Madhab Limbu had the bad luck to be born deaf in a Nepalese village far from the kind of medical care that could have given him hearing as an infant, but the good luck to meet Dr. Janet Morley when he was 12. Read full book review >

The latest historical from Cambridge classicist Bradshaw (The Wrong Reflection, 2000, etc.) takes us into the courts of medieval France during the time of the Crusades. Read full book review >

The Sand-Reckoner ($23.95; Apr. 6; 352 pp.; 0-312-87340-9): More historical fiction from Bradshaw (Island of Ghosts,

1998, etc.), who this time out takes us to ancient Greece. Read full book review >

The dependable Bradshaw offers yet another historical fiction set in the ancient world (Horses of Heaven, 1991, etc.). Read full book review >

In return for freeing the cruel, one-eyed Arimaspians from the curse of brutality, giving them back their eyes and tears and, in the process, saving the peaceful griffins from them, Apollo gives Aristeas magic and music but also dooms him to wander the world. Read full book review >

In a sequel to The Dragon and the Thief (1991), the benign and articulate dragon Hathor and her klutzy but quick-witted Egyptian friend Prahotep join forces with an indomitable Nubian princess. Read full book review >

In a fantasy-adventure set in ancient Egypt, young Prahotep finds himself allied with Hathor, last of the dragons. Born backwards and unlucky, Prahotep has failed in every endeavor from the family trade (fishing) to mining stone with a gang of mistreated convicts. Read full book review >