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Playground

by Richard Powers
Playground
Playground

Ocean-spanning literary puzzle of humanity and futures

If you like big, idea-rich novels that still feel intimate, this could really stay with you. Richard Powers blends friendship, AI, ecology, and empire into something sweeping but emotionally grounded, with Makatea giving the story a haunting, unforgettable center. It feels like the kind of book readers admire for being both intellectually daring and deeply human.

  • Booker Prize Nominee for Longlist (2024)
  • Audie Award Nominee for Audiobook of the Year (2025)
  • The Rooster -- The Morning News Tournament of Books Nominee for Longlist (2025)
  • Libby Award Nominee for Best Adult Fiction (2025)
Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

Playground

by Richard Powers
Condition guide

Book Condition Guide

Books in Like New Condition

This book may contain very minor cosmetic defects, but it is in pristine condition. There should be no yellowing, no foxing, no water damage, and no annotations of any kind on the cover and the pages. For paperbacks, there should not be any crease marks on the spine. This book is good as new — lucky you!

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Very Good Condition

This book has been used, but it is still in a clean condition. There should be no foxing or annotations of any kind on the inner pages, but a sparse amount may be present on the cover, title pages, or outside edges of the book. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be light crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Good Condition

We do our best to ensure the quality of our books, but there is no escaping the wear and tear that comes with time. Slight foxing and some annotations may be present on the pages and the cover. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be several crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Well Read Condition

This is a well-read book, which means that the previous owner probably really enjoyed it! The cover and pages may include moderate foxing and annotations, but the text is not obscured and still readable. Moderate cosmetic defects and minor water damage may be present on the edges of the book. For paperbacks, there may be multiple crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

 

Find out more about our process here.

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ISBN: 9781529154320
Authors: Richard Powers
Publisher: Hutchinson Heinemann
Date of Publication: 2024-09-26
Format: Paperback
Related Collections: Literary Fiction, Science Fiction, Contemporary
Related Topics: Speculative Fiction, Adventure, Literature, Philosophy
Goodreads rating: 4.14
(rated by 47907 readers)

Description

Rafi and Todd are two polar opposites at an elite high school where they bond over a three-thousand-year-old board game. It sets them up for life: Rafi will get lost in literature, while Todd’s work will lead to a startling AI breakthrough. Elsewhere, Evie Beaulieu sinks to the bottom of a swimming pool in Montreal strapped to one of the world’s first aqualungs; Ina Aroita grows up in naval bases across the Pacific with art as her only home. All of these people meet on the history-scarred island of Makatea in French Polynesia, marked for humanity’s next great adventure: a plan to send floating, autonomous cities out into the open sea. As the seasteaders close in, how will Evie play the ever-unfolding oceanic game? Will Ina engage in acts of destruction? Todd and Rafi, now estranged, still find themselves in competition: Todd unravels while working on an idea to redraw the boundaries of human immortality, while Rafi and the residents must decide if they will greenlight the new project on their shores and change their home forever. Set in the world’s largest ocean, Playground explores that last wild place we have yet to colonize and interweaves profound themes of technology and the environment, and a deep exploration of our shared humanity in a way only Richard Powers can.
 

Ocean-spanning literary puzzle of humanity and futures

If you like big, idea-rich novels that still feel intimate, this could really stay with you. Richard Powers blends friendship, AI, ecology, and empire into something sweeping but emotionally grounded, with Makatea giving the story a haunting, unforgettable center. It feels like the kind of book readers admire for being both intellectually daring and deeply human.

  • Booker Prize Nominee for Longlist (2024)
  • Audie Award Nominee for Audiobook of the Year (2025)
  • The Rooster -- The Morning News Tournament of Books Nominee for Longlist (2025)
  • Libby Award Nominee for Best Adult Fiction (2025)
Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.