Also the newest book from sci-fi/historical author Connie Willis. It came out May 1st, I got it May 4, and, despite the SATs and prom, had it finished by the sixth. It is an unconvential and moving approach to near death experiences, or NDE's as her characters call them. Although the first three hundred pages are a lot of exposition, the next 294 completely make up for it. As always, Ms. Willis manages to work history into her novel, although this time she takes a much more creative route than that of time travel. This book made me think about the nature of death, not to mention the nature of the afterlife, and didn't try to gloss anything over with stories about angels and "the life review." If anyone has read it, please e-mail me at JediBix783@yahoo.com to discuss the ending-- because is it just me, or does the last paragraph completely negate the theme of the book?