Characters in settings that are decades apart hunt for rare, hidden chess pieces that once belonged to Charlemagne. Two people—a young French woman in the 1790s and an American computer whiz in the early 1970s—find themselves in desperate chases across several countries for the pieces, which hold an ancient secret. Both evolve into brave, unassuming heroines, but the real star is narrator Susan Denaker. She has so many characters to keep track of—from young and old French women to assorted New Yorkers and Algerian men. She expertly differentiates them with changes in tone. The story is well done, though characters could have been pared more carefully for the abridgment. Overall, Denaker’s performance and the story’s twist at the end make it worthwhile. M.B. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
Once Upon a Prime by Sarah Hart connects mathematics and fiction, encouraging readers to dig deeper into why they like to read what they like to read, using math as a guide. Hart joins us to talk about her path to writing, the unexpected parallels between seemingly different disciplines, some of her favorite mathematical literature facts […]