Verisimilitude

The Boy Who Ran Away to Sea

A childhood in the 1950s and '60s among grifters, show girls, and mob enforcers who embraced the boy and made him who he is. "These stories make for one of the most important and moving American bildungsromans of all time." -William Boyle, The Southwest Review Roy tells it the way he sees it, shuttled between Chicago to Key West and Tampa, Havana and Jackson MS, usually with his mother Kitty, often in the company of lip-sticked women and fast men. Roy is the muse of Gifford's hardboiled style, a precocious child, watching the grown-ups try hard to save themselves, only to screw up again and again. He takes it all in, every waft of perfume and cigar smoke, every missed opportunity to do the right thing. And then there are the good things too. A fishing trip with Uncle Buck, a mother's love, advice from Rudy, Roy's father: "Roy means king. Be the king of your own country. Don't depend on anyone to do your thinking for you." The stories in The Boy Who Ran Away to Sea are together a love letter and a tribute to the childhood experiences that ground a life. In the Author's note, Gifford writes, "I have often been asked if I were interested in writing my memoirs or an autobiography. Given that the Roy stories come as close as I care to come regarding certain circumstances, I remain comfortable with their verisimilitude. They all dwell within the boundary of fiction. As I have explained elsewhere, these are stories, I made them up. Roy ages from about five years old to late adolescence. After that, with the exception of a sighting in Veracruz, I have no idea what happened to him." "The way Barry Gifford lets people talk articulates everything about their unfamiliar inner lives, and ours." -Boston Globe

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Rich Man's Sky

A NEW NOVEL OF REAL SF FROM WIL McCARTHY When billionaires control the space program, where does that leave the rest of us? Space: a tycoon's playground. From a space station full of women to a monastery on the Moon, from a Martian reality-TV contest to a solar shade large enough to cool the Earth, the dreams of a handful of trillionaires dictate the future of humanity. Outside the reach of Earthly law and with the vast resources of the inner solar system at their disposal, the "Four Horsemen" do exactly as they please. The governments of Earth are not amused; an international team of elite military women, masquerading as space colonists, are set to infiltrate and neutralize the largest and most dangerous project in human history. But nothing is that simple when rich men control the sky, as everyone involved is about to discover. About Rich Man's Sky: "Action SF built on a hard foundation of cutting-edge science."-Walter Jon Williams "An action-crammed story that darts at hyper-speed from Burning Man, Nevada to Suriname to a convent on the Moon to an orbiting colony that's clearly up to something. A jam-packed adventure fizzing with mind-blowing concepts, and a great read!"-Connie Willis "A hard science fiction tour de force, populated by memorable characters in a tale of intrigue, adventure, and irresistible market forces."-Linda Nagata About Antediluvian: ". . . gripping and . . . grounded in archaeology."-Publishers Weekly ". . . plenty of verisimilitude . . . superbly intriguing and captivating . . . bravura historical recreations, full of conjectural material. . . . Presenting us with a colorful cast of characters from across the millennia who have thick and rich existences, and affirming that the cosmic stream of life flows forcefully despite all small blockades, McCarthy has written a novel that looks both forwards and backwards, thus making a stellar return to the field."-Locus About Wil McCarthy: "McCarthy is an entertaining, intelligent, amusing writer, with Heinlein's knack for breakneck plotting and, at the same time, Clarke's thoughtfulness."-Booklist "Imagination really is the only limit."-The New York Times "The future as McCarthy sees it is a wondrous place."-Publishers Weekly "A bright light on the SF horizon."-David Brin "Wil McCarthy demonstrates that he has a sharp intelligence, a galaxy-spanning imagination, and the solid scientific background to make it all work."-Connie Willis "In nearly every passage, we get another slice of the science of McCarthy's construction, and a deeper sense of danger and foreboding . . . McCarthy develops considerable tension."-San Diego Union-Tribune "An ingenious yarn with challenging ideas, well-handled technical details, and plenty of twists and turns."-Kirkus

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Price: 10.99 EUR excl. shipping