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Reviews in this month's Locus Magazine


Linked titles can be browsed (or ordered) from Amazon.com Books.

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New SF, fantasy, and horror books seen 22 - 31 May

* Foster, Alan Dean Reunion
(Ballantine Del Rey 0-345-41867-0, $24, 328pp, hc, June 2001, jacket art Robert Hunt)
SF adventure novel; "A Pip & Flinx Novel", seventh in an ongoing series. Amazon has the PW review. (Fri 25 May 2001)

* Harrison, Harry 50 in 50
(Tor 0-312-87789-7, $29.95, 623pp, hc, June 2001, jacket art Vincent Di Fate, jacket design Shelley Eshkar)
Collection of 50 stories, a retrospective of the 50-year career of Harrison, author of Make Room! Make Room!, the Deathworld novels and the Stainless Steel Rat novels. Stories are grouped by theme -- aliens, overpopulation, robots, humor, fantasy -- and include such notables as "By the Falls", "The Streets of Ashkelon", "Rescue Operation", and "Captain Honario Harpplayer, R.N." There's a new introduction by Harrison, and notes to each story group, but no prior publication credits. Amazon has the Booklist review, and reader reviews. (Thu 24 May 2001)

* Kopaska-Merkel, David C. The 2001 Rhysling Anthology
(Science Fiction Poetry Association , 65pp, pamphlet, April 2001)
Anthology of 35 poems, subtitled ‘‘The Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror Poetry of 2000’’, grouped by Short Poems and Long Poems, with work by Joe Haldeman, Bruce Boston, Roger Dutcher, Terry McGarry, many others. This serves as the ballot for the SFPA’s Rhysling Awards. Deadline for voting is June 30. For information contact Scott E. Green, SFPA President. (Tue 22 May 2001)

Martin, George R.R., & Lisa Tuttle Windhaven
(Bantam Spectra 0-553-80123-6, $23.95, 336pp, hc, June 2001, jacket art Stephen Youll, jacket design Jamie S. Warren-Youll)
Reprint (Timescape April 1981). SF novel, Martin's second novel and Tuttle's first, an adventure set on a storm-wracked colony world where flyers with artificial wings maintain contact among islands. This is a rare example of a backlist SF novel reprinted in hardcover, presumably to attract readers of Martin's current "A Song of Ice and Fire" fantasy series. Amazon's review begins "If Windhaven weren't a fantasy book, it would be a selection for Oprah's books club, in the best sense." (Fri 25 May 2001)

* Resnick, Mike The Outpost
(Tor 0-312-85485-4, $24.95, 383pp, hc, May 2001, jacket art Bob Warner)
SF novel about a watering hole at the edge of the galaxy. Amazon has PW, Booklist reviews. (Fri 25 May 2001)

* Salinas, A.S. The World According to Kane and Other Stories
(iUniverse.com/Writers Club Press 0-595-14000-9, $21.95, 438pp, tpb, February 2001)
Collection of 12 stories, the title story a short novel, by an author born in Mexico City. Amazon quotes the back cover description, and has two reader reviews. (Sat 26 May 2001)

* White, James Beginning Operations
(Orb 0-312-87544-4, $19.95, 511pp, tpb, June 2001, jacket art John Harris, jacket design Carol Russo Design)
Omnibus volume of the first three of White's "Sector General" novels, SF puzzle stories set on a huge space hospital; the novels are Hospital Station (1962), Star Surgeon (1963), and Major Operation (1971). A second omnibus is forthcoming. Introduction by David Langford. (Fri 25 May 2001)

Earlier in May

* Asher, Neal Gridlinked
(UK: Macmillan UK 0-333-90363-3, £10, 426pp, tpb, March 2001, jacket art Steve Rawlings/Debut Art)
SF novel, the first full-length novel by an author who's published small-press short fiction since 1994; a "rapid-action thriller" about an Earth Central security agent, 'gridlinked' to the AI net, investigating a disaster on a human colony planet while pursued by a psychotic android killer. "Full of colour and sleaze", according to David Langford's review on Amazon UK. (Fri 18 May 2001)

+ Ashley, Mike, ed The Mammoth Book of Awesome Comic Fantasy
(Carroll & Graf 0-7867-0867-0, $11.95, 12+528pp, tpb, June 2001, jacket art Julek Heller, jacket design Pete Rozycki)
First US edition (UK: Robinson May 2001). Anthology of 32 stories, some reprint and some original; reprints are by Monty Python's John Cleese, Nelson Bond, Fredric Brown, Michael G. Coney, Avram Davidson, Esther Friesner, Garry Kilworth, David Langford, Jack Sharkey; originals are by Scott Edelman, Paul Di Filippo, Esther Friesner, Tom Holt, Tina Rath, and Tony Rath. (Thu 17 May 2001)

+ Bradley, Marion Zimmer, & Diana Paxson Priestess of Avalon
(Viking 0-670-91023-6, $25.95, 394pp, hc, May 2001, jacket art Kinuko Y. Craft, jacket design Roseanne J. Serra)
First US edition (UK: HarperCollins/Voyager November 2000). Posthumous prequel to Bradley's celebrated, enduring 1983 novel The Mists of Avalon is called "stunning" by Booklist (see Amazon page) and "powerful" in Locus Magazine's New & Notable books listing for June. The PW review (also on Amazon) says the book "is sure to please [Bradley's] devotees", and notes the fortuitous timing of the upcoming TNT miniseries of "The Mists of Avalon", starring Anjelica Huston. (Fri 11 May 2001)

* Clute, John Appleseed
(UK: Little Brown/Orbit 1-85723-758-7, £14.99, 337pp, hc, April 2001)
SF novel, the first by the erudite critic and co-author of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction; a post-modern space opera for the 21st century. The review on Amazon UK suggests, "imagine Aldiss, Delany and Moorcock rewriting The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy novels as forensically graphic anti-erotic hard(core) SF". Faren Miller's review in the May issue of Locus concludes: "Renaissance philosophy, the complicated evolution of religion, art history, even alchemy, get a heretical new spin as Clute keeps bursting through the confines of space opera, heading someplace different." (Fri 18 May 2001)

* Colfer, Eoin Artemis Fowl
(Hyperion/Talk Miramax Books 0-7868-0801-2, $16.95, 277pp, hc, 2001, jacket art Tony Fleetwood)
First volume in a new YA fantasy series, perhaps most notable for the promotion behind it, as if to fill the vacuum left by there being no full-length Harry Potter installment this year. The title character is a 12-year-old criminal mastermind, out to reclaim his family's reputation by making shady deals with the fairies. There's already a Miramax film deal, and a website. Amazon has a review by Susan Harrison. Carolyn Cushman's review in the May 2001 Locus notes the book's "cartoonish, overdone quality" in which "Artemis himself never gets much beyond being a caricature…" The author's first name, by the way, is pronounced like "Owen". (Fri 4 May 2001)

* Dart-Thornton, Cecilia The Ill-Made Mute
(Warner Aspect 0-446-52832-3, $24.95, 427pp, hc, May 2001, jacket art Daniel Craig, jacket design Jon Valk)
Fantasy novel, the first by the Australian writer; Amazon has a review by Charlene Brusso, the PW review, and 9 very enthusiastic reader reviews. (Thu 17 May 2001)

Delany, Samuel R. Dhalgren
(Vintage 0-375-70668-2, $18, 13+801pp, tpb, May 2001, jacket design Evan Gaffney Design)
Reprint (Bantam January 1975). Massive SF, or magical realist, novel about midwestern city Bellona where some disaster has stricken, to which comes a character who can't remember his name but is called the Kid (but who may be Delany) writing a journal (which may be Dhalgren). Controversial in its time -- Delany moved beyond genre SF and left some fans behind -- now charactereized as "one of the greatest novels of 20th-century American literature" by Cynthia Ward, whose review on Amazon offers a spoiler explanation of what the novel's really 'about'. This is the debut Vintage edition of Delany, with two more volumes coming in December. Foreword by William Gibson. (Thu 17 May 2001)

* Flint, Eric The Philosophical Strangler
(Baen 0-671-31986-8, $24, 342pp, hc, May 2001, jacket art Stephen Hickman, jacket design Carol Russo Design)
Humorous fantasy novel, marked by the zany and bizarre and standing comparison with Pratchett and Turtledove, according to the PW review quoted on Amazon. (Tue 1 May 2001)

+ MacLeod, Ken Cosmonaut Keep
(Tor 0-765-30032-x, $25.95, 300pp, hc, May 2001, jacket art Stephan Martiniere)
First US edition (UK: Orbit November 2000). SF novel set in an alternate-historical future about interstellar travel, aliens, and a Russian-dominated 21st century, first in a new series by the Scottish author of this year's Hugo nominee The Sky Road. It's attracted the attention of no less than three Locus reviewers: Gary K. Wolfe and Russell Letson in May, Jonathan Strahan in April. Amazon has David Langford's review. (Tue 8 May 2001)

+ Marillier, Juliet Son of the Shadows
(Tor 0-312-84880-3, $25.95, 462pp, hc, May 2001, jacket art John Jude Palencar)
First US edition (Australia: Pan Macmillan September 2000). Second volume of medieval Ireland fantasy "Sevenwaters Trilogy", following last year's well-received Daughter of the Forest. Amazon has the PW review. Carolyn Cushman reviews the book in Locus's April 2001 issue. (Tue 8 May 2001)

* Meaney, John Paradox
(UK: Bantam UK 0-593-04573-4, £17.99, 408pp, hc, June 2000, jacket art Jim Burns)
SF novel, second by the UK author, and like his first, To Hold Infinity, this was shortlisted for the British SF Association Award. This one is set on Nulapeiron, a world of underground cities maintained by organic technologies. The Amazon UK page has a review by David Langford. The paperback edition was released in March 2001. (Fri 18 May 2001)

* Moorcock, Michael London Bone
(UK: Simon & Schuster/Scribner UK 0-684-86142-9, £10, 248pp, tpb, May 2001, jacket art blacksheep)
SF collection of 8 stories set primarily in London, including the title story and "The Cairene Purse", plus an afterword, "Lost London Writers". (Fri 18 May 2001)

* Pratchett, Terry Thief of Time
(HarperCollins 0-06-019956-3, $25, 324pp, hc, May 2001, jacket design Chip Kidd)
Fantasy novel, latest in the long-running Discworld series, about a plan to stop time and thus eliminate messy human unpredictability. Amazon has a review by Nona Vero; the April Locus has a review by Carolyn Cushman. The US publisher has a snazzy website. (Tue 1 May 2001)

* Reynolds, Alastair Chasm City
(UK: Orion/Gollancz 0-575-06877-9, £17.99, 524pp, hc, May 2001, jacket art Chris Moore, jacket design Richard Carr)
SF novel, another massive far future space epic and follow-up to last year's Revelation Space [which is doing very well in Locus Poll balloting for best first novel of 2000]. Jonathan Strahan, writing in the June 2001 Locus, finds this novel "much more impressive than its predecessor", that book's "wild invention" harnessed and more tightly controlled. The Amazon UK page has David Langford's review, and SF Weekly has just posted John Clute's review. (Mon 21 May 2001)

* Sargent, Pamela Child of Venus
(HarperCollins/Eos 0-06-105027-x, $25, 14+448pp, hc, May 2001, jacket art Jean Targete, jacket design Amy Halperin)
SF novel, third in a trilogy about the terraforming of Venus, following Venus of Dreams (1986) and Venus of Shadows (1988). Amazon has PW and Booklist reviews; Paul Di Filippo in SF Weekly gives it an A-. (Fri 11 May 2001)

+ Shippey, Tom J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century
(Houghton Mifflin 0-618-12764-x, $26, 35+347pp, hc, 2001, jacket design Martha Kennedy)
First US edition (UK: HarperCollins September 2000). New study of Tolkien and his most popular works considering his status as "the most influential author of the century"; it's on Locus's 2000 recommended reading list. (Tue 8 May 2001)

* Steele, Allen Chronospace
(Ace 0-441-00832-1, $22.95, 320pp, hc, May 2001, jacket art Danilo Ducak, jacket design Judith Murello)
SF novel, incorporating the Hugo-winning novella "…Where Angels Fear to Tread", about time travelers observing the Hindenberg disaster who inadvertently avert its destruction. Amazon has the PW review, which accuses Steele of excessive name-dropping… (Tue 8 May 2001)

* Turtledove, Harry, & Martin H. Greenberg, eds The Best Military Science Fiction of the 20th Century
(Ballantine Del Rey 0-345-43989-9, $18, 13+544pp, tpb, May 2001, jacket design David Stevenson)
Fat trade paperback anthology of 13 stories, most by authors not typically associated with the sub-genre of military SF, though David Drake and Harry Turtledove are both here. Contents include key early stories in several popular series, including Orson Scott Card's original "Ender's Game" novelette, Joe Haldeman's "Hero" (basis for The Forever War), and Anne McCaffrey's "Dragonrider" (one of the first Pern stories and winner of a Nebula Award in 1969). Also included are stories by Philip K. Dick ("Second Variety"), Gregory Benford ("To the Storming Gulf"), Arthur C. Clarke ("Superiority") and Cordwainer Smith ("The Game of Rat and Dragon"). (Tue 8 May 2001)

* Weber, David, & John Ringo March Upcountry
(Baen 0-671-31985-x, $24, 570pp, hc, May 2001, jacket art Patrick Turner)
This one is square in the military SF sub-genre, about space marines on a planet full of "nine-foot, four-armed, slime-covered natives", according to the PW review quoted on Amazon; that review concludes that "overall the superb storytelling will add considerably to the reputation of both authors". (Tue 8 May 2001)

* Willis, Connie Passage
(Bantam 0-553-11124-8, $23.95, 594pp, hc, April 2001, jacket art Royce M. Becker)
The author's latest and longest novel (and only her fourth full-length solo effort) is about near-death experiences, brain researchers, and pop psychologists. It's being widely reviewed with mostly, though not uniformly, positive responses; Gary K. Wolfe in the March Locus concludes "It may not be her altogether most perfect book, but it certainly stands as her most courageous", while Therese Littleton on Amazon says the book "masterfully blends tragedy, humor, and fear in an unforgettable meditation on humanity and death." (Mon 7 May 2001)

This page lists selected new science fiction, fantasy, and horror books seen published this month, mostly via bookstores sightings (though all books received for review -- not including advance reading copies -- will be listed). For a comprehensive listing of new books published each month, see Locus Magazine. Its Books Received listings are accumulated as the online Locus Index.

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.

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