Boyle’s ‘Terranauts’ places humanity under glass
‘Little Liars’ entertaining novel
‘T
he Terranauts’ (Ecco), by T.C.
Boyle
Eight scientists living under glass for two years in a self-sustaining, closed ecosystem constructed in the Arizona desert. Sound familiar? T.C. Boyle’s latest novel was inspired by history, taking readers inside the dome that in 1991 scientists called Biosphere 2. He’s rechristened it E2, changed all the names and let his imagination run wild to tell the story of what happens when highly educated humans with the best of intentions seal an airlock behind them and commit themselves to a noble experiment.
The mission is to prepare for eventual life on Mars at least a century into the future. The terranauts are hyped as much as the Apollo crews and enjoy an even greater level of celebrity. The story is told by three narrators — two of the scientists living inside E2 and one on the outside who was passed over for the mission. The perspective changes with each chapter, providing readers with a trio of takes on what’s happening.
The juiciest plots, of course, unfold on the inside, as the scientists adapt to a lowcalorie diet heavy on porridge, veggies and banana wine. Think of yourself at your hangriest and multiply that ten-fold. Now deprive yourself not only of food, but sex, too, and you can probably begin to write the rest.
Boyle throws a few twists in and ratchets up the drama, but there’s little suspense since the characters literally have nowhere to hide. Overall, the novel felt like it should have been a quicker read, but with the narrators telling their stories in the past tense it never becomes a page-turner.
It was also hard to find someone to root for or against. None of the characters feel truly admirable and none purely contemptible. All are just fallible, and therein lies the fault with humanity eventually trying to live off-Earth. You can create livable conditions, plan all the crops and adjust the oxygen levels, but humans are the top of the food chain for a reason. We are the ultimate selfserving species, and if Boyle’s novel is any indication, we probably always will be. (AP) “All the Little Liars” (Minotaur), by Charlaine Harris
Long before her Sookie Stackhouse series, Charlaine Harris was best known for her lively tales about small-town librarian Aurora Teagarden.
Her latest novel, “All the Little Liars,” marks Harris’ return to Aurora, last seen in 2003’s “Poppy Done to Death.” The energetic, highly entertaining novel is like seeing a dear friend and picking up the relationship.
While the Aurora series is entrenched in the amateur sleuth genre, Harris has managed to weave in more serious issues while keeping the story light and nonviolent. The author tackles bullying, teenage angst, family dynamics and the feeling of entitlement.
Much has changed for Aurora since her last appearance, though she’s the same witty, compassionate and whip-smart character that readers embraced. Aurora is married to mystery writer Robin Crusoe and they are expecting their first child. Aurora’s 15-year-old half brother Phillip has moved in with them. (AP) world, with access limited to just the curator in some special cases.
However, the library installed a new laboratory this year to oversee the protection and digitalising of the 4,000 manuscripts on site in conjunction with the Institute of Computational Linguistics in Italy.
“The main aim is to provide means and tools both in terms of hardware and software to digitalise this cultural heritage and to make them available in an open way to the world at large,” said Vito Pirelli of the Italian institute.