Union Atlantic is Mr.

I sat down in my kitchen with this novel to occupy an hour or so -- soon the day was gone, and I was still reading.  Ms.

Loosely based on Norse culture, Mr.

On the eve of World War I, in what today would be modern Iraq, an English archaeologist digs in search of an ancient Assyrian tomb, accompanied by his wife, an assistant, and a female grad student.  This quarted is joined by a British major charged with assessing the locals for their military strength and loyalties, an American geologist (pretending to be a historian) searching for oil, and an Arab servant desperate to raise 100 pounds in gold to buy his wife-to-be from her uncle.  Mr.

A rollicking adventure that reminds me of the novels of Robert Louis Stevenson, The Good Thief is the story of Ren, a twelve-year-old orphan.  All he's known of life has been the Catholic monastery and orphanage -- he doesn't remember his parents, or how he lost his left hand.  Things are fairly miserable until a man arrives at the orphanage claiming to be Ren's brother.   Off they go into a world Ren has never experienced, and we follow along their escapades as they travel through mid-19th century New England.  Ren is just about the most charming kid you'l

Leningrad.  WWII.  A city under siege during  the worst winter in its history.  Two  men -- a naive Jewish teenager arrested for looting and a  wordly lothario in the Red Army arrested for desertion -- are slated for execution, but are given a reprieve if they can locate a dozen eggs for the commanding officer's daughter's wedding cake.  What follows is an odyssey of a budding friendship as these two mismatched men navigate the dangers of a world gone mad.  Cinematic in its scope, and by turns hilarious and horrific, this is a must read.

This book is for those readers who grew up with the Harry Potter books and are longing for something more, and for those readers who spent many hours with C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia and dreamed of finding a secret doorway into that magical land.  Lev Grossman (the book reviewer for Time magazine) has written a riveting novel of a group of students at a college of magic.  No wands, no owls.

This debut novel by New Zealander Beckett presents us with a post-plague world where an island colony of uninfected humans guards its health and resources ferociously.  But all is not as it seems.  An unique format and tight writing make this science fiction gem open to second and third readings.  Some elements of the story may be predictable to those readers immersed in sci-fi, but I found myself engrossed, surprised and reminded of my old favorites Bradbury and Asimov.  An especially good choice for middle- and high-school readers.

Mr.

This novel began its life on the web, then went to a limited edition hardcover and now, for the first time, is available in a paperback edition.  A struggling agent in Hollywood with a B-list clientele, Tom Stein finds himself enlisted by his boss to represent an alien race.  The Yherajk are a friendly race of extra-terrestrials, but are concerned their appearance (and smell!) may frighten and provoke humans.  They need an agent.  Humorous, wacky, satirical and clever as all get out, this is a very entertaining read.  Enjoy!