New Books: June 1998

* Barker, Clive Galilee (HarperCollins 0-06-017947-3, $26.00, 432pp, hc, Jun 1998) Amazon quotes Kirkus: ''Though its ghoul and demon quotient is comparatively low, this lavishly campy creeper has a legitimate claim to the title of Weirdest Book Yet by the accomplished author of such genre classics as The Books of Blood (1988) and The Damnation Game (1987).'' (1 Jun 1998)

+ Besher, Alexander Mir (Simon & Schuster 0-684-83087-6, $24.00, 320pp, hc, July 1998) Cyberspace SF novel; sequel to Rim (1994). (Tue 16 Jun 1998)

* Bester, Alfred [& Zelazny, Roger] Psychoshop (Random House/Vintage 0-679-76782-7, $12.00, 10+207pp, tpb, July 1998) Posthumous collaborative SF novel. Introduction by Greg Bear. (Mon 29 Jun 1998)

* Brin, David Heaven's Reach (Bantam Spectra, 0-553-10174-9, $24.95, 447pp, hc, June 1998, cover by Jim Burns) The third book in Brin's new Uplift trilogy, following Brightness Reef and Infinity's Shore. (5 Jun 1998)

* Card, Orson Scott Heartfire (Tor 0-312-85054-9, $24.95, 301pp, hc, August 1998, cover by Dennis Nolan) The fifth book in Card's popular and acclaimed series ''The Tales of Alvin Maker''. (Tue 16 Jun 1998)

* Dann, Jack [& Dozois, Gardner], eds Immortals (Ace 0-441-00539-x, $5.99, 10+255pp, pb, July 1998, cover by Jean-Francois Podevin) The latest of Dann & Dozois's valuable series of theme reprint-anthologies. Recent volumes have dropped the exclamation points (Magicats!) and turned from fantasy to SF themes: hackers, clones, timegates, now immortals. Selections range from classics by Damon Knight and Jack Vance to recent best-of-the-year near-misses like Brian Stableford's ''Mortimer Gray's History of Death'' from 1995. (Mon 8 Jun 1998)

* Dozois, Gardner, ed. The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifteenth Annual Collection (St. Martin's Griffin 0-312-19033-6, $17.95, 62+623pp, tpb, Jun 1998, cover by John Foster) Anthology of 28 stories plus a lengthy summation of the state of science fiction in 1997. Recommended. (See Profile.) (5 Jun 1998)

* Farland, David The Runelords (Tor 0-312-86653-4, $25.95, 448pp, hc, July 1998) Fantasy novel. Endorsements by Orson Scott Card, Algis Budrys, others. Edited by David G. Hartwell. (Wed 24 Jun 1998)

* Greenwald, Jeff Future Perfect: How Star Trek Conquered Planet Earth (Viking 0-670-87399-3, $23.95, 273pp, hc) Nonfiction study of Star Trek's impact on global culture. ''This takes [Greenwald] to a Klingon wedding in Germany, the byways of Florence, and the markets of Bangalore. He hangs out with Hungarian yuppies, eats shabu-shabu with a dozen Tokyo ''torrekkis,'' and visits Englands most celebrated rocketeer.'' (1 Jun 1998)

* Harris, Anne Accidental Creatures (Tor 0-312-86538-4, 288pp, hc, July 1998) The author's second novel is about the future of labor relations and biotech manufacturing, set in a complex called Vattown in a future Detroit; a descendant of Metropolis and Upton Sinclair. (Fri 19 Jun 1998)

* Hubbard, L. Ron [& Anderson, Kevin J.] Ai! Pedrito! When Intelligence Goes Wrong (Bridge 1-57318-121-8, $25.00, 300pp, hc, June 1998) (Mon 29 Jun 1998)

* McCaffrey, Anne Freedom's Challenge (Ace/Putnam 0-399-14397-1, $23.95, 304pp, hc, May 1998) SF novel; sequel to Freedom's Landing and Freedom's Choice. (Mon 1 Jun 1998)

* McCaffrey, Anne [& Ball, Margaret] Acorna's Quest (HarperPrism 0-06-105297-3, $23.00, 304pp, hc, July 1998) (Mon 1 Jun 1998)

* McMullen, Sean The Centurion's Empire (Tor 0-312-85131-6, $24.95, 416pp, hc, June 1998) Historical SF novel. Edited by Jack Dann. (Fri 26 Jun 1998)

* Millhauser, Steven The Knife Thrower and other stories (Crown 0-609-60070-2, $22.00, 256pp, hc, May 1998) Collection of literary fantasy stories by a Pulitzer-prize winning author. (5 Jun 1998)

* Niccol, Andrew The Truman Show: The Shooting Script (Newmarket Press 1-55704-367-1, $16.95, 18+115pp, tpb, Jun 1998) The screenplay by Niccol plus an introduction by Peter Weir giving some of the film's 'backstory'. (10 Jun 1998)

* Smith, Dean Wesley, ed Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Pocket 0-671-01446-3, $14.00, 320pp, tpb, July 1998) Original anthology of Star Trek short fiction. Results of a competition for new writers, first of an annual series. (Tue 23 Jun 1998)

* Snyder, Midori The Innamorati (Tor 0-312-86197-4, $24.95, 320pp, hc, July 1998) Fantasy novel. Edited by Terri Windling. (Fri 26 Jun 1998)

* Turtledove, Harry The Great War: American Front (Ballantine Del Rey 0-345-40615-X, $25.00, 496pp, hc, June 1998) Alternate history novel about World War I; follow-up to How Few Remain. (1 Jun 1998)

* Wells, Martha The Death of the Necromancer (Avon Eos 0-380-97334-0, $23.00, 368pp, hc, July 1998) Fantasy novel; sequel to The Element of Fire. (Tue 16 Jun 1998)

* Williams, Tad Otherland, Volume Two: River of Blue Fire (DAW 0-88677-777-1, $24.95, 19+634pp, hc, July 1998, cover by Michael Whelan) Second of a projected four-volume series, following Otherland: City of Golden Shadow, about a multi-dimensional universe built over two generations by the greatest minds of the 21st century. (12 Jun 1998)

last month

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.