Mike Heppner's debut novel is unusual in many ways: for its sheer originality, certainly; for its structure -- over 60 chapters in 26 parts, each part beginning with an almost all black page; for its girth, just under 500 pages; for its subject matter: the Internet and, in sum, the way it has, or hasn't, affected the state of the world. Maybe you'll take issue with the last statement: others, from William Gibson to Jane Hamilton, have written about this in novels. But never like this. Really.

The premise is this: every signal on the Internet is being redirected through one router. The novel is about what ensues -- not in technological terms, but in human ones. It's an bold premise for a novel. And, amazingly, on his first time out, Mike Heppner is up to it. He entertains us, makes us laugh, thrills us, and leaves us different.

Try it out.