It’s 2045. AI runs the world. Earth’s first trillionaire has “overdosed en route to Mars,” and his successor in the world of the superwealthy is conducting eldritch explorations of animal intelligence to possibly nefarious ends. Prologue to all that, in Andersen’s latest, is a devastating attack on Oklahoma City by fascist militia as America is …
Rosenstiel, a press critic and journalism professor, presents a solid case that news organizations’ problems are bigger than they realize. Along with declining public trust and countless newsroom layoffs, the industry faces an “intellectual” crisis. Woefully behind the times, journalists must embrace “emotionally intelligent newsgathering” that “meets audiences where they are.” Seasoned reporters may blanch …
Thirty-something venture capitalist Rylan “Ry” Birk; his younger sister, Katie, a U.S. Department of Labor investigator; chemical company director Bobby Doogan; and homicide detective Dan Wilson have been friends since childhood, but they’ve become somewhat estranged from the final member of their group, Connor Clayton. He’s been in an emotional tailspin in the years following …
Aiden, a retired university professor, quietly grieves the loss of his wife, Carol, and his estrangement from his adult son, Max. On the surface, Aiden lives—or, more accurately, lived—a picture-perfect life teeming with love, family, and success. But underneath that fragile surface are secrets that Aiden has never admitted to himself, much less to his …
Ducky the Spy, clad in trench coat and trilby hat, is back on the beat, accompanied by the fabulously flatulent Donny Donkey. As the story begins, there’s no particular case to solve, but Ducky and Donny have no problem creating one. Easily irritated farm boss Mr. Pig, against his better judgment, asks the pair to …
The Space Fountain is an intercontinental transportation system with megastructures built in capital cities around the world. These structures contain apartments, like the New York station, where Aria lives. All stations are split into sections organized by wealth; Aria goes to art school in Section 9, because her father, who’s friends with the police commissioner, …
Thirteen-year-old Domingo José Sepulveda Jr. begins his coming-of-age narrative at his father’s funeral in New York City in 1999. The family came to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic when Domingo was 6, and Papi died of brain cancer before the age of 40. Now Domingo sees Papi in his dreams and as a waking …
Solis closes with descriptions of select poetic forms and an invitation to readers to craft more verses, but his own will be hard to match for seemingly effortless grossness. Young people will find everything from “Booger Search and Rescue” (“‘I’m going in,’ my finger said, / Looking rather brave”) to a tribute to the martial …
“You can do anything!” claims an unseen narrator before quickly amending that statement. After all, “you CAN’T balance ten tacos on top of your head.” “You CAN’T tuna fish, so don’t even try.” The imagined consequences—depicted in the accompanying artwork—are hilarious: tacos toppling from a youngster’s head, a kid strumming a wary-looking fish. The rest …
Contogenis explores themes of family, trauma, and death in these bittersweet poems. In “Giddy Green,” the speaker reflects on the effort to capture fleeting sensations and the ordinariness of daily survival. “In Tandem” explores the changing relationships between mothers and children as they age, while “Drachmas for My Father” depicts a paternal reunion; “Ikaria” and …
