New and Notable Books
Jeffrey E. Barlough, The House in the High Wood (Ace 8/01)
A mix of Dickens, Lovecraft, Poe, and others enlivens this atmospheric dark fantasy of a small town and its haunted manor in Barlough's altered version of 19th-century England. The second volume in the ''Western Lights'' series after Dark Sleeper.
Gillian Bradshaw, The Wolf Hunt (Forge 8/01)
The Lais of Marie de France provide the inspiration for this historical novel of Medieval intrigue and werewolves.
Paul Brandon, Swim the Moon (Tor 9/01)
Music, magic, folklore, and nightmare meet in this contemporary fantasy of a fiddler who reluctantly returns to Scotland for his father's funeral, and finds himself drawn to the land, and a mysterious woman who sings by the sea. A powerful first novel.
Isobelle Carmody, Ashling (Tor 9/01)
The third volume of the post-holocaust series ''The Obernewtyn Chronicles'' brings talented young Misfit Elspeth to her enemies' center of power to negotiate with rebels.
Storm Constantine, Calenture (Stark House 7/01)
Two alternating stories explore the role of the author in this somewhat satirical standalone fantasy that follows adventurers wandering through a world of metaphors made manifest. Originally published in the UK in 1994, but appearing in the US for the first time; Constantine's new introduction discusses the novel's role in her development as a writer.
Gardner Dozois, Strange Days: Fabulous Journeys with Gardner Dozois (NESFA 9/01)
Noted editor Dozois gets to display his substantial writing talents in this collection of 22 stories, and a selection from Dozois's copious, unpublished travel writing.
Howard V. Hendrix, Empty Cities of the Full Moon (Ace 8/01)
A bioengineered virus meant to cure schizophrenia instead sets off waves of shamanic madness, transforming mankind and destroying civilization as we know it. A near-future novel full of fascinating ideas and images.
Ursula K. Le Guin, The Other Wind (Harcourt 9/01)
Le Guin is in fine form in this latest novel in the much-loved ''Earthsea'' fantasy series. ''A genuine and significant extension to one of the central worlds of modern fantasy, and Le Guin's most important and impressive work of fiction in years.'' – Gary K. Wolfe.
Valery Leith, The Way of the Rose (Bantam Spectra 9/01)
An unusual weave of scrambled timelines, dimensions, and even characters marks this complex fantasy series, but Leith successfully untangles it in time for this triumphant conclusion to the ''Everien'' trilogy.
Richard Lupoff, The Great American Paperback (Collectors Press 10/01)
A noted expert on pulps and comics, Lupoff now looks at the history of paperback book publishing and collecting in America. Lavishly illustrated with reproductions of covers from lurid and sensational to classic, with a substantial sampling of SF.
Maureen F. McHugh, Nekropolis (Eos 9/01)
A modified Muslim society provides the backdrop for this dramatic SF tale of star-crossed lovers, one chemically enslaved, the other a bioengineered construct. More than a mere romance, the novel's multiple viewpoints combine to paint a brilliant picture of a complex society.
Sean McMullen, Eyes of the Calculor (Tor 9/01)
The third volume of McMullen's acclaimed ''Greatwinter'' far-future SF series. Changes in the Mirrorsun and the destruction of all electrical devices force the Librarians of Australia to frantically rebuild their human-powered computer.
Edgar Pangborn, West of the Sun (Old Earth Books 8/01)
A stranded spaceship crew struggles to survive on a strange planet in this SF classic – Pangborn's first SF novel, and the first in a planned series of Pangborn titles to be reprinted by Old Earth Books.
Eric Frank Russell, Entities: The Selected Novels of Eric Frank Russell (NESFA 9/01)
A companion to the short-fiction collection Major Ingredients, this collection features three stories and five novels – three appearing in the US for the first time in unabridged form.
Michael Swanwick, Being Gardner Dozois (Old Earth Books 8/01)
Swanwick conducts an in-depth interview with noted editor and author Gardner Dozois, discussing each of Dozois's published works in chronological order, with occasional comments by sometime collaborators Swanwick and Susan Casper.
William Tenn, Here Comes Civilization: The Complete Science Fiction of William Tenn, Volume II (NESFA 9/01)
This second volume collecting Tenn's works combines 25 stories, an essay, and the novel Of Men and Monsters. Tenn provides afterwords to each with fascinating details of his own writing process, and the publishing environment at the time.
Sarah Zettel, Kingdom of Cages (Warner Aspect 8/01)
Immigrants to an idyllic colony planet find their new home a prison when their genes are discovered to hold a potential solution to the ecological collapse plaguing many worlds. A novel of intrigue and human nature by one of SF's most noted newcomers.
