* Cadigan, Pat, ed The Ultimate Cyberpunk
(ibooks 0-7434-5239-9, $16, 14+399pp, tpb, September 2002, cover art Bruce Jensen, cover design Mike Rivilis)
Anthology of 13 stories spanning SF's cyberpunk movement (which began about 20 years ago), with four precursor stories by Alfred Bester, Cordwainer Smith, Philip K. Dick, and James Tiptree Jr. (all genuine classics of short SF), as well as samples of the movement by William Gibson, Greg Bear, Bruce Sterling, Lewis Shiner, John Shirley, Rudy Rucker, Paul J. McAuley, and editor Pat Cadigan herself. Arguably this is a better representation of the movement than Sterling's own 1986 anthology Mirrorshades, which tended toward more eccentric selections. Also, there's an introduction by Cadigan ("Not a Manifesto"), about the authors notes, and Bruce Sterling's "Idea of What Every Well-Appointed 'Cyberpunk-SF' Library Collection Should Possess" with lists for the canon, other useful fiction, magazines, and nonfiction and critical studies. Recommended! (Sun 15 Sep 2002)
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* Chabon, Michael Summerland
(Miramax Books/Hyperion Books for Children 0-7868-0877-2, $22.95, 500pp, hc, September 2002, jacket illustration William Joyce & Reel Fx, jacket design Doyle Partners)
YA fantasy novel, a much-anticipated book by the celebrated literary author of Wonder Boys and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, about baseball, among other things. The book is getting good, if somewhat guarded, reviews; see the PW and Booklist reviews on the Amazon page, and links from our Field Inspections page. The author's webpage includes this extensive signing tour schedule for Summerland [which we have not attempted to incorporate into our Author Appearance listings], beginning Sept 23, and much else. The book is Faren Miller's lead review in the September issue of Locus Magazine. (Tue 17 Sep 2002)
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* Herbert, Brian, & Kevin J. Anderson Dune: The Butlerian Jihad
(Tor 0-765-30157-1, $27.95, 619pp, hc, September 2002, jacket art Stephen Youll, jacket design Loose Change Studio)
SF novel, a new prequel to Frank Herbert's classic novel Dune (1965), following these authors' prequel trilogy Dune: House Atreides, Dune: House Harkonnen, and Dune: House Corrino; this one concerns humans' war with "thinking machines". The Official Dune Website calls this the first of the Legends of Dune trilogy, to be followed by The Machine Crusade in 2003, and The Battle of Corrin in 2004. An excerpt from this book is here; you can also download an associated short story, "Hunting Harkonnens", here. The Amazon page has PW and Booklist reviews. (Tue 17 Sep 2002)
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* Irwin, William, ed The Matrix and Philosophy
(Open Court 0-8126-9502-x, $17.95, 280pp, tpb, October 2002, cover design Lisa Fyfe)
Nonfiction anthology of essays by various writers, subtitled "Welcome to the Desert of the Real", concerning what this book calls not only "the most popular sci-fi film of all time" but also "the most philosophical movie ever made"; edited by an assistant professor of philosophy at King's College, Pennsylvania. This is the third in the publisher's series of 'popular culture and philosophy' that previously addressed Seinfeld and The Simpsons and will subsequently consider Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Lord of the Rings, and Woody Allen. Contributors, including Carolyn Korsmeyer, Daniel Barwick, James Lawler, and Cynthia Freeland, all hold academic positions. The Amazon page has a brief description. The publisher's website has this page about the book. (Thu 19 Sep 2002)
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* Skal, David J. Death Makes a Holiday
(Bloomsbury 158234230X, $25.95, 224pp, hc, September 2002)
Nonfiction, subtitled "A Cultural History of Halloween", with black & white plates, an index, notes, and a Sept. 11 afterword. Here's a Wolfman Productions page about the book. The Amazon page has the PW review. (Mon 16 Sep 2002)
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Last week: 1 - 10 Sept.
