* Cherryh, C.J. Explorer
(DAW 0-7564-0086-4, $23.95, 408pp, hc, November 2002, jacket painting Michael Whelan, jacket design G-Force Design)
SF novel, sixth in the 'Foreigner' sequence, preceded by Foreigner (1994), Invader, Inheritor, Precursor, and Defender (2001). Publishers Weekly (PW) calls it "serious space opera at its very best" in its review posted on the Amazon page (click on title); Amazon reader reviews are uniformly positive; but Science Fiction Weekly's Paul Di Filippo has some gripes about the book in his review, posted this week. The author has her own URL, www.cherryh.com, but the site is several months out-of-date. (Tue 5 Nov 2002)
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* Clegg, Douglas The Hour Before Dark
(Leisure 0843950447, $24, 370pp, hc, September 2002)
Horror novel, about siblings who reunite at their ancestral home on an island off Massachusetts, where their father has been brutally murdered. Amazon has the PW and other reviews; Bill Sheehan reviews it in the November Locus Magazine, calling it a "disturbing, memorable book". The author's website has this excerpt. (Tue 5 Nov 2002)
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* Highfield, Roger The Science of Harry Potter: How Magic Really Works
(Viking 0670031534, $23.95, 22+322pp, hc, November 2002)
One of two books this week which interpret the Harry Potter series toward their own ends; this one, by the author of The Physics of Christmas, aims "to show how many elements of [Rowling's] books can be found in and explained by modern science", as the PW review on Amazon quotes. Check out this page for info on the author. (Tue 5 Nov 2002)
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* Hoffman, Eva The Secret
(PublicAffairs 1-58648-150-9, $25, 265pp, hc, October 2002)
Literary SF, a first novel by the author of three previous books of nonfiction (e.g. Exit Into History: A Journey Through the New Eastern Europe), about a teenager in 2025 who realizes she is a clone of her mother. The mainstream journals (PW, Library Journal; see Amazon page) are impressed; there's a generally admiring review in last Sunday's New York Times Book Review; and Slate deems the book worthy of a Summary Judgement entry; yet Locus Online has this impression that this is yet another novel by a mainstream writer who's 'discovered' a theme already thoroughly explored by genre SF, and which perhaps (judging only from the reviews) skirts the most basic practical issues, such as why this teenager's metaphysical qualms are any different from a twin's. (Tue 12 Nov 2002)
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* Hoffman, Nina Kiriki A Fistful of Sky
(Ace 0-441-00975-1, $23.95, 353pp, hc, November 2002, jacket art Judy York, jacket design Rita Frangie)
Fantasy novel, about a Southern California family whose members achieve magical powers during their adolescent 'transition'. The Publishers Weekly review (see Amazon page) says that "Hoffman attains a new level of maturity and complexity with this coming-of-age contemporary fantasy" and compares the book to Bradbury. (Tue 5 Nov 2002)
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* Killinger, John God, the Devil, and Harry Potter: A Christian Minister's Defense of the Beloved Novels
(St. Martin's/Thomas Dunne Books 0-312-30869-8, $22.95, 196pp, hc, November 2002)
This one responds to religious-fundamentalist condemnation of the Harry Potter series, including a couple specific previous books, defending the 'beloved novels' for the relationship between Harry and Jesus. The Barnes & Noble site has this excerpt from Chapter 1. (Tue 12 Nov 2002)
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* Kube-McDowell, Michael P. Vectors
(Bantam Spectra 0-553-29824-0, $6.99, 370pp, pb, November 2002, cover art Bruce Jensen)
SF novel about consciousness, reincarnation, and immortality. Amazon readers are enthusiastic, while Alyx Dellomonica's review in the November Locus Magazine suggests that the issue is the perhaps-outmoded distinction between brain, mind, and 'soul', with a treatment that leaves Fantastica Daily's Mervius unconvinced, even frustrated. The author's website has this excerpt. (Tue 5 Nov 2002)
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* Lowder, James, ed The Book of More Flesh
(Eden Studios, Inc 1-891153-86-2, $16.95, 318pp, tpb, October 2002, cover art Christopher Shy, cover design George Vasilakos)
Original anthology of 23 stories about zombies, by authors including Scott Edelman, Claude Lalumière, Scott Nicholson, Tom Piccirilli, Charles Coleman Finlay, Darrell Schweitzer, and others. A sequel to The Book of All Flesh (noted last year). This volume isn't accessible via Amazon; see this page on www.allflesh.com. (Thu 7 Nov 2002)
* Macdonald, James D. The Apocalypse Door
(Tor 0-312-86988-6, $22.95, 224pp, hc, November 2002, jacket art Cliff Nielsen)
Alternate-earth fantasy novel, first in a series, concerning an agent of the modern Knights Templar embroiled in a dangerous mission. Amazon has the PW review. The author's webpage has this excerpt. (Tue 12 Nov 2002)
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* McCaffrey, Anne A Gift of Dragons
(Del Rey 0-345-45635-1, $16.95, 291pp, hc, November 2002)
Collection of 4 stories about dragons, one of them, "Ever the Twain", an original 80-page novella. The book is a slightly smaller-than-standard hardcover, designed as a Christmas gift book; look for it on those tables in the bookstores. The three reprinted stories are "The Smallest Dragonboy" (1973), "The Girl Who Heard Dragons" (1986), and "Runner of Pern" (1998, from Robert Silverberg's anthology Legends). The book was a bestseller-runner-up on the New York Times list last week, as noted on this week's bestseller page. (Tue 5 Nov 2002)
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* Pratchett, Terry Night Watch
(HarperCollins 0-06-001311-7, $24.95, 338pp, hc, November 2002, jacket illustration Istvan Orosz)
Fantasy novel, the 28th in Pratchett's long-running series set in Discworld, a series still more popular and respected in the UK than the US; see for example A.S. Byatt's review in The Guardian. The Amazon page has reviews from PW, Booklist, and elsewhere. Locus Magazine has published three reviews of the book, by Carolyn Cushman in September, Faren Miller in October, and Bill Sheehan in November--all quite positive. The UK edition cover painting by Paul Kidby is a parody of the famous Rembrandt painting known as "The Night Watch"; see the Amazon UK link for a short review by Roz Kaveney. (Tue 5 Nov 2002)
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* Sheffield, Charles Resurgence
(Baen 0-7434-3567-2, $24, 374pp, hc, November 2002, cover art Bob Eggleton, cover design Carol Russo Design)
SF novel, latest in the "Heritage Universe" sequence, following Summertide (1990), Divergence (1991), Transcendence (1992), and Convergence (1997), by the author who died earlier this month. The PW reviewer (see Amazon page) is unimpressed. The publisher's webpage has several excerpts. (Tue 5 Nov 2002)
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* Steele, Allen Coyote
(Ace 0-441-00974-3, $23.95, 390pp, hc, November 2002, jacket art Ron Miller, jacket design Rita Frangie)
SF novel, subtitled "a novel of interstellar exploration", comprising eight short stories and novelettes first published separately, including Hugo-nominees "Stealing Alabama" and "The Days Between" plus 6 others. The Amazon page has the PW reviews, and Russell Letson reviews it in the upcoming December issue of Locus, noting the Heinleinian theme about characters who Learn Better: "I think the Old Man would approve." (Tue 5 Nov 2002)
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* Turtledove, Harry Ruled Britannia
(New American Library 0-451-20717-3, $24.95, 458pp, hc, November 2002, jacket art Steve Stone, jacket design Ray Lundgren)
Alternate history novel in which the English lose to the Spanish Armada, and Roman Catholicism is reimposed on England. The PW and Booklist reviews, on the Amazon page, are enthusiastic. Locus Magazine has reviewed it twice, once by Alyx Dellamonica in the August issue, and by Nick Gevers in the December, who notes that this is a rare non-series novel by Turtledove: "a fine stand-alone alternate history novel, a worthy expression of his gifts." (Tue 5 Nov 2002)
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* Wolverton, Mark, edited by Roger Stern The Science of Superman
(iBooks 0-7434-5273-9, $22.95, 256pp, hc, November 2002, cover design Georg Brewer)
Nonfiction, subtitled "The Official Guide to the Science of the Last Son of Krypton", and a hardcover book from iBooks, by a science writer for American Heritage Invention and Technology Quarterly, The Skeptical Inquirer, etc. Chapters consider invulnerability, superstrength, superspeed, superhearing, kryptonite, etc. Illustrations. (Fri 8 Nov 2002)
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* Yarbro, Chelsea Quinn Night Blooming
(Warner 0-446-52981-8, $24.95, 14+429pp, hc, October 2002, jacket illustration Phil Heffernan)
Historical vampire novel, 15th about Count Saint-Germain, according to the PW review on the Amazon page. Alyx Dellamonica reviews the book in the October Locus. The publisher's website has this page about the book, and this excerpt. (Tue 5 Nov 2002)
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