Damien Broderick, x, y, z, t: Dimensions of Science Fiction
(Borgo Press/Wildside Press Jan 2004)
Noted Australian SF critic Broderick returns with yet another attempt to define SF ("the extreme narrative of difference, of variation"), plus reviews and other commentary on the field, including an appendix on Australian SF.
Lord Dunsany, The Collected Jorkens, Volume One
(Night Shade Books Mar 2004)
The first of three volumes collecting the many diverting misadventures recounted by Mr. Jorkens at his club - a series with just enough of the fantastic to reward fans of Dunsany’s classic fantasies.
John M. Ford, Heat of Fusion and Other Stories
(Tor Mar 2004)
One of SF’s most versatile writers displays works from the last 20 years in this collection of ten stories and 13 poems (one original) including the World Fantasy Award-winning (for best short fiction!) "Winter Solstice, Camelot Station".
Anne Harris, Inventing Memory
(Tor Mar 2004)
Timeless mythic fantasy and SF elements mix with the mundane in this novel of two women, one a slave in ancient Sumer, the other a contemporary woman building a virtual reality simulation of that period in order to prove her own theory about relationships between men and women.
Howard V. Hendrix, The Labyrinth Key
(Ballantine Del Rey Apr 2004)
China and the US race to build a quantum computer in this cutting-edge thriller blending near-future SF and intrigue.
Cecelia Holland, The Witches' Kitchen
(Forge Apr 2004)
Noted historical writer Holland spins a powerful fantasy tale of Vikings, a war of succession, evil sorcerers, and women with great powers. A rousing sequel to The Soul Thief.
Graham Joyce, Partial Eclipse and Other Stories
(Subterranean Press Mar 2004)
This first short fiction collection from a noted author displays his provocative and unpredictable work in SF, fantasy, horror, and the surreal.
David Langford, Different Kinds of Darkness
(Cosmos Books Jun 2004)
Langford may be best known for his humor and fan writing in the multiple-Hugo-winning fanzine Ansible, but his short fiction is also worth noting. This collection of 36 stories - including the Hugo-winning title story - spans Langford’s fiction-writing career from 1975 to the present.
Joe R. Lansdale, Bumper Crop
(Golden Gryphon Press Apr 2004)
The master of the dark and weird selected these 26 stories himself to represent the best of his work in the "twist and surprise and ain’t that damn weird school," a companion volume to High Cotton with its mostly Southern Gothic tales. Lansdale provides entertaining introductions on the genesis of each story.
Sean McMullen, Glass Dragons
(Tor Mar 2004)
Swashbuckling fantasy novel, sequel to Voyage of the Shadowmoon in the "Moonworlds" saga, this adventure with its quirky cast and fascinating world provides plenty of entertainment while making such genre staples as dragons, vampires, and feudalism captivatingly new and unpredictable.
Rudy Rucker, Frek and the Elixir
(Tor Apr 2004)
A normal teen, a freak in the bioengineered Earth of 3003, is enlisted by an alien to save the world. Warped echoes of Tolkien and metaphysical riddles enliven this wild SF satire in Rucker’s inimitable style.
Brian Stableford, Salome and Other Decadent Fantasies
(Cosmos Books Apr 2004)
Stableford’s longstanding interest in the Decadent style, both as scholar and writer, is showcased in this collection of 11 stories, with an introduction on this "literature of moral challenge" by the author.
Caroline Stevermer, A Scholar of Magics
(Tor Apr 2004)
A college that teaches magic in an alternate Edwardian England provides the backdrop for this madcap fantasy adventure, a loose sequel to A College of Magics. An American sharpshooter and a determined lady mathematician team up to stop the theft of a top-secret magical weapon.
Scott Westerfeld, Midnighters, Book One: The Secret Hour
(HarperCollins/Eos Mar 2004)
A striking, critically acclaimed dark fantasy novel published for young adults but of interest to all ages, with its evocative portrayal of a small midwestern town where only a select few have access to a 25th hour at night. The first volume in a trilogy.
Walter Jon Williams, Dread Empire’s Fall: The Sundering
(HarperTorch Mar 2004)
The end of the Shaa empire sets off new conflicts as aliens and humans skirmish for power. A spectacular far-future space opera, sequel to The Praxis.
Zoran Zivkovic, The Fourth Circle
(The Ministry of Whimsy Mar 2004)
A brilliant, surreal tale of interrelated worlds and lives, with characters including a computer genius, an energy being, Archimedes, Nikola Tesla, Stephen Hawking, Sherlock Holmes, and Moriarty. A fascinating philosophical allegory by "one of speculative fiction’s most remarkable minds." [Nick Gevers]
