Notable new SF, Fantasy, and Horror books seen : September

Anthology of 22 stories described on the cover as "classic stories that inspired the author of The Lord of the Rings". Authors include George MacDonald, Frank R. Stockton, William Morris, H. Rider Haggard, E. Nesbit, L. Frank Baum, Lord Dunsany, James Branch Cabell, David Lindsay, and others; story introductions sometimes place the story in the context of Tolkien's life or reading history, while other times acknowledging that nothing is known about whether Tolkien read the work or the author in question. At least one piece, Lindsay's "A Christmas Play", has never before been published. Includes an Introduction, and Author Notes and Recommended Reading. Amazon has reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and readers.
(Thu 11 Sep 2003) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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SF novel, a first novel published in the UK in 2001, about "a far-future secret agent, a burnt-out James Bond, [who] takes on a deadly mission" as described by Locus Magazine's New and Notable Books list for September 2003. Amazon has a long reader review by Kevin Patrick Mahoney; the Amazon UK page has a review by David Langford. Asher's homepage has this page of quotes and descriptions of his novels. Reviewed by Russell Letson in the August 2003 issue of Locus Magazine.
(Mon 25 Aug 2003) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Fantasy novel by an author so far best known for a series of SF stories and novels about time travel. The author's site, http://www.kagebaker.com/, has this page about the book, with a link to an excerpt. Amazon has PW and Booklist reviews. The novel apparently incorporates the 2001 novella "The Caravan from Troon". Reviewed by Carolyn Cushman in the October 2003 issue of Locus Magazine.
(Mon 25 Aug 2003) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Fantasy novel, second in a 'prequel' trilogy to the late Roger Zelazny's popular series of 10 Amber novels (which began with Nine Princes in Amber in 1970 and ended with Prince of Chaos in 1991, all of which were reprinted as The Great Book of Amber in 1999); it follows the author's The Dawn of Amber (2002), and will be followed by To Rule in Amber. Reader reviews on Amazon (click title) are mixed. The publisher has this page about the book, with an unused variant of the dust jacket (also shown on Amazon); the actual jacket is scanned and shown here.
(Sun 31 Aug 2003) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Fantasy novel, sequel to The Green Rider (1998) (which as a first novel was a Crawford Award finalist, and placed 5th in the Locus Poll for Best First Novel of the year). Amazon has a review by Paul Luedtke, and reader reviews. The author has her own URL, http://www.kristenbritain.com/, with this page about the book, and an excerpt. Reviewed by Carolyn Cushman in the September issue of Locus Magazine.
(Thu 21 Aug 2003)

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Fantasy novel, second in the "Viscount of Adrilanka" series following The Paths of the Dead (2002), described by the Booklist review (on Amazon) as a "pastiche of Dumas' musketeers saga". Amazon also has the PW review. Brust's homepage, The Dream Café, has a blog but nothing yet about this book.
(Thu 21 Aug 2003) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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SF novel concerning the seafaring culture on a water-covered world that is one of a pair of double planets in a binary star system, by a master of 'hard', planet-building SF. Amazon has PW and Booklist reviews.
(Mon 15 Sep 2003) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Anthology of 13 original stories based on fairy tales, directed at the young adult readership; a follow-up to A Wolf at the Door (2000). Authors include Jane Yolen, Neil Gaiman, Gregory Frost, Tanith Lee, Kathe Koja, and others. Green Man Review has this review.
(Mon 15 Sep 2003) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Fantasy novel, another in the author's ongoing series of stories set in the fictitious city of Newford. Amazon has reviews from PW, Booklist, and readers. The author's website http://www.charlesdelint.com/ == http://www.sfsite.com/charlesdelint/, has this page about the book, with a link to a long excerpt. Reviewed by Tim Pratt in the October 2003 issue of Locus Magazine.
(Thu 21 Aug 2003) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Anthology of 34 original horror stories -- by Ray Bradbury, Lisa Tuttle, Gahan Wilson, Kim Newman, Graham Joyce, George Clayton Johnson, and many others -- subtitled "Original stories from the World's Masters of Horror". First published earlier this year in Australia by HarperCollins Voyager, which edition apparently listed the editors as Dann, Campbell, and Etchison; the US edition orders them Etchison, Campbell, and Dann. Also available in hardcover (see Amazon page). Amazon has reviews from PW and Booklist, while contributor Steve Nagy (whose "The Hanged Man of Oz" opens the book) has posted this page with review excerpts and a complete table of contents. Reviewed by Jonathan Strahan in the June 2003 issue of Locus Magazine.
(Mon 15 Sep 2003) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Anthology of 33 stories, 14 of them original, about cops and crooks in "the future of Blade Runner and Akira" according to the back jacket copy, and as evoked by the cover art. Authors of original stories include Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Mat Coward, Chris Amies, and O'Neil De Noux; reprinted stories are by Stephen Baxter, China Miéville, Philip K. Dick (Chapter 4 of A Scanner Darkly), Paul J. McAuley, Mike Resnick, Joe Haldeman, and others.
(Tue 23 Sep 2003) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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SF novel concerning 13-year-olds who come into contact with aliens called the pribir, set against the next century's ecological catastrophe. Amazon has reviews from PW and Booklist. Kress's website notes that the title comes from "Roman essayist Terence Africanus: 'I am a man; nothing human is alien to me.' " and that "Nancy considers this one of her best works." The publisher's site has this page with description and links to reviews, including Nick Gevers' from the September issue of Locus Magazine.
(Thu 28 Aug 2003) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Mainstream novel with fantasy elements, Lethem's breakthrough novel judging from numerous very positive reviews (see homepage Blinks), as if previous National Book Critics Circle Award-winning novel Motherless Brooklyn was not already a breakthrough. Amazon has PW and Booklist reviews. The author's webpage seems to be Jonathan Lethem Jonathan Lethem Jonathan Lethem Jonathan Lethem..., which has a news page including links to reviews and excerpts of this book.
(Tue 16 Sep 2003) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Anthology of 17 SF stories, subtitled "an anthology of today's science fiction", aimed at young adult readers curious about but unfamiliar with SF concepts. Stories include Terry Bisson's "They're Made Out of Meat", David Langford's "Different Kinds of Darkness", Connie Willis's "A Letter from the Clearys", Orson Scott Card's "Salvage", and others by Kim Stanley Robinson, Philip K. Dick, Nancy Kress, Greg Bear, Spider Robinson, Jane Yolen, et al. Amazon has the dust jacket description, while contributors Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald ("Uncle Joshua and the Grooglemen") have posted this page with a complete table of contents.
(Mon 15 Sep 2003) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Collection of stories, novels excerpts, essays, and comments -- as the title suggests, something of a kitchen-sink book. Stories and excerpts include collaborations with Jerry Pournelle, Steven Barnes, and Brenda Cooper; solo stories include "The Woman in Del Rey Crater", "Procrustes", and "Smut Talk"; essays include nonfiction pieces for Space.com and pieces on autograph etiquette, collaboration, Hugo Award anecdotes, and an epilogue "What I Tell Librarians". The description of the book on Niven's Known Space site suggests a follow-up volume is due next year. Amazon has reader reviews.
(Thu 14 Aug 2003) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Historical novel with "mystical trappings" (according to PW), about Vercingetorix, the greatest and last leader of the Gauls against the Romans under Julius Caesar. It was published earlier this year in the UK by Little Brown. Spinrad's homepage acknowledges the origin of the book in a series of screenplay drafts for a film Vercingetorix, and has links to an excerpt, an interview, and reviews. Amazon has PW, Booklist, and reader reviews. Reviewed by Faren Miller in the August issue of Locus Magazine.
(Mon 25 Aug 2003) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Alternate history SF novel, latest in the "American Empire" series following Blood & Iron (2001) and The Center Cannot Hold (2002), themselves sequels to the earlier "Great War" sequence of four novels. Amazon has the starred PW and starred Booklist reviews. Reviewed by Alyx Dellamonica in the August issue of Locus Magazine.
(Wed 20 Aug 2003) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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SF novel, the fourth novel by the author of The Ghost Sister, Empire of Bones, and The Poison Master. Amazon has PW and Booklist reviews. The author's website hasn't yet been updated with anything about this book. Faren Miller's review in the September 2003 issue of Locus Magazine concludes that "Here Liz Williams truly fulfills her early promise. Don't let this one pass you by."
(Thu 11 Sep 2003) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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"Oberon!"

Over a roaring wind, I heard a distant calling of my name. I had been dreaming of sailing a small boat across a churning, wind-swept sea; the dream clung to me, and I could not easily shake its tendrils away.

The country of the tribes of Gaul extends from the sere and rugged cordillera of the Pyrenees in the west to the grandeur of the snow-capped Alps in the east, from the dank fogbound coast of the northern sea to sunny southern reaches where the balmy tang of the Mediterranean can be smelled drifting up through the mountain passes.

Like a match struck in a darkened room:

Two white girls in flannel nightgowns and red vinyl roller skates with white laces, tracing tentative circles on a cracked blue slate sidewalk at seven o'clock on an evening in July.