Lou Anders, ed., Futureshocks (Penguin/Roc Jan 2006)

Anders's second themed anthology contains 16 original SF stories by a mix of established and up-and-coming authors – including Robert Charles Wilson, Paul Di Filippo, John Meaney, Alex Irvine, and Caitlín R. Kiernan – and does "everything the great SF anthologies of old did, stunning the reader with novelty, making the future seem like a cornucopia again." [Nick Gevers]

R. Scott Bakker, The Thousandfold Thought (Penguin Jan 2006)

Bakker's detailed and complex epic Prince of Nothing series concludes in this third volume, as Kellhus's long journey in search of his father comes to a close amidst battles, sorcery, and betrayal.

Kevin Brockmeier, The Brief History of the Dead (Pantheon Feb 2006)

Two tales of survival – one of a woman marooned in the Antarctic waste and the other of recently deceased souls living in a surreal place called the City – deftly interweave in this "metaphysical horror fiction of exceptional quality." [Nick Gevers]

Tobias S. Buckell, Crystal Rain (Tor Feb 2006)

Buckell's debut novel is a good old SF adventure story, with forgotten technologies, escape by airship, battles with aliens, and mutiny at sea. His Creole background lends a colorful touch to his characters and dialogue, and his clever reworking of familiar tropes makes this a standout first novel.

Gardner Dozois, ed., One Million A.D. (SFBC Jan 2006)

Celebrated anthologist Dozois challenged six authors to envision humanity's fate in an impossibly distant future; Robert Reed, Nancy Kress, Alastair Reynolds, Robert Silverberg, Greg Egan, and Charles Stross responded with a set of hard SF novellas both visionary and mind-boggling. "Rich in ideas and implication: certainly a major anthology." [Nick Gevers]

Win Scott Eckert, ed., Myths for the Modern Age : Philip Jose Farmer's Wold Newton Universe (MonkeyBrain Books Nov 2005)

Eckert's anthology centers around Farmer's Wold Newton family, with nine rarely-seen essays by Farmer containing further extrapolation and more "biographies" of fictional characters, and 19 additional contributions by other writers expanding the family tree.

Steven Erikson, The Healthy Dead (Night Shade Books Dec 2005)

Erikson shows his skillful hand at satire in the continuing comical adventures of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach. Employed by the residents of Quaint, the traveling necromancers must overthrow King Macrotus the Overwhelmingly Considerate before his reign of benevolence destroys the town. Previously only available from PS Publishing (2004).

Joe Haldeman, War Stories (Night Shade Books Mar 2006)

Ranging from autobiographical to SFnal, this monumental omnibus collects two novels (War Year and 1968) as well as seven short stories, two long poems, and three essays by award-winning author Haldeman, all about or informed by his Vietnam experiences.

Stephen King, Cell (Scribner Feb 2006)

King returns to post-apocalyptic horror with this fast-moving tale of a mysterious Pulse that turns cell-phone users into murderous zombies. "Fun, scary, suspenseful, and even emotionally wrenching at times." [Tim Pratt]

Douglas Lain, Last Week's Apocalypse (Night Shade Books Feb 2006)

This debut collection by a distinctive new voice includes 14 stories, one original, that twist the tropes of science fiction to satirical, surreal, and metafictional ends.

Joel Lane, The Lost District and Other Stories (Night Shade Books Feb 2006)

One of Britain's finest dark fantasists explores grim urban settings and desperate characters in this collection of 24 stories, six new.

Farah Mendlesohn, Diana Wynne Jones: Children's Literature and the Fantastic Tradition (Routledge Aug 2005)

In the first serious study of Jones's work, literary critic and historian Mendlesohn focuses on Jones as a writer of critical fantasy, discussing both her fiction and her critiques of the fantastic tradition.

Joshua Palmatier, The Skewed Throne (DAW Jan 2006)

In a gritty tale of survival, deception, and madness, 14-year-old Varis is recruited as an assassin for the Skewed Throne in the trading city of Amenkor. A promising first novel with a cleverly twisted cityscape.

Piet Schreuders & Kenneth Fulton, The Paperback Art of James Avati (Grant Jan 2006)

Avati's provocative paintings of sultry country girls, ruined farmers, and grim-faced city dwellers revolutionized paperback cover art in the '50s and brought attention to the work of many authors of the time: Erskine Caldwell, William Faulkner, Ayn Rand, etc. An extensive compilation of works and photos, covering 40 years of painting, and with biographical text.