* Bray, Patricia : Final Sacrifice
(Bantam Spectra 978-0-553-58878-1, $6.99, 357pp, mass market paperback, July 2008, cover art Steve Stone)

Fantasy novel, third in the "Chronicles of Josan" trilogy following The First Betrayal (2006) and The Sea Change (2007), about a monk whose soul is shifted into the body of a rebellious prince, who now embarks on a sea voyage to seek a cure for the spell that binds them.
• Bantam's site has this description and an excerpt, plus a new "Browse and Search" function to view pages of the book.
• The author's site has a description and excerpt.
• Amazon has several posts from the author. The Publishers Weekly review notes that the book "stands surprisingly well on its own" and concludes "amiable storytelling and brisk pacing make this an agreeable summer read".

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* Brust, Steven : Jhegaala
(Tor 978-0-7653-0147-5, $24.95, 300pp, hardcover, July 2008, jacket art Stephen Hickman)

Fantasy novel, 11th in the series about Vlad Taltos, following Dzur (2006). In this book Taltos encounters trouble while seeking out distant relatives.
• Tor's website has this description. Brust's Wikipedia entry describes the series and lists the previous books.
• Amazon's 'search inside' function includes an excerpt. The Publishers Weekly review calls it "a classic private eye thriller", and concludes "Longtime fans may miss familiar surroundings and characters, but will enjoy the trip into Taltos's family's past; newcomers will appreciate the noir touches and benefit from Brust's deft touch with exposition."
• Carolyn Cushman reviews the book in the June issue of Locus Magazine.

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* Campbell, Jack : The Lost Fleet: Valiant
(Ace 978-0-441-01619-8, $7.99, 15+284pp, mass market paperback, July 2008, cover art Peter Bollinger)

Military SF novel, fourth in the "Lost Fleet" series following Dauntless, Fearless, and Courageous, about an Alliance Fleet in enemy territory.
• The author is John G. Hemry writing as Jack Campbell. His website has a description and an excerpt.
• Cynthia Ward reviewed the book for Sci Fi Weekly, grading it B: "Jack Campbell does a good job of fulfilling the requirements of both military SF and hard SF in The Lost Fleet: Valiant, and the novel will please fans of both forms." Though she notes that the series "may not gain a broad readership [because of] its fidelity to scientific fact. Campbell's believable, physics-governed interstellar warfare differs notably from media SF's quick and flashy space battles..."

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* Davidson, MaryJanice : Undead and Unworthy
(Berkley 978-0-425-22162-4, $23.95, 285pp, hardcover, June 2008, jacket illustration Don Sipley)

Humorous romantic fantasy novel, seventh book in the "Queen Betsy (Undead)" series following Undead and Unwed, Undead and Unemployed, Undead and Unappreciated (2005), Undead and Unreturnable (2005), Undead and Unpopular (2006), and Undead and Uneasy (2007). This book concerns Betsy's husband and feral vampires.
• The publisher's site has a brief description.
• The author's site has this page about the series
• Amazon has mixed reader reviews.

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* Dozois, Gardner, ed. : The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-fifth Annual Collection
(St. Martin's 978-0-312-37859-2, $35, 51+652pp, hardcover, July 2008, jacket illustration Donato Giancola)

Anthology of 32 stories first published in 2007, plus a 39-page "Summation: 2006", and 10 pages of 'honorable mentions' at the end.
• Contents include both stories that just tied for this year's Theodore Sturgeon Award, David Moles' "Finisterra" and Elizabeth Bear's "Tideline", as well as Ted Chiang's Nebula winner "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate", Hugo nominated stories (in addition to these three) "Glory" by Greg Egan and "Last Contact" by Stephen Baxter, plus others by Ken MacLeod, Ian McDonald, Robert Silverberg, Bruce Sterling, Michael Swanwick, Brian Stableford, Tom Purdom, and Gregory Benford.
• The book is also available in trade paperback.
• The Publishers Weekly review notes that "In a detailed introduction, Dozois credits online magazines, small press collections and several new annual original anthology series with making it a banner year for short science fiction."
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews the book, along with Hartwell & Cramer's Year's Best SF 13, in the upcoming August issue of Locus Magazine, concluding that the two of them comprise "a portrait of a field in fine imaginative health, but one in constant dialogue between sophistication and accessibility, between concept and execution, between dazzle and sentiment."

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* Due, Tananarive : Blood Colony
(Atria 978-0-7432-8735-7, $25, 422pp, hardcover, June 2008)

SF thriller, third in the "African Immortals" series following My Soul to Keep (1997) and The Living Blood (2001), about a secret clan of African immortals. In this book the immortals' magical blood, which heals illnesses and provides immortality, is the key ingredient in the drug Glow, a source of conflict in the Middle East.
• The publisher's site has this description and an excerpt.
• Due's site also has an excerpt, and a link to her blog.
• Publishers Weekly's starred review, from its April 28th issue, calls it "profoundly moving" and concludes that "Due brings Fana's complex and passionate story to life with her trademark flair."

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* Edelman, David Louis : MultiReal
(Pyr 978-1-59102-647-1, $15, 522pp, trade paperback, July 2008, cover illustration Stephan Martiniere)

SF novel, sequel to Infoquake (2006) and second book of the "Jump 225" trilogy, about technology to program the human body. In this book MultiReal entrepeneur Natch faces threats from government legislation and business rivals.
• Pyr's website has this description with excerpts from reviews, and points to series site http://www.multireal.net/, with excerpts, a glossary, a timeline, and much else.
• Amazon has posts by the author. The Publishers Weekly review summarizes the book thusly: "A sly variation on the traditional cyberpunk novel, Edelman's sequel to 2006's Infoquake views a stunning new technology through the eyes of the cutthroat executives vying to market it..."
• New Locus Magazine reviewer Paul Witcover covers the book in the July issue; "This novel begs to be considered as a piece of science fiction and as a political screed. As SF, it's a brilliant imagining of a near-future that not only extrapolates convincingly from current technology and culture but fills in the gaps with world-building so detailed as to verge on the tedious. Thankfully, for those who missed Infoquake, or simply require a refresher course, the author supplies no less than eight appendices." And he concludes "As cliffhangers go, the novel ends on a doozy sure to leave readers wishing for their own MultiReal programs, just to run through all the iterations of how the saga could turn out."

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* Evans, Chris : A Darkness Forged in Fire
(Pocket 978-1-4165-7051-6, $26, 419pp, hardcover, July 2008)

Fantasy novel, Book One of the Iron Elves and the author's first novel, about exiled mercenary Konowa Swift Dragon, whose services are sought to deal with the Red Star, which heralds the return of magic.
• The publisher's site has this description and an excerpt.
• Author's site Iron Elves includes a PDF excerpt, and author interview, news, and a link to the author's blog.

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* Gischler, Victor : Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse
(Touchstone 978-1-4165-5225-3, $14, 324pp, trade paperback, July 2008)

Humorous apocalyptic SF novel, set nine years after the end of the world, in which one-time insurance salesman Mortimer Tate sets off to find the lost city of Atlanta.
• The author has previously published four crime novels. The publisher's site has this description and an excerpt.
• The Publishers Weekly review said "Guns, girls and alcohol occupy almost every inch of this raucous thrill ride... Despite the frontier violence and sketchy plot, the humor of this armageddon western is woven deeply enough to keep Mortimer's adventures feeling like a party."

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* Heinlein, Robert A. : Project Moonbase and Others
(Subterranean Press 978-1-59606-186-6, $75, 546pp, hardcover, July 2008, jacket illustration Bob Eggleton)

Collection of film and TV scripts, including the title screenplay for the 1953 film Project Moonbase, and script adaptations of 11 early Heinlein stories, including "The Black Pits of Luna", "Requiem", "And He Built a Crooked House", and "We Also Walk Dogs". There are also two story outlines, "Home Sweet Home" and "The Tourist", for a projected TV series called The World Beyond. John Scalzi provides an introduction.
• The publisher's site has this order page with a description and table of contents. It notes that this volume is the first of "a two volume set that will contain virtually the last unpublished material by Robert A. Heinlein." This is a limited edition of 750, signed by Scalzi and cover artist Eggleton.
• This Heinlein Archives post notes the title script's origins as the pilot script for The World Beyond pilot script, subsequently expanded by the film's producer after the TV series didn't sell. Netflix's entry for the film has numerous interesting viewer reactions.
• The Amazon page for this book has a lengthy reader review by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat), focusing (like the Netflix reviewers) on the datedness of the stories and their gender attitudes; he concluded "This one is strictly for the Heinlein dyed-in-the-wool fan and historical scholars."

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* Lisle, Holly : Hawkspar
(Tor 978-0-7653-0994-5, $27.95, 480pp, hardcover, June 2008, jacket art Adam Rex)

Fantasy novel, second book subtitled "A Novel of Korre" after Talyn (2005). This book concerns a slave tracker seeking his sister, who is being transformed into Hawkspar, a demigoddess who can change the flow of time.
• Tor's website has this page for the book with a description.
• The author's website has this page for the series, with links to maps, alphabets, floorplans, ship diagrams, etc.
• Amazon has Harriet Klausner's 4-star reader review.

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* Liu, Marjorie : The Iron Hunt
(Ace 978-0-441-01606-8, $7.99, 305pp, mass market paperback, July 2008, cover art Craig White)

Urban fantasy novel, first in the "Hunter Kiss" series, about demon hunter Maxine Kiss, whose tattoos are her armor against the demons who threaten humanity.
• The author's website has description, which notes that the book is a sequel to novella "Hunter Kiss", published in 2007 anthology Wild Thing.
• The publisher's website features the author and has this brief description of the book.

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* Novik, Naomi : Victory of Eagles
(Ballantine Del Rey 978-0-345-49688-1, $25, 332pp, hardcover, July 2008, jacket illustration Craig D. Howell)

Fantasy novel, fifth in the Temeraire series about dragons used as weapons during the Napoleonic Wars, following the initial trilogy His Majesty's Dragon, Black Powder War, and Throne of Jade, which collectively won the Locus Award for Best First Novel, and fourth book Empire of Ivory (2007). This book is the first of the series to appear in hardcover.
• In this book, dragon Temeraire and his captain Will Laurence struggle to reunite to battle the imminent invasion of London by Napoleon.
• Del Rey's site has this description and an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly's starred review, from its May 19th issue, concludes "Followers of Temeraire's travels will be richly rewarded by the satisfying conclusion of [Laurence's] return to home ground, but may wonder where Novik can go from here."
• Carolyn Cushman reviewed the book in the June issue of Locus Magazine: "If, once again, the conclusion finds things looking dire for our heroes, we have the joy of knowing they'll be back in the next installment of this delightful fantasy alternate history series."

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* Sarath, Patrice : Gordath Wood
(Ace 978-0-441-01641-9, $7.99, 328pp, mass market paperback, July 2008, cover art Aleta Rafton)

Fantasy novel, the author's first novel, about two women, presumed murdered, who've actually been transported to a medieval alternate world.
• The publisher's description is also on the Amazon page.
• And on the author's page. The author's site also has an excerpt.

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* Turtledove, Harry : The Valley-Westside War
(Tor 978-0-765-31487-1, $24.95, 285pp, hardcover, July 2008)

Alternate history novel, sixth in the "Crosstime Traffic" series following Gunpowder Empire (2003), Curious Notions (2004), In High Places (2005), The Disunited States of America (2006), and The Gladiator (2007).
• This book, set 130 years after nuclear war between the US and Soviet Union, is set in a divided Los Angeles where war breaks out between the Westside area near UCLA and the San Fernando Valley, focusing on Liz, the daughter of trader Jeff Mendoza from the home time line.
• Tor's website has this description.
• The Publishers Weekly review calls the book "thought-provoking" and concludes "Turtledove subtly challenges Liz's assumptions about the superiority of her own culture, raising the question of the home time line's responsibility to help the people of other lines, but leaving it for presumed sequels to answer."
• Steven H Silver has this review: "In many ways, The Valley-Westside War provides a nice change in pace for the series... While many young adult novels teach that actions have consequences, in The Valley-Westside War, Turtledove notes that sometimes consequences are the result of blind luck or the situations one finds oneself in. The important thing is how a person responds to those consequences..."

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