* Black, Holly : Valiant
(Simon & Schuster 0-689-86822-7, $16.95, 314pp, hardcover, June 2005)

Young adult fantasy novel, subtitled "A Modern Faerie Tale", follow-up to Tithe (2002), about a 17-year-old runaway who discovers the world of Faerie.
• The publisher's site has this description, two excerpts, and an author Q&A.
• Black's website has this page about the book, with artwork from readers and a chapter 7 excerpt. Black also blogs at Livejournal.
• Amazon has reviews from School Library Journal and Booklist; the former concludes "This dark fantasy includes drug use and strong language, but beneath its darkness readers find well-rendered characters, a gripping plot, and pure magic."

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* Bowes, Richard : From the Files of the Time Rangers
(Golden Gryphon Press 1-930846-35-5, $24.95, 13+268pp, hardcover, September 2005, jacket painting John Picacio, jacket design Lynne Condellone)

"Mosaic" time-travel fantasy novel, composed of 9 previously published stories, about Greek gods who recruit humans to be 'time rangers' with the ability to change history.
• The publisher's site has this description, with a link to the eponymous novella published by Sci Fiction. Two of the other stories incorporated into the book, "The Ferryman's Wife" and "The Mask of the Rex", were Nebula Award finalists.
• The book has an introduction by Kage Baker, and an afterword by the author about 'mosaic novels'.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review, which concludes "The interwoven plot lines are sometimes hard to follow, but the diligent reader will uncover a worthwhile, fantastic world."

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* Datlow, Ellen, Gavin Grant & Kelly Link, eds. : The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Eighteenth Annual Collection
(St. Martin's Griffin 0-312-34194-6, $19.95, 128+480pp, trade paperback, August 2005, cover art and design Thomas Canty)

Anthology of 44 stories and poems first published in 2004. Authors include Gregory Maguire, Margo Lanagan, Andy Duncan, China Mieville, John Kessel, M. Rickert, Chuck Palahniuk, Peter Straub, Bentley Little, Elizabeth Hand, Jeffrey Ford, Joyce Carol Oates, Shelley Jackson, Theodora Goss, and Elizabeth A. Lynn. There's also 17 pages of honorable mentions listed at the end.
• The book opens with 128 pages of introductory material, including a Summation of Fantasy by Link and Grant, a Summation of Horror by Datlow, a media summary by Edward Bryant, summaries of comics and graphic novels by Charles Vess, anime and manga by Joan D. Vinge, and fantasy and horror in music by Charles de Lint, and obituaries compiled by James Frenkel.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review.
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews it in the August issue of Locus Magazine, along with several other annual fantasy anthologies.

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* Disch, Thomas M. : On SF
(University of Michigan Press 0-472-06896-2, $24.95, 271pp, trade paperback, August 2005)

Nonfiction collection of 41 essays, subtitled (on the front cover) "A last judgment on the genre from science fiction's foremost critic". All are previously published, some revised or retitled, from sources including Foundation, Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Book Review, The Times Literary Supplement, and Entertainment Weekly.
• Notable pieces include "The Embarrassments of Science Fiction" from 1976; "The Labor Day Group" from F&SF, and pieces on Crowley, Wolfe, Gibson, and Philip K. Dick. Includes an index.
• Disch won a Hugo Award in 1999 for his nonfiction book The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of: How Science Fiction Conquered the World.
• The publisher's site has this description and this PDF Table of Contents.
• Also available in hardcover.

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* Haldeman, Joe : Old Twentieth
(Ace 0-441-01285-X, $24.95, 257pp, hardcover, August 2005, jacket illustration Fred Gambino)

SF novel about immortal starship passengers whose virtual reality machine to recreate old Earth starts causing real deaths.
• The author notes the book was inspired by The End of the Twentieth Century and the End of he Modern Age by John Lukacs (Ticknor & Fields, New York, 1993).
• Amazon has a brief description (also on the publisher's site) and the Publishers Weekly review.
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews it in the forthcoming September issue of Locus Magazine.

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* Huff, Tanya, & Alexander Potter, eds. : Women of War
(DAW 0-7564-0286-7, $7.5, 357pp, mass market paperback, July 2005, cover art uncredited)

Anthology of 15 original stories about "women who are or become warriors", with an introduction and story introductions by the editors.
• Authors include Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, Julie E. Czerneda, Bruce Holland Rogers, Robin Wayne Bailey, Stephen Leigh, and Kristine Kathryn Rusch.

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* Norton, Andre, & Sasha Miller : Dragon Blade
(Tor 0-765-30747-2, $24.95, 336pp, hardcover, August 2005, jacket art Royo)

Fantasy novel, fourth in the "Cycle of Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan" series following To the King a Daughter (2000), Knight or Knave (2001), and A Crown Disowned (2001). In this book, the peace restored to the Land of Ever Snow is now threatened by the Mother Ice Dragon, which legend says can only be slain by the Dragon Blade.
• Amazon has the book description, and a reader review from Harriet Klausner: "fantasy fans will gain immense delight from this fine tale."

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* Stemple, Adam : Singer of Souls
(Tor 0-765-31170-4, 237pp, hardcover, August 2005, jacket art Charles Vess)

Fantasy novel, the author's first solo novel, about a recovering heroin addict who goes to live with his grandmother in Edinborough, where he meets a woman who introduces him to the world of Faerie.
• The author has previously collaborated on YA books with his mother, Jane Yolen.
• Stemple's website has this page of background about how he wrote the book, and links to reviews.
• Amazon has the PW review, which calls it a "wonderful fantasy debut" and concludes "Fans of Charles de Lint and Clive Barker will find much to like."
• Carolyn Cushman and Faren Miller both review it in the August issue of Locus Magazine.

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