"[ Powers is] a grand old oak of American letters: a towering, sturdy figure often overlooked for flashier species. Playground is an enchanting entry point to his work that swings open easily. [ R]eminds, with a spirit of fun and wonder, why the sea?an alien planet within a planet?is so very worth sustained attention. [ T]he late twistwhorled as a seashell, may leave even the highest VO2 max reader gasping a little for air. This is a novel that pries us from our daily hourglass, forcing a hard focus on the sand." -- Alexandra Jacobs - New York Times Book Review "A characterful, capacious and engaging novel. Powers unparalleled gifts for revealing the magic and mystery of the natural world are on full display." -- The 2024 Booker Prize Judges "Ravishing. [ Playground] implores us to open ourselves to the ingenuity of life beyond the human." -- Regina Marler - New York Review of Books "Ambitious, rapturous. A transcendentalist deep dive of a novel. A fabulous exploration." -- Xan Brooks - Guardian "Exhilarating. [ I]ntoxicating. [ A] sprawling parable of a book." -- David L. Ulin - Los Angeles Times "Unexpected and genuinely fascinating. Ingenious tricks and clever devices abound in Powerss fiction, but never before with the provocative implications of the turn in Playground." -- Randy Boyagoda - Atlantic "Richly hued. [ G]orgeous. [ N]o author has done more to turn our gaze outward to the mysteries of the universe, above our heads and below our feet." -- Hamilton Cain - Boston Globe "[ Powers] nimbly hopscotches between the wonders of nature and the marvels and dangers of cutting-edge science. [ B]rims with love for humanity and the planet." -- Heller McAlpin, NPR "Brilliant. Powers draws these stories together in a mind-bending way that will transform the way you see the world." -- Ron Charles, CBS "Book Report" "Paint[ s] the page with colour and refracted light. [ H]ugely ambitious." -- John Self - Financial Times "Powers writes with erudition and electrifying beauty. [ T]rue, indisputable greatness." -- Yagnishsing Dawoor - Guardian "Soaringly imaginative yet firmly grounded[ Playground] deals with the most pressing issues of our time in the most wrenchingly human terms." -- Wendy Smith - National Book Review "History unspools in this luminous journey that interweaves a 3,000-year-old board game, AI and floating cities. [ A]ll-around delightful." -- People "Vivid and ambitiousa love letter to the natural world. Playground is ravishing in its descriptions of an underwater universe as fragile as it is ancient and unyielding." -- Taylor Antrim - Vogue "Powers evokes [ the oceans] ever more fragile splendor with glimmering schools of sensual detail. Ultra-vivid, wildly gripping, and visionary." -- Jonathan Miles - Garden & Gun "Youll never look at the ocean the same way again. Playground isnt merely a great American novel, but a magnificent one. Increasingly grippingbrilliant on the complications of friendshipincandescently beautiful. In a word: wow." -- Nick Duerden - Independent "Magnificent. A provocative exploration of our depths both interior and oceanic." -- Kristin H. Macomber - Washington Independent Review of Books "A richly layered story that examines the intersection of technology, nature, and personal relationships. Powers signature blend of intellectual depth and compelling storytelling shines through. Thought-provoking literature that engages both the mind and heart." -- Chaya Colman and Sophie Ezra - Glamour UK "[ Powers is] the greatest living American novelist. An impressive and warm-hearted book." -- Tom LeClair - Open Letters Review "Inimitable. [ Playground] immers[ es] us in a boundless sense of wonder." -- Emily Choate - Nashville Scene "Is there anything Richard Powers cannot write? The world here is complete, seductive, and promising. The writing feels like the ocean. Vast, mysterious, deep, and alive." -- Percival Everett "An extraordinarily immersive journey through lives linked in mysterious ways?gripping, alarming, and uplifting." -- Emma Donoghue "Powers is a master of taking important topics of our times?from threats to our oceans and climate change to AI?and turning them into riveting and fiercely relevant books imbued with psychological insight and a deep awe for nature. This eloquent dance of the scientific and emotional makes him one of our finest storytellers. Playground is brilliant, captivating, and important?and the best book Ive read this year." -- Andrea Wulf
