One of the Philippine Daily Inquirer's Top 10 Books of 2014 A NewPages Book Stand Editor's Pick "Darkly spellbinding...With a keen eye for splendor amid the grotesque, Gamalinda writes with a poet's heart and a philosopher's mind, while enthralling readers with emotional, gritty storytelling." --Booklist "A mesmerizing story full of mystery...intricate...beautiful writing." --Publishers Weekly "It's Gamalinda's best and most accessible novel yet, deserving to be read by as many people as possible." --Philippine Daily Inquirer "It felt so easy to get swept up in this novel. The language is beautiful....a beautifully written book." --NewPages "The wait for Gamalinda's first US based publication was well worth [it]...An indispensable, powerful portrayal of broken families trapped in the centripetal forces of transnational capital and postcolonial politics." --Asian American Literature Fans "Gamalinda...does indeed write fearlessly...in rich, unflinching prose. This storytelling stayed with me...I was compelled to keep reading by the strength of the writing (it's not for nothing that Gamalinda is the recipient of the Philippine National Book Award, a Palanca Memorial Award, and a Philippine Centennial Prize)." --Galatea Ressurects #24 "I recommend this book to those with large, giving hearts, who can afford to spend the emotional capital demanded here." --Basso Profundo "The Descartes Highlands is a psychologically taut drama that unravels right in front of you...I guarantee that you will be richly rewarded." --Zachary Mule "Behind Eric Gamalinda's jagged, ice-pick prose is an urgent need to connect and to understand. Are we more than the sum of our histories? What is this accident of being? Why is there anything at all? Written at the edge of a sinkhole and determined to resist its pull, The Descartes Highlands is about nothing less than the whole bewildering dream that is human consciousness." --David Hollander, author of L.I.E. "No one writes like Eric Gamalinda, though we wish we all could. The Descartes Highlands, an amazing work of brutal candor girded by a philosopher's calm, entwines our present despair with the horrific pasts we will not escape. One of the most dazzling novelists writing in America today, Eric Gamalinda has an almost classical Greek faith in the redemptive power of art. This novel delivers a commitment to beauty as unflinching as the bleak truths it tells--about globalization, about colonialism, about our human madness--offering in turn what seems our only, paradoxical hope: the pained telling of our story--a gorgeous and bitter feast." --Gina Apostol, author of Gun Dealers' Daughter Two men, each unaware of the other, share a common family secret: they were sold for adoption by their American father shortly after their births in the Philippines. Three alternating stories interweave the experiences of father Andrew Breszky and the two sons who try to connect and piece together the puzzle of their reckless, impulsive father. One lives in New York and the other grows up in the south of France, later traveling all over Asia as a documentary filmmaker. Both will discover that their relationships somehow echo that of the young man whose history eludes them. Celebrated Filipino writer Eric Gamalinda's international debut novel is a contemporary work of ideas that combines mystery, film noir, and existential philosophy. Highly intricate and written in a style reminiscent of the maverick narrative techniques of such filmmakers as Andrei Tarkovsky and Béla Tarr, and with some of the philosophical underpinnings of Michel Houellebecq or Javier Marías. Named after the region of the moon where Apollo 16 landed in the same year these men were born, The Descartes Highlands demonstrates that for lives marked by unrelieved loneliness, the only hope lies in the redemptive power of love.

Her truth is more deadly than his revenge... Lucas Grafton has spent the last ten years hunting the Conclave, a secret organization who took everything from him: his wife, his child, his very identity. Now he has a lead—an imminent terrorist attack on London—code-named Descartes. Born with a genetic illness, Jenna Young has always known she was different. But the unexpected death of her father catapults her into a world of murder and terrorism she never expected. In order to stay alive, she must solve a twenty-five year old mystery—and her only ally a hard bitter man in search or retribution, her only clue the Descartes Highlands, an area on the near side of the moon. Luke's need for revenge collides with Jenna's hunt for the past, and together they must stand against the Conclave. All the while uncovering the truth behind Jenna's illness, a truth that will make Jenna question her very humanity.

A woman with a rare genetic illness must uncover her connection to a terrorist group before their next attack in this exciting new bio-thriller from the author of Disease X. Lucas Grafton has spent the last ten years hunting the Conclave, a secret organization who took everything from him, including his very identity. Now he has a lead—an imminent terrorist attack on London—code-named “Descartes”. But he can’t connect the dots until a seemingly innocent woman appears during his stakeout. Jenna Young can’t believe she was attacked and barely escaped with her life. Now she’s on the run with a stranger...and racing against the clock. With only a note left by her father after his death, telling her to use the code-word “Descartes” to get the pills that slow the progression of her illness, Jenna has only days before her body will start to rapidly deteriorate. Lucas and Jenna must piece together why she’s wanted by a terrorist group she’s never heard of. And why, despite her claims that she needs an unknown and presumably illegal drug to stay alive, she seems to be getting stronger by the day...

Preliminary results of Apollo 16 investigations.