New and Notable Books
Neal Asher, Gridlinked
(Tor Aug 2003)
A far-future secret agent, a burnt-out James Bond, takes on a deadly mission in this noted first novel, a fast-paced spy thriller published in 2001 in the UK, and now available in the US.
Kage Baker, The Anvil of the World
(Tor Aug 2003)
Baker’s first fantasy novel presents an engaging, quirky tale of an assassin trying to retire, only to be dogged by trouble wherever he goes.
Andrea L. Bell & Yolanda Molina Gavilán, eds., Cosmos Latinos: An Anthology of Science Fiction from Latin America and Spain
(University Press of New England/Wesleyan Jul 2003)
English speakers can now sample the rich offerings of Spanish- and Portuguese-language SF in this anthology of 27 stories and novel excerpts, ranging from SF’s roots to the present, with plenty of informative commentary on the authors, stories, and history.
James Blish, In This World, or Another
(Five Star Jul 2003)
Ten stories and one poem by one of the most skilled writers of short SF are presented in this collection, which includes five of the stories chosen by Blish himself for the 1965 UK Best SF Stories of James Blish, with Blish’s own introductions. Blish’s widow Judith Lawrence Blish adds five more stories she likes, and provides introductions.
Ray Bradbury, Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales
(HarperCollins/Morrow Aug 2003)
These 100 tales, a mix of genre and mainstream, were chosen by Bradbury himself as ‘‘representative tales from the many years of my long career…A grand collection.’’ There is no overlap with the stories in his earlier 100-story collection!
Charles de Lint, Spirits in the Wires
(Tor Aug 2003)
The latest novel in the noted ‘‘Newford’’ series, by an acknowledged master of the urban fantasy, takes on the online world after visitors to a town website disappear when it crashes.
George Alec Effinger, Budayeen Nights
(Golden Gryphon Sep 2003)
Nine stories of Marîd Audran and the memorable city of Budayeen, where Islam and cyberpunk meet, are gathered here, plus a story fragment and two chapters of a fourth Budayeen novel unfinished at Effinger’s death, a fitting memorial to one of SF’s best.
Dennis Etchison, Ramsey Campbell & Jack Dann, eds., Gathering the Bones
(Tor Aug 2003)
Three editors from the US, Australia, and the UK join forces to present this anthology of horror from three continents, with 34 original horror stories by authors including Terry Dowling, Lisa Tuttle, Gahan Wilson, Ray Bradbury, Peter Crowther, and Graham Joyce.
William Hope Hodgson, edited by Jeremy Lassen, The Boats of the "Glen Carrig" and Other Nautical Adventures
(Night Shade Books Sep 2003)
The first volume in ‘‘The Collected Stories of William Hope Hodgson’’ presents this under-appreciated author’s title novel and an additional 23 stories of sea adventure, many with fantastic elements.
J. V. Jones, A Fortress of Grey Ice
(Tor Aug 2003)
The compelling ‘‘Sword of Shadows’’ trilogy continues in this second volume, somewhat revised from the 3/02 Orbit edition.
Nancy Kress, Nothing Human
(Golden Gryphon Sep 2003)
SF novel of a devastated Earth, where the children have been genetically altered to allow them to survive - and the message those children receive, telling them aliens are coming.
Robert Sheckley, Uncanny Tales
(Five Star Jul 2003)
Sheckley’s range, from SF to parody, is displayed in this collection of 16 stories by this month’s cover boy, a master of the ironic and absurd.
Tom Shippey, The Road to Middle-earth: How J.R.R. Tolkien Created a New Mythology
(Houghton Mifflin May 2003)
A classic work of Tolkien scholarship, finally available in the US in its revised and expanded form.
Dan Simmons, Ilium
(Eos Jul 2003)
The Iliad gets drastically revamped in this brilliant far-future tale set on Mars and a depopulated Earth, with bits of The Tempest, H.G. Wells, Tennyson, and more thrown in for good measure. ‘‘One of the most enjoyable, and likely one of the most important, SF novels…this year.’’ [Gary K. Wolfe]
Norman Spinrad, The Druid King
(Knopf Aug 2003)
Julius Caesar faces Vercingetorix, ‘‘King of the Gauls’’, in this historical fantasy, ‘‘a timely work that also has the air of a timeless Shakespearean drama.’’ [Faren Miller]
Gordon Van Gelder, ed., One Lamp: Alternate History Stories from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
(Four Walls Eight Windows Sep 2003)
Van Gelder selects 14 alternate history stories old and new, all drawn from the rich pool of stories originally published in F&SF, by authors including Alfred Bester, Poul Anderson, Harry Turtledove, James Morrow, and Paul McAuley.
Robert Charles Wilson, Blind Lake
(Tor Aug 2003)
A community of researchers studying an alien planet through an AI ‘‘telescope’’ are mysteriously cut off from the rest of the world in this SF novel of character, ‘‘…a fine novel embedded in a Big Question.’’ [Gary K. Wolfe]
