Matthew Hughes’ HESPIRA is a delightful mix of Poul Anderson straightforward science fiction, Stanislaw Lem-like humor and creativity, and a generous dash of James Grippando’s ironic and quick-paced style of mystery. This is Hughes’ third novel featuring the discriminator (read: investigator) Henghis Hapthorn, and while it is my first exposure to the series, I am eager to read the rest.

In this tale, Hapthorn accidentally stumbles into a woman who has lost all of her memories. She has no idea who she is, nor any thoughts about her past or future. Hapthorn, though decidedly not interested in her in a romantic way, feels obligated to protect her somehow and, in turn, find out her identity.

What follows is a picaresque adventure as he slowly ferrets out certain details that help him discover her origins, all of which of course leads him and his companions into grave danger. Hapthorn knows that the future of his world is doomed, its rational underpinnings soon to be destroyed by those of sympathetic association, or magic.

The rules are going to be turned upside-down and magic will rule the universe. He’s already experienced some of this, as his own intuition, his actual insight, has departed Hapthorn’s body and come to life as a wizard named Osk Reivor. Thankfully, they remain friends.

It’s that level of strangeness in the story that reminds me somewhat of Lem’s almost limitless imagination. Hughes has the panache to put all of this across to the reader without it seeming made up along the way. There is much to like here in this series, and here’s hope that more books are on the way. —Mark Rose

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