Web Exclusive Book Reviews: 11/16/2009

-- Publishers Weekly, 11/16/2009

NONFICTION

 Basking With Humpbacks: Tracking Threatened Marine Life in New England Waters
Todd McLeish. Univ. Press of New England, $26.95 (236p) ISBN 9781584656760
In this collection of 11 fascinating essays, author and science writer McLeish (Golden Wings and Hairy Toes) accompanies marine biologists, fisheries experts, and fishermen on voyages along the coasts of New England and the maritime provinces of Canada to study 10 marine species: humpback whales, Atlantic halibut, harbor porpoises, horseshoe crabs, petrels, leatherback turtles, bay scallops, Atlantic wolf fish, harlequin ducks, and basking sharks. In each chapter, McLeish describes various marine research stations, interviews with marine scientists, and boat trips for observation. Unfortunately for McLeish, seeing the animals can be difficult—changing ecology (thanks to invasive species like Japanese seaweed), overfishing, and (in the case of harlequin ducks) overhunting have caused populations to crash. Though protected by U.S. law, these animals are vulnerable when they migrate elsewhere—turtles nest on tropical beaches threatened by development, and the Asian demand for shark fins is rapidly depleting the oceans of these top predators. Like all the best science writing, McLeish writes engagingly about non-human subjects and the humans who study them. A hopeful recurring theme is the growing cooperation between research scientists and fishermen (such as the effort to free harbor porpoises from herring traps in the Maritimes), which keeps this highly informative book from drowning in bad news. (Oct.)

Chips, Clones, and Living Beyond 100: How Far will the Biosciences Take Us?
Paul J.H. Schoemaker and Joyce A. Schoemaker. Financial Times, $24.99 (240p) ISBN 9780137153855
Technology scholar Paul and microbiology researcher Joyce Schoemaker review “the scientific and technological forces that make living beyond 100 possible, as well as the economic, social, and political obstacles that might stand in the way,” which they believe “will shape the world between now and the year 2025.” This bioscience tour begins with a brief history of medicine, from the discovery of hygiene through the discovery of DNA, to cloning and biotechnology, delving into the biomedicine industry of today and in several visions of the future. In fluid language, the scientists discuss medical advances including gene testing and therapy, medical sensors and devices, and vaccine technologies, emphasizing the components of a successful technology with regard to economics, ethics, regulations, infrastructure, and investment. Uncertainties about the rapidly emerging field’s future come up in questions like, “How much do we really want to know about our health, especially when it is unclear how much we can alter it?” This concise, accessible overview will most appeal to those working outside the field, including investors, medical professionals and engineers, as well as those seeking a biomedicine career. (Oct.)

Confessions of a Radical Industrialist: Profits, People, Purpose—Doing Business by Respecting the Earth
Ray C. Anderson with Robin White. St. Martin’s, $25.99 (320p) ISBN 9780312543495
In 1994, after reading Paul Hawken’s The Ecology of Commerce, carpet mogul Anderson decided to make his carpet company Interface, established in 1973, the first company to achieve 100 percent sustainability, a massively successful effort that has made him a sought-after business consultant (clients include Walmart) as well as an environmental hero. Sustainability, argues Anderson, makes just as much business sense as it does a liberal crusade, and he even makes absorbing reading out of the process that transformed his operations. Interface developed processes for recycling old carpets, invented a leased carpet program (too much ahead of its time, admits Anderson), utilized the work of indigenous peoples, switched over to solar and other alternative energy sources, reduced water use and contamination, and, in 2007, even managed to achieve negative net greenhouse gas emissions. What is even more impressive is that Interface achieved this globally—not just in the U. S.—while growing profits. Unfortunately, Anderson is far less compelling when he turns his focus from Interface to leadership strategies, stumbling through the banalities of corporate spirituality and the Golden Rule. Still, the story of Anderson’s commitment to green practices and the wild success he achieved is fascinating, instructive, and very timely. (Oct.)

Death and Sex
Tyler Volk and Dorion Sagan. Chelsea Green, $25 (224p) ISBN 9781603581431
In this back-to-back double essay (flip it one way, it’s Death by Volk, flip it the other way, it’s Sex by Sagan), two curious scientist-philosophers ponder the relationship between mortality and the chain of being. Sagan (Notes from the Holocene), the co-director of Chelsea Green’s science imprint, takes a romp through evolution beginning with a neatly detached definition of sexual reproduction: “the formation of new individuals from the genes of at least two different sources.” Taking a playful run with a serious theory, Sagan doesn’t skimp on trivia (“[an] estrous chimp may mate with sixty males in a day”; “the oldest ejaculation in the fossil record” is between 363 and 409 million years old, etc.) while pursuing vital ideas on the relationship between gene mixing and evolution. On the other end, biologist Volk (head of NYU’s environmental studies track) presents a luminous essay on the way death is integral to life, the importance of each person’s “cultural knot,” and how “biogeochemical cycles” create “a personal form of immortality”: “my chemicals will circulate in the biosphere and become clouds and oceans and many wondrous creatures.” Though dissimilar, the essays share an off-center view of evolution that should be of special interest to those who enjoy pondering the alpha and omega of life. (Oct.)

 Dirty Rotten Strategies: How We Trick Ourselves and Others Into Solving the Wrong Problems Precisely
Ian Mitroff and Abraham Silvers. Stanford Univ., $24.95 (224p) ISBN 9780804759960
A pleasant surprise for anyone frustrated with the way complex problems are misconstrued and dumbed-down in daily life, this challenge from business scholars Mitroff and Silvers goes out to media, higher education, health care, and American institutions ranging from government to celebrity, to demonstrate the relevance of concepts in statistical analysis known as “type three” and “type four” errors. Though they’re given to philosophical ranting, the authors never struggle with their complex ideas, keeping the text readable for anyone with problems to solve, resolve, absolve or dissolve (i.e., everyone). Those familiar with statistics will find their frustrations with the false type-one/type-two error dichotomy well articulated and addressed, but the theories will connect with anyone who enjoys thinking outside the box. The pair also advocates a new way of considering problems, not just a way of prioritizing them, demonstrating the necessity of new modes of critical thinking when approaching the orthodoxy of American institutions. (Nov.)

Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know
Alexandra Horowitz. Scribner, $26 (368p) ISBN 9781416583400
Psychology professor and dog person Horowitz was studying the ethology (the science of animal behavior) of white rhinos and bonobos at the San Diego Zoo when she realized that her research techniques could just as easily apply to dogs at the local dog park; there, she began to see “snapshots of the minds of the dogs” in their play. Over eight years of study, she’s found that, though humans bond with their dogs closely, they’re clueless when it comes to understanding what dogs perceive—leading her to the not-inconsequential notion that dogs know us better than we know them. Horowitz begins by inviting readers into a dog’s umwelt—his worldview—by imagining themselves living 18 inches or so above the ground, with incredible olfactory senses comparable to the human capacity for detailed sight in three dimensions (though dogs’ sight, in combination with their sense of smell, may result in a more complex perception of “color” than humans can imagine). Social and communications skills are also explored, as well as the practicalities of dog owning (Horowitz disagrees with the “pack” approach to dog training). Dog lovers will find this book largely fascinating, despite Horowitz’s meandering style and somnolent tone. (Sept. 15)

Last Words
George Carlin with Tony Hendra. Free Press, $26.99 (320p) ISBN 9781439172957
For more than a decade before his 2008 death, groundbreaking stand-up comedian Carlin had been working on his autobiography with writer Hendra (Father Joe), who finished it by distilling hours of conversations with the irascible social commentator. Armed with an eye for detail and a seemingly photographic memory, Carlin retraces his life in full, chronicling petty crimes and stolen kisses, escalating drug problems and the death of his wife with unflinching honesty. He applies that same precision to the mechanics of comedy, giving would-be comics a veteran’s insight into the dynamics of crowds, the structure of a performance and the importance (or unimportance) of the social and political landscape. Tracing his evolution as a comedian from the first time he made his mother laugh to performing for an empty room in Baltimore to the series of HBO specials he made over the course of his career, Carlin peppers his narrative with the routines that have made him famous (though this is no gagfest, a la Brain Droppings, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?, etc.). Throughout, Carlin comes off as a smart, humble everyman with a strong distaste for hypocrisy in all its forms; fans may be surprised at his discipline and drive, and anyone interested in comedy should find this autobio as illuminating as it is funny. (Nov.)

Maestro: A Surprising Story about Leading by Listening
Roger Nierenberg. Portfolio, $19.95 (128p) ISBN 9781591842880
Conductor Nierenberg has brought his skills at leading an orchestra to the business world with what he calls the Music Paradigm. Nierenberg teaches executives how to turn a company into a euphonious symphony of work. Simplistic and cloying, Nierenberg teaches his Music Paradigm through a parable; he presents an executive whose company is facing the challenges of the company working together effectively. Determined to discover new methods of leadership, the executive decides to sit in on his daughter’s violin teacher’s symphony rehearsal. As he sits in over several weeks, he learns not to oversee every note (i.e. micromanage), to lead (not to cheerlead), to listen first, and to create confidence in his employees by letting them take ownership of their decisions. Unfortunately, this executive is so obsessed with learning from the conductor that his mind is always on his next visit, and he often can’t wait to get away from an acrimonious conversation at work to sit in with the orchestra. The parable is undermined by the executive’s seeming self-regard; whatever lessons he’s supposed to learn are lost in his own quest to save himself. (Oct.)

Miracle on the Hudson: The Survivors of Flight 1549 Tell Their Extraordinary Stories of Courage, Faith, and Determination
William Prochnau and Laura Parker. Ballantine, $25 (272p) ISBN 9780345519948
In a stunning display of skill and steely nerves, pilot Chesley Sullenberger managed a Hudson River water landing in freezing weather, with no engines, to save the lives of every single person aboard his aircraft. Aided by New York and New Jersey emergency responders steeped in post-9/11 training, Sullenberger and his crew did everything right when everything around them had gone horribly wrong. Interviewing survivors of flight 1549, husband-and-wife journalists Prochnau and Parker piece together a detailed, moment-by-moment account of the accident and its aftermath, getting inside the heads of ordinary people who demonstrated remarkable courage and humanity. Anyone who remembers the dramatic 2009 event will be riveted by this account, even with a forgone happy conclusion. Notably absent is the testimony of Captain Sullenberger, who saved his insights for his own book, Highest Duty, but this passengers’-eye-view narrative makes an absorbing, inspirational record. (Nov.)

Molly Ivins: A Rebel Life
Bill Minutaglio and W. Michael Smith. PublicAffairs, $26.95 (368p) ISBN 9781586487171
Until her death in 2007, Molly Ivins was a staple of the op-ed page, aiming her arrow at favorite targets like George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and the circus of Southern—particularly Texan—politics. The Texas daughter of an oil executive and major player in Houston society, Ivins enjoyed an early, privileged view of Texas deal making and the rise of modern Republicanism. Her subsequent career was a full-fledged rebellion, beginning with her father’s conservatism, and culminating in a rejection of both “objective” (read: neutered) journalism and the oil-rich Republican machine. Ivins’s insight couldn’t be timelier, and the lines she crossed on behalf of women and journalists are overdue for celebration. She was also a fascinating and private person who charmed with her Southern character and was rumored to have had a number of high-profile affairs. An ideal investigation would get into these deep, dark corners, the way Ivins herself would have, but this biography is based on select personal papers and positive recollections, written by close admirers: Minutalglio is a Texas journalism professor, Smith was a long-time researcher for Ivins. Though they fail to explain what truly motivated Ivins’s relentless crusade, or the deep tradition of American opposition behind her seemingly-anomalous Texas liberalism, this book should please fans and win Ivins new ones. (Nov.)

Paulo Coelho: A Warrior’s Life
Fernando Morais. HarperOne $26.99 (458p) ISBN 9780061718885
International bestseller Paulo Coelho has captured the imaginations of millions of readers with his mystical, semi-autobiographical fiction. Despite his success (and a brilliant facility for self-promotion), few readers know anything about Coelho the man. This authorized biography plunges into the details of Coelho’s life, from his perilous birth to his time in asylums to his multifarious spiritual journey to his staggering 25-year writing career. Brazilian journalist, politician and biographer Morais writes with an unapologetic eye, neither judging Coelho nor seeking to justify his actions, smartly presenting the facts for readers’ appraisal. Coelho himself provides a generous level of access and candor, giving readers the feeling that they are getting a privileged view despite the biography’s “authorized” label; what makes Morais’ biography especially revealing is his access to years of Coelho’s diaries, a goldmine for biographer and reader. Fans of Coelho’s work will eagerly tear through this attentive, satisfying biography. (Nov.)

 The Price of Ovulation: The Truth About Fertility Drugs and Birth Defects—and a Solution to the Problem
Terrence Mix. Tendril (www.tendrilpress.com), $34.95 paper (566p) ISBN 9780980219005
Author and trial lawyer Mix (A Question of Judgment) has specialized in drug-product liability litigation since becoming a member of the California bar in 1967. Between 1972 and 1996, he successfully took on the pharmaceutical giant Merrell Dow (previously involved in Thalidomide) in seven of eight cases involving serious birth defects connected with use of the fertility drug Clomid, cases that rest on the claim that Merrell suppressed evidence of possible danger to fetuses. In this state-of-the-industry case study, Mix provides a suspense-filled account of how “a relatively inexperienced young attorney who appeared unprepared for the task” bested the pharmaceutical behemoth in 1964, only to be defeated, finally, in 1993 (when Merrell moved the eighth case directly into the federal court system). Despite being a lawyer without formal scientific education, Mix spent the 24 years since his first case analyzing all of the published information on fertility drugs and (unsuccessfully) attempting to convince the FDA to force a strong warning from Merrell regarding the risks of taking Clomid. This gripping true-life medical/legal thriller casts serious doubts on the FDA’s impartiality and the “conservative” federal judiciary, while summarizing vital information for women considering fertility treatments. (Nov.)

Pushing Past the Night: Coming to Terms with Italy’s Terrorist Past
Mario Calabresi, trans. from the Italian by Michael Moore. Other Press, $12.95 paper (160p) ISBN 9781590513002
On May 17, 1972, at the height of Italy’s decade-long political turmoil known as the Years of Lead, author Calabresi’s father Luigi was assassinated in front of his home, leaving behind his pregnant wife and sons, including a two-year old Mario. Calabresi’s assassination was the result of political speculation surrounding the aftermath of Milan’s 1969 domestic-terrorist attack known as the Fontana Square Massacre, when three days later one of the suspects, Giuseppe Pinelli, fell to his death from a fourth-floor office window belonging to Luigi Calabresi. Several political factions—foremost Lotta Continua—loudly and violently protested the government’s response to the bombing, blaming Police Commissioner Luigi Calabresi for Pinelli’s death. In this odd blend of history and memoir, Calabresi seeks healing and his own kind of justice by recreating his father’s life from his mother’s stories, trying to come to terms with the violence that caused his father’s death and his own subsequent rage. Better as a long article than as a book, Mario’s repetitious writing offers more insights into the various Italian political factions of the past thirty years than it does into his own heart. (Oct.)

LIFESTYLE

501 Bento Box Lunches
Amorette Dye, et al. Graffito (IPG, dist.), $19.95 (360p) ISBN 9780955339851
Long on ideas but short on recipes, this guide to eye-catching bento box lunches delivers its promised 501 variants on the iconic Japanese single-portion takeout meal, even if the final product may be out of reach for its readers. Roughly organized by theme—art, cute, colorful, traditional, stylish, holidays—contributors provide plenty of ideas for vibrant, healthy lunches. After a brief overview of basics from Dye—quick assembly, packing for maximum efficiency—the volume sets some high standards with showpieces featuring edible geese made out of mushrooms and a whimsical green eggs-and-ham meal, before moving to more traditional fare incorporating sushi, teriyaki chicken and yakitori. Menus stretch beyond the Pacific rim, with easy-to-assemble staples like beef stew and, for younger diners, sandwiches in the shape of scowls or grins. Some empty-the-fridge scavenger hunts (wraps, taco kits) can feel like little more than repackaged leftovers, and some impractical suggestions (french fries, eggs or pancakes, arcane ingredients) prove misleading. Still, these are the exceptions to the rule, which includes practical instructions, emphasizes assembly rather than preparation, and employs a wide range of kitchen tools. Those well-versed in Japanese cuisine and who own lots of culinary doodads will benefit most; novice cooks looking for simple, whimsical school lunches will likely be overwhelmed. (Nov.)

Hippie Kitchen: A Measurefree Vegetarian Cookbook
Jean Johnson. 76th Ave. (www.76avepress.com), $18 paper (196p) ISBN 9780981527116
The second cookbook in a measure-free trilogy from food historian and author Johnson (Cooking Beyond Measure) offers more ideas for laid-back vegetarians, and continued frustration for those lacking confidence or skill in the kitchen. Johnson’s preparations range from basic (morels sautéed in garlic butter, blanched asparagus, chocolate-covered strawberries, panzanella) to bizarre, as in the case of Pacific Rim Seafood Pie, a custard-like concoction of cucumbers, tofu, lime juice, spearmint, and tarragon resting atop a baked crust of wheat germ, oat bran, and flax meal. The baked dishes are likely to cause the most consternation; baking is hard enough when one has a precise recipe, but Johnson’s instructions for rhubarb pie, brownies, blue corn waffles, and the like are impossibly vague. Though her free-floating approach occasionally yields workable recipes, more often the text is extraordinarily confusing, a matter further complicated by Johnson’s tired hippie schtick, laden with frequent allusions to pot and psychedelics (Magical Brownies, Tripped Out Peanut Sauce, Stoned Salad Rolls). The result is a book that makes a strong, unintentional argument for sobriety in cooking and cookbook writing. (Nov.)

Nigella Christmas: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities
Nigella Lawson. Hyperion, $35 (288p) ISBN 9781401323363
U.K. celebrity chef Lawson (How to Eat, Nigella Bites, etc.) tackles Christmas in this warm, welcoming collection. Lawson’s roundup of updated classics should provide a solid foundation for constructing an elaborate dinner menu or a simple cocktail party; alternately, readers can use one of Nigella’s menus, centered around roast turkey, goose, pork or beef—as well as a vegetarian lineup featuring roasted pumpkin stuffed with a ginger and tomato sauce—that come complete with a Martha Stewart-worthy timeline and tips for handling leftovers. Daytime entertainers will appreciate Lawson’s ideas for brunch, including an Espresso Martini and Pumpkin Pancakes with Sticky Maple Pecans, as well as recommendations for mulled wine, hot chocolate spiked with peppermint schnapps, and her Poinsettia cocktail, a combination of sparkling wine, Cointreau and cranberry juice. Though bakers may be weary of committing to a fruitcake or the intimidating Buche De Noel cake, Sticky Gingerbread and Lawson’s chocolate cake—laced with cinnamon, cloves, and a Cointreau cream frosting—offer toothsome, worry-free alternatives. Gifts are also covered, including Vanilla Sugar, Dried Cherries in Cherry Brandy, infused vodkas and peanut brittle. Lawson’s fans and those who’ve been looking for a solid Christmas cookbook will find this a valuable addition to the bookshelf, but anyone with a reliable Christmastime canon may find it redundant. (Nov.)

 Women Lead the Way: Your Guide to Stepping up to Leadership and Changing the World
Linda Tarr-Whelan. Berrett-Koehler, $24.95 (240p) ISBN 9781605091358
A smart, illuminating work for women (and the men who work with them), this leadership self-help from prominent women’s issues scholar and advocate Tarr-Whelan presents a discussion of women’s leadership styles and roles rooted in theory, research, and a shining intellect, as well as thorough knowledge of the practicalities of the modern workplace. While some arguments are familiar (a future filled with women executives will benefit women and men alike), Tarr-Whelan also digs up men’s strategies worth paying attention to—for instance, fostering tomorrow’s leaders while climbing the career ladder yourself. Many of Tarr-Whelan’s ideas are surprisingly simple, and at times counter-intuitive, but she’s clear in her reasons for questioning studies that don’t disaggregate results by gender: revelations include women investors make fewer mistakes than males—less likely to make trades based on emotion, more likely to use the advice of experts. Tarr-Whelan also introduces useful vocabulary to encapsulate her ideas, including “womenomics” as a mainstream business issue, and “first women” as a vital peer group. Conversational and eye-opening, with many narrative illustrations and concrete advice, Tarr-Whelan’s text could prove an important volume for working women looking to advance and enrich their careers. (Oct.)

ILLUSTRATED

 Georgia O’Keefe: Abstraction
Edited by Barbara Haskell. Yale Univ., $65 (246p) ISBN 9780300148176
This book from Whitney Museum curator Haskell, accompanying the museum’s September 2009 exhibit, contains essays by Elizabeth Hutton Turner, Bruce Robertson and Barbara Buhler Lunes, each of whom examine O’Keefe’s visual vocabulary in relation to form and line, and the influence of nature, Art Nouveau and decorative art movements, and the scholarly work of Arthur Wesley Dow. O’Keefe herself described her work as an attempt to make visible “intangible feelings that were beyond her conscious grasp.” O’Keefe was struck by the possibility of painting music and finding the elemental forms within “seemingly simple things”; one characteristically fascinating series, called Shell and Old Shingle,progresses from fairly accurate representation to curvilinear abstracts. Elsewhere, Robertson calls O’Keefe’s Jack-in-the-Pulpit series “[O’Keefe’s] most complete statement of the relationship between abstraction and representation.” Also fascinating are photographs by O’Keefe’s husband, gallery curator Alfred Stieglitz, accompanied by excerpts from their correspondence full of personal passion and tension, but also O’Keefe’s motivations, the messages she struggled to communicate, and her sense of forever falling short. Contemporary critics labeled O’Keefe’s paintings Freudian expressions of sexuality and unconscious desires, in large part because of Stieglitz’s marketing, but these evaluations fall flat when looking deeply at both subject and painting; Haskell and her colleagues do full justice to their subject, with beautiful, luminous reproductions and a revealing collection of work. (Oct.)

FICTION

D.D. Murphry, Secret Policeman
Alan M. Clark and Elizabeth Massie. Raw Dog Screaming (Ingram, dist.), $29.95 (212p) ISBN 9781933293820; $14.95 paper ISBN 9781933293837
Making a delusional killer the main character of a farce can be risky, as shown by this twisted shocker from Stoker-finalist Clark (Siren Promised) and Stoker-winner Massie (Sineater). D.D. Murphry, convinced that he works for the True Government as a Secret Policeman, spends his days trying to decipher mysterious messages to discover his assignments. After witnessing what he believes to be a drug deal on a city bus, Murphry yells “Boo!” in the driver’s ear, jumps in the driver’s lap, and grabs the wheel. The result is a horrific accident that kills many victims. Some readers will find it hard to look past the violence—which includes the death of a woman who gets caught in some razor-wire while attempting to rescue her kidnapped daughter—to whatever point the authors are trying to make. Murphry is a pathetic, cartoonish killer, and the absurd ending is likely to disappoint even those who are inclined to go along for the ride. (Oct.)

Dead Renegade: A Loon Lake Mystery
Victoria Houston. Bleak House (Ingram, dist.), $24.95 (272p) ISBN 9781606480618; $14.95 paper ISBN 9781606480625
Houston’s tepid 10th mystery set near one of Wisconsin’s Loon Lakes (after 2008’s Dead Hot Shot) works better as a portrait of small-town life than as a whodunit. Dr. Paul Osborne, now retired from his dental practice, assists the Loon Lake police department, headed by his girlfriend, Lew Ferris. Osborne’s chance presence at a local antique emporium leads him to a grisly discovery of a human skull concealed in a rug. The investigation into whom the skull belonged to and the cause of death ends up taking a back seat after Osborne’s granddaughter is frightened by something she’s reluctant to talk about. Another plot line involves the young wife of an abusive businessman, who’s stiffed some locals who did logging work for him. Unfortunately, the characters aren’t sufficiently interesting to compensate for the slow pacing and the pedestrian plot line. (Nov.)

Divine Music
Suruchi Mohan. Bayeux (www.bayeux.com), $19.95 paper (242p) ISBN 9781897411063
Mohan’s impressive debut explores the connections between spiritual and physical passion in a shifting Indian society, through the lives of two musically gifted young Indian women. Sarika and Swati follow their artistic muses to the local conservatory, where each succumbs to the passions of older men attracted by their talent. Swati, from a poor village, is ruined when her wealthy businessman admirer impregnates and then abandons her. Sarika, the daughter of a well-placed government official, receives private after-class instruction from Kirana, a renowned voice teacher, but falls prey to his seductive lessons on the sensuality of music, and ends up in the same predicament as classmate Swati. The contrasting fates of these similarly afflicted young women leads to a rich multi-generational portrait of a changing cultural and political landscape riddled with new opportunity as well as age-old opportunism. (Sept.)

Echoes of L’Arbre Croche: A Tale of Murder and Intrigue on the Great Lakes
Donald A. Johnston. Univ. of Michigan, $16.95 paper (344p) ISBN 9780472033966
Based on The Indian Drum (1917) by William MacHarg and Edwin Balmer, Johnston’s first novel, a Dickensian murder mystery set on the Great Lakes in the early 20th century, is largely a retelling of the earlier book. As a brief skim of The Indian Drum (available on Google Books) reveals, Johnston has retained characters’ names and duplicated scenes with only minor variations. Even on its own terms, the story of 23-year-old Alan Conrad’s search for the truth about his real father, the identity of his anonymous financial benefactor, and the whereabouts of shipping magnate Benjamin Corvet, isn’t all that exciting. Despite a sound premise—that the motive for Corvet’s suspected murder may be connected with a shipwreck two decades earlier—and the legend of a drum that tolls a beat for every life lost in Lake Michigan, this regional historical delivers few chills. (Aug.)

 Gwenhwyfar: The White Spirit
Mercedes Lackey. DAW, $25.95 (400p) ISBN 9780756405854
Prolific writer Lackey (The Phoenix Endangered) tackles the complex legend of King Arthur’s queens in this compelling and heart-wrenching retelling. When warrior-woman Braith announces that the Young Princess Gwen is marked by Epona, the goddess of horses, Gwen’s father allows her to train on the warrior path. Although Gwen is deep into training, in the background of her life lay the tales of two other women with the same name—Gwenhwyfar the Golden—both of whom were married to King Arthur. The story of Arthur’s kingdom unfolds as Gwen’s path as a warrior involves Lancelin, Arthur’s closest Companion, and Medraut, the illegitimate and magic-born child of Arthur and his half-sister, Anna Morgause. Lackey places the story in the early dark ages, rather than in the romanticized Camelot of the later Romances. She creates a vibrant world where the old religion and culture of the Celts vies with the invading traditions of the White Christ’s followers and Roman influence. Gwen is an independent and formidable woman, determined to follow her dreams, but also dedicated to her duty and to the good of Arthur’s kingdom. Though the ending of Arthur’s story comes as no surprise, the way that Lackey reweaves old tales to create something new and powerful, with a compelling and sympathetic heroine, is this retelling’s strength. (Oct.)

Interfictions 2: An Anthology of Interstitial Writing
Edited by Delia Sherman and Christopher Barzak. Small Beer (Consortium, dist.), $16 paper (302p) ISBN 9781931520614
This anthology celebrates its cross-genre concept as much as its content, with a lengthy introduction, contributor notes, and afterword. Will Ludwigsen’s lovely, melancholy “Remembrance is Something Like a House” combines paranormal and true crime elements. Alaya Dawn Johnson’s dystopian “The Score” reads like a post-9/11 Twilight Zone episode. A scientist tries to prevent a world war in Elizabeth Ziemska’s winsome “Count Poniatowski and the Beautiful Chicken.” Stephanie Shaw’s strong and earthy writing grounds her story of dragons and a four-headed obstetrician in “Afterbirth.” Less successful, Lionel Davoust’s Arthurian “L’Ile Close” works better in theory than in execution, Alan DeNiro’s “(*_*?) ~~~~ (-_-) : The Warp and the Woof” combines brilliance with incomprehensible gobbledegook, and Lavie Tidhar’s “Shoes” is simply muddled. Fans of the first Interfictions anthology will dig it; those not already familiar with the interstitial arts movement will be left scratching their heads. (Nov.)

Sea Glass
Maria V.Snyder. Mira, $13.95 paper (448p) ISBN 9780778325802
The second installment in Snyder’s new Glass fantasy trilogy follows the trite pattern she established in the previous: heroine Opal Cowan struggles to come of age as a glassmaking magician in the two-dimensional environs of Ixia, Sitia, and the Stormdancers’ cliffs over the Sunset Ocean. All the while, she endures quest, capture, discomfort and torture, escape—and then does it all over again…and again. Snyder tries to maintain suspense by placing Opal and her indecisive adolescent hormones between hunky Stormdancer Kade and two other boys of interest, Ulrick and Devlen. Snyder’s colloquial style jars poorly against her quasi-medieval setting. Ultimately, the plot remains too predictably convoluted to be convincing, and the characters too conventional to be appealing. (Sept.)

The World More Full of Weeping
Robert J. Wiersema. ChiZine (www.chizine.com/chizinepub), $12.95 paper (104p) ISBN 9780980941098
Wiersema’s haunting novella–whose title aptly references a line in William Butler Yeats’ poem “The Stolen Child”—revolves around an 11-year old boy named Brian whose love of the woods behind his father’s house in rural southwestern British Columbia leads him to supernatural discoveries—namely Carly, an ethereal girl. Carly shows the boy a breathtakingly beautiful “hidden world” in the forest. When Brian disappears one day, his father is forced to revisit obscure memories from his own youth—memories that involve the mysterious forest and a girl named Carly. Powered by a sublime sense of wistfulness and a setting that is simultaneously natural and otherworldly, Wiersema’s novella seamlessly blends literary fiction with mythic fantasy to create a lyrical, surreal and deeply melancholic reading experience. The book also includes an essay entitled “Places and Names,” in which the author explores the signification of “personal geography” and explains how his fictional town of Henderson (the setting for his story) was created. (Sept.)