* Anderson, Kevin J. : The Saga of Seven Suns, Book 4: Scattered Suns
(Warner Aspect 0-446-57717-0, $24.95, 14+476pp, hardcover, July 2005, jacket illustration Steve Youll)

SF novel, fourth in the "Saga of Seven Suns" series following Hidden Empire, A Forest of Stars, and Horizon Storms, concerning interstellar war among humans, renegade robots, and various alien races.
• Anderson's website has this description and excerpt. The third volume is just out in paperback.
• The publisher's website has this description and an excerpt.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly and Booklist reviews; the latter, by Roland Green, concludes "Despite all the sweep, scope, and fast action of the saga, Anderson handles the essential conflicts in it so as to enhance characterization as well as keep things moving. A fine continuation of a fine saga." SF Weekly's review by Paul Di Filippo gave it a B.

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* Ashley, Mike, ed. : The Mammoth Book of New Comic Fantasy
(Carroll & Graf 0-7867-1574-X, $13.95, 544pp, trade paperback, July 2005, cover illustration Julek Heller)

Anthology of 32 humorous fantasy stories, 8 of them original. Original stories are by James Bibby, Tom Holt, Adam Roberts, and others; reprinted writers include Paul Di Filippo, Neil Gaiman, and Esther M. Friesner.
• There have been two earlier Mammoth Books of Comic Fantasy, e.g. reviewed here, as well as one of Seriously Comic Fantasy and one of Awesome Comic Fantasy.

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* Barrera, F. M. : Tales of the Blue Wizard, Part One: The Children of Jamomere
(Talisman Press 0-9670848-1-4, $12.95, 178pp, trade paperback, January 2006)

Fantasy novel about wars between wizards and fairies against a Black Emperor in ancient Atlantis.
• The author's webpage has a description.
• The book received in July indicates first printing January 2006.

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* Briggs, Patricia : Raven's Strike
(Ace 0-441-01312-0, $7.99, 381pp, mass market paperback, August 2005, cover art Jerry Vanderstelt)

Fantasy novel, second in a duology that began with Raven's Shadow (2004), about a mage who marries a baker's son turned soldier.
• The author's website has this page about her books, with comments on each, sample chapters, and maps.
• Amazon has numerous reader reviews.

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* Bunch, Chris : The Dog from Hell
(Roc 0-451-46039-1, $7.99, 339pp, mass market paperback, August 2005, cover art Steve Stone)

SF novel, fourth in the author's "Star Risk" series about space mercenaries following last year's The Double-cross Program. In this one, the Star Risk Ltd. team faces a hostile takeover from a competitor.
• The publisher's site has this description.

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* Carey, Jacqueline : The Sundering
(SFBC 0-7394-5690-3, $14.99, 733pp, hardcover, 2005, jacket art Donato Giancola)

Omnibus of two fantasy novels, Banewreaker (2003) and Godslayer (2005), about seven gods waging war for control of the universe. The latter volume has just been released in hardcover from Tor.
• The author's website has descriptions of both books.
• This edition is available exclusively from the Science Fiction Book Club, whose site has this description.

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* Curran, Tim : Hive
(Elder Signs Press 0-9759229-4-7, $15.95, 271pp, trade paperback, May 2005, cover art Dave Carson)

SF/fantasy novel, described as a sequel to H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, about Antarctic researchers who finds ruins of an ancient civilization.
• The publisher's website has a brief description on the order page. An earlier limited edition is sold out.
• The author's website has a biography and bibliography.
• Amazon has the publisher's description, and a long reader review by Matthew T. Carpenter.

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+ Eddings, David, & Leigh Eddings : Crystal Gorge
(Warner Aspect 0-446-53227-4, $25.95, 487pp, hardcover, August 2005, jacket illustration Matt Stawicki) First US edition (UK: HarperCollins/Voyager, June 2005)

Fantasy novel, volume three of "The Dreamers" series following The Elder Gods and The Treasured One, about battle between humans and an insectile overmind.
• The publisher's site has this description and an excerpt.
• Amazon's 'search inside' feature includes an excerpt from the Preface.

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* Greenberg, Martin H., & John Helfers, eds. : In the Shadow of Evil
(DAW 0-7564-0287-5, $7.5, 306pp, mass market paperback, August 2005)

Anthology of 14 original fantasy stories in which evil has won and Good seems hopelessly outclassed, according to the description on the publisher's site.
• Authors include Gregory Benford, Brooks Peck, Fiona Patton, Tanya Huff, and Tim Waggoner.
• A reader review on the Amazon page lists the table of contents.

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* Lisle, Holly : Talyn
(Tor 0-765-30993-9, $27.95, 524pp, hardcover, August 2005, jacket art Simon Thorpe)

Fantasy novel, subtitled "A Novel of Korre", about a career soldier in a war between neighboring countries who discovers that peace negotiators have ulterior motives.
• The author's website has chapter excerpts and a page of extras including background on this book and sequel Hawkspar.
• The Amazon page has reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist; the former, though troubled by shifts in point of view between characters, concludes that readers "will likely be captivated by this stern and stirring treatise on the dangers of enforced peace and the virtues of paranoid preparation for the worst."

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+ Marillier, Juliet : The Dark Mirror
(Tor 0-765-30995-5, $27.95, 512pp, hardcover, August 2005, jacket art Vince Natale) First US edition (Australia: Pan Macmillan, 2004)

Fantasy novel, first in the "Bridei Chronicles", set in pre-Celtic Scotland and concerning a druid's foster son who takes in an abandoned fairy girl.
• The author's website has this historical background of the novel, plus historical notes and an excerpt. There's also a description and excerpt for the sequel, Blade of Fortriu, due this September in Australia and New Zealand, and next year in the UK and US.
• Amazon has the starred PW review, from its June 6th issue: "...Yet somehow, carefully rounding her characters and paying exquisite attention to detail, Marillier pulls it off so well that you completely forget you've read essentially the same story a hundred times before."
• Faren Miller reviewed it the June '05 issue of Locus Magazine.

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* McCaffrey, Anne, & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough : Acorna's Children: First Warning
(HarperCollins/Eos 0-06-052538-X, $24.95, 290pp, hardcover, August 2005, jacket illustration Chris McGrath)

SF novel, first of a trilogy, about the daughter of "Acorna the Unicorn Girl" as she deals with an interstellar plague that threatens her parents.
• The HarperCollins site has this description and an excerpt.
• Amazon has the PW review: "Occasionally moving and often amusing, this light but never silly fantasy will particularly appeal to young adults."

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* Nicholson, Scott : The Home
(Pinnacle 0-7860-1711-2, $6.99, 349pp, mass market paperback, August 2005)

SF/horror novel about a 12-year-old boy with mind-reading abilities brought to an Appalachian mental institution where bizarre experiments into the nature of the soul are taking place.
• The author's website has a synopsis and chapter excerpt.
• Amazon has the PW review: "Nicholson offers plenty of faith-challenging questions as the tale moves briskly to its unexpected conclusion..."

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* Pesta, Joseph R. : Countdown
(iUniverse 0-595-36550-7, $16.95, 239pp, trade paperback, July 2005)

SF novel about a terrorist organization that threatens the peace of three planets.
• The author's website has a description: "... Can Agent Jake Keeler put an end to the plans of the terrorists before the lives of millions are lost, or will the countdown begin toward the destruction that will change the face of the Ziara system forever?"

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* Ryan, C. J. : Dexta
(Bantam Spectra 0-553-58776-5, $6.99, 451pp, mass market paperback, August 2005, cover illustration Paul Youll)

SF novel about Imperial bureaucraft Gloria VanDeen, ex-wife of the current Emperor, who uses her stunning good looks to manage troubles on backwater planets.
• The publisher's site has a description and excerpt.
• The next novel by the pseudonymous Ryan, Glorious Treason, is due in December.
• Amazon has the publisher's description, and mixed reader reviews.

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* Sagara, Michelle : Cast in Shadow
(Luna 0-373-80236-6, $13.95, 409pp, trade paperback, August 2005)

Fantasy novel, first in a trilogy, about a series of murders of children that compel Kaylin, former criminal now member of the crime-solving Hawks, back to the crime-ridden fiefs she fled as a child.
• The publisher's site has a description and excerpt.
• Carolyn Cushman reviews it in the September issue of Locus Magazine: "It's a fun fantasy mystery in an interesting world, the first in a very promising series."

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* Turtledove, Harry : Settling Accounts: Drive to the East
(Ballantine Del Rey 0-345-45724-2, $26.95, 594pp, hardcover, August 2005, jacket illustration Big Dot Design)

Alternate-history novel, second in a trilogy following Settling Accounts: Return Engagement (2004), about a Confederate war against the US at the time of World War II.
• The publisher's site has this description and an excerpt.
• Amazon has reviews from PW and Booklist; the latter's starred review by Roland Green commenting "There is plenty of action, and, of course, characterization remains one of Turtledove's long suits. But the real strength of the book, and of the whole alternate-history saga of which it is neither least nor last, lies in the juxtaposition of events not usually associated with people who could be readers' parents or grandparents...."

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* Williamson, Michael Z. : The Weapon
(Baen 1416508945, $25, 487pp, hardcover, August 2005, cover art Kurt Miller)

Military SF novel about a secret military operative, responsible for the death of billions when Earth launched an invasion of his world, whose identity has been discovered. It's the second in the author's series about the Freehold War, following Freehold (2004).
• Baen's site has a description with links to several chapter excerpts.
• Amazon has several enthusiastic reader reviews.

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* Zahn, Timothy : Dragonback Bargain
(SFBC 0-7394-5609-1, $14.99, 597pp, hardcover, June 2005, jacket art A.C. Farley)

Omnibus of three YA novels, Dragon and Thief (2003), Dragon and Soldier (2004), and Dragon and Slave (2005), about a teenage boy and a symbiotic dragon. The third volume was first published by Tor/Starscape in June (not seen).
• This omnibus edition is available exclusively from the Science Fiction Book Club, whose site has this description.

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