"Jack London in Paradise" by Paul Malmont; Simon & Schuster, 386 pages, $25

Writing about Hawai'i within the context of history offers writers less chance of error and more artistic leeway.

In his new historical novel "Jack London in Paradise," Paul Malmont soars on the wings of London's personal history, the first fictional work about this American literature icon, set against the backdrop of early 1900s Hawai'i. London is presented as a riveting hero — macho, adventurous and inherently curious even while struggling with illness and financial trouble in the final months of his life.

As if that re-imagined life weren't enjoyable enough, Malmont also courageously — though at times romantically — resurrects Hawaiian life, complete with a captivating Queen Lili'uokalani, Duke's beachboys, surfing, Kamehameha I's Nu'uanu Pali battle and more. Malmont even matches London's adventurousness with his own via insinuations about who was responsible for London's death, and whether London's wolf nature lives on in the Islands today.

Perfectly detailed and well researched, the novel offers entry to a complete and irresistible dream where following one's passion delivers the world.

"The Scent of Sake" by Joyce Lebra; Avon, 366 pages, $13.99

Raised in Honolulu as a child, author and Asia-Pacific authority Joyce Lebra brings Japan to life in her novel "The Scent of Sake," a sweeping saga set throughout changing times at the advent of the Meiji era.

The novel's plot and setting are anchored to the House of Omura, a top sake-brewing dynasty in Koba, and centers on Rie, the only daughter. Though Lebra's prose is initially repetitive and awkward, and the narrator often ineffectively invades other characters' perspectives or abruptly shifts time and topics, once the book settles into Rie's character and perspective, the novel flows.

As Rie grows up, navigating her family's business alongside rules of marriage and succession, the history and intricacies of the sake-brewing culture captivate and delight. Rie is consistently a courageous, stubborn, tenacious protagonist one can't resist following to the end, and Lebra's fresh look at a time-honored Japanese tradition offers welcome insight as well as entertainment.

"Between the Deep Blue Sea and Me" by Lurline Wailana McGregor; Kamehameha, 153 pages, $15

Stories don't lend themselves to every medium, and by basing "Between the Deep Blue Sea and Me" on an original screenplay, Lurline McGregor creates a considerable challenge — making something designed to be seen work as a readable novel. The resulting narrative is filmic and loaded with dialogue, though it isn't always effective. McGregor often tells readers what her characters feel and want rather than dramatizing scenes, and though the stage is set for Moana Kawelo, an ambitious Hawaiian museum curator in Los Angeles estranged from her family and culture, and her father, who consciously chose a Western path over a Hawaiian one, there's no major character development or plot depth.

Moments when McGregor lets go are vivid and evocative, particularly passages that flash back to past events and memories, or that incorporate real-time illustrations of culture such as 'aumakua guardians, revealing the essential value of Moana's struggle to reconnect to Hawaiian culture.

If readers can wade through awkward prose such as characters continually "thinking to themselves," the story will resonate as portraying a vital dilemma that every Hawaiian faces. Otherwise, the story may shine much more brightly as first devised — on the screen.