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February 1999 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. 
* Barnes, John Finity (Tor 0-312-86118-4, $22.95, 303pp, hc, March 1999) SF novel about virtual reality and alternate reality. Gary K. Wolfe in the February Locus: ''Barnes's use of VR is one of the most inventive I've seen yet, and Finity, despite its graceless lumps of exposition… is a fine example of what is becoming a rarity in SF or anywhere else: a geniune adventure of ideas, set in a world that is the pure product of ideas, and driven by characters who actually seem to think about ideas'' (Thu 18 Feb 1999)* Codrescu, Andrei Messiah (Simon & Schuster 0-684-80314-3, $25.00, 366pp, hc, February 1999) Millennial SF novel by the essayist, novelist, and NPR commentator. Locus reviewer Faren Miller wrote in the November 1998 issue: ''a strange, spicy Slavic stew/New Orleans gumbo of a Second Coming (while some await Apocalypse) … In this wild -- and wildly entertaining -- tale, Codrescu satirizes fads, politics, and culture..'' (Mon 1 Feb 1999) * Gardner, James Alan Vigilant (Avon Eos 0-380-80208-2, $5.99, 374pp, pb, March 1999) SF adventure novel with the same setting as the author's first novel. Carolyn Cushman in the January Locus: ''There are some improbable moments, but fewer and less distracting than in Expendable...''. (Sat 13 Feb 1999) 
+ Kay, Guy Gavriel Sailing to Sarantium (HarperPrism 0-06-105117-9, $24.00, 399pp, hc, March 1999, cover by Keith Birdsong) First US edition (UK/Canada: Simon & Schuster/Earthlight/Viking Canada September 1998). First volume of a duology, ''The Sarantine Mosaic'', this is a quasi-historical novel clearly based on Byzantium, the setting for some of Kay's earlier novels; reviewed by Faren Miller in the October 1998 Locus and named one of the year's ''top-notch fantasies'' in her year-end review (February 1999). (Fri 5 Feb 1999)* King, Stephen Storm of the Century: An Original Screenplay (Pocket Books 0-671-03264-x, $15.00, 19+376pp, tpb, February 1999) Teleplay for the ABC miniseries to be broadcast next week; with an introduction by the author. (Mon 1 Feb 1999) * Leigh, Stephen Speaking Stones (Avon Eos 0-380-79914-6, $5.99, 15+330pp, pb, March 1999) SF novel. (Thu 18 Feb 1999) 
+ Martin, George R.R. A Clash of Kings (Bantam Spectra 0-553-10803-4, $25.95, 761pp, hc, February 1999, cover by Stephen Youll) First US edition (UK: HarperCollins/Voyager November 1998). Second volume in Martin's acclaimed fantasy series (now projected to a total of 6 volumes); follow-up to A Game of Thrones; among Locus editor Charles N. Brown's favorite fantasy novels of 1998: ''although I hardly ever read series books, Martin caught me''. (Fri 5 Feb 1999)+ McCaffrey, Anne Nimisha's Ship (Del Rey 0-345-38825-9, $25.00, 388pp, hc, February 1999, cover by Michael Herring) First US edition (UK: Bantam UK December 1998). SF novel, reviewed by Carolyn Cushman in the February '99 Locus: ''a pallid imitation of McCaffrey's previous colony books… [A]n entertaining, if derivative, adventure.'' (Fri 5 Feb 1999) + Pratchett, Terry The Last Continent (HarperPrism 0-06-105048-2, $24.00, 292pp, hc, March 1999) First US edition (UK: Doubleday May 1998). Yet another novel of Discworld; reviewed by Carolyn Cushman in the October '98 Locus: ''Pratchett's definitely on his stride… A hilarious time for all.'' (Fri 5 Feb 1999) 
* Simmons, Dan The Crook Factory (Avon 0-380-97368-5, $24.00, 9+436pp, hc, March 1999) Suspense novel about Ernest Hemingway in Cuba in the 1940s; reviewed by Gary K. Wolfe in the January '99 Locus, the book ''is not SF at all (except in terms of technique), but rather a sophisticated historical espionage thriller with apparent aspirations to becoming a pop bestseller.'' (Tue 9 Feb 1999)* Turtledove, Harry Colonization: Second Contact (Del Rey 0-345-43019-0, $25.95, 486pp, hc, February 1999, cover by Tim O'Brien) SF novel. (Fri 5 Feb 1999) * Waitman, Katie The Divided (Del Rey 0-345-41437-3, $12.95, 358pp, tpb, February 1999, cover by Cliff Nielsen) The author's second novel, following The Merro Tree, is ''lost-colony SF with a fantasy feel'' according to Carolyn Cushman in the January '99 Locus. (Fri 5 Feb 1999) |
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