On the shelf

And then, there8217;s always Prey, Michael Crichton8217;s latest. After having extinct dinosaurs run amok in Jurassic Park, he presents a ...

Winter holidays lie ahead, with the promise of new novels to read at leisure. On those sagging shelves awaiting our attention is A.S. Byatt8217;s much awaited conclusion to her Frederica quartet. A Whistling Woman provides a finale to her literary saga that seeks to capture the changes in English intellectual life from the early 1950s to 1970. It8217;s just hit the bookstores and once again comparisons are being drawn between Byatt and George Eliot.

For those looking for something a little less heavy, there8217;s A Singular Hostage, the debut volume of a proposed trilogy by Thalassa Ali. But beware, this book8217;s not for those rendered thoroughly nauseated by Raj sagas. The promos hint as much: 8220;In a land of exotic splendour, a young Englishwoman finds herself guardian of an orphan child believed by a dying maharajah to be endowed with magical gifts. It is a role that will take her on a perilous journey into a kingdom8217;s walled city to protect a child she doesn8217;t know from a culture she doesn8217;t understand.8221; M.M. Kaye fans are in for a treat!

And then, there8217;s always Prey, Michael Crichton8217;s latest. After having extinct dinosaurs run amok in Jurassic Park, he presents a possible future scenario to us. Life8217;s not easy for our hero, an out-of-work programmer, whose cup of woes is brimming over. One problem leads to another and Jack Forman8217;s life turns into a thriller. While he8217;s trying to cope with playing househusband and tackling the rift with his wife, there8217;s a string of seemingly unrelated incidents that more than troubles him. Even before he has them figured out, his company wants him back. That8217;s when he understands what looms above. Literally. For it8217;s a cloud that8217;s escaped a Nevada lab. This cloud comprises micro-robots and since we are talking back to future here, it8217;s intelligent and preys on humans. Will Forman and Co. be able to contain it? Read the seven-day adventure to find out.