April-May 2004

Dystopian SF novel by the Canadian author of The Handmaid's Tale (1985), well received by literary critics though somewhat controversial among genre observers due to Atwood's repeated insistence that her novel is not science fiction (which is about "monsters and spaceships").
• The Amazon page has Publishers Weekly and other reviews. www.oryxandcrake.com leads to a Random House site, with an interview, essay, excerpt, etc.
(Thu 1 Apr 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Fantasy novel based on the ancient Indian epic The Ramayana; the first US/UK publication by a Bombay-based writer who's already published several novels in India. The publisher's site has this excerpt and interview.
• This novel was Claude Lalumière's favorite fantasy novel in his Best of 2003 essay.
(Tue 4 May 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Fantasy novel, second in the "Viscount of Adrilanka" series following The Paths of the Dead (2002), described by the Booklist review (on Amazon) as a "pastiche of Dumas' musketeers saga". Amazon has the Publishers Weekly and Booklist reviews. The third novel, Sethra Lavode, has just been published.
(Fri 23 Apr 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Fantasy novel, second in the "Winds of the Forelands" tetralogy, following Seeds of Betrayal (2002). The author's webpage has this page about the book, with some lengthy excerpts. An interview with the author is posted at www.suite101.com.
(Tue 4 May 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Anthology of 15 stories and 3 poems, all original, with illustrations by Charles Vess, about "the spirit who stands for Nature in its most wild and untamed form". Contributors include Neil Gaiman, Charles de Lint, Tanith Lee, Gregory Maguire, and Jeffrey Ford.
• Winner of the 2003 World Fantasy Award for best anthology.
(Tue 4 May 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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YA novel about a future in which human laborers have computer chips in their brains to insure docility, according to the review on Amazon by Patty Campbell.
• Winner of a 2002 National Book Award
• Locus Magazine interviewed Nancy Farmer in its January 2004 issue.
(Tue 4 May 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Fantasy novel, first in the "Conclave of Shadows" series. The second book, King of Foxes, has just been published
• The publisher's site has a description and excerpt.
(Thu 1 Apr 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Fantasy novel, Book One of "The Kingdoms of Thorn & Bone", set on a world inhabited by humans who've been unwillingly transported there by aliens.
• Carolyn Cushman's review in the Feburary '03 issue of Locus Magazine noted that while "Keyes has gone to a lot of work in creating this rich world", "the story is really just getting started when this first volume ends".
• The publisher's website has this excerpt with links.
(Thu 1 Apr 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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SF novel concerning human colonists on a distant planet who discover primitive humanoid aliens there, and eventually become involved in interstellar war.
• Kress's website (which still employs some weird, irritating browser-window resizing instruction) has this page about the book, with links to Prologue and Chapter 1 excerpts.
• Russell Letson's review in the March 2003 issue of Locus Magazine hoped for a sequel.
• The Amazon page has reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Harriet.
(Tue 4 May 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Fantasy novel set in a parallel England where the discovery of "aether" has changed the world and brought about the Third Age of Industry.
• Comparing the book's setting to Dickens and its sensibility to Mervyn Peake's, Faren Miller's review in the June 2003 issue of Locus Magazine "can only suggest a fraction of what's going on in this work that also encompasses the mysteries of love, adulthood, disillusionment, fantastic beings and fantastic wealth, and much more."
• The author's webpage includes a description and extract.
(Thu 1 Apr 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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SF novel, a "planet-hopping Old West romance" according to the Publishers Weekly review reproduced on the Amazon page; sequel to Santiago (1986).
(Tue 4 May 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Collection of 22 stories, including three Aurora Award winners, with an introduction by James Alan Gardner.
• Sawyer's website has this description and table of contents.
(Fri 12 Mar 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Alternate history novel, set in 1946 and 2009, in a North America that Europeans never discovered.
• Alyx Dellamonica's review in the January 2003 issue of Locus Magazine called it "a novel of complex landscapes, both moral and geographical". The Publishers Weekly review, on the Amazon page, calls it "mesmerizing".
• Stirling's website links to sample chapters.
(Thu 1 Apr 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Alternate history SF novel, latest in the "American Empire" series following Blood & Iron (2001) and The Center Cannot Hold (2002), themselves sequels to the earlier "Great War" sequence of four novels.
• Amazon has the starred PW and starred Booklist reviews.
(Tue 4 May 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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SF novel, a near-future space thriller about "seven suburban misfits" near Daytona who plan to build a spaceship to beat the Chinese to Mars; it's dedicated to Spider Robinson and Robert A. Heinlein among others.
• Publishers Weekly's March 31st issue gives it a starred review, which is reproduced on the Amazon page.
• Other online reviews include Faith L. Justice's at Strange Horizons, Mark L. Olson's at NESFA, and two reviews at Rambles.
(Tue 4 May 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Fantasy novel, a single-volume epic, about a contemporary San Francisco man who discovers the world of an industralized Faerie.
• Carolyn Cushman's review in the June 2003 issue of Locus called it "a masterpiece of fairytale worldbuilding".
• Williams' Shadowmarch website has some excerpts on the sneak peeks page.
(Tue 4 May 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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SF novel, first in the "Dragonback" series, concerning a man who has a symbiotic dragon on his back. The Amazon page has a description.
• The sequel, Dragon and Soldier, is due in June.
(Tue 13 Apr 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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