New SF, Fantasy, and Horror books seen : February 2005 Weeks 2 & 3

Anthology of 23 original stories based on themes and ideas of Jules Verne, published to mark the centenary of Verne's death. Authors include Ian Watson, Stephen Baxter, Brian Stableford, Justina Robson, Adam Roberts, Paul Di Filippo, and Liz Williams.
• Amazon has the book description.

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Collection of 8 stories from early in Banks' career, plus -- added for this first US edition -- essay "A Few Notes on the Culture" first published on rec.arts.sf.written in 1994.
• The publisher's site has this description with the table of contents.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review: "For all their wrenching images and sadistic twists, Banks's unsettling tales bestow a grim gift, the ability to see ourselves as others might see us."
• A 'new and notable' book in Locus Magazine's February issue.

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YA novel, first in the "Gateway" trilogy, about a girl and her pets who stumble through a portal to another world. It first appeared in Australia under the title Billy Thunder and the Night Gate.
• The publisher's site has this description.
• Amazon has the Booklist review by Jennifer Mattson:
"[I]t's the real-world issues informing Rage's choices, and the varying degrees to which the animals embrace or reject their human natures, that seam their journey with rich psychological relevance."

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Fourth volume of the manga series, translated from the 2004 Japanese edition, set in an alternate reality and concerning archaeological digs and mysterious powers. This series crosses over with the same authors' xxxHOLiC series.
• Del Rey's site has this description.

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Fourth volume of the manga series, translated from the 2004 Japanese edition, about a man indentured to a time-space witch. Cynthia Ward reviewed the first volume in this Locus Online article. This series crosses over with the same authors' Tsubasa series.
• Del Rey has this description.

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Humorous nonfiction book about becoming a freelance writer, with cartoons by Rob Kirbyson. The five main sections are:

1: Quit now, while you're still behind
2: Save time, fail from the start
3: Editors and other enemies
4: Bad advice and where to find it
5: 22 things you already knew

• Order from the TTA site, which has this page about the book, with links to additional info, and an extract.
• The Agony Column ran this review (scroll down).

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Historical SF novel about Alfred Wegener, whose theory of continental drift revolutionized geology. The 2003 UK first edition was titled Wegener's Jigsaw.
• The author's website has this description, with many quotes from reviews, and this extract.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review: "In British author Dudman's stunning first adult novel, she reveals the poetry of science, interweaving a deep character study of German meteorologist Alfred Wegener (1880-1930) with scenes of pulse-pounding Arctic adventure."
• Jeff VanderMeer included it his 2004: The Best of the Year article for Locus Online: "Dudman infuses the every-day world, through Wegener's eyes, with a sense of wonder, and makes the profoundly mysterious connections that inhabit so much of the best fabulist fiction."

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Anthology of 11 fantasy stories first published in 2004. Authors are Neil Gaiman, Michael Swanwick, Gene Wolfe, Kelly Link, Peter S. Beagle, Deborah Roggie, Robert Silverberg, Jeffrey Ford, Tim Powers, Jay Lake, and Elizabeth A. Lynn.
• This year's Haber & Strahan volumes include introductions to each story.

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Anthology of 13 science fiction stories first published in 2004. Authors are James Patrick Kelly, Christopher Rowe, Gene Wolfe, Joe Haldeman, Stephen Baxter, Jeff VanderMeer, Charles Stross, Robert Reed, Nancy Kress, Paolo Bacigalupi, M. John Harrison, Carol Emshwiller, and Walter Jon Williams.
• This year's Haber & Strahan volumes include introductions to each story.

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Second volume of manga about four boys, a high school girl, and a haunted mansion. Translated and adapted by David Ury. Originally published in Japan in 2001.
• Includes 'bonus manga' and an 'extra bonus', as well as translation notes and a Japanese preview of Volume 3, due in the Del Rey edition in April.

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Third volume of the manga, translated from the 2003 Japanese edition, about a future war between genetically enhanced and unmodified humans.
• Appendices include the third part of a history of Gundam by Mark Simmons, notes about the creators, and a preview of Volume 4, due in March.
• Del Rey's site has this description.

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SF novel about the arrival of aliens, in lunar orbit, whose mission is ostensibly to evaluate Earth for membership in the Galactic Commonwealth.
• Baen's site has this description with links to numerous chapters. The author's site has this page with the same description plus blurbs from David Brin, Robert J. Sawyer, et al.
• Amazon has a review from reader Ernest Lilley.

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SF novel, the author's first novel, about humans and artificial minds in 2065.
• The publisher's page explains that this is the first book from the publisher, founded by the author's wife, and has cover blurbs from Piers Anthony and David Brin.

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Kafkaesque novel about a hitchhiker in a nameless Eastern European country who encounters violence and irrationality.
• This is the first adult novel by the author of YA trilogy "The Wind Singer" and co-screenwriter for Gladiator and Shadowlands.
• The publisher's site has this description and an excerpt.
• Salon published this review by Laura Miller.

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Coffee-table sized illustrated novel, "created and illustrated" by Joe DeVito and "based on the novel King Kong conceived by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper, novelization by Delos W. Lovelace" that according to the dust jacket copy "acts as both a prequel and sequel to the classic novel King Kong". With an introduction by Ray Harryhausen.
• The publisher's site has this description, and hosts www.kongskullisland.com with image samples, bios of the creators, etc.

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Anthology of 6 original SF stories and one non-fiction piece. Authors include Gregory Benford, James P. Hogan, Gregory Benford, Mark L. Van Name, and Dave Freer & Eric Flint.
• Follow-up to Cosmic Tales: Adventures in Sol Space (Baen, June 2004).

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Let me tell you about ice. There are a few things you should know: firstly, it's not white. Usually it's blue, almost a turquoise, almost warmly Mediterranean. Sometimes it's not even blue, but yellow or maybe orange. That's when the sun is setting. Sometimes it seems that the sun is always on the point of setting up here. It's not, of course. It's just that often it is so low that all the light is scattered, and for a small while, just a few seconds, it is so beautiful you could forget to breathe. Stupid to forget to breathe, I know, but it happens. You forget to breathe and then you have to take a great mouthful of air and gasp at the coldness of it.

"T minus five minutes, and holding."

It wasn't even ten in the morning, but the day was already hot. Kyle Gustafson squirted another dollop of sunscreen into his palm, then rubbed his hands together. Smearing it over his face and neck, he grimaced: he reeked of coconut oil. He made a mental note to avoid all open flames until he showered.

I'm writing this by the light of a new day, with a pen on paper, the old way. No seamless corrections possible here. I want to see my first thoughts, and the words I cross out, and the words I choose to replace them. First thoughts are usually lies. Vicino says, Write something about yourself, then write the opposite. Then open your mind to the possibility that the second statement is true.