What if Reformation never happened, Roman Catholic Church rules over the Western world, and all forms of technology save for steam engine are forbidden? Keith Roberts's Pavane (Old Earth Books, $17) depicts this alternative history through a series of six loosely interconnected stories, followed by a coda. The characters range from a heretic monk to a Lady who sets in motion a revolution. This 1968 science fiction classic has recently been reissued in a lovely deckle-edged edition and reviewed by Michael Dirda, who called it 'one of the most thought-filled, a book with the glowing but somber majesty of a stained-glass window, constructed from the most disparate bits and fragments, from the tesserae of multiple lives.' It is an exquisite work of fiction that transcends genre, and I would recommend it even if science fiction is not your usual fare. It is the book to read slowly, savor, and contemplate.