TERRANOVA

Equal parts sprawling fantasy and deftly observed futurist fiction, Lewis’ debut novel will appeal to fans of J.R.R. Tolkien, Michael Crichton and William Gibson.

The novel is set in the 2030s, where the ongoing environmental crisis has radically transformed the earth. Humans live in teeming, highly developed cities, wired together by all the latest cyber-amenities. Meanwhile, outside city limits, a vast wilderness grows thick and thorny. As the book opens, humans have discovered the existence of a new world–one peopled by a strange race of humanoids savage and sage. Lewis, a senior lecturer at Stanford and the author of several history texts, builds tension by alternating between the earthly sphere and Terranova, where a fierce tribal war is brewing. The narrative is strongest when the author dotes on his human protagonists– Shanna Malone, a professor of history at Harvard University, and Malcolm Harris, a geographer. The dialogue in these sections feels easy and comfortable, since the on-again, off-again romance between Shanna and Malcolm is plotted well. Best of all are Lewis’s pointed–and very funny–takedowns of the ludicrousness of academic culture. Describing one department meeting, he writes, “When Malcolm tentatively opined, ‘I prefer to think of myself as something of a generalist,’ the chair of graduate studies–a well-heeled Marxist who wore a beret on formal occasions to demonstrate his solidarity with the working class–gave a venomous look while hissing, ‘There is no place in academia for a generalist.’ ” The chapters on Terranova, on the other hand, can feel unaccountably dense–there are enough tribes, commanders, lords, monks and warriors to make a reader’s head spin. Lewis has installed glossary near the opening of the book, along with a few maps, which is helpful, but there’s still much to keep straight. Still, Terranova has some genuinely riveting scenes of skullduggery, jungle warfare and high-speed chases–enough to jolt suspense lovers up in their seats.

Environmentalists, fantasy-lovers and unselfconscious academics will find much to love here.