Spook Country, William Gibson (Putnam)

You’re never quite sure what’s going on in William Gibson’s Spook Country. Even when it’s over, you wonder if this convoluted trip through the wired dystopia of quantum civilization makes strange sense. The wispy questions that provoke the unsettling journey seem only vaguely answered, if at all. That’s the ephemeral charm of spooks.

A mysterious fascination factor has been the hallmark of Gibson’s fiction since 1984’s prescient Neuromancer, and it seeps like luminous fog through the interwoven narratives of this latest novel’s cast of curious characters: Hollis Henry, ultra-hip musician turned freelancer for Node, a magazine with no public profile; Tito, the warrior-scion of a Chinese-Cuban crime family, whose elusive skills invoke voodoo spirits; Milgrim, a diazepam-dazed code cracker on the tight pharmaceutical leash of Brown, a fractious operative on a snake bit mission; Bobby Chombo, jumpy wifi guru of virtual reality’s GPS-driven “locative art” scene; the Old Man, a wizened CIA veteran out to even time-worn scores; and international media sphinx Hubertus Bigend, returning for a raffish cameo appearance from 2003’s Pattern Recognition.

At the center of this oddball matrix is a phantom cargo container, contents and whereabouts veiled in dangerous mists of ambiguity. The action leaps dynamically between Hollywood and Manhattan before heading to Vancouver, as the disparate factions converge in determined pursuit of their unlikely grail. Gibson laces the mounting tension with drop dead metaphors, sly humor and incisive perspective on the peculiar perversity of contemporary culture. The tale’s denouement is neither a bang nor a whimper, but plays out like the gauzy echo of an enigmatic melody that reflects the story’s essence – not conventionally satisfying, but unusually resonant.

This is choice literary entertainment for those who prefer shades of speculation to certainty. The transient pleasures of the sojourn in Spook Country are its specters that shimmer and seduce until they disappear. What’s left is a haunting afterglow that hints of secrets still unrevealed and adventures in the shadows yet to come. – Mick Kleber

Play Dirty, Sandra Brown (Simon and Schuster)

He was the starting quarterback star for the Dallas Cowboys until he was caught gambling, throwing a game and being involved with criminals. Griff Burkett was sent away for five years at a federal minimum security prison and when he got out he had nothing. Everything was sold to pay off the lawyers, fines and court costs and he had to take a junky apartment in a lousy neighborhood and accept handouts.

He is shocked when wealthy paraplegic Foster Speckman, who brought SunSouth Airline out of bankruptcy, offers to pay Griff $100,000 if he agrees to impregnate his wife Laura because he is sterile; $ 500,000 more when she becomes pregnant. A desperate Griff takes the job all the while knowing his archenemy Rodarte, who wants an in with the syndicate, is trying to take him down. When tragedy strikes, Griff is on the run only this time he has to find the one person who can prove his innocence otherwise he will be sent away for life.

Sandra Brown has written another exciting thriller, full of action and angst. The feelings that spring up between the two protagonists are always muted even when they have sex yet the audience feels the heat they generate even though neither wants to admit how they feel for one another. Griff is not the typical hero as he did commit some very serious crimes yet readers will have a soft spot for him because what happened to him could happen to anyone who was tempted like he was. Rodartee is a great villain who threatens or hurts anyone connected to the hero just because he wants to make lots of illegal money. PLAY DIRTY deservedly is going straight to the top of the best seller lists. – Harriet Klausner

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An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England, Brock Clarke (Algonquin)

What can you say about a novel that provokes a phone call from the arsonist-fearing Edith Wharton estate? Brock Clark’s inventive story about a guy whose life is almost literally in ashes is both hilarious and tremendously sad. Sam Pulsifer has recently been released from prison, where he served a term for torching the historic Emily Dickinson house (accidentally killing two people), but it’s impossible to return to life as he knew it. His parents’ house is not exactly as he left it, nor are his parents. There’s something amiss, though Sam can’t quite put his finger on it. His unease intensifies with the appearance of a box of letters, the arrival of his ex-con “friends” and the ensuing trek through New England to the locations of many other writers’ homes. Clarke tells Sam’s story with poignancy and humor, all the while carefully skewering, but also celebrating, the writers of our past and present. – Beth Henkes

Critical, Robin Cook (Putnam)

As required the recent infectious disease deaths are brought to the attention of the New York City Office of the Medical Examiner. Dr. Laurie Montgomery cannot help but notice that the abrupt significant jump in these types of deaths are limited to three Manhattan hospitals, all owned by Angels Healthcare. However, when her husband, ME colleague Dr. Jack Stapleton informs her he is undergoing knee surgery at one of the Angels Healthcare hospitals, Laurie becomes alarmed as the number of post procedural deaths by virulent staph infection becomes personal.

Meanwhile Angels Healthcare CEO Angela Dawson struggles with the same deadly issue that makes no sense unless a new pathogen somehow delivered by her staff between the three hospitals is the cause. She desperately seeks to resolve the issue as her firm is going Wall St. public to avoid bankruptcy; bad PR will kill the company even as her prime backer the Mafia will kill anyone who harms the health of their investment.

CRITICAL is the usual Robin Cook medical thriller filled with plenty of non-stop action and cleverly intermingled with health information especially about infectious disease in hospitals. . Fans of Mr. Cook will appreciate the return of Laurie and Jack stars of the entertaining CRISIS and MARKER. Although the mob link is an unneeded sidebar that adds to the body count, the medical master has cooked up another magnificent suspense thriller that will have the audience wondering about hospital stays. – Harriet Klausner

The 4-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferriss (Crown)

Oh, Tim Ferriss, what have you done? At first we were convinced that this manifesto was some kind of revolutionary credo to packing all your job worries away and creating a life where work is minimal and prosperity abundant. After all, Ferriss has presented a blueprint for the 9 – 5 worker to chuck their job and join what he refers to as ‘the New Rich.’ He accomplishes this by creating an architecture that relies on finding products to sell (largely online) and building a system that is, if not self-operating, at least as close as you can get to it through outsourcing (YMII – Your Man in India), testing and automation. Once this system is set in place, you are now free to take a series of ‘mini-retirements’ and travel the world to your heart’s content. Trouble is, much of what he defines as the ‘New Rich (NR)’ involves living in other countries where bargains are plentiful and your US dollar buys you more. But what if your idea of rich does not involve spending six months in South America or Southeast Asia? And just how ‘rich’ are we talking here? Ferriss was able to use his system to make around $40,000 a month, and while for many that would certainly be comfortable, especially given the low work load, there are those for whom this would simply not be considered rich. Old or new. (Of course, that number should be growing for the author with the success of this book.) Satisfactory for some, but not a panecea for all. Excellent website. – Tim Devine

Recommended New Releases

SEPTEMBER

The Sixties. Robert Altman (Santa Monica Press)
The Citizens Guide to Lobbying Congress. Donald E. deKieffer (Chicago Review Press)
James Bond Encyclopedia. Cork & Stutz (DK)
Black and White and Blue. Dave Thompson (ECWPress)
In the Line of Fire. Pervez Musharraf (Pocket Books)
How to Be a Middle Aged Babe. Marilyn Suzanne Miller (Scribner)
The Age of Turbulance. Alan Greenspan (Penguin Press)
How Starbucks Saved My Life. Michael Gates Gill (Gotham)
Conservatives Without Conscience. John W. Dean (Penguin Books)
State of Denial (paperback) Bob Woodward (Pocket Books)

OCTOBER

50 x 50. 50 Cent (Pocket hardcover)
Adventures in Excellence. Tom Peters (DK)
Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson. Jann Wenner & Corey Seymour (Little, Brown)
You Can Lead a Politician to Water, But You Can’t Make Him Think. Kinky Friedman (Simon & Schuster)
Flickipedia Perfect Films for Every Occasion. Michael Atkinson and Laurel Shifrin (Chicago Review Press)
The Dictionary of Worthless Words. Dave Dowling (Marion Street Press)
Drop Dead Beautiful. Jackie Collins (Simon & Schuster)
I Am America and So Can You. Stephen Colbert (Grand Central)
Born Standing Up. Steve Martin (Simon & Schuster)