Realty Check

February 1, 1999
In the second Anthony novel due out in May (see Muse of Art, reviewed above), an elderly couple, Penn and Chandelle, rent an expensively furnished house in Philadelphia for a vacation getaway. It turns out that the building is not only luxurious but allows its inhabitants to travel through time and space by simply walking out the back door. The couple invite their wild granddaughter Llynn, 15, to help them explore the houses wonders. They are soon joined by Llynns obnoxious, bright cousin, Lloyd, 13, and his dog. Then the adventures really begin: saving damsels in Moscow and communicating with aliens are two of the highlights. Considering its jolly, familial tone, the novel contains a surprising, and occasionally disconcerting, amount of sexual tension. Overall, however, this is an intergenerational as well as intergalactic charmer, hallmarked by fast pacing, strong characterizations and skillful prose. (May) FYI: A small publisher specializing in online books since 1996, Pulpless.Com is now publishing original and reprint trade paperbacks on paper (with the books also available online at www.pulpless.com.) Other original May Pulpless.Com titles include The Land Beyond Summer by Brad Linaweaver, Other States of Being by John DeChancie, Book of the Monk by D.K. Kirts, The Microbotic Menace by Victor Koman (the first in his new Captain Anger series) and The Robert Heinlein Interview and Other Heinleiniana by J. Neil Schulman.