Hole in the Sky: A Novel

by Daniel H. Wilson

A Native American first contact story and gripping thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Robopocalypse

"Thrilling and personal... an important addition to the landscape of science fiction."—Pierce Brown, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Red Rising

"Hole in the Sky is mind-bending… indigenous knowledge collides with science fiction in a thrilling page-turner."—Sterlin Harjo, filmmaker and writer of Reservation Dogs

On the Great Plains of Oklahoma, in the heart of the Cherokee Nation, a strange atmospheric disturbance is noticed by Jim Hardgray, a down-on-his-luck single father trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter, Tawny. At NASA’s headquarters in Houston, Texas, astrophysicist Dr. Mikayla Johnson observes an interaction with the Voyager 1 spacecraft on the far side of the solar system, and she concludes that something enormous and unidentified is heading directly for Earth. And in an undisclosed bunker somewhere in the United States, an American threat forecaster known only as the Man Downstairs intercepts a cryptic communication and sends a message directly to the president and highest-ranking military “First contact imminent.”

Daniel H. Wilson’s Hole in the Sky is a riveting thriller in the most creative tradition of extraterrestrial fiction. Drawing on Wilson’s unique background as both a threat forecaster for the United States Air Force and a Cherokee Nation citizen, this propulsive novel asks probing questions about nonhuman intelligence, the Western mindset, and humans’ understanding of reality.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Indigenous, Horror, Aliens, Thriller, Native American

Audible Audio

First published October 7, 2025

About the author

A Cherokee citizen, Daniel H. Wilson grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He earned a Ph.D. in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[TheConnieFox · Rating 3 out of 5]

❥ My Thoughts & Rating ❥

This science fiction novel captured my attention and imagination at the very beginning! It had thriller vibes and I found it to be very thought provoking and entertaining. This is a fast paced, easy to read book. While it started off great, it did get somewhat not as entertaining near the end of the book. I really enjoyed the themes, especially the discovery and cultural understanding themes. This story follows different characters whom all experience the same big mysterious event that occurs. I really liked the premise and the diverse cast of characters in this story. It had a clear thesis and was well executed!

The cultural elements really stands out! The first contact between humans and the unknown was quite interesting. The different reactions between the humans with different cultural backgrounds had me really immersed in the story! I think that anyone who loves reading science fiction, along with multicultural interests would enjoy reading this story! Be sure to read the content warnings. Overall, I give this book a 2.5 (rounded up to 3) out of 5 stars rating!

❥ Thank You ❥

Thank you to NetGalley, author Daniel H. Wilson and Doubleday Books for this electronic ARC to read in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

❥ Release Date ❥

This book is expected to be published on October 7, 2025!

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC for review. To be published October 7, 2025.

2.5 stars

Jim Hardgray, a member of the Cherokee National (as is the author) has just taken custody of his 13 year old daughter, Tawny and they are trying to connect. Dr. Mikayla Johnson, a staffer a NASA in Houston, works on the Voyager projects and observes something odd with those faraway crafts. Gavin Clark, high up in the Defense Department, is investigating a huge number of anomalies reported by people all around the world and, in an undisclosed bunker, threat forecaster (that sounds like a good job. Couldn’t I just stick my head out the door and shout, “They’re everywhere!,” then go back in and take a nap?) known as The Man Downstairs declares that First Contact is coming. And he’s never wrong.

Well, I really liked the first half of this book and had little use for the second. The blurb for the book said it’s based in “real science” and setting aside the aliens, I’m not sure in what part of real science we find the Pattern, the Nix, bombs you can stand really close to…I could go on. It was all pretty outlandish for me and from the description I was hoping for better.

[Haydn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read!

Hole in the Sky is a fast-paced first contact thriller. It follows four point-of-view characters: The Man Downstairs, a techno-oracle of sorts that the government keeps hidden away; Jim Hardgray, a Native American father who has a chance to reconnect with his daughter; Gavin Clark, the director of Emerging Weapons Technology for the US; and Mikayla Johnson, a NASA analyst monitoring the all-but-defunct Voyager spacecraft.

This book is more Independence Day than Arrival. I'm probably more of an Arrival guy, but there was enough mystery here to keep me invested. Things certainly go in a unique direction. I did expect something a little more cerebral based on the marketing, but I enjoyed the action and the suspense nonetheless. The plot moves along at a steady clip, and each of the POV characters brings a different perspective to the unfolding events in a way that keeps things fresh.

Wilson did a great job giving his characters distinct voices and personalities. They were all compelling if not all that developed. My only complaint here was Mikayla. She reads like a cringey caricature of a terminally-online mad scientist. I think the author might have intended this, but it didn't land for me. She felt too exaggerated to be believable.

I'd recommend this for anyone interested in an action-packed first contact story with a few surprises up its sleeve. This would be a great summer porch read, although it doesn't come out until October!

Thanks NetGalley and Doubleday books for the ARC!

3.5/5 stars

[Tobin Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one started out really freaking strong. Honestly, the first three-quarters? An easy 5-star book.

Seriously, this was the best part of Carl Sagan's CONTACT mixed with the first half of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. It was fun, it was intriguing...it was doing a great job of building the suspense.

Unfortunately, it started to unravel toward the end. In came some of Carpenter's THE THING, and a heapin' helpin' of Lovecraftian sensibilities... all of which I could have lived with, but it was the stuff that Wilson set up that I hoped...really freaking hoped...he wouldn't start pulling the threads on.

He didn't pull the thread. He yoinked the entire damn blanket at the end. I guess it was the redemption arc that every book seems to absolutely require for a traditional publishing contract these days and, yeah if it's done well, sure, fine. I'll take it.

But when it's handled in a thick, gooey way that screams, "SEE? SEE WHAT I DID THERE?" while at the same time utterly wasting the two best characters, Mikayla and The Man Downstairs, both left dangling with no real closure?

Nope that's an epic fail on the wrap up, folks.

This had so much potential, and it just kinda threw it away for the sappy ending.

Five stars for the first three-quarters. One star for the dumb ending.

[Karen’s Library · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Hole in the Sky is a first contact novel told from the point of view of several characters. Jim, an Osage Native American; the mysterious Man Downstairs; Gavin, an official high up in the Defense Department; and Mikayla, an extremely quirky NASA scientist immersed in the Voyager program.

I’ve read a couple of other books by the author that I enjoyed so was very intrigued by this one about first contact with aliens.

When a very large unidentified object is found hurling from deep space right at earth, in fact, right at Spiros, Oklahoma in the center of ancestral grounds of the Osage nation, the military evacuates the area while the government heads there to see the object first hand.

The first half of this book was fun and interesting as we get to know all of the characters. I especially loved Jim and his daughter Tawny, and the wacky super intelligent Mikayla.

And then the story turned into something like a fever dream, and unfortunately, was very non-sensical to me. I kept turning the pages hoping it would begin to make sense at any time. Every once in a while, the picture would become clear, and then back off to fever-dream land.

I have never been so relieved to finish a book just so I could move on to something that made sense to me. It’s very possible that others will love the second half but it just wasn’t my own personal cup of tea.

I did like the end for Jim and his daughter, so there was that.

*Thanks to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for the gifted eARC.*

[OutlawPoet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so hard to define.

I guess I’d start by saying that if you’re looking for traditional hard SF, this isn’t exactly that. It feels that way at first, but then it becomes a little more cosmic, a little more mecha, and a lot more cultural Gods and Monsters.

The book gets very violent and, at points, quite chilling.

I loved our father and daughter, liked our awkward scientist and her ‘assist’, and could take or leave our military personnel.

The book was fast paced and there were times I didn’t want to look away.

Exciting, non-traditional, and a very good read!

* ARC via Publisher

[Sydney Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐ I need more more more books like this. I absolutely love cosmic horror and first contact and big ideas. That being said, the first 70% of this was so well written and the last 30% kind of fell victim to a chaotic mix of mumbo jumbo. I don't know what else it needs, but it was missing something. I really loved the characters and felt like we only scratched the surface of them and the lore involved.

[Matthew Condello · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fever dream of an alien invasion novel. “Hole In the Sky” moves at a break neck speed towards a first contact unlike anything you’ve ever experienced and will leave you questioning reality long after. Impossible to put down, Daniel H. Wilson knows how to pace a science fiction thriller better than most. Pulling from his native heritage, he provides a fascinating twist on the visitors from outer space tropes. While it does stumble a bit, it is always relentlessly entertaining. Grand and intimate at the same time, it is sure to thrill sci-fi and alien lovers alike. Thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday for this ARC!

[Laur · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really did not like this. The writing was simply not very good.
It's inconsistently epistolary, even though all chapters are labelled the same, and this aspect in presentation was poorly thought through.
I frankly did not care about any of the characters, and so the thriller/horror aspects got no internal reaction from me whatsoever.
There was a lot of showing over telling and redundancy. Oh (small spoiler) the creatures are created from nightmares? really? not like you've written that every two pages since a character first figured that out.
Really hated the characterization of the (implied) autistic character - even though it was a woman and a black person, they were still written in a very stereotypical way that I thought we had stopped doing or at least would have commentary on when there was a character like that included. Also there was this reoccurring mentioning of her perfume? Which didn't really make sense with this character besides maybe oh this is a woman she must wear perfume, especially when it was never actually described. I don't need specific notes, but like there would be no description besides the implication it was strong?

Some specific notes that I feel petty enough to add here - this needed another read-through bad before publishing
"resembling a circular wagon wheel" - um. versus???
"I smell carbon monoxide" - it is basic knowledge carbon monoxide is odorless. just say exhaust

I fully thought it was a debut (I honestly don't know why) and got to the about the author and discovered he has a number of books! so I was even more disappointed in this

A positive thing I could say is I think this story could work as a movie, perhaps

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the spring of 2011, I was the kind of reader who mostly read out of necessity. My mom, a teacher, had instilled in us the value of reading for pleasure, but at that point, I was buried in college textbooks. The idea of picking up a book just for fun felt impossible. Still, there was a nagging thought that I could—and should—be reading more. I’d always loved mysteries and crime novels, but even that tried-and-true genre was failing to hold my attention.

That’s when I first heard about Daniel H. Wilson’s soon-to-be-published science fiction novel, Robopocalypse. Steven Spielberg had already snapped up the film rights and was reportedly planning a blockbuster adaptation. Intrigued, I started searching online for more information and stumbled across the book’s page on Goodreads. I read the summary, created an account, and even entered a giveaway for a copy. To my surprise, I won—and before long, a shiny prerelease hardcover of Robopocalypse arrived on my doorstep. Imagine that: an entire hardcover book, free of charge, no library involved!

I devoured the novel in just a few sittings, drawn in by Wilson’s blend of scientific plausibility, a sprawling cast of characters, and fast-paced thrills. And then something remarkable happened…I started reading more. Just for fun. A few months later, my blog A Book A Week was born, and the rest is history.

These days, my only limitation on how many books I can take on is time (and, of course, shelf space). I even find myself turning down offers from publishers, something 2011 me would never have dreamed of. But looking back, it’s wild to think it all started with Daniel H. Wilson’s debut. So, it should come as no surprise that when his publisher offered me a copy of his latest novel, Hole in the Sky, I couldn’t help but say yes.

Wilson’s latest novel follows four main characters, each with their own stake in humanity’s survival. First, there’s Jim Hardgray, living in Osage territory in Oklahoma. He’s been mostly absent from his thirteen-year-old daughter’s life and is desperate to mend their frayed relationship. In Houston, Dr. Mikayla Johnson works for NASA, keeping tabs on the Voyager spacecraft—a mission that time, and most of her colleagues, seem to have forgotten. Gavin Clark has dedicated his career to identifying and preparing for emerging weapons threats for the U.S. government. And then there’s the Man Downstairs, a shadowy government official who forecasts global threats from his basement bunker and is never wrong.

The titular “hole in the sky” reveals itself as an alien anomaly that draws these four lives together, setting them on a collision course with a threat unlike anything humanity has ever faced. What follows is a high-stakes race against time, blending the grounded science of Robopocalypse with the eerie wonder of first contact.

Hole in the Sky sees Daniel H. Wilson bring his scientific background and sharp storytelling skills to a novel that reads like a full-throttle action thriller. He balances the high-stakes threat to humanity with deeper character exploration, making us care about the people tasked with confronting the unknown. I flew through this one, eager to see how everything would shake out.

Wilson’s writing is reminiscent of the late Michael Crichton. He never lets the science get in the way of telling an entertaining story. Sure, things go a bit off the rails toward the end, but I was having so much fun that I didn’t really mind. Hole in the Sky is fast, cinematic, and thought-provoking in all the right ways. Revisiting an author who reignited my passion for reading felt a bit like coming full circle. It's a reminder of the thrill of losing yourself in a great story. Hole in the Sky is both a return to form and a celebration of everything that makes Wilson such a compelling storyteller.

[Dan Trefethen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I blurbed this book, I'd say it's a "page-turning first contact thriller that involves the Native American community, both present and past."

The POV is split: First there's a government expert on exotic weapons who is tasked with determining the threat of the Big Dumb Object incoming from outside the Solar System, and heading for Earth. It's not so dumb - it makes course corrections on the way, so we know it's not just a big rock.

Secondly, there's a Cherokee man who reunites uncomfortably with his 13-year-old daughter he abandoned. It's their land in Oklahoma that the object seems to be heading for, which brings the government agent to their location.

Thirdly, there's the NASA scientist with a severe personality disorder who first spots the object and seems to be guided to it.

The action proceeds chronologically, split mainly between these people. It's a first contact like no other, as the ancient mounds built by the Native people play a major role in why this object arrives.

Readers of first contact stories, or of BDOs impacting Earth, will recognize the plot type and pacing. However, the Native elements are something new to this reader and make for an extremely engaging read. Without spoilers, I can say that the climax is unique but has a '2001: Space Odyssey' feeling of epiphany about it.

[franzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3 stars.

I had fun with this! I love a good first contact novel, and this was right up my alley in terms of plot. I wish there had been a little more actual first contact and maybe some more science, this was more thriller and horror than true sci-fi, but the concept was still fun. It was fast-paced and managed to hold my interest all the way through, although I think some of the POVs weren't needed. The horror towards the end was really good, very well-written and I was happy enough with the ending.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is for an ARC copy received from the publisher through NetGalley.
Hole in the Sky is a story about first contact with aliens, told from the perspective of four people: The Man Downstairs, an anonymous genius whose sole job is sitting in a government basement interpreting messages in the form of strange poetry from something known only as The Entity; Gavin Clark, a government spook who is designated to track any such contact with alien life forms and to be there firsthand should first contact ever come to Earth; Mikayla Johnson, a girl who works for NASA who behaves oddly and has always known she didn't quite belong, aided by specially augmented glasses that speak to her; and Jim Hardgray, a Native man trying to reconcile with his young daughter who happens to live near where the incoming anomaly is destined to impact Earth.
Told in the style of Robopocalypse, the alternating perspectives of the main characters come together as an alien craft heads to Earth. At times the different characters' stories varied from interesting to confusing to, if I'm being honest, not that interesting. Gavin's story line was the strongest and most consistent, somewhat reminding me of The X-Files. It was certainly a different take on the prospect of aliens appearing, mixing sci-fi with a bit of weird fiction and Native folklore. Overall it was solid, I just found I didn't always care for where certain plot elements led. 3.5/5*

[A Dreaming Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for providing me with an eARC.

This started off really well with a very interesting premise but I personally felt like there were too many tangents and all of them weren't addressed as effectively. I did like the mix of genres that the book offered, the plot was developed well around the cultural aspects. It started with a lot of the hard science stuff and then went into more of the cultural stuff. The ending felt a bit open-ended which could be addressed if there was a sequel. Overall, I would recommend this to those looking for a genre-bending science fiction novel.

[Rachael Pracht · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly solid Sci-Fi read, and an awesome first contact story. Imbued with historical fiction aspects, telling a tale of what could have happened 15,000 years ago before the land we inhabit was named what we know it as today. Totally a great book if you’re into this genre!

[Rose]

Got halfway through. Can't make myself care. Moving on.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was fascinated by the Voyager launches in the 1970s, so I was eager to read a science fiction novel about the Voyagers crossing the heliopause. What I got was an absolute train wreck. I'm not sure I've ever read a worse book by an established author whose works I've enjoyed in the past. This book is bad. Not one of the POV characters had a distinct voice. Daniel H. Wilson hopes it will be made into a movie. I pity the person who has to turn this mess into a movie. Independence Day meets Transformers.

I'm always happy to see Native Americans as main characters, and I liked the Cherokee details. But nothing else is this book worked for me. I wouldn't have finished it if it hadn't been by Daniel H. Wilson and wasn't, nominally, about the two Voyager spacecrafts.

[Leo Kennis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is too mysterious to be an action filled science fiction book and too action filled to be a mystery filled science fiction book.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my first book by Daniel H. Wilson and while I was intrigued by the Indigenous focused story about an impending alien invasion and thought the insights into NASA's forecasting and frontier tech was very interesting, I found that it was just overall a bit too weird and all over the place for me. Fans of Thomas King's recent, Aliens on the moon might enjoy this more than I did. I will say though that the full cast audiobook narration was very well done and suited the alternating perspectives of multiple main characters in the book.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hole in the Sky by Daniel H. Wilson is a fast paced sci-fi thriller that blends Native American perspectives and mythology with modern science, creating an interesting first-contact narrative. Wilson, a Cherokee Nation citizen and former Air Force threat forecaster, weaves together the stories of four main characters as they confront an alien entity heading toward Earth. The story unfolds through the eyes of Jim Hardgray (a Cherokee father reconnecting with his daughter), Mikayla Johnson (a NASA astrophysicist who’s social awkwardness is holding her back from her true potential), Gavin Clark (a government specialist on emerging threats), and the Man Downstairs (called the MD who is a mysterious government employee in charge of threat forecasting ).
The narrative is character driven and explores personal struggles and relationships amidst a potentially fatal extraterrestrial threat. I enjoyed reading this novel it was a fun and absolutely crazy read! I also enjoyed learning about the Cherokee Nation reawakening Mythology.
I would say Hole in the Sky is definitely a unique novel that merges science, Indigenous culture, and suspense. If you enjoy reading about Native American cultures and enjoy sci-fi horror or thrillers then you will want to read this book !
Thank you to DoubleDay publishing and BookBrowse for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

[Seajay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this one's surreal. At first I thought the plot was edgy and interesting but later it fell far short of that and ultimately disappointed at the end, as did the prose.

What I was hoping for was that the object that arrives in Oklahoma held space beings that purportedly left Indigenous tribe settlers here long ago to colonize the planet. I imagined they returned to check on their progress and then make evolutionary course corrections. Not so.

I never did understand what sort of beings the spacecraft held or what it was trying to achieve. Only one character apparently did but she didn't reveal anything. The aliens I could only visualize as a nastier form of Borg drones crossed with Edward Scissorhands.

The fact that this novel was written by a Cherokee author is why I (as sympathizer) read it in the first place, but maybe he was tripping on something stronger than ritual tobacco and just let it take its own course.

[Timothy Patrick Boyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reality conjured from our worst fears.

After starting off as a promising, tense first contact story, Daniel H. Wilson's Hole in the Sky quickly devolves into a lazy, sloppy ripoff of Arrival, The Mist, and far too many other generic alien invasion/AI thrillers.

Wilson's use of multiple perspectives throughout quickly destroys any momentum this narrative initially has. In fact, one perspective becomes entirely insufferable once the plot gets moving, focusing on an ambiguous for ambiguity's sake story about face-blindness and AI and the desperate search to feel at home in a world you just can't understand. It's such a painful bore of a storyline. Beyond that, the narrative never manages to achieve anything more than under-developed characters and missed opportunities due to the constant aping of the book's inspirations and how it leans way too heavily on the Native American lore around which it was lazily shaped.

"We went into the dark. We left our toys out where they could be found. And we woke something up."

3.5/10

[Ryan Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Breezy, quick and easy read that starts off great and peters out with some hand wavy wrap up. Only 2 characters are remotely developed but that’s true for the whole tale. Nothing is developed. Again, the set up drops you right into a potentially ripping story but reading it is like watching a potentially great movie in fast forward. Had he slowed down, dug in and added a couple hundred pages to get into the characters, develop the tech beyond pseudo mystical mind waving and the abrupt ending, I believe we’d really have something.

There’s a great story in here about how America’s original people learned to deal with a first contact and now perhaps maybe they could help with the current situation. Sadly that’s not what we got. Instead, we got multiple POV’s that just abruptly ended with no real explanation and a magic bomb.

I don’t regret it because it’s still an entertaining way to spend eight hours, but it could’ve been a whole hell of a lot more.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so excited for this release... definitely not what i expected. Mikayla's POV was super confusing, with an arc that ultimately didn't add much to the development of the story. And why so much cussing?! The rest of the book i could have gotten on board with, even the ending. I liked Jim and Tawny a lot actually. Perhaps it needed to be a longer book with concepts explored in more depth. Might need to update this review once I've had time to think things over.

[Luisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

With many countries closely following the movements of 3I/ATLAS, this might be the perfect time to read Daniel H. Wilson's latest novel, Hole in the Sky. It approaches "first contact" from the perspectives of a dysfunctional Cherokee family living in the area of the Mounds of Spiro, Oklahoma, and of socially impaired U.S. government bureaucrats and specialized military personnel.

Wilson is a talented author, but this novel is definitely not for everyone. It gets into the weeds – strange Native ancestors, enormous underground tunnels, humans melding with sentient tech, “perversion of the future of war” with violent humanoid-robot soldiers, reality “conjured from our worst fears,” prayerful offerings, life, death (including a dead soul returning to life), and even, possibly, the apocalypse.

Don't read too fast and skip over his descriptions and the phrases used to describe things existing in circumstances of “incalculable chaos.” You also might want to brush the dust off your books on ontology.

I received an Advance Reading Copy through BookBrowse.

[Whitney (SecretSauceofStorycraft) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a fun, accessible candy 🍭 read that encompasses thrilling first contact and a father-daughter relationship to pull your heart strings.

Just a few years from now, Dr. Mikayla Johnson and NASA astrophysicist noticed an anomaly something unidentified coming towards earth and the government sends a cryptic message to its highest levels “ first contact eminent“ meanwhile down on his luck, single father on turkey lands Jim, is trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter Tawny. While on ancient mounds of his people he begins to see apparitions of the ancient tribal gods. And suddenly this first contact has begun- both a test and a communication- it is both high-tech military technology and something more….. it asks what non-human intelligence means and what are assumptions about reality reveal about ourselves….

I liked it- but it wasnt anything new or original, but fun and sadly a bit forgettable.

[Richard Hornberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished in two nights. This is one where I was enthralled until the end but the end disappointed me. I don’t know what I was expecting but what I got wasn’t what I was looking for. I thought it was a nice book on first contact and intuition if you will….

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I thought would be a straight up sci-fi thriller morphed into something deeper, with Native American culture as a major theme. I enjoyed it and recommend to those interested in sci-fi, Native American culture, and folklore.

I am a library associate and received an advance copy from #NetGalley.

[Jayna · Rating 5 out of 5]

(ARC) This was a smart, fast-paced first-contact thriller. I loved the different take on a classic sci-fi trope with native peoples not only taking the spotlight, but also offering perhaps the only answer that will save humanity.

[Doe Osuniga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to @NetGalley and @Doubleday for the opportunity to read an eARC of this book.Thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end. The descriptions of people and places were enough so that you could picture them in your mind’s eye without being too wordy.