David Masiel's second maritime adventure, published in America last December and now just out in Britain, pitches the reader into a cruelworld of betrayal and corruption.
She has obviously internalized its dictates and knows to be careful about what she says and how she says it, even as the stirrings of her own heart begin to lead her away from the cruel utilitarianism of her world.
And so Paul Ryan and all the other Republicans hasten to assure the world that they would never be so cruel as to cut entitlement redistribution schemes: their only goal is to save them.
It is typical of this cruel sport that after a win over Mike Tyson and a brave world title defeat to Vitali Klitschko, Williams is now contemplating the end of his career.