Oceans and the Stars

Mark Helprin, the #1 New York Times, best-selling author of Winter’s Tale and A Soldier ofthe Great War, has returned with a fast-paced, beautifully written novel about the majesty of the sea; a life dedicated to duty, honor, and country; and the gift of falling in loveWhen Stephen Rensselaer, a Navy captain near the end of his career, is called upon to defend the politically doomed development of a variant of the Navy’s smallest ship, he does so without hesitation, thereby alienating the President of the United States. The program is cancelled after its first prototype, Athena, Patrol Coastal 15, and Rensselaer—his place on the promotion list for admiral all but forgotten—is given command, an intended humiliation for someone of his rank. Rather than resign, he carries on, and while supervising Athena’s fitting out in New Orleans, encounters a brilliant lawyer, Katy Farrar, with whom he falls in love. After failed marriages for both, this is a completely unexpected and exhilarating last chance. Soon thereafter, he is deployed to the Persian Gulf. However, while refueling and taking on provisions in Israel, he discovers that his mission has been changed, which subjects his integrity, morality, and skill to the ultimate test, and ensures that Athena will live forever in the annals of the Navy. As in the Odyssey, Katy is the force that keeps Rensselaer alive and the beacon that lights the way home through seven battles, mutiny, and court martial. In classic literary form, an enthralling new novel that extolls the virtues of living by the laws of conscience, decency, and sacrifice, The Oceans and the Stars is nothing short of a masterpiece.