NOW AND FOREVER Somewhere a Band Is Playing & Leviathan '99

These two novellas provide a good introduction to basic low-key science fiction. The first, set in an uncertain time in the ordinary world, tells of a traveler who steps off a train in a nondescript town and faces fundamental questions about his mortality. The second, set in outer space, is a recasting of MOBY-DICK, with a twist of Shakespeare. Paul Hecht is a steady and engaged narrator. He accentuates the ordinary in the stories and the characters, an approach that provides good contrast to the twists in the plot. His overall tone is introspective but with a sense of anticipation of what the characters have come to believe is their inevitable destination. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2008]