Ladyhoppers

Pelletier (In from the Cold, written as J.T. Rogers) and debut author Taylor collaborate on a sparkling comedy action romp that sends Charlie Chase—a scientist turned genetically enhanced supersoldier from Montreal—on a mission to save the multiverse from tears in the fabric of reality. Charlie stops one such tear from wiping out her home world, but in doing so seals herself in an alternate universe with no way home. She seeks out this universe’s version of her boss, Dr. Verity Baum, for assistance. This Verity is Vera, a younger, flightier, more reckless version of the genius scientist Charlie knows. The pair teams up, hopping from universe to universe searching for both a solution to the tears and Charlie’s way home. Along the way, they meet alternate versions of their colleagues and must evade both the reality-eating parasites who feed near the tears and the biomechanical hounds chasing them. The authors use the many worlds to play with genre tropes, sending their heroines to one realm of little green aliens and another that the budding friends dub “fantasyland,” complete with a dragon. Funny and clever without ever losing a sense of urgency, this page-turning adventure is a winner. (Aug.)