In this ambitious, beautifully written second novel, Heighton re-imagines the fate of Charles Francis Hall's disastrous 1871 Polaris expedition. It's quite a tale, weaving historical accounts (with survivor Lt. George Tyson and his Arctic Experiences at the center) with invention. Read it in tandem with Chauncey Loomis's remarkable Weird and Tragic Shores: The Story of Charles Francis Hall, Explorer.  (ARC183, $22.95)