Notable new SF, Fantasy, and Horror books seen : Posted 19 August 2004

Satiric SF novel set in a future when corporations rule the world, involving a planned marriage that will unify the houses of Christler-Coke and Pepsicoma-Dodge.
• The publisher's site has this description, with a link to this excerpt at RevolutionSF.
• The Amazon page reproduces the Publishers Weekly review, which calls the book "wacky, occasionally profound".
• Faren Miller's review will appear in the September issue of Locus Magazine.
(Wed 4 Aug 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Fantasy novel, sixth book in the "Dresden Chronicles" about a wizard who solves crimes in modern-day Chicago.
• The author's website, www.jim-butcher.com, has descriptions of the earlier books, and three sample chapters from this one.
• Carolyn Cushman reviewed it in the July issue of Locus.
(Tue 10 Aug 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Anthology of 26 stories, 15 of them original to this book, representing the American South's "long literary tradition where fantasy and reality blur."
• Original stories are by Scott Edelman, Jack McDevitt, James Sallis, Don Webb, Bud Webster, Michael Swanwick, and others; reprints are by Gene Wolfe, Michael Bishop, John Kessel, Kelly Link (World Fantasy Award winner "The Specialist's Hat"), etc.
(Tue 17 Aug 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Chapbook collection of 5 stories, 2 of them previously published -- "Anthropology" in Polyphony #1, and "Wally's Porn" in Rabid Transit -- with an introduction by Ray Vukcevich.
• This is the first offering from Clawfoot Bathdog. Not available from Amazon; order from the publisher via Paypal or money order.
(Fri 6 Aug 2004)

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Romantic fantasy novel, first in the "Retrievers" series, about a woman who specializes in finding things gone missing.
• The author's website has a description and excerpt. The publisher's site has a description and an excerpt.
• Carolyn Cushman's review will appear in the September issue of Locus; she calls it "an entertaining, fast-paced thriller."
(Tue 3 Aug 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Young adult fantasy novel about mountain clans who possess various psychic 'gifts'.
• The publisher's site has this description, and an excerpt.
• Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review in its July 19th issue.
• Both Faren Miller and Gary K. Wolfe review the book in the September Locus; Wolfe concludes "As she's consistently suggested in her later works (such as 2000's The Telling), the real magic in the world lies in the stories that make it, and the point is made here as subtly and gracefully as in any of Le Guin's recent, more 'adult' works."
(Tue 17 Aug 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Historical fantasy novel set in the Orkney islands, sequel to Wolfskin, about a young man searching for the truth about his disgraced father.
• The author's official website has this description and excerpt, plus background about the series, photos, etc.
• Amazon reproduces the Publishers Weekly review, and the starred review from Booklist, which calls it "Another great story full of well-developed characters from this fine fantasist."
• Faren Miller reviewed the book in the April issue of Locus Magazine.
(Tue 17 Aug 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Historical SF novel, first of a trilogy and sequel to the earlier trilogy that began with Island in the Sea of Time (1998) in which the island of Nantucket is swept back to 1250 BC.
• According to the S.M. Stirling official fan site, this will be followed by The Protector's War and A Meeting at Corvallis. The site has a set of 11 sample chapters.
• Amazon has several 5-star reader reviews.
(Tue 3 Aug 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Alternate history novel, first in a new trilogy, sequel to the "Great War" and "American Empire" series, in which the Confederate States of America attacks the United States of America, even as WWII looms.
• The publisher's site has this description, and excerpt.
• Amazon reproduces reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist; PW concludes "The insights into racial politics elevate this novel to a status above mere entertainment, although it provides that aplenty."
(Fri 6 Aug 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Fantasy novel, a follow-up to Confidence Game (2003), set in a pseudo-17th century where magic is hidden, and set 10 years after the first novel.
• The author's webpage has a description and excerpt, plus links to special features, background about the series, etc.
• The publisher's site also has a description and excerpt.
(Tue 3 Aug 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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Satiric fantasy novel about the Greek gods; the author's first novel; based in part on an earlier short story "The Goddess Is Alive and, Well, Living in New York City".
• The author's website, Whatworld, has excerpts from reviews and cover blurbs.
• The publisher's site has the back cover description, and cover blurbs.
• Rich Horton reviews the book in the August issue of Locus. Online reviews are at San Francisco Chronicle, SF Weekly, and Strange Horizons.
(Mon 2 Aug 2004) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

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He was lost when he came to us, and I fear the silver spoons he stole from us didn't save him when he ran away and went up into the high domains. Yet in the end the lost man, the runaway man was our guide.

Gry called him the runaway man. When he first came, she was sure he'd done some terrible thing, a murder or a betrayal, and was escaping vengeance. What else would bring a Lowlander here, among us?

The afternoon sun painted flat panes of gold across the porch, danced in the fountains on the lawn, and warmed the marble columns of Iacola Keep. This white and dazzling stone, to Asel’s eye, seemed pure and lightly veined as a Czech maid’s thigh, a counterpoint to bright dabs of color gathered round him on the porch, on the steps, on the verdant lawn itself, the gay robes of lords and ladies of noble corporate mien. Every hue and tone was there, every variegate and plaid, each great House here to witness somber rite and occasion most high, here for merriment and drink, for sly misdeeds and shady deals, mischief and scams of every sort.

The old man lived humbly in a land of excess, but this had not always been this way. When younger, he had fought in wars, gone through medical school, owned a house upstate (financed through the GI Bill). The old man had once been head of a family, managed a thriving medical practice, and was well respected by the greater community.