Neal Stephenson practices alchemy of the literary variety, turning words into gold in the successful conclusion of his Baroque Cycle, The System of the World. Perhaps because he's been racing to get to this third and final volume, this book is the most accessible of the series (not counting his earlier linked novel, Cryptonomicon).

Stephenson dives straight into the political and religious machinations that will, within decades, turn 18th-century England into the industrial powerhouse of the western world. While familiarity with the previous two entries in the series, Quicksilver and The Confusion, is probably a given for any reader of this novel, a brief summary of "The story thus far" is provided at the beginning of the book for readers who are just getting started.

Natural Philosopher Daniel Waterhouse returns from the New World to England only to find himself caught up in a number of intertwining intrigues. He is intimately involved in the private manufacturing of a new machine about which other parties are very curious; the Tory and Whig parties are positioning themselves in readiness for the succession battle after Queen Anne's death; and mysterious assassins have been attacking eminent Natural Philosophers including Daniel himself on the day he arrives in London.

Daniel, who has also been tasked with trying to heal the rift between Sir Isaac Newton and the German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz over who invented calculus, teams with Newton to investigate the attacks. However, Newton has a secondary, private motive. In his role as Master of the Mint, he has long been at war with Jack Shaftoe, King of the Vagabonds, a counterfeiter also known as Jack the Coiner, who intends to sabotage the realm.

There is of course much more going on in this wide-ranging 900-page novel. Daniel's return to England after long years away gives Stephenson plenty of opportunities to use his extensive historical research on the era. The character's observations and asides on aspects of 18th-century British life and society slip seamlessly into the narrative.

At nearly 3,000 pages, Stephenson's exceptional trilogy is an achievement on an epic scale that will delight science fiction readers for years to come.

Gavin Grant writes from Northampton, Massachusetts.

In the alternate universe of Welsh author Jasper Fforde (1985 England), cloning pets is commonplace, time is flexible, literature is sacred, the Crimean War lasted nearly 150 years and a multinational conglomerate called Goliath controls the world. When we last saw Special Operations agent Thursday Next in Fforde's popular debut novel, The Eyre Affair, she had successfully saved (not to mention improved) the classic novel Jane Eyre and managed to end up with the man of her dreams, Landen Park-Laine. But when you're a literary detective with as many enemies as Thursday, tranquility can't last. No sooner has Thursday discovered she's pregnant than the Goliath Corporation eradicates her husband, making her the only person who remembers him. They promise his safe return if she will enter Poe's poem "The Raven" to release the villainous Jack Schitt, whom she imprisoned there at the end of the previous book. To make matters worse, a set of bizarre coincidences leads Thursday to believe that someone related to her old enemy, Acheron Hades, may be out to get her.

Thursday's immediate concern is her husband, but how to jump into a book without the help of her Uncle Mycroft's invention, the Prose Portal? Under the tutelage of a consummate book-jumper, Dickens' Miss Havisham, of course!

If all this sounds confusing, don't worry. Fforde's ability to handle a seemingly infinite number of subplots joined with his unique brand of humor somehow allow this wacky world to make sense. Thursday is a particularly effective and realistic first-person narrator; even the romantic scenes in the book are portrayed in a way that suits her slightly hard-boiled, independent character.

Lost in a Good Book abounds with even more literary references than The Eyre Affair, and developing characters outside of their original authors' plot lines is something Fforde clearly relishes. His Miss Havisham is a former bodyguard and a reckless driver as well as Dickens' acerbic old maid, and the Cheshire Cat, cast here as a librarian, is as adept at nonsensical non sequiturs as he is in Carroll's work.

Classifying this book poses a dilemma. Is it Science Fiction? Literature? Romance? It doesn't matter. Lost in a Good Book is, simply, a good book that will appeal to readers of these and other genres.

Savannah Levine, the protagonist of the 11th installment in Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld series, is a powerful young woman with a lot to prove to the strong personalities that fill her life. Introduced earlier in the series as a child, Savannah is the orphaned daughter of a dark witch and a notorious sorcerer. Under the tutelage of her adoptive parents, who run a supernatural detective agency, Savannah has blossomed into an adept magic user, but she has yet to prove that she has the wisdom to wield her powers in a responsible manner and to take on a greater role in the agency.

While her parents are on a long-awaited vacation in Hawaii, a half-demon PI from Seattle offers her the chance to lead an investigation of her own, into the murders of three young women in the small town of Columbus, Washington. There are hints that the murders have a supernatural connection, and the temptation to take a starring role is too great for the impetuous Savannah to refuse.

The town of Columbus, suffering under the weight of economic recession and barely clinging to hopes of a recovery, doesn’t quite know what to make of a gorgeous, iPhone-wielding, motorcycle-driving PI, even if she is forced keep her magical abilities in the shadows; somewhat lacking in empathy for non-supernatural humans, Savannah does little to put them at ease. She quickly begins to peel back the skin of the decaying town to reveal a rich occult undercurrent and a host of colorful suspects for the murders, from the louche and charismatic leader of a cult of cookie-baking young women to the local rich-boy-turned-bad-seed and his frightening wife. Savannah finds new friends, allies and enemies amongst the townspeople.

Waking The Witch is an imaginative blend of the fantasy and detective genres. The plot moves along at a brisk pace, throwing a good number of twists and tragedies at Savannah, who becomes a more likable character as the book goes on and she seems to warm up to everyday humans. As part of a long-running series, there are significant points in the book that will mean much more to fans than to casual readers, but for the most part the story is self-contained. A few plot threads are left dangling at the end to inform the next chapter in Savannah’s story—and intrigue Armstrong’s loyal readers.