, is a perfect summer snack: a mixture of fresh kiwis, grapes, honeydew and apples, blended with soy milk and tofu, it’s good on its own, but even better, as Kirschenbaum suggests, over a scoop of sorbet. Another soup, Crème of Watercress and Asparagus has a more complicated preparation, but turns out a lovely, subtle puree of fresh vegetables and herbs. Spinach Lasagna is slightly less appealing; it’s hard not to miss the milky tang of fresh mozzarella, for which tofu cream cheese is no substitute. But the author, a New York-based kosher cooking teacher and restaurateur, more than makes up for lackluster lasagna with outrageously tasty desserts, including Pistachio Halva Mousse with Maple Sauce, which turns the Middle Eastern candy into a seductive, creamy pudding, and Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars full of crunchy puffed rice; they taste great with a few spoonfuls of vanilla ice cream, and Kirschenbaum, happily, provides a wonderful dairy-free recipe for that too. (Nov.)

Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Slow Cooker Recipes 2
Sandra Lee. Meredith, $19.95 paper (240p) ISBN 9780696238154
The seemingly unstoppable Lee returns with a second helping of slow cooker recipes that come together in minutes with just a handful of ingredients—in most cases, all the cook has to do is open a couple cans and pour the contents into a cooker with some meat. Like previous Semi-Homemade books (Semi-Homemade Cooking, Semi-Homemade Desserts, etc.), Lee’s brand-name suggestions for virtually every ingredient—up to and including Christopher Ranch crushed garlic and ReaLemon lemon juice—border on the comedic and beg the question, who’s writing her checks? As for the dishes themselves, most emphasize cuts of meat that benefit from low and slow cooking—pork shoulder for Asian Pulled Pork, brisket and lamb shanks among them—though some are head-scratchers, like a meatloaf and a brownie recipe that only gain hours of cooking time from these unconventional incarnations. Rounded out with recipes for soups, stews and chilis, this is a colorful, serviceable guide for slow cooker owners bereft of ideas, though there’s little in the way of accompaniments or serving suggestions, and no explanation of unusual choices like the chocolate in her beef stew. Fans of Lee’s semi-homemade approach will undoubtedly snap this up, but novices would better be served by whatever complimentary recipe book came with their cooker. (Nov.)

The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child
Robert W. Sears. Little, Brown, $13.99 paper (304p) ISBN 9780316017503
Sears, coauthor of several books in the Sears Parenting series, addresses one of today’s most controversial and worrisome questions. Sears’ goal is “to give you a balanced look at pros and cons of vaccination so that you can make an educated decision.” Sears does not advocate for or rail against vaccination, stating it doesn’t have to be an all or nothing decision—there are choices. The first 12 chapters discuss each vaccination in the childhood series, providing explanation of the relative disease, how the vaccine is made and points to assess a child’s at-risk level when considering if the vaccine is necessary. Sears does offer guidance for those who are indecisive, offering his opinion based on clinical experience and 13 years of research taken from product inserts, pediatric reference books, articles and databases. Additional chapters illuminate more controversial aspects of the debate, such as how vaccine safety is researched and what the findings are, side effects and how to minimize them, common myths and questions. As always, Sears’ tone puts readers at ease as he clearly explains medical terms and elucidates debates. (Oct.)

ILLUSTRATED

Mirror of the World: A New History of Art
Julian Bell. Thames & Hudson, $45 (496p) ISBN 9780500238370
Bell’s guidelines in writing this exuberant, astute and splendidly illustrated history of world art—spanning from the cave paintings of Lascaux through contemporary artists such as Julie Mehretu—are threefold: every work is complemented by a reproduction, the narrative is chronological, and art is viewed as “a frame within which world history, in all its breadth, is continually reflected back at us.” Bell (500 Self-Portraits; What is Painting?: Representation and Modern Art) is a renowned critic, artist and professor of art history, and son of artist and critic Quentin Bell; he writes of his personal “pleasure” in creating and studying art. Bell draws fascinating parallels between artistic developments in Western and non-Western art: a discussion of Brancusi highlights the influence of West African carving on his work; one of Borromini’s domes is juxtaposed with its near contemporary in the Masjid-e-Shah mosque in Isfahan. The survey is selective, presenting some typically overlooked works, but Bell trains his probing perspective to each. His conclusion is unpretentious: he advises readers to supplement his study with “finer-grained art histories” and to “get close to the work itself.” Best, he says, is to make things oneself: “What happens in art is up to you.” The unique study will appeal to anyone—from the generalist to the scholar—interested in a discriminating and perceptive history of world art. Illus. (Oct.)

AUDIO

In An Instant: A Family’s Journey of Love and Healing
Lee and Bob Woodruff, read by the authors. Recorded Books, unabridged, eight CDs, 10 hrs., $34.99 ISBN 9781428157606
There’s a reason Lee Woodruff’s name comes first in this collaboration. While this celebrity memoir revolves around the war injuries suffered by ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff, it’s really his wife’s story. Drawn from the journals she kept during his recovery and also delving deeply into the history of the couple’s courtship and family life, this gritty memoir is well served by Lee’s capable and compelling speaking voice. Woodruff’s vocal control is strong, even mesmerizing, and she peppers the grave reminiscences with funny stories and witty observations. Her voice sometimes breaks with emotion, whether describing her fears after learning of her husband’s condition or earlier heartaches when coping with a miscarriage or learning of the profound hearing loss of one of their twin daughters. Bob intervenes occasionally to describe his family, various career ups and downs, and what he remembers about the incident that rendered him a casualty of war. Listeners may wish to have a tissue or two on hand while they listen to this beautiful story of marriage for better and for worse. Simultaneous release with the Random House hardcover. (Aug.)

Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys and the Battle for America’s Soul
Karen Abbott, read by Joyce Bean. Tantor Audio, unabridged, nine CDs, 11.5 hrs., $34.99 ISBN 9781400104666
At the dawn of the 20th century, there was no more famous—or notorious—brothel in America than the Everleigh Club in Chicago. Run by two sisters with an all-American talent for self-invention, the club set new standards for opulence as well as harlots’ rights. Abbott’s scintillating tale of prostitution and scandal, however, is not well-served by this plodding audio rendition. Bean emerges as a narrator with a curious double standard: for the madams, aldermen and other colorful characters who populated the Levee red light district a century ago, she creates unique voices full of dialect, humor and pathos. For the reformers who sought to shut down the whorehouses, though, her vocal creativity falls flat; the same schoolmarmish voice is used for every religious or legal reformer in Chicago. It’s a shame that the audio book couldn’t utilize the more than three dozen sumptuous photographs and illustrations that grace the print edition, showing the club in all its gaudy Victorian splendor and providing mugs of the Levee’s many legendary figures. Simultaneous release with the Random House hardcover (Reviews, Apr. 16). (Aug.)

Still Summer
Jacquelyn Mitchard, read by Susan Ericksen. Hachette Audio, abridged, five CDs, 6 hrs., $29.98 ISBN 9781600241918
Ericksen gives an appropriately taut, tense reading of this gripping novel about four women on a sailing vacation who end up fighting for their lives when their ship is disabled, food is running low, and they’re beset by modern-day pirates. Ericksen doesn’t create actual character voices, but she does a great job voicing snobbish Olivia and sarcastic, emotional teenager Cami. (The voices of the two down-to-earth characters, Tracy and Holly, tend to blur.) Michel, a young Frenchman, sounds just as sexy as he should, while criminal Ernesto is appropriately menacing (although Ericksen’s attempt at a Spanish accent leaves something to be desired). Ericksen is best at voicing the climactic emotional confrontation between Olivia and the rest of the group that will leave listeners on the edge of their seats. Random-seeming musical background is unwisely used; it probably indicates either places where text was abridged or beginnings of chapters, but either way, it’s distracting and unnecessary. Minor quibbles aside, this is a brisk, fast-paced and suspenseful audiobook. Simultaneous release with the Grand Central hardcover (Reviews, Apr. 9). (Aug.)

A Time to Lead: For Duty, Honor and Country
Wesley K. Clark with Tom Carhart, read by Clark. Macmillan Audio, unabridged, seven CDs, 9 hrs., $34.99 ISBN 9781427202383
As a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004, Clark created a groundswell of excitement with his impressive résumé on the national security front and his ability to realign the partisan landscape with regard to defense issues. Yet despite some significant inroads, the Clark campaign remained a work in progress that never fully hit its stride. As narrator of his own memoir and call to action, Clark nicely captures dialogue from the most emotionally charged facets of his life story, especially his heart-wrenching battlefield experiences as both a young officer in Vietnam and a seasoned commander in the Balkans during the ’90s. Clark also delivers a spirited retelling of prescient early encounters with such neoconservative stalwarts as Condoleezza Rice and Scooter Libby. When he reads the less autobiographical passages, though, Clark falls into a stilted delivery pattern where sentences lose their natural flow. Clark’s inspiring rise to the pinnacle of public service offers built-in appeal for a core audience of political memoir devotees. However, other listeners may not muster the enthusiasm to jump on the bandwagon. Simultaneous release with the Palgrave Macmillan hardcover (Reviews, Aug. 25). (Sept.)

What on Earth have I Done?
Robert Fulghum, read by the author. Macmillan Audio, unabridged, five CDs, 6 hrs., $29.95 ISBN 9781427201850
Fulghum probes life’s important questions in this collection of “stories, essays, and affirmations.” The grandfatherly Fulghum asks listeners: what on Earth are you doing? What in the name of God have you done? What will you think of next? And who do you think you are? Narrating with brief, simple and powerful commentaries, Fulghum relates everyday incidents from his life, such as teaching his grandchildren poker and receiving a cynical home evaluation, which will have a profound effect on the listener. Fulghum tries his best to incorporate a variety of voices to represent the various individuals present in his stories. Fulghum’s recounting is unhurried and leisurely, unfolding at a steady pace that works to reaffirm his message, namely to slow down and appreciate the world in which we live. The pace may prove to be far too sluggish and monotonous for many listeners, but with a wide array of valuable insights and assertions, the material tends to speak for itself. Simultaneous release with the St. Martin’s hardcover (reviewed online). (Sept.)

The Wheel of Darkness
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, read by Rene Auberjonois. Hachette Audio, unabridged, 12 CDs, 13 hrs., $49.98 ISBN 9781594839412
Hachette once again smartly enlists the services of Auberjonois (who won an Audie Award for reading Preston and Child’s Dance of Death) to read the latest high-flown supernatural thriller from the bestselling team. His rendition of even the most outlandish adventures of FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast and his ward, Constance Greene, provides exactly the calm, cool atmosphere that makes the occasionally hard-to-swallow story into a tasty snack. On a retreat from their action-packed lives at a Tibetan monastery, Aloysius and Constance are asked by the abbot to save the world. Upon boarding a luxury liner on its maiden voyage, they discover an ancient relic that promises bloody death. Auberjonois brings the three lead characters to life—the crusty Pendergast, the troubled Greene and the Yoda-like head monk. As for the bad guys—natural and supernatural—Auberjonois provides just enough menace to make them really frightening and never goes over the top or makes them cartoonish. This might not be the best of Child and Preston’s popular efforts, but under Auberjonois’s expert guidance, it should keep listeners very diverted. Simultaneous release with the Grand Central hardcover (Reviews, July 16). (Sept.)

FICTION

The Best of Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet
Edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant. Del Rey, $14.95 paper (416p) ISBN 9780345499134
Genre-blurring stories, poems and articles by a few major authors and a host of relative unknowns appear in this oddly compelling excursion into the realm of the surreal and interstitial. The standouts are a diverse lot: Nalo Hopkinson’s exquisitely visceral folkloric allegory “Tan-Tan and Dry Bone,” Sarah Monette’s darkly romantic “Three Letters from the Queen of Elfland,” the hilarious illustrations of Sara Rojo and narration of Lawrence Schimel in “The Well-Dressed Wolf,” Richard Butner’s appropriately dry “How to Make a Martini.” Link and Grant also unabashedly include surprisingly sub-par examples of their own work. With a major SF imprint publishing this hefty anthology, LCRW’s times as a low-profile fringe zine may be at an end, though it remains to be seen whether mainstream readers will be convinced to swell the ranks of its relatively few but utterly devoted subscribers. (Sept.)

From My Soul to Yours
Dywane D. Birch. Strebor/Atria, $15 paper (560p) ISBN 9781593091248
Though Birch’s sequel to Shattered Souls is crammed to overflowing with secrets, sex and anguish, lamentable prose and clunky plotting make a drag out of this hefty tome about a group of friends. Feisty, successful businesswoman Indera Fleet-Miles and stripper turned author Tee are married, and although their sex life is satisfying, he wants her to provide him with domestic creature comforts, but she’s not game for that. Their friend Britton is trying to cope with his young sons while their bi-sexual mother Lina unsuccessfully tries to start up her acting career. Chyna is worried about her grown daughter, Sarina, who has psychological problems. New to the group, Celeste has a shadowy past and a desire to reunite with her former lover. Graphic sex scenes abound and provide temporary respite from the confidante role Birch places readers in. The author shamelessly plugs his previous book by forcing characters to read it (one character certifies it as “one well-crafted piece of fiction, a definite page-turner”). Even readers who enjoyed Birch’s earlier work find this monotonous. (Nov.)

In and Down
Brett Alexander Savory. Brindle & Glass, $17.95 paper (224p) ISBN 9781897142264
Canadian editor (ChiZine) and novelist (The Distance Traveled) Savory employs a library’s worth of borrowings in this disjointed novel of psychological horror. The quiet small-town atmosphere overtaken by a surreal carnival is straight from Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes, with the green-suited Hob standing in for Mr. Dark. Eleven-year-old Michael’s journey through the Freekshow’s multi-level dreamscape reads like a D&D dungeon crawl set in a Sam Raimi version of Willy Wonka’s candy factory. His older brother Stephen, who saves him from drowning and then cheerfully plies him with poison, is likewise more archetype than character, and scraps of oblique letters from their long-missing mother litter the narrative like so many plot coupons. A final 180-degree twist confuses far more than it enlightens, drastically altering the story’s context with little warning. Savory’s prose is smooth, but neither the ingredients nor the execution can lift this volume above the ordinary. (Oct.)

Storm Dragon: Draconic Prophecies, Book 1
James Wyatt. Wizards of the Coast, $25.95 (352p) ISBN 9780786947102
An ancient prophecy that could remake the political and magical landscape of the Five Nations provides the foundation for Wyatt’s Dungeon and Dragons–based fantasy adventure set in the Eberron game world. The half-elf seer Gaven, whose dire and cryptic predictions earned him a cell in the dwarven prison Dreadhold, suddenly finds himself freed by a man he doesn’t trust. Haldren ir’Brassek, formerly a nobleman, was imprisoned himself in Dreadhold for war crimes committed during his own search for power. Now Haldren needs Gaven’s knowledge of the prophecy about the mighty Storm Dragon in order to help the dragon Vaskar gain power. Gaven, who bears the Mark of Storm, signifying great magical talent, does his best to foil Haldren, first by lying and then by escaping to seek his own answers to the prophecy he can’t seem to escape. The key to everything seems to be the Eye of Siberys, a magical artifact Haldren and Vaskar will do anything to possess. While the setting may be rather confusing for readers unfamiliar with the Eberron milieu, Wyatt (In the Claws of the Tiger) effectively mixes political intrigue with action. This high-stakes adventure, full of violence, magic and suspense, should entertain gamers and epic fantasy fans. (Sept.)

The Strange Death of Napoleon Bonaparte
Jerry Labriola. Strong, $24.95 (340p) ISBN 9781928782704
While the odd circumstances of Napoleon Bonaparte’s death on St. Helena would seem a promising starting point for a whodunit, Labriola (The Budapest Legend with forensic expert Henry C. Lee) fails to make good use of his material. Paul D’Arneau, a Yale history professor, has just been ousted from his post because of his theory that the famed diplomat Talleyrand poisoned the emperor with arsenic when he serendipitously receives an e-mail from a shadowy French group offering him a six-figure fee and all expenses paid to solve the mystery of Bonaparte’s death. For reasons never adequately explained, D’Arneau’s subsequent probes attract unwelcome attention and place his life and those of his colleagues in danger. This effort to beef up the action may strike some readers as especially jarring in the light of the far-fetched solution to the case. (Nov.)

V: The Second Generation
Kenneth Johnson. Tor, $24.95 (448) ISBN 9780765319074; $14.95 paper ISBN 9780765319067
Johnson has been writing television science fiction (The Six Million Dollar Man; Alien Nation) for over three decades. Anticipating the 2008 television spin-off from the cult classic miniseries V, Johnson has created this insubstantial tie-in novel. Twenty years after invading, the Visitors now have a solid chokehold on Earth’s scientists, intellectuals, celebrities and natural resources. While there remains an active resistance movement, they cannot stop the domination of Earth on their own. Enter the alien Zedti. Enemies of the Visitors (though sharing their general lack of concern for individual human lives), the Zedti come to the aid of the resistance efforts. Throughout, it remains ambiguous whether the Zedti are truly friends of humanity. The plethora of whiz-bang action scenes and huge cast of underdeveloped characters make this more of a primer for the new miniseries than a novel worth reading in its own right. (Oct.)

Worldbinder
David Farland. Tor, $24.95 (336p) ISBN 9780765316653
Two worlds collide in the sixth installment of Farland’s Runelords epic (after 2006’s Sons of the Oak). When the Seal of Creation was broken, the original, peaceful home of humanity shattered into thousands of flawed worlds, of which Earth is one. Seeking to mend the Seal of Inferno, which was damaged by the evil Queen of the Loci after her escape from the netherworld, flameweaver Fallion Orden instead reunites Earth with another world, causing strange meldings of bodies and landscapes. As inhabitants of both worlds struggle to comprehend the changes to themselves and their surroundings, various evildoers take advantage of the chaos, and Fallion and his companions must do what most heroes do: save the world and stay alive. Farland excels in dreamlike imagery that describes much but explains little, and the wildly complicated plot and lack of backstory may frustrate new readers. (Sept.)