The Speed of Life launches with a crime so horrific that if the first great tragedians—Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides—had imagined it, no historical record remains to prove it.

From themes as modern as #MeToo to leitmotifs of Greek tragedy, the novel tells the stories of diverse characters who are brought together by the seminal crime and rewards the reader with psychological revelations worthy of Stendhal.

From the courtroom to the swamp primeval to the underpinnings of the universe, James Jordan takes us on a wild ride. This ground-breaking, scientific/philosophical novel is wrapped in a Carl Hiaasen-flavored thriller. Jordan relates cutting-edge theoretical physics to ancient Seminole shamanistic practices and produces a credible explanation of why and how old magical methods may have tangible effects in our world.

At the same time, this novel is sparklingly contemporary, bright and crisp around the edges of its plot, and ingenious in braiding elaborate storylines to bring an extraordinary cast of characters together. And it fires itself forward at a break-neck velocity; this is not a book you will want to put down.

It blends human courage and cruelties with solid astrophysics and with Seminole culture and mythology—resulting in a richness that holds you tightly in its grip.