Locus Online: Classic Reprints: July 2005

de Larrabeiti, Michael : The Borribles
(Tor Teen 0-765-35005-X, $6.99, 214pp, trade paperback, July 2005, cover art Red Nose Studio)
(First edition: UK: Bodley Head, 1976)

Young adult fantasy novel about outcast children (with pointed ears) in London. It's the first of a trilogy, it was followed by The Borribles Go for Broke (1981); The Borribles: Across the Dark Metropolis (1986). An edition of the trilogy is available from Pan Macmillan.
• The series has its own website, The Borribles Online, with background -- Who are these Borribles? "Borribles are generally skinny and have pointed ears... They are pretty tough-looking and always scruffy, with their arses hanging out of their trousers, but apart from that they look just like normal children." -- descriptions, information about the author, cover images, etc.

(Wed 20 Jul 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

Finney, Jack : The Body Snatchers
(SFBC 1-58288-180-4, $10.99, 28+216pp, hardcover, June 2005)
(First edition: Dell, 1955)

SF novel about alien invaders replacing citizens in a small California town, filmed in 1956 as Invasion of the Body Snatchers and often reprinted with that title. (There were two subsequent film versions, with yet another currently in work, starring Nicole Kidman.)
• This book club edition is part of the "Stephen King Horror Library", with a 24-page introduction by King. The novel is a reprint of the revised 1978 edition of the novel, in which Finney changed "several details in the text, including the name of the town in which the action takes place from Santa Mira to Mill Valley".
• The SFBC site has this description.

(Fri 1 Jul 2005)

Frank, Pat : Alas, Babylon
(HarperCollins/Perennial 0-06-074187-2, $12.95, 16+323pp, trade paperback, July 2005)
(First edition: Lippincott, 1959)

SF novel about how the residents of a small town in Florida survive the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust -- one of the classic 1950s novels, along with Nevil Shute's On the Beach, about the consequences of nuclear war. This edition has a new cover, and a new foreword by David Brin.
• HarperCollins' site has some background on the author and an excerpt.

(Thu 14 Jul 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

Haldeman, Joe : The Forever War
(SFBC 0-7394-5343-2, $10.99, 229pp, hardcover, May 2005, jacket art Bruce Jensen)
(First edition: St. Martin's, 1974)

SF novel about a war between humanity and alien Taurans, in which protagonist William Mandella sees centuries pass on Earth between engagements with the enemy via relativistic slower-than-light spaceflight. This was Haldeman's first novel, partly a response to Heinlein's Starship Troopers and also based on Haldeman's own experience in Vietnam.
• Winner of the Hugo and Nebula awards.
• This book club edition is part of their 50th Anniversary Collection; the club's site has this description.

(Fri 1 Jul 2005)

* Heinlein, Robert A. : Four Frontiers
(SFBC 0-7394-5345-9, $14.99, 709pp, hardcover, June 2005, jacket art Bruce Jensen)

Omnibus volume of the first four of Heinlein's young adult SF novels: Rocket Ship Galileo (1947), Space Cadet (1948), Red Planet (1949), and Farmer in the Sky (1950). Despite the sometimes outdated science, the Heinlein 'juveniles' remain among the author's most popular works.
• The club's site has this description with a review by editor Ellen Asher. Other book club compilation of Heinlein's juveniles include To the Stars (Between Planets, The Rolling Stones, Starman Jones, and The Star Beast) and Infinite Possibilities (Tunnel in the Sky, Time for the Stars, and Citizen of the Galaxy).

(Fri 1 Jul 2005)

Heinlein, Robert A. : Podkayne of Mars
(Ace 0-441-01298-1, $6.99, 214pp, trade paperback, July 2005, cover art Matt Stawicki)
(First edition: Putnam, 1963)

Young adult SF novel, the last of Heinlein's popular 'juveniles' though perhaps the most controversial, with a female protagonist that many readers have found implausible. It's about a girl raised on Mars who travels to Earth.
• Amazon reader reviews for this earlier edition provide sample reactions.
• Amazon's 'search inside' feature includes an excerpt.
• The Heinlein Society's site has this concordance entry.

(Thu 14 Jul 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

Herbert, Frank : Chapterhouse: Dune
(SFBC 0-7394-5272-x, $10.99, 436pp, hardcover, May 2005, jacket art John Schoenherr)
(First edition: UK: Gollancz, 1985)

SF novel, sixth and last in the "Dune" series that began with Hugo and Nebula winner Dune (1965), still one of the most popular of all SF novels. This book concerns the Bene Gesserit moving to another world after Arrakis has been destroyed.
• This is a reprint of the 1987 Ace edition, and includes a 1984 afterword by Herbert about his wife Bev, who died in February 1984.
• The book club's site has this description. The five earlier volumes (two of them combined into one) are offered in this four-book set.

(Fri 1 Jul 2005)

Kay, Guy Gavriel : The Lions of Al-Rassan
(Eos 0-06-073349-7, $14.95, 504pp, trade paperback, July 2005, cover illustration Cathy Maclean)
(First edition: HarperPrism, June 1995)

Alternate history fantasy novel set in a version of medieval Spain under the Moors.
• The author's website has this page about the book: "In The Lions of Al-Rassan, GGK went further than he ever had before towards history and away from traditional high fantasy. Al-Rassan is a thinly disguised Al-Andalus - the book speaks powerfully and poetically of the conflict and tragedy of a fragmenting world inspired by the history of reconquista Spain."
• The HarperCollins site has this description, plus a note from the author and a chapter excerpt.
• The book was an Aurora Award nominee, and placed 4th in the 1996 Locus Poll for best fantasy novel.

(Wed 20 Jul 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

Le Guin, Ursula K. : The Earthsea Trilogy
(SFBC 0-7394-5271-1, $14.99, 422pp, hardcover, April 2005, jacket art Leo & Diane Dillon)
(First edition: Puffin, 1979)

Hardcover omnibus of Le Guin's acclaimed young adult fantasy series consisting of A Wizard of Earthsea (1968), The Tombs of Atuan (1971), and The Farthest Shore (1972).
• The series ranked 4th in Locus' 1998 poll of the best all-time fantasy novels.
• The book club's site has this description.

(Fri 1 Jul 2005)

Martin, George R. R. : A Game of Thrones
(Bantam Spectra 0-553-10354-7, $28, 694pp, hardcover, August 2005, jacket illustration Stephen Youll)
(First edition: Bantam Spectra, September 1996)

Fantasy novel, first in the acclaimed "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, of which the long-awaited fourth volume, A Feast for Crows, is due in November.
• Bantam has reissued the book both in hardcover and paperback, with the new cover displayed here (despite the images shown on Amazon). Bantam's site has this page for the paperback edition, with an excerpt.
• The book was nominated for the World Fantasy and Nebula awards, and won the 1997 Locus Award for best fantasy novel. The second and third volumes in the series also won Locus Awards for best fantasy novel: A Clash of Kings in 1999, and A Storm of Swords in 2001.

(Wed 20 Jul 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

Moorcock, Michael : Gloriana
(SFBC 0-7394-5191-x, $12.99, 355pp, hardcover, April 2005, jacket art Bruce Jensen)
(First edition: UK: Allison & Busby, 1978)

Fantasy novel set in an alternate-world England, in part an homage to Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast series, and generally regarded as Moorcock's best novel.
• This edition is a reprint of the 2004 Warner Aspect edition, with both the original ending and the later revised ending, an afterword by Moorcock, and lyrics from an aborted musical version.
• The book club's site has this description. It's one of SFBC's 40th Anniversary Collection.
• The book won both the 1979 World Fantasy Award and the 1979 John W. Campbell Memorial Award.

(Fri 1 Jul 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

Resnick, Mike : Soothsayer
(BenBella 1932100512, $14.95, 279pp, trade paperback, July 2005, cover art Jim Burns)
(First edition: Ace, 1991)

SF novel of a little girl with the power to foresee the future. It's first of the "Penelope" trilogy, followed by Oracle (1992) and Prophet (1993), and is set in the same world as the author's Santiago novels.
• BenBella's site has this description, and plans to issue subsequent volumes in the trilogy.
• The Amazon page has reader reviews.

(Thu 7 Jul 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

Robinson, Spider : Night of Power
(Baen 0-7434-9917-4, $6.99, 369pp, mass market paperback, July 2005, cover art Thomas Kidd)
(First edition: Baen, 1985)

SF near-future novel about a race war in New York City -- an atypical work by the author best known for the humorous Callahan's Place stories and novels.
• Baen's site has this description and links to chapter excerpts.
• Robinson's site heralds the new edition: "One of Spider's most requested and most controversial novels has finally beeen restored to print after an absence of two decades. Baen Books has just released a new edition of NIGHT OF POWER. Written in 1984 (the year the Macintosh was introduced) as speculative prophecy for the then-far-distant year 1996, it depicts a horrific all-out black/white racewar in Manhattan that didn't happen....yet....seen through the eyes of an interracial family visiting from Canada."
• Amazon has a brief description and reader reviews.

(Thu 14 Jul 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

Wells, H. G. : The Time Machine
(Penguin Classics 0-141-43997-1, $9, 34+104pp, trade paperback, May 2005, cover illustration Kate Gibb)
(First edition: UK: Heinemann, 1895)

This new edition of Wells' classic SF novel -- his first SF novel, and the ur-time travel novel in the entire SF genre -- has a 16-page (with notes) introduction by Marina Warner, a biographical note, Wells' 1931 preface to a reissue of the book, and 8 pages of notes to the text.
• This is the latest example of Penguin Classics' reprints with new introductions by contemporary writers and critics, as noted last month in our listing of Wells' The War of the Worlds.

(Wed 20 Jul 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense

	MONITOR June Jonathan Carroll David Farland Murray Leinster Seabury Quinn Stephenson & George Stephenson & George Harry Turtledove H.G. Wells H.G. Wells H.G. Wells May Simon R. Green Robert A. Heinlein Keith Laumer Richard Matheson Susan Palwick Joanna Russ Joanna Russ Michael White 2005 Archive Advertisement KEY This page compiles selected classic and otherwise-notable SFFH works newly available in any edition, hardcover or paperback. For recent books just reprinted in paperback, see New in Paperback. These lists are compiled independently of Locus Magazine's Books Received listings; publishers may send review copies to the Locus Online address on this page. Date with publisher info is official publication month; Date in parentheses at paragraph end is date seen or received. LINKS Links Portal Bookseller Links Your purchase of books through Amazon.com and Amazon UK links (click on titles or covers) helps support Locus Online Publisher Links E-mail Locus Online		Books seen July 2005 posted 22 August 2005 de Larrabeiti, Michael : The Borribles (Tor Teen 0-765-35005-X, $6.99, 214pp, trade paperback, July 2005, cover art Red Nose Studio) (First edition: UK: Bodley Head, 1976) Young adult fantasy novel about outcast children (with pointed ears) in London. It's the first of a trilogy, it was followed by The Borribles Go for Broke (1981); The Borribles: Across the Dark Metropolis (1986). An edition of the trilogy is available from Pan Macmillan. • The series has its own website, The Borribles Online, with background -- Who are these Borribles? "Borribles are generally skinny and have pointed ears... They are pretty tough-looking and always scruffy, with their arses hanging out of their trousers, but apart from that they look just like normal children." -- descriptions, information about the author, cover images, etc. (Wed 20 Jul 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon \| BookSense \| Finney, Jack : The Body Snatchers (SFBC 1-58288-180-4, $10.99, 28+216pp, hardcover, June 2005) (First edition: Dell, 1955) SF novel about alien invaders replacing citizens in a small California town, filmed in 1956 as *Invasion of the Body Snatchers* and often reprinted with that title. (There were two subsequent film versions, with yet another currently in work, starring Nicole Kidman.) • This book club edition is part of the "Stephen King Horror Library", with a 24-page introduction by King. The novel is a reprint of the revised 1978 edition of the novel, in which Finney changed "several details in the text, including the name of the town in which the action takes place from Santa Mira to Mill Valley". • The SFBC site has this description. (Fri 1 Jul 2005) \| Frank, Pat : Alas, Babylon (HarperCollins/Perennial 0-06-074187-2, $12.95, 16+323pp, trade paperback, July 2005) (First edition: Lippincott, 1959) SF novel about how the residents of a small town in Florida survive the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust -- one of the classic 1950s novels, along with Nevil Shute's On the Beach, about the consequences of nuclear war. This edition has a new cover, and a new foreword by David Brin. • HarperCollins' site has some background on the author and an excerpt. (Thu 14 Jul 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon \| BookSense \| Haldeman, Joe : The Forever War (SFBC 0-7394-5343-2, $10.99, 229pp, hardcover, May 2005, jacket art Bruce Jensen) (First edition: St. Martin's, 1974) SF novel about a war between humanity and alien Taurans, in which protagonist William Mandella sees centuries pass on Earth between engagements with the enemy via relativistic slower-than-light spaceflight. This was Haldeman's first novel, partly a response to Heinlein's Starship Troopers and also based on Haldeman's own experience in Vietnam. • Winner of the Hugo and Nebula awards. • This book club edition is part of their 50th Anniversary Collection; the club's site has this description. (Fri 1 Jul 2005) \| * Heinlein, Robert A. : Four Frontiers (SFBC 0-7394-5345-9, $14.99, 709pp, hardcover, June 2005, jacket art Bruce Jensen) Omnibus volume of the first four of Heinlein's young adult SF novels: Rocket Ship Galileo (1947), Space Cadet (1948), Red Planet (1949), and Farmer in the Sky (1950). Despite the sometimes outdated science, the Heinlein 'juveniles' remain among the author's most popular works. • The club's site has this description with a review by editor Ellen Asher. Other book club compilation of Heinlein's juveniles include To the Stars (Between Planets, The Rolling Stones, Starman Jones, and The Star Beast) and Infinite Possibilities (Tunnel in the Sky, Time for the Stars, and Citizen of the Galaxy). (Fri 1 Jul 2005) \| Heinlein, Robert A. : Podkayne of Mars (Ace 0-441-01298-1, $6.99, 214pp, trade paperback, July 2005, cover art Matt Stawicki) (First edition: Putnam, 1963) Young adult SF novel, the last of Heinlein's popular 'juveniles' though perhaps the most controversial, with a female protagonist that many readers have found implausible. It's about a girl raised on Mars who travels to Earth. • Amazon reader reviews for this earlier edition provide sample reactions. • Amazon's 'search inside' feature includes an excerpt. • The Heinlein Society's site has this concordance entry. (Thu 14 Jul 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon \| BookSense \| Herbert, Frank : Chapterhouse: Dune (SFBC 0-7394-5272-x, $10.99, 436pp, hardcover, May 2005, jacket art John Schoenherr) (First edition: UK: Gollancz, 1985) SF novel, sixth and last in the "Dune" series that began with Hugo and Nebula winner Dune (1965), still one of the most popular of all SF novels. This book concerns the Bene Gesserit moving to another world after Arrakis has been destroyed. • This is a reprint of the 1987 Ace edition, and includes a 1984 afterword by Herbert about his wife Bev, who died in February 1984. • The book club's site has this description. The five earlier volumes (two of them combined into one) are offered in this four-book set. (Fri 1 Jul 2005) \| Kay, Guy Gavriel : The Lions of Al-Rassan (Eos 0-06-073349-7, $14.95, 504pp, trade paperback, July 2005, cover illustration Cathy Maclean) (First edition: HarperPrism, June 1995) Alternate history fantasy novel set in a version of medieval Spain under the Moors. • The author's website has this page about the book: "In The Lions of Al-Rassan, GGK went further than he ever had before towards history and away from traditional high fantasy. Al-Rassan is a thinly disguised Al-Andalus - the book speaks powerfully and poetically of the conflict and tragedy of a fragmenting world inspired by the history of reconquista Spain." • The HarperCollins site has this description, plus a note from the author and a chapter excerpt. • The book was an Aurora Award nominee, and placed 4th in the 1996 Locus Poll for best fantasy novel. (Wed 20 Jul 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon \| BookSense \| Le Guin, Ursula K. : The Earthsea Trilogy (SFBC 0-7394-5271-1, $14.99, 422pp, hardcover, April 2005, jacket art Leo & Diane Dillon) (First edition: Puffin, 1979) Hardcover omnibus of Le Guin's acclaimed young adult fantasy series consisting of A Wizard of Earthsea (1968), The Tombs of Atuan (1971), and The Farthest Shore (1972). • The series ranked 4th in Locus' 1998 poll of the best all-time fantasy novels. • The book club's site has this description. (Fri 1 Jul 2005) \| Martin, George R. R. : A Game of Thrones (Bantam Spectra 0-553-10354-7, $28, 694pp, hardcover, August 2005, jacket illustration Stephen Youll) (First edition: Bantam Spectra, September 1996) Fantasy novel, first in the acclaimed "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, of which the long-awaited fourth volume, A Feast for Crows, is due in November. • Bantam has reissued the book both in hardcover and paperback, with the new cover displayed here (despite the images shown on Amazon). Bantam's site has this page for the paperback edition, with an excerpt. • The book was nominated for the World Fantasy and Nebula awards, and won the 1997 Locus Award for best fantasy novel. The second and third volumes in the series also won Locus Awards for best fantasy novel: A Clash of Kings in 1999, and A Storm of Swords in 2001. (Wed 20 Jul 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon \| BookSense \| Moorcock, Michael : Gloriana (SFBC 0-7394-5191-x, $12.99, 355pp, hardcover, April 2005, jacket art Bruce Jensen) (First edition: UK: Allison & Busby, 1978) Fantasy novel set in an alternate-world England, in part an homage to Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast series, and generally regarded as Moorcock's best novel. • This edition is a reprint of the 2004 Warner Aspect edition, with both the original ending and the later revised ending, an afterword by Moorcock, and lyrics from an aborted musical version. • The book club's site has this description. It's one of SFBC's 40th Anniversary Collection. • The book won both the 1979 World Fantasy Award and the 1979 John W. Campbell Memorial Award. (Fri 1 Jul 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon \| BookSense \| Resnick, Mike : Soothsayer (BenBella 1932100512, $14.95, 279pp, trade paperback, July 2005, cover art Jim Burns) (First edition: Ace, 1991) SF novel of a little girl with the power to foresee the future. It's first of the "Penelope" trilogy, followed by Oracle (1992) and Prophet (1993), and is set in the same world as the author's Santiago novels. • BenBella's site has this description, and plans to issue subsequent volumes in the trilogy. • The Amazon page has reader reviews. (Thu 7 Jul 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon \| BookSense \| Robinson, Spider : Night of Power (Baen 0-7434-9917-4, $6.99, 369pp, mass market paperback, July 2005, cover art Thomas Kidd) (First edition: Baen, 1985) SF near-future novel about a race war in New York City -- an atypical work by the author best known for the humorous Callahan's Place stories and novels. • Baen's site has this description and links to chapter excerpts. • Robinson's site heralds the new edition: "One of Spider's most requested and most controversial novels has finally beeen restored to print after an absence of two decades. Baen Books has just released a new edition of NIGHT OF POWER. Written in 1984 (the year the Macintosh was introduced) as speculative prophecy for the then-far-distant year 1996, it depicts a horrific all-out black/white racewar in Manhattan that didn't happen....yet....seen through the eyes of an interracial family visiting from Canada." • Amazon has a brief description and reader reviews. (Thu 14 Jul 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon \| BookSense \| Wells, H. G. : The Time Machine (Penguin Classics 0-141-43997-1, $9, 34+104pp, trade paperback, May 2005, cover illustration Kate Gibb) (First edition: UK: Heinemann, 1895) This new edition of Wells' classic SF novel -- his first SF novel, and the ur-time travel novel in the entire SF genre -- has a 16-page (with notes) introduction by Marina Warner, a biographical note, Wells' 1931 preface to a reissue of the book, and 8 pages of notes to the text. • This is the latest example of Penguin Classics' reprints with new introductions by contemporary writers and critics, as noted last month in our listing of Wells' The War of the Worlds. (Wed 20 Jul 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon \| BookSense \| Opening lines: I warn you that what you're starting to read is full of loose ends and unanswered questions. It will not be neatly tied up at the end, everything resolved and satisfactorily explained. Not by me it won't, anyway. Because I can't say I really know exactly what happened, or why, or just how it began, how it ended, or if it has ended; and I've been right in the thick of it. Now if ou don't like that kind of story, I'm sorry, and you'd better not read it. All I can do is tell what I know. Opening lines: The morning had dawned clear and cold, with a crispness that hinted at the end of summer. They set forth at daybreak to see a man beheaded, twenty in all, and Bran rode among them, nervous with excitement. This was the first time he had been deemed old enough to go with his lord father and his brothers to see the king's justice done. It was the ninth year of summer, and the seventh of Bran's life. Opening lines: In Fort Repose, a river town in Central Florida, it was said that sending a message by Western Union was the same as broadcasting it over the combined networks. This was not entirely true. It was true that Florence Wechek, the manager, gossiped. Yet she judiciously classified the personal intelligence that flowed under her plump fingers, and maintained a prudent censorship over her tongue. The scandalous and the embarrassing she excised from her conversation. Sprightly, trivial, and harmless items she passed on to friends, thus enhancing her status and relieving the tedium of spinsterhood. If your sister was in trouble, and wired for money, the secret was safe with Florence Wechek. But if your sister bore a legitimate baby, its sex and weight would soon be known all over town. Opening lines: All my life I've wanted to go to Earth. Not to live, of course -- just to see it. As everybody knows, Terra is a wonderful place to visit but not to live. Not truly suited to human habitation. Previous Classic Reprints: June
	TOP