Playground

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 story tellers. PLAYGROUND is brilliant, captivating and important -- Andrea Wulf Along with its environmental warnings, the book carries an intriguing look at the ways people and animals play, as in the boys’ competitive chess, the antics of manta rays, the allure of computer games, and what a meta-minded author might do with his readers. An engaging, eloquent message for this fragile planet. * Kirkus starred review * 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 This ambitious, rapturous Booker-longlisted epic explores life underwater, generative AI, climate crisis and the power of play * Guardian *