h+ Magazine

Mac Montandon's Jetpack Dreams (Da Capo, $25.00, 272 pages) centers its propulsive pursuits around the solipsistic question, “Where's my jetpack?” An answer, no doubt unsatisfactory to those who also long for the flying car, can be found between the crevices of our cultural touchstones.

A moment of speculation, rooted in a study of universal trends: human history can be defined as development along any of numerous axes, but my preferred storyfor- our-species is of an advance in mind control technologies.

Warren Ellis will, if pushed, write about ordinary people. Take “Crecy.” It’s a novella that details every horrible technique ordinary British people used to give two fingers to the French nobility -- especially the longbow.