Books about outer space can be the ultimate escape reading. Through their deliciously rendered explanations of sexy things like supernovas and black holes, we get a chance to fathom a world we can't otherwise conceive of. Moiya McTier, a physicist and folklorist, takes an unusual approach in The Milky Way, giving our galaxy the chance to narrate its own story.

I was initially skeptical of this concept, especially when I saw how often the Milky Way refers to human ignorance as a running theme throughout the book:

"That human-centric mindset will just make it harder for you to understand all that I am going to deign to teach you. If your question was more like, 'How can the Milky Way talk to me,' well, it's not like human language is that hard to learn. You're such simple creatures."

But the more I read, the more I liked it. As the book progresses, the tone becomes more ...