New and Notable Books
Clive Barker, Abarat (HarperCollins 10/02) Barker returns to young-adult fiction with this epic, wondrously bizarre tale of a teenaged girl carried off to a strange and magical land. The first volume in a quartet, lavishly illustrated by Barker himself.
Pat Cadigan, ed., The Ultimate Cyberpunk (ibooks 9/02) ‘‘The Queen of Cyberpunk’’ looks at cyberpunk and its earlier SF roots in this anthology of 13 stories, with authors ranging from pre-practitioners Cordwainer Smith and Philip K. Dick to William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, and John Shirley.
Jonathan Carroll, White Apples (Tor 10/02) A man brought back from the dead seeks to understand why in this complex mosaic of mystery, moral choices, and unconventional love story, told in Carroll’s distinctive style.
Charles de Lint, Waifs and Strays (Viking 9/02) Sixteen stories, one original, about teenagers are gathered in this young-adult collection, which includes six stories of de Lint’s city of Newford, and two from the ‘‘Bordertown’’ series.
James Gunn, Human Voices (Five Star 8/02) Collection of 14 stories, all from the last three decades, that ‘‘represent the more mature vision of the years after 50,’’ according to Gunn’s introduction, which discusses how each came to be written.
Mary Hoffman, Stravaganza: City of Masks (Bloomsbury USA 9/02) A desperately ill boy finds himself transported to a strangely different alternate Renaissance Venice, where he becomes entangled with magic and intrigue. A rich and rewarding young-adult fantasy.
Stephen King, From a Buick 8 (Scribner 9/02) The master of horror returns with this powerful tale of a mysterious car surrounded by strange phenomena, including disappearances through a trunk that may lead to other dimensions.
Naomi Kritzer, Fires of the Faithful (Bantam Spectra 10/02) A teenaged musician gets caught up in war and religious conflicts in this fantasy, a remarkable first novel that’s ‘‘subtly brilliant from start to finish.’’ (Faren Miller)
Deborah Layne & Jay Lake, eds., Polyphony, Volume 1 (Wheatland Press 9/02) The first in a planned series of biannual anthologies concentrating on cutting-edge, genre-bending fiction, this brings together 12 slipstream stories by a mix of new and established writers including Lucius Shepard, Carol Emshwiller, and Andy Duncan.
Katharine M. Rogers, L. Frank Baum: Creator of Oz (St. Martin’s 10/02) This compelling biography explores the life and works of the author whose Oz books made him a media celebrity, but whose business sense was painfully lacking.
Alice Sebold, The Lovely Bones (Little, Brown 7/02) A murdered teen in a quirky, teen-ager’s version of heaven watches her family back on Earth as they cope with her death, and try to find the killer. A first novel, and a critically acclaimed bestseller.
