Set in between the action of the first two prequel films, and featuring a plot and dialogue far superior to either of them, the novel tracks a failed expedition from the old Republic into "unknown space." There, the Republic colonists and their Jedi leaders face the alien known as Thrawn, a character first introduced in Zahn's own Heir to the Empire books more than a decade ago. Thrawn, a brilliant but brutal military tactician, is here shown in a somewhat more sympathetic light, as he faces off against not only a violent race of interstellar nomads but the increasingly erratic and megalomanical Jedi Master in charge of the expeditionary force. (Full review)

Navigating the Golden Compass

With the phenomenal success of adaptations of Lord of the Rings, the Harry Potter books, and most recently the first installment of The Chronicles of Narnia, there should be little surprise that filmmakers continue to cast about for literate fantasy that might likewise make the transition to the "big screen." Next year should see the unveiling of the film version of The Golden Compass, the first book in Phillip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" series.

Pullman's works, while overshadowed to a certain extent by Harry Potter, have nonetheless been very successful in their own right. And as Pullman has, from time to time, been rather critical of C.S. Lewis, it is rather intriguing to explore the foundations of the Dark Materials books in the wake of the successful adaptation of the first book in Lewis' Narnia series.

That is where the recently published book Navigating the Golden Compass comes in. Edited by Glenn Yeffeth, the book is a series of essays exploring different aspects of Pullman's writings. The contributors are a diverse group with a background in philosophy, theology, science fiction, and children's literature. Like the best of "children's" literature, Pullman's works have the ability to appeal to those both young and old.

And much like Lewis, in fact, The Golden Compass and its sequels allow Pullman to confront the "big questions" of life and offer his own answers by way of a carefully crafted imaginary world with its own unique set of rules. The authors here explore the philosophical implications and theological ramifications of Pullman's work in an evenhanded and intriguing way.

Mercedes-Benz

From Polish author Pawel Huelle comes Mercedes-Benz, an oddly mesmerizing fact-based kaleidoscope of past, present, and future, all wrapped around the love of the road and the mystery of driving. Pawel, the narrator of the book, is an admirer of the late Bohumil Hrabal, a Czech writer.

Written as something of an off-the-cuff conversation with Hrabal, Pawel describes a series of driving lessons taken under the instruction of the enigmatic Miss Ciwle in the early 1990s. Pawel regales Miss Ciwle with tales of both his parents and his grandparents (and the Mercedes-Benz cars that featured prominently in the lives of each generation). At turns poignantly humorous and heartbreaking, Pawel's stories mirror the revelations of Miss Ciwle's own life and Pawel's ultimate sense of loss and displacement in the transformed landscape of the modern world.