New and Notable Books
Chesley Bonestell, The Art of Chesley Bonestell (Paper Tiger 4/01) Bonestell's astronomical art and other works are displayed in this thorough volume, with text by Ron Miller and Frederick C. Durant III, including a detailed, extensively illustrated biography of Bonestell's life, and an artistic career that covered architecture, advertising, movies, and illustration.
Marion Zimmer Bradley & Diana L. Paxson, Priestess of Avalon (Viking 5/01) A British princess from Avalon marries a Roman general and discovers her destiny as a bridge-builder between the Christian and Pagan worlds in this powerful prequel to The Mists of Avalon.
Richard Chizmar, ed., Night Visions 10 (Subterranean Press 4/01) The classic horror anthology series returns from the dead with a new publisher, and all-new fiction, with novellas by Jack Ketchum and John Shirley, and five stories by David B. Silva.
Jack Dann, Jubilee (Voyager Australia 4/01) Dann muses on mortality and transcendence in this collection of 17 stories, one new and one previously published only online.
David Feintuch, Children of Hope (Ace 4/01) In his seventh adventure, Nicholas Seafort returns to the ex-colony planet Hope Nation in a rousing tale of Church intrigue, treachery, alien contact, and revolution – sparked by a bright but impulsive teenager bent on misguided revenge. One of the best yet in the series.
Brian Holmsten & Alex Lubertozzi, eds., The Complete War of the Worlds: Mars' Invasion of Earth from H.G. Wells to Orson Welles (Sourcebooks MediaFusion 4/01) SF fans and history buffs will find plenty of interest in this informative and extensively illustrated book, which includes Wells's text (with illustrations by Warwick Goble from the novel's 1897 appearance in Pearson's magazine) and the script from Orson Welles' radio broadcast – plus the actual broadcast on CD, plus some subsequent interviews.
Ursula K. Le Guin, Tales from Earthsea (Harcourt 5/01) Le Guin returns to her best-known fantasy world for these five stories – three new – that explore and extend the fabulous world of Earthsea.
Richard A. Lupoff, Claremont Tales (Golden Gryphon 4/01) One of SF's most versatile storytellers displays his talents in this collection of stories ranging from the Lovecraftian to hard SF murder mystery.
Scott Mackay, The Meek (Roc 4/01) Provocative SF of prejudice and human genetic engineering. A hidden race of genetically altered humans on Ceres is threatened when normal humans arrive with plans to develop the asteroid.
Ken MacLeod, Cosmonaut Keep (Tor 5/01) A split-level story follows the discovery of aliens in our solar system – and generations later, follows humans in an alien system who are trying to figure out a way to navigate back to Earth. The first volume in the new ''Engines of Light'' sequence, by one of SF's hottest new authors.
Juliet Marillier, Son of the Shadows (Tor 5/01) The second book of the powerful ''Sevenwaters'' trilogy provides a poignant mix of Celtic fantasy and Robin Hood-style bandit adventure that largely stands alone.
Donna McMahon, Dance of Knives (Tor 5/01) Action-packed post-holocaust SF set in a grim Vancouver BC after rising sea levels have transformed the Pacific coast. A compelling first novel.
Garth Nix, Lirael: Daughter of the Clayr (HarperCollins 4/01) Dark and inventive magics fill this tale, the first volume of a two-part sequel to Sabriel. Lirael and Prince Sameth struggle separately to find their own powers in time to save their land from an ancient evil.
Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time (HarperCollins 5/01) The latest Discworld novel has a martial arts flavor, thanks to the History Monks, in particular the aged master Lu-Tze and his apprentice, who travel to notorious Ankh-Morpork to prevent a plot to end time.
Sharon Shinn, Summers at Castle Auburn (Ace 5/01) The life of the aristocracy isn't the romantic idyll it first seems in this unusually deep girl-grows-up story of a nobleman's bastard daughter who spends her summers at court – and gradually learns to see beneath the pretty facades of the people around her.
Elisabeth Vonarburg, Slow Engines of Time (Tesseract 9/00) Eight stories by noted French-Canadian author Vonarburg are collected here in the English language (one appearing in English for the first time), all translated either by Vonarburg herself, or with her assistance.
Connie Willis, Passage (Bantam 5/01) Willis takes a serious tack in her latest novel of research into near death experiences, a look at issues of life and death that miraculously balances both science and faith.
CLASSIC REPRINTS
Brian W. Aldiss & Harry Harrison, eds., Nebula Award Stories Two (Stealth Press 4/01) The second classic volume of award-winning and nominated stories is back in print.
