(From the January 1998 Locus.)
Linked titles can be ordered from 
Amazon.com Books
Titan, Stephen Baxter (HarperPrism 11/97, $23.00, hc) An ambitious, complex, sprawling near-future SF novel mixing in everything from the dismantling of the NASA space program and a desperate cobbled-together one-way mission to Saturn's moon, to the death of the sun.
Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester, Alfred Bester (Vintage 12/97, $14.00, tp) This collection includes most of the classic short fiction by one of its masters, with an introduction by Robert Silverberg.
Black Mist and Other Japanese Futures, Orson Scott Card & Keith Ferrell, eds. (DAW 12/97, $5.99, pb) Impressive original anthology of five novellas set in futures influenced in various ways by the past, present, and things still to come in Japan.
The Door Below, Hugh B. Cave (Fedogan & Bremer 12/97, $27.00, hc) Chronological retrospective collection of 25 horror stories from seven decades of this well-known writer's long career, with commentary by the author.
Earthling, Tony Daniel (Tor 12/97, $22.95, hc) Daniel has fashioned three novellas set over a span of many centuries into an SF novel with the resonance of classics such as Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz and Simak's City.
Axiomatic, Greg Egan (HarperPrism 12/97, $13.00, tp) Mind-bending collection of 18 stories by one of the most inventive writers of SF.
Mississippi Blues, Kathleen Ann Goonan (Tor 12/97, $25.95, hc) The classic American riverboat story is reprised in this sequel to Queen City Jazz, in an epic journey through a near-future America charged with myths and music.
The Pure Product, John Kessel (Tor 12/97, $24.95, hc) Collection of short fiction, including nine from his earlier collection Meeting in Infinity, by an SF writer of lively wit and sometimes dark insights.
Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman, Walter M. Miller, Jr. (Bantam 11/97, $23.95, hc) SF novel set in the universe of the classic A Canticle for Leibowitz, completed by Terry Bisson. Set 70 years after the second section of Canticle, the Church in Denver struggles with a rude and violent Texarkanan empire.
Phases, Elizabeth Moon (Baen 12/97, $5.99, pb) These 15 stories by an author skilled in both SF and fantasy build on and supercede her earlier collection Lunar Activity (8 stories included here).
The War Amongst the Angels, Michael Moorcock (Avon 12/97, $24.00, hc) The unique Moorcockian saga of the von Beks and other characters last seen in Blood and Fabulous Harbours continues – and concludes one trilogy – in this complex, compelling (and sometimes very funny) combination of history and myth.
The Gift, Patrick O'Leary (Tor 11/97, $22.95, hc) This story wrapped in a story is a splendid, moving fantasy (with elements of SF) of a young boy's quest, and that of a king, in a land touched by darkness.
Illegal Alien, Robert J. Sawyer (Ace 12/97, $21.95, hc) SF and suspense mingle as Earth's first alien visitors become suspects in a murder trial, when expert worldbuilder Sawyer takes the action to our own planet.
Thunder and Roses: Volume IV, The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon (North Atlantic Books 12/97, $25.00, hc) This major project of bringing all of Sturgeon's shorter work back into print continues with fiction from 1946-48, including both versions of his classic ''Maturity''.
Mennyms Alive, Sylvia Waugh (Greenwillow 12/97, $16.00, hc) With this fifth volume, the YA fantasy series featuring literally living dolls comes to a dramatic end.
Magician's Ward, Patricia C. Wrede (Tor 12/97, $22.95, hc) The dashing blend of Regency romance and fantasy pioneered in Wrede's Mairelon the Magician continues here.
NON-FICTION
Spectrum 4: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, Cathy & Arnie Fenner, & Jim Loehr, eds. (Underwood 11/97, 25.00, tp) Definitive full-color yearbook of professional fantasy art, with works by many of the current masters in and out of the recognised fantasy art field, plus a year-end review.
Blood Read: The Vampire as Metaphor in Contemporary Culture, Joan Gordon & Veronica Hollinger, eds. (University of Pennsylvania Press 12/97, $16.50, tp) For this look at recent vampire fiction, the editors include both critical surveys and word from the source, with a section offering essays by Suzy McKee Charnas, Brian Stableford, and Jewelle Gomez.
REPRINT
Triplanetary, Edward E. Smith, Ph.D. (Old Earth Books, 12/97, $15.00, tp) Facsimile of the 1948 first edition of ''Doc'' Smith's first ''Lensman'' book, a classic SF adventure novel.
