Globe & Mail/Ben McNally Books Authors' Brunch

Strange New Worlds: The Search for Alien Planets and Life Beyond Our Solar System by Ray Jayawardhana

After millennia of musings and a century of false claims, astronomers have found hundreds of planets around other stars since 1995. These discoveries have surprised us and challenged our views many times over. At the crux of the astronomers’ pursuit is one basic question: Is our solar system, with planets in circular orbits, gas giants in the outer realm and at least one warm, wet, rocky world teeming with life, the exception or the norm?

In Strange New Worlds, renowned astronomer Ray Jayawardhana brings the latest news from the forefront of research, including some of his own findings, and tells a tale rich in history and personalities.

The Water Rat of Wanchai by Ian Hamilton

Ava Lee is a young Chinese-Canadian forensic accountant who specializes in recovering massive debts. Ava works for an elderly Hong Kong-based "Uncle," who may or may not have ties to the Triads. At 5'3" and 115 lbs., she hardly seems a threat. But her razor-sharp intelligence and unorthodox rules of engagement allow her to succeed where traditional methods have failed.

On a journey that takes her from Toronto to Seattle to Hong Kong, Bangkok, Guyana, and the British Virgin Islands, Ava encounters everything from the Thai katoey culture to corrupt but helpful law enforcers. But it's in Guyana where she meets her match.

The High Road by Terry Fallis

A brilliant follow-up to the CBC Canada Reads and Stephen Leacock Award-winner The Best Laid Plans, this deeply funny satire continues the story of Honest Angus McLintock, an amateur politician who dares to do the unthinkable: tell the truth.

Just when Daniel Addison thinks he can escape his job as a political aide, Angus McLintock, the no-hope candidate he helped into Parliament, throws icy cold water over his plans. Angus has just brought down the government with a deciding vote. Now the crusty Scot wants Daniel to manage his next campaign.

Terry Fallis's second novel is another wildly entertaining read full of deft political satire and laugh-out-loud comedy.

Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin by John Ralston Saul

Canada has no better interpreter than prolific writer and thinker John Ralston Saul. Here he argues that Canada did not begin in 1867; indeed, its foundation was laid by two visionary men, Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin. The two leaders of Lower and Upper Canada, respectively, worked together after the 1841 Union to lead a reformist movement for responsible government run by elected citizens instead of a colonial governor.

Writing with verve and deep conviction, Saul restores these two extraordinary Canadians to rightful prominence.