A biting tale about a future in which the country with the best football (soccer) team gets to pay fewer taxes. Andrews is the second string left striker on the Australian team, playing backup to Ribaldi. Ribaldi is a peacock of a player-- singularly talented, with the emphasis on singularly. He's no team player, and his weakness for grandstanding has cost Australia some wins. But Andrews, apparently, is the only one who sees it that way. The story opens with Andrew taking steps to remove Ribaldi, and advance his team to soccer-glory.
Simons' pacing is tight, and I was absolutely charmed by his keen depiction of play on the field. This is action writing at its very best.
Beautiful Winter, Eugie Foster
Foster evokes fairy-tale Russia, but with a skewed point of view. The stepsister is the pretty one; the mother is the shrew; the prince in the woods is full of dangerous magic. Foster capably turns fairy-tale tropes on their heads and it's delightful. I was enchanted by Foster's imagery, which comes on a bit thick at first, but then resolves to utter wonder.