* Balfour, Bruce The Forge of Mars
(Ace 0441009549, $6.99, 404pp, pb, September 2002, cover art Jean Pierre Targete, cover design Rita Frangie)
Hard SF/thriller about an expedition to Mars following NASA's discovery of alien artifacts there. A sequel, The Digital Dead, is planned for 2003. The author has a personal website, bruce.balfour.home.mindspring.com/balfour.html, and has set up a site for this book at www.forgeofmars.com, which has a book description, Discussion Questions, maps and photos of Mars, resource links, and much else, including an excerpt from the book. The Amazon page (click title) has mostly positive reader reviews. (Tue 10 Sep 2002)
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* Barnes, John The Duke of Uranium
(Warner Aspect 0446-61081-X, $6.99, 290pp, pb, September 2002, cover illustration Matt Stawicki, cover design Shasti O'Leary/Don Puckey)
SF novel in the spirit of Harry Harrison and Robert A. Heinlein, according to the book cover; about far future high-schoolers who become involved in an interplanetary war. Reviewed by Carolyn Cushman in the August Locus, who says "overall this is a fun romp". The author does not seem to have his own website, but the publisher's page includes an excerpt. (Tue 10 Sep 2002)
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* Betancourt, John Gregory Roger Zelazny's The Dawn of Amber
(ibooks 0-7434-5240-2, $24, hc, September 2002, jacket art Scott Grimando, jacket design Eric Goodman)
Fantasy novel, first in a 'prequel' trilogy to the late Roger Zelazny's popular series of 10 Amber novels, which began with Nine Princes in Amber in 1970 and ended with Prince of Chaos in 1991. (All ten were reprinted as The Great Book of Amber in 1999.) Reader reviews on Amazon (click title) are mostly positive. The publisher has a page about Betancourt. (Wed 4 Sep 2002)
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* Bonanno, Margaret Wander Preternatural3
(Tor 0-312-87760-9, $24.95, 335pp, hc, September 2002)
SF novel, sequel to Preternatural (1996) and Preternatural Too: Gyre (2000), about a human contacted by telepathic aliens. This one is about the aliens' disruption of the timeline and their subsequent involvement with a group of neo-Nazis. The press release has a subtitle, The Third Thing, not in evidence in the finished book itself. Tor's site still has an excerpt from the second book, though nothing about the third. We found a link to an author's website, but it's disabled. The series has been well-reviewed, especially by Gerald Jonas in the New York Times, but generally ignored by SF reviewers, perhaps because of the "knowing parody of the Star Trek industry" angle… (Sat 7 Sep 2002)
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* Brooks, Terry The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Morgawr
(Ballantine Del Rey 0-345-43572-9, $27.95, 401pp, hc, September 2002, jacket illustration Steve Stone, jacket design David Stevenson)
Fantasy novel, conclusion of the Jerle Shannara trilogy that began with Isle Witch in 2000 and Antrax in 2001. The PW review on the Amazon page says "Neither groundbreaking nor recycled, this book is simply a good read". The author's official website has a page linking two excerpts from the book. (Wed 4 Sep 2002)
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* Chambers, Stephen Hope's War
(Tor 0-312-87350-6, $24.95, 333pp, hc, August 2002)
SF novel, sequel to the author's first, Hope's End (2001, noted for being the work of a high school senior), about civil war on a colony planet invaded by aliens. The author's webpage links excerpts from the first book, and a journal. The Amazon page has a brief Library Journal review. (Wed 4 Sep 2002)
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* Cook, Nick The Hunt for Zero Point
(Broadway Books 0-7679-0627-6, $26, 12+291pp, hc, 2002)
Nonfiction book subtitled "Inside the classified world of antigravity technology", by an author who served as aviation editor for Jane's Defence Weekly; with black & white plates, bibliography, index. The book's webpage on AmericanAntigravity.com includes photos, links to an NPR interview, etc. The book has been reviewed at Salon and MSNBC, with a long interview at Atlantic Unbound that covers the obvious, reasonably skeptical queries one would expect of such a book. The Amazon page has Amazon, PW, and Booklist reviews, the former acknowledging the unavoidable pseudo-science angle: "will appeal to techies and Trekkies alike". (Sun 1 Sep 2002)
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* Dietz, William C. EarthRise
(Ace 0-441-00971-9, $23.95, 418pp, hc, September 2002, jacket art Edwin Herder)
SF novel set in the universe of DeathDay (2001), about resistence to invading alien Saurons. No author's page, but we found this interesting page on AllSciFi.com that categorizes the book several dozen ways, including "Descript. Of chases or violence", "Sense of humor", and "Theme: Fight for freedom from", and includes a Harriet Klausner review also found here -- though not on the Amazon page! (Wed 4 Sep 2002)
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* Emshwiller, Carol The Mount
(Small Beer Press 1-931520-03-8, $16, 232pp, tpb, August 2002, cover art Shelley Jackson)
SF novel set several generations after invading alien 'Hoots' have turned most of humanity into 'mounts' bred for speed and beauty and trained with whips and savage bits to do their masters' will, according to the PW review on the Amazon page (click on title). The book cover has blurbs from Kim Stanley Robinson, Molly Gloss, and Glen David Gold, and reviews have appeared in out-of-genre venues such as Salon, while John Clute reviewed the book for SF Weekly. The author's webpage has a biographical essay. Faren Miller reviews this book, and the following collection, in the August issue of Locus. (Sun 1 Sep 2002)
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* Emshwiller, Carol Report to the Men's Club and Other Stories
(Small Beer Press 1-931520-02-x, $16, 270pp, tpb, August 2002, cover art Erica Harris)
SF collection of 19 stories, published simultaneously by Small Beer Press with the novel listed above. The publisher's page links or quotes Clute's and others' reviews, including Faren Miller's from the August Locus. (Sun 1 Sep 2002)
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* Frankowski, Leo Conrad's Time Machine
(Baen 0-7434-3557-5, $24, 343pp, hc, September 2002, cover art David Mattingly, cover design Carol Russo Design)
SF novel, a prequel to Frankowski's popular time-travel series that began with The Cross-Time Engineer in 1986 and are collectively called "Adventures of Conrad Stargard". The publisher's page has links to the author's Foreword and several chapter excerpts. The Amazon page (click title) has the Publishers Weekly (PW) review, which calls it a "sloppy, adolescent prequel … for die-hard fans only." (Wed 4 Sep 2002)
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* Haydon, Elizabeth Requiem for the Sun
(Tor 0-312-87884-2, $27.95, 462pp, hc, September 2002, jacket art Royo, jacket design Carol Russo Design)
Fantasy novel, a stand-alone sequel to the author's 'Rhapsody' trilogy -- Rhapsody (1999), Prophecy (2000), and Destiny (2001). The author's website is a bit out of date, but it has background, genealogies, etc., about the trilogy. The Amazon page (click title or cover image) has a review by Cynthia Ward, and a Booklist review by Roland Green that presumes this book is the first of a new trilogy. (Wed 4 Sep 2002)
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* Kelly, James Patrick Strange But Not a Stranger
(Golden Gryphon Press 1-930846-12-6, $25.95, 13+297pp, hc, September 2002, cover art Bob Eggleton)
SF collection of 15 stories, including Hugo Award-winning "1016 to 1" and one of this year's nominees, "Undone"; plus "Feel the Zaz", "Lovestory", "Glass Cloud", "Chemistry", "The Prisoner of Chillon", etc. Kelly's afterword provides background and story notes. The publisher has this page about the book, while the author's website includes the complete text of "Undone". The Amazon page has the PW review; Gary K. Wolfe reviewed it in the September issue of Locus; and Nick Gevers will have a review of the book soon for Locus Online. (Sun 1 Sep 2002)
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* Kenny, Glenn, ed A Galaxy Not So Far Away
(Owl Books 0-8050-7074-5, $15, 31+222pp, tpb, September 2002, cover design Raquel Jaramillo)
Anthology of 17 essays considering the place of Star Wars in popular culture, on the occasion of the film's 25th anniversary, compiled by an editor for Premiere magazine. Contributors include Jonathan Lethem (about seeing the film 21 times in the summer of 1977), Neal Pollack, film critic Elvis Mitchell, director Kevin Smith, and Onion writer Todd Hanson — definitely not a collection of fan paeans, as at least one disappointed Amazon reader reviewer notes. The publisher has this page of description and quotes. (Wed 4 Sep 2002)
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* McCarthy, Wil, Martin H. Greenberg & John Helfers, eds Once Upon a Galaxy
(DAW 0-7564-0091-0, $6.99, 318pp, pb, September 2002, cover illustration Corbis)
Original anthology of 14 stories that turn classic fairy-tale themes into SF. Authors include Gregory Benford, Paul Di Filippo, Richard Garfinkle, Scott Edelman, Stanley Schmidt, the editor, and Thomas Wylde, whose entry is a sequel to his popular "The Spinning Kingdom" in Asimov's 17 years ago. McCarthy's site has this page about the book. (Wed 4 Sep 2002)
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+ Pavlou, Stel Decipher
(St. Martin's/Thomas Dunne Books 0-312-28075-0, $24.95, 422pp, hc, September 2002)
First US edition (UK: Simon & Schuster May 2001). Contemporary SF thriller in which ancient alien artifacts (composed of Carbon 60) discovered beneath Antarctica trigger typhoons, earthquakes, the rise of Atlantis, and threaten the end of the world, unless the secret of the crystal shards can be decoded in the next week. The PW and Library Journal reviews on the Amazon page are withering, though they do conceded the book is "a semiprecious page-turner" and "might make a middling SF adventure flick"--and in fact, Pavlou is screenwriter of Formula 51, aka The 51st State, due for release in the US October 18. Reader reviews on Amazon mostly dispute the editorial reviews; Harriet Klausner gives it 4 stars. The author's webpage has this description. (Tue 3 Sep 2002)
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* Sladek, John; edited by David Langford Maps: The Uncollected John Sladek
(UK: Big Engine 1-903468-08-6, £9.99, 20+359pp, tpb, July 2002, cover art Deirdre Counihan)
Collection of 59 (or so) previously uncollected stories, poems, playlets, collaborations, etc., by the humorist SF writer best known for The Reproductive System (aka Mechasm), Roderick and its sequel, and short story parodies of other SF writers gathered in The Best of John Sladek. This volume includes two early multiple-choice stories "The Lost Nose: A Programmed Book" and "Alien Territory"; collaborations with Thomas M. Disch such as "Mystery Diet of the Gods: A Revelation"; and nonfiction pieces like "The Profession of Science Fiction 29: Kids! Read Books In Your Spare Time!". The Amazon UK page has back cover copy and a quote from Thomas M. Disch. The publisher's page includes an account by David Langford of compiling the book, and a hypertext version of "The Lost Nose" complete with diagram. (Sun 1 Sep 2002)
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* Viehl, S.L. Eternity Row
(Roc 0-451-45891-5, $6.99, 410pp, pb, September 2002, cover art Jerry Vanderstelt, cover design Ray Lundgren)
SF novel, latest in the "Stardoc" series of medical space operas. The author's webpage has this excerpt. (Wed 4 Sep 2002)
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