Notable new SF, Fantasy, and Horror books seen, 7 - 13 February

+ Elliott, Kate The Gathering Storm
(DAW 0-7564-0119-4, $24.95, 903pp, hc, February 2003, jacket painting Jody Lee, jacket design G-Force Design)
First US edition (UK: Time Warner UK/Orbit January 2003). Fantasy novel, fifth in the author's "Crown of Stars" series, following King's Dragon (1997), Prince of Dogs (1998), The Burning Stone (1999), and Child of Flame (2000). Amazon has the PW review, and guarded reader reviews; even Harriet Klausner gives it only 4 stars.
• The official author's site, not quite up to date, has this page about the series, with links to maps.
• Carolyn Cushman, who's reviewed all 4 previous volumes for Locus Magazine, reviews this one for the March '03 issue, noting "Elliott’s ability to keep the story compelling, despite the vast cast and complex, unresolved plot lines" and expressing relief that the next, sixth, volume will be the last in the series.
(Seen Tue 11 Feb 2003)
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* Kenyon, Kay The Braided World
(Bantam 0-553-58379-4, $6.99, 395pp, pb, February 2003, cover illustration Paul Youll)
SF novel, sequel to Maximum Ice (2002), concerning the aftermath of Earth's encounter with a cloud of dark matter that killed off much of the population.
• The author's website, http://www.kaykenyon.com/, offers this description and excerpt.
• Alyx Dellamonica reviews the book in the January '03 Locus, calling it "a model of first contact gone wrong" that "offers a chewy and provocative reading experience."
• Other reviews: by John Clute (SF Weekly).
(Seen Tue 11 Feb 2003)
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* Korn, M.F. Rachmaninoff's Ghost
(Silver Lake Publishing 1-931095-41-8, $12.95, 146pp, tpb, January 2003, cover art Carlton Mellick III)
Horror novel about a would-be pianist obsessed with Sergei Rachmaninoff. The publisher's page has comments from D.F. Lewis and Jeff VanderMeer. No Amazon page.
(Seen Fri 7 Feb 2003)

* Passarella, John Wither's Rain
(Pocket Star 0-671-02482-5, $6.99, 428pp, pb, February 2003, cover illustration John Vairo Jr)
Horror novel, sequel to Stoker Award winning Wither (1999; for best first novel), concerning college student Wendy Ward battling the ancient witch Elizabeth Wither. The Amazon page has several 5-star reader reviews.
• The author's site, http://www.passarella.com/, has this page with description, alternate cover concepts, and an excerpt.
(Seen Tue 11 Feb 2003)
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* Wilber, Rick, & Randy Miller Modern Media Writing
(Thomson/Wadsworth 0-534-52047-2, $57.95, 22+378pp, tpb, 2003)
Textbook co-authored by SF writer and University of South Florida professor Rick Wilber, noted here for its inclusion of a page and a half (p166-167) about Locus Online, including email-interview remarks from its editor and a near-full-page image of the homepage (from Monday 5 August 2002): "Locus, an online niche publication, is marketed to writers", says the caption. More details on the publisher's page. The book includes a CD-ROM with key points, web links, and exercises for each chapter.
(Seen Sat 8 Feb 2003)
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Near the unassuming corner of 57th street and Columbus avenue in the frenzied heart of Manhattan, a tall, thin young man lay sprawled on the sidewalk, his chest heaving. He wore a filthy trenchcoat over a tattered and stained navy-blue suitcoat and trousers. His body lay just outside the shade of the awning of a small business whose window sign read Saul's Tailoring Shop. The man occasionally writhed from side to side and then stopped.