Aurora

Halley's Comet fans and no-nuke afficionados alike will enjoy this sparkling first novel about an uncharted comet's plummet toward the earth and the ominous prospect of its being mistaken for a nuclear first-strike by an intransigently narrow-minded U.S. President. In 1991, science adviser Dr. Dennis Corvino tries to convince President James Snelling that just because the U.S. first learned about the comet from information offered by the Russians does not mean that the comet does not actually exist or that it's a Communist ploy to sneak-bomb America in the wake of feigned, comet-like activity. Lowe tackles his theme with just the right sense of scale, balancing diverting scenes with thought-provoking ones. Foreign rights: John A. Ware. November