Kage Baker, Dark Mondays (Night Shade Books Jun 2006)

This delicious new collection of nine stories – five new – ranges from SF and surrealism to Lovecraftian chills and even a magical Caribbean pirate adventure. ‘‘The variety of styles and imaginative leaps is dazzling.’’ [Faren Miller]

Elizabeth Bear, Blood and Iron (Roc Jul 2006)

Faerie creatures wander New York City in this ambitious urban fantasy, the first volume in the Promethean Age series, which both embraces traditional fantasy and turns its elements on their heads. A part-mortal Seeker hunts for an untrained wizard of great potential while the Faerie and the human Mages of the Prometheus Club struggle for power. ‘‘…a radical reimagining of the old tropes and stories…’’ [Faren Miller]

Mark Budz, Idolon (Bantam Spectra Aug 2006)

A police murder investigation merges with an amateur sleuth’s search for his missing cousin in this SF mystery set in a near-future San Francisco in a world where the masses are impoverished, while the decadent rich play with biodigital technology and nanoscopic e-skin that let them look like celebrities of the past.

Gordon Dahlquist, The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters (Bantam Sep 2006)

Mad science mixes with Victorian manor house mystery and other genres as three unlikely allies team up to fight evil in an alternate world where magics are worked with a special kind of glass. A much-touted first novel. ‘‘Can it possibly live up to all that hype? Actually, it can.’’ [Faren Miller]

Gardner Dozois, ed., The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-third Annual Collection (St. Martin's Jul 2006)

The perennial heavyweight champ among the year’s best anthologies weighs in with 30 SF stories by authors including Stephen Baxter, Alastair Reynolds, Michael Swanwick, and Gwyneth Jones. ‘‘For a broad and eclectic overview of SF and its varieties, Dozois’s huge anthology remains essential.’’ [Gary K. Wolfe]

Ellen Kushner, The Privilege of the Sword (Bantam Spectra Aug 2006)

A duke’s niece is made to study swordplay rather than have her Season to find a husband in this delightful fantasy adventure set in the Riverside world of Swordspoint.

Margo Lanagan, White Time (HarperCollins/Eos Aug 2006)

The follow-up to her World Fantasy Award-winning Black Juice, this collection from Australia’s hottest new writer of short fiction presents ten brilliant stories, including an Aurealis Award winner and two nominees. Originally published in Australia by Allen & Unwin (2000).

Sarah Monette, The Virtu (Ace Jul 2006)

Gentleman wizard Felix and his street-smart half-brother, the thief Mildmay, return in this sequel to Mélusine with a desperate plan to end their exile by restoring the Virtu, the magic crystal they destroyed. Fascinating characters and knuckle-biting adventure add up to a thoroughly satisfying sequel.

Kay Nielsen, Nielsen's Fairy Tale Illustrations in Full Color (Dover Jul 2006)

An enchanting collection of art by one of the greatest illustrators of fairy tales, this features large full-color plates, including all of Nielsen’s illustrations for East of the Sun and West of the Moon and Twelve Dancing Princesses.

Charles Stross, Glasshouse (Ace Jul 2006)

Satire and thriller mix in this SF novel set in the same universe as the Hugo-nominated Accelerando. A 27th-century man needing a place to hide out joins an experiment to re-create the largely forgotten 20th century. ‘‘…funny, creepy, smart, challenging, and moving, sometimes all at once.’’ [Russell Letson]

Jane Yolen & Adam Stemple, Troll Bridge (Starscape Jul 2006)

A 16-year-old concert harpist and three brothers from a famous rock band must rescue 11 Dairy Princesses from Minnesota captured by trolls in this off-beat (but very musical) contemporary young-adult fantasy inspired by Scandinavian fairy tales.

Zoran Zivkovic, Seven Touches of Music (Aio Publishing Oct 2006)

Seven meditative, subtly linked stories weave a haunting literary mosaic only lightly touched by the fantastic and surreal in this latest collection from the noted Serbian author. This first appeared in the UK as part of Impossible Stories (PS Publishing 2006).