New Books: May 1998

Key: * = first edition, + = first US edition. Date with publisher info is official publication month; date in parentheses at paragraph end is date seen or received.

Bradley, Marion Zimmer Lady of Avalon (Roc 0-451-45652-1, 13.95, xiv+460pp, tpb, Jun 1998) First paperback edition of the prequel to The Mists of Avalon and sequel to The Forest House. (20 May 1998)

* Brin, David The Transparent Society (Addison Wesley 0-201-32802-x, $25.00, 378pp, hc, Apr 1998) Brin's first nonfiction book is about the conflict between privacy and freedom in the digital age. Brin advocates 'reciprocal transparency' -- everyone should be able to see everyone else. This is an idea Brin has touched on in some of his fiction, e.g. ''Privacy'' from F&SF Sep '89. Comes with cover blurbs from K. Eric Drexler, Stewart Brand, Howard Rheingold, and others. (19 May 1998)

* Greenberg, Martin H. & John Helfers, eds. Black Cats and Broken Mirrors (DAW 0-88677-788-7, $5.99, 316pp, pb, Jun 1998, cover by Jean-Francois Podevin) Original anthology of 17 stories about superstitions, by Esther Friesner, Charles de Lint, Peter Crowther, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, and others. (20 May 1998)

Hamilton, Laurell K. Nightseer (Roc 0-451-45143-0, $5.99, 303pp, pb) Reprint (Roc, 1992) of the author's first novel. A half-elf child seeks revenge on the evil witch who murdered her mother. (20 May 1998)

* Kiernan, Caitlín R. Silk (Roc 0-451-45668-8, $6.50, 353pp, pb, Jun 1998, cover by Victor Stabin) Debut dark fantasy novel with blurbs by Neil Gaiman, Peter Straub, Clive Barker, and Poppy Z. Brite. (20 May 1998)

* Patton, Fiona The Painter Knight (DAW 0-88677-780-1, $6.99, 522pp, pb, Jun 1998, cover by Jody A. Lee) Second novel in a fantasy series that began with The Stone Prince (DAW Apr '97). (20 May 1998)

* Reichert, Mickey Zucker The Children of Wrath (DAW 0-88677-785-2, $24.95, 516pp, hc, Jun 1998, cover by Jody A. Lee) Volume three of the Renshai Chronicles. (20 May 1998)

* Sawyer, Robert J. Factoring Humanity (Tor 0-312-86458-2, $22.95, 350pp, hc, Jun 1998, cover design and art by Shelley Eshkar and Jan Uretsky) Sawyer's tenth novel is about signals from Alpha Centauri, high powered artificial intelligence, and the nature of human consciousness. This book incorporates ''Psychospace'', the novella-length excerpt that won the UPC Science Fiction Award last December. Edited by David G. Hartwell. (21 May 1998)

* Turner, Alice K. The Playboy Book of Science Fiction (HarperPrism 0-06-105288-4, 25.00, 469pp, hc, May 1998) Reprint anthology of stories first published in Playboy over the past 45 (!) years. From Bradbury's ''The Lost City of Mars'' (1967) to Terry Bisson's ''An Office Romance'' (1997), with Le Guin's ''Nine Lives'', Clarke's ''Transit of Earth'', Damon Knight's ''Masks'', and J. G. Ballard's ''The Dead Astronaut'' in between. Recommended. (26 May 1998)