I thought I had read all of Eco’s novels until I stumbled upon this in a used book shop (quite apt, if you’re familiar with Eco). Eco returns to one of his favorite themes, conspiracy theories. A down and out journalist signs on for a secretive project, a new newspaper that writes articles speculating about the future. It is a short tale told mostly through pitches the journalists have for the newspaper. Set in 1992 Milan, the articles and conversations revolve around Italian politics and culture of that time, and because of that it was easy to get lost since I don’t know the cultural references. The theories are outlandish, but only enough so to leave a hint of possible credibility. Eco ends quite poignantly, as one would expect, and overall delivers a nice post-modern morality drama. Unfortunately, I don’t think it will have much appeal beyond Eco fans. It’s fine, but it wouldn’t stand out in a crowd. If you love Eco, you’ll enjoy this as long as you keep reasonable expectations. If you haven’t read him, go read The Name of the Rose or Foucault’s Pendulum first.