* Anderson, Poul Going for Infinity
(Tor 0-765-30359-0, $25.95, 416pp, hc, June 2002, jacket art Vincent Di Fate)
Collection of 18 stories representing the best by Anderson (who died last year), including numerous award-winners and classics. Three stories won both the Hugo and Nebula: "The Queen of Air and Darkness", "Goat Song", and "The Saturn Game"; others include "Kyrie", "Journeys End", and stories from his Time Patrol and Nicholas van Rijn series. Anderson's introductions to the stories include anecdotes from throughout his career. The Amazon page has a review by Roz Genesee, the PW review, and a Booklist review by Roland Green. (Tue 18 Jun 2002)
* Barnes, Steven Charisma
(Tor 0-312-87004-3, $24.95, 380pp, hc, June 2002, jacket art Shane Rebenschied)
Horror thriller about how "more than a thousand children are raised to become miniature copies of popular rags-to-riches politician Alexander Marcus, but they end up acquiring his bloodthirsty depravities as well as the brilliance and cunning he used to hide them", according to the positive PW review reproduced on the Amazon page. This is Barnes's second novel this year, after the even-longer Lion's Blood (Warner Aspect). (Tue 18 Jun 2002)
* Czerneda, Julie E. To Trade the Stars
(DAW 0756400759, $6.99, 479pp, pb, June 2002, jacket art Luis Royo)
SF novel, third novel following A Thousand Words for Stranger (1997) and Ties of Power (1999), set in the Trade Pact Universe. (Fri 7 Jun 2002)
* Dann, Jack, & Gardner Dozois, eds Future Sports
(Ace 0-441-00961-1, $5.99, 10+257pp, pb, July 2002, jacket art Ben Gibson)
Anthology of 10 SF stories about sports, latest in the editors' long-running sequence of theme anthologies. Aside from Arthur C. Clarke's 1963 story "The Wind from the Sun", and two stories from the 1980s, Howard Waldrop's "Man-Mountain Gentian" and Ian McDonald's "Winning", all the stories are from the past decade, including works by Kim Stanley Robinson, Jonathan Lethem, Michael Swanwick, and Robert Reed. (Tue 25 Jun 2002)
* Datlow, Ellen, & Terri Windling, eds The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest
(Viking 0-670-03526-2, $18.99, 387pp, hc, May 2002, jacket art Charles Vess, jacket design Nancy Brennan)
Anthology of 15 stories and 3 poems, all original, with illustrations by Charles Vess, about "the spirit who stands for Nature in its most wild and untamed form". Windling's introduction explores the history of the idea. Contributors include Neil Gaiman, Charles de Lint, Tanith Lee, Gregory Maguire, and Jeffrey Ford. The book is reviewed by Faren Miller in the June 2002 issue of Locus Magazine. (Sat 22 Jun 2002)
* David, Peter Knight Life
(Ace 0441009360, $22.95, 7+343pp, hc, June 2002, jacket art Tristan Elwell, jacket design Rita Frangie)
Humorous fantasy novel about King Arthur in modern Manhattan; a revised edition of David's first novel, published by Ace in 1987. Publishers Weekly's starred review is reproduced on the Amazon page. (Mon 10 Jun 2002)
* Ford, Jeffrey The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque
(Morrow 0-06-621126-3, $24.95, 310pp, hc, June 2002, jacket design Honi Werner)
Fantasy novel set in 1893 about a painter commissioned to do a portrait of a woman he is not allowed to see. The Amazon page has the PW and Booklist reviews, and a customer review from Jeff VanderMeer. Faren Miller reviews it in the June 2002 issue of Locus Magazine, calling it "artful, macabre and beautiful". Also reviewed by Nick Gevers in the upcoming July 2002 issue. (Sat 22 Jun 2002)
* Gilman, Laura Anne, ed Worlds That Weren't
(Roc 0-451-45886-9, $21.95, 295pp, hc, July 2002, jacket art Kamil Vojnar/FPG, jacket design Ray Lundgren)
Anthology of four alternate history novellas, by Harry Turtledove, S.M. Stirling, Mary Gentle, and Walter Jon Williams (whose story involves Friedrich Nietzsche at the O.K. Corral!). The authors provide afterwords explaining the historical background of the stories. Gilman isn't indicated as editor on the book cover. Reviewed by Rich Horton, in the upcoming July 2002 issue of Locus Magazine. (Sun 23 Jun 2002)
* Matheson, Richard Hunted Past Reason
(Tor 0-765-30271-3, $24.95, 335pp, hc, July 2002, jacket art Gregory Manchess, jacket design Irene Gallo)
Novel, a thriller though apparently a non-fantastic one, about two men on a weekend hike whose suppressed differences erupt into a life-or-death struggle for existence. PW has an interview with Matheson by Stefan Dziemianowicz. The Amazon page has reviews by PW and Booklist. (Tue 25 Jun 2002)
+ McCaffrey, Anne Freedom's Ransom
(Ace/Putnam 0399148892, $23.95, 288pp, hc, June 2002, jacket art Scott Grimando, jacket design Nellys Li)
First US edition (UK: Transworld/Bantam Press UK April 2002). SF novel, fourth and concluding volume in the "Freedom" series, about human and alien slaves struggled for their independence on the planet Botany. Amazon has a review by Cynthia Ward, plus PW and Booklist reviews. (Mon 17 Jun 2002)
+ Miéville, China The Scar
(Ballantine Del Rey 0-345-44438-8, $18.95, 638pp, tpb, July 2002, jacket art Ashley Wood, jacket design David Stevenson)
First US edition (UK: Macmillan April 2002). SF/fantasy novel, follow-up to the author's acclaimed Perdido Street Station (currently on this year's Hugo ballot), set on the same world but not a direct sequel. Jonathan Strahan, in the March Locus, calls it a "richer, headier experience" than the earlier book. Amazon has its own review by Jeremy Pugh, plus the PW review. See Field Inspections for more reviews. (Tue 18 Jun 2002)
* Nicholson, Scott The Red Church
(Pinnacle 0-7860-1503-9, $5.99, 352pp, pb, June 2002)
Horror novel, the first novel by the 1999 winner of the Writers of the Future Grand Prize, based on a real 'haunted' Appalachian church near the author's home in Boone NC. The Amazon page has reader reviews, mostly quite positive. For more, see the author's website. (Tue 25 Jun 2002)
* Pelan, John, ed The Darker Side: Generations of Horror
(Roc 0-451-45882-6, $6.99, 386pp, pb, May 2002, jacket design Ray Lundgren)
Anthology of 27 original horror stories. Authors include Tim Lebbon, Peter Crowther, Lucy Taylor, Brian A. Hopkins & Richard Wright, Edo Van Belkom. (Tue 25 Jun 2002)
* Schilling, Vivian Quietus
(Hannover House 0-9637846-1-7, $24.95, 596pp, hc, January 2002)
Psychological thriller about a woman who survives an airplane crash in the mountains of New Hampshire and finds herself haunted by supernatural visitations of those who died in the crash. The author is a screenwriter. The PW review appears on the Amazon page. (Thu 13 Jun 2002)
* Sheffield, Charles The Amazing Dr. Darwin
(Baen 0-7434-3529-x, $24, 328pp, hc, June 2002, jacket art Bob Eggleton, jacket design Carol Russo Design)
Collection of 6 stories, 3 previously collected in Erasmus Magister (Ace, 1982), about Erasmus Darwin, 18th century physician (and Charles Darwin's grandfather). The Amazon page (click on title or cover) reproduces the starred PW review. (Mon 17 Jun 2002)
Seen earlier in June:
* Broecker, Randy The Broecker Sampler
(American Fantasy 0-9610352-7-7, $10, 24pp, chap, April 2002, jacket art Randy Broecker)
Chapbook of black & white illustrations, subtitled "The Artwork of Randy Broecker", compiled and introduced by Robert T. Garcia. Not available from Amazon; see the American Fantasy Press page for more details. Like the Wolfe/Gaiman book listed below, this was published in conjunction with Broecker's guest-of-honor appearance at the recent World Horror Convention. (Fri 31 May 2002)
+ Calder, Richard Frenzetta
(Four Walls Eight Windows 1-56858-229-3, $13.95, 190pp, tpb, May 2002, jacket art Scott Idleman/Blink)
First US edition (UK: Orbit December 1998). Near-future SF novel by a British author noted for combining SF, horror, sex, and violence with exotic, third-world settings and intense, stylized writing. The Amazon UK page for the UK edition has a review by Roz Kaveney. (Sat 1 Jun 2002)
* Hartwell, David G., & Kathryn Cramer, eds Year's Best SF 7
(HarperCollins/Eos 0-06-106143-3, $7.99, 12+498pp, pb, June 2002)
Anthology of 19 science fiction stories first published in 2001, from Nancy Kress's "Computer Virus" to James Patrick Kelly's typographically-adventurous "Undone", with stories in between by Brian Aldiss, Stephen Baxter, Ursula K. Le Guin, Michael Swanwick, Terry Bisson, Gene Wolfe, and others. The editors (both listed on the title page, though only Hartwell's name is on the cover) provide introductions to each story, and a 3-page book introduction summarizing the state of sf in 2001. (Wed 5 Jun 2002)
* Park, Paul If Lions Could Speak
(Wildside Press/Cosmos Books 1-58715-508-7, $15, 194pp, tpb, 2002, jacket design Garry Nurrish)
Collection of 13 stories, the author's first collection, described as "subtle, stylish, at once forthrightly simple and ingeniously complex." Notable titles include "Self Portrait, with Melanoma, Final Draft", "The Last Homosexual", and World Fantasy and Sturgeon Award shortlisted "Get a Grip". (Tue 4 Jun 2002)
* Stross, Charles Toast and other rusted futures
(Wildside Press/Cosmos Books 1-58715-413-7, $15, 188pp, tpb, 2002, jacket design juha lindroos/oiva design group)
Collection of 10 stories by an up-and-coming hard SF/high-tech writer recently getting a lot of notice for his "Manfred Macx" stories in Asimov's (e.g. the June 2002 issue). The stories in this book date from 1990 to 2000, including "Antibodies" and "A Colder War", along with an introduction, "After the future imploded". Stross runs a weblog, Charlie's Diary. (Tue 4 Jun 2002)
* Wolfe, Gene, & Neil Gaiman A Walking Tour of the Shambles
(American Fantasy 0-9610352-6-9, $15, 6+57pp, tpb, April 2002, jacket art Gahan Wilson)
Short fictional guidebook to a strange Chicago neighborhood, in the spirit of Edward Gorey or Charles Addams, with interior illustrations by Randy Broecker and Earl Geier. Published with two cover options (one blue, one green), the book was published in conjunction with Wolfe and Gaiman's guest-of-honor appearances at the recent World Horror Convention. Not available from Amazon; see the American Fantasy Press page for further details. (Fri 31 May 2002)
Last month: May
