+ Canavan, Trudi : Priestess of the White
(HarperCollins/Eos 0-06-081570-1, $7.99, 592pp, mass market paperback, January 2006, cover by Matt Stawicki) First US edition (Australia: HarperCollins Australia, October 2005)

Fantasy novel, first in the "Age of the Five" series, about a new servant of the gods whose position is threatened by a mysterious black-clad sorcerer.
• Amazon, the publisher's page, and the author's page all have the same description.
• The author's site has this prologue extract; the publisher's site has Chapter One.
• Amazon also has several reader reviews.

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* Fawcett, Bill, ed. : We Three Dragons
(Tor 0-765-35386-5, $5.99, 184pp, mass market paperback, November 2005, cover art Gregory Manchess)

Anthology of three original holiday-themes stories about dragons, by authors Jeff Grubb, James M. Ward, and Ed Greenwood.
• The Amazon page has brief descriptions of the three stories.

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* Hendee, Barb, & J. C. Hendee : Traitor to the Blood
(Roc 0-451-46066-9, $23.95, 355pp, hardcover, January 2006, jacket art Steve Stone)

Fantasy novel, fourth in the "Noble Dead" series following Dhampire, Thief of Lives, and Sister of the Dead, about a half-vampire vampire-hunter and her half-elf partner. This is the authors' first book to appear in hardcover.
• The author's site NobleDead.com has a description, a pronunciation guide, and an excerpt.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review, which concludes "Fans of the series are sure to be pleased, while the novel stands well enough on its own to attract new readers."

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* Huston, Charlie : Already Dead
(Ballantine Del Rey 0-345-47824-X, $12.95, 268pp, trade paperback, January 2006, cover design David Stevenson)

Horror novel, a hard-boiled mystery about Manhattan private investigator Joe Pitt, who's a vampire.
• The author has published two previous detective novels; this is his first genre work.
• Del Rey's website has this description, an author Q&A, and an excerpt.
• Amazon has Publishers Weekly's starred review, from its October 10th issue, calling the book "an irresistible and fiendishly original take on the vampire myth", along with several reader reviews.

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* Lebbon, Tim : Berserk
(Leisure 0-8439-5430-2, $6.99, 337pp, mass market paperback, January 2006)

Horror novel about the bizarre consequences of a military experiment, and what a grieving father discovers when he unearths his son's grave.
• The publisher's site has this description, an excerpt, and an essay by Lebbon about where he gets his ideas.
• The author's site has this synopsis, the same extract, and a Berserk competition.
• Amazon has the PW review, which begins "Those who go for cold, queasy horror will embrace" this book, and concludes "Fans who prefer their horror to have a sense of humanity should look elsewhere."

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* McCaffrey, Anne, & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough : Changelings
(Ballantine Del Rey 0-345-47002-8, $19.95, 273pp, hardcover, January 2006, jacket illustration Terese Nielsen)

SF novel, first in the "Twins of Petaybee" trilogy and follow-up to the earlier "Petaybee" trilogy (The Powers That Be, 1993; Power Lines, 1994; Power Play, 1995), about settlers on a sentient planet. In this book a pair of selkie twins eludes an off-planet scientist who wants to study them.
• Del Rey's site has this description, but no excerpt.
• Amazon has reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist, the former citing "Flat characterization, anthropomorphic animals, sentimentality and simplistic takes on various cultures..." and the latter noting that "the characters... and their interactions are so well realized as to utterly charm readers".

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* Meluch, R. M. : Wolf Star: Tour of the Merrimack #2
(DAW 0-7564-0324-3, $23.95, 328pp, hardcover, January 2006, jacket painting Romas Kukalis)

Military SF novel, second in a series following The Myriad (2005), about 25th century American and Roman interstellar empires battling an alien threat called the Hive. The first book has just appeared in paperback.
• The author's website provides this excerpt.
• Amazon has the starred Publishers Weekly review, from its Nov. 28th issue: "This is grand old-fashioned space opera, so toss your disbelief out the nearest airlock and dive in."

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* Mosley, Walter : The Wave
(Warner Aspect 0-446-53363-7, $22.95, 209pp, hardcover, January 2006)

SF novel about an ancient mysterious alien 'wave' that is reanimating dead people.
• The publisher's site has this description and an excerpt.
• Amazon has reviews from PW and Booklist, which are both unenthusiastic; "Mosley fails to sustain the deep, meaningful tone that would have brought this pensive tale to life" says the former, and "Mosley's wandered off turf again, writing imitation Dean Koontz and calling it science fiction" says the latter.
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews the book in the January issue of Locus Magazine; comparing it to Mosley's earlier 1998 SF novel he says "While The Wave is more controlled and generally better than Blue Light, which couldn't quite decide whether it wanted to be horror, SF, or New Age spiritualism, it's still a bit fuzzy around the edges."

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* Newcomb, Robert : Savage Messiah: The Destinies of Blood and Stone
(Ballantine Del Rey 0-345-47707-3, $26.95, 574pp, hardcover, January 2006, jacket illustration Gerald Brom)

Fantasy novel, first in the "Destinies of Blood and Stone" trilogy and follow-up to the author's first trilogy, "The Chronicles of Blood and Stone", set in the land of Eutracia.
• Del Rey's site has this description -- "the first volume in a sweeping new trilogy of magic, romance, and adventure" -- and an excerpt.
• The author's site includes a page outlining the nine novels in three trilogies that will comprise the entire series, and a map.
• Amazon has reviews from PW and Booklist; the latter anticipates "another megafantasy along the lines of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time".

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* Perry, Steve : The Musashi Flex
(Ace 0-441-01361-9, $7.99, 321pp, mass market paperback, January 2006, cover art Christian McGrath)

SF novel about a 23rd century extreme martial arts game.
• The publisher's brief description is copied on the Amazon page, which also has several reader reviews, who compare the book to Perry's earlier "Matadora" series of novels.

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* Ridley, John : What Fire Cannot Burn
(Warner 0-446-61203-0, $6.99, 393pp, mass market paperback, January 2006, cover art Herman Estevez)

Near-future police thriller about LAPD mutant-hunter Soledad O'Roark, follow-up to Those Who Walk in Darkness (2003). In this book Soledad and her partner battle a vigilante targeting metanormals.
• This title was scheduled for hardcover release in 2004, but never appeared; Amazon still lists the nonexistent hardcover but not this edition with ISBN 0-446-61203-0. Barnes & Noble does list the correct edition.
• The publisher's site has this description and an excerpt, along with a profile of the author, who's a TV producer and writer as well as a novelist.

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+ Stroud, Jonathan : Ptolemy's Gate
(Hyperion/Miramax 0-7868-1861-1, $17.95, 501pp, hardcover, January 2006, jacket illustration Melvyn Grant) First US edition (UK: Transworld/Doubleday UK, October 2005)

Young adult fantasy novel, conclusion of the "Bartimaeus Trilogy" following The Amulet of Samarkand (2003) and The Golem's Eye (2004), set in an alternative London where magicians rule. In this volume, young magician Nathaniel is now a member of the government, and the djinni Bartimaeus grows weaker.
• Website The Bartimaeus Trilogy has descriptions and excerpts.
• Amazon.com has the Booklist review, which calls the book "A worthy ending to an exceptional saga".
• Carolyn Cushman reviews it in the January issue of Locus Magazine, calling it "a surprisingly dark story that suggests no easy answers to social inequity".

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* Turtledove, Harry : In High Places
(Tor 0-765-30696-4, $22.95, 270pp, hardcover, January 2006, jacket art Kazuhiko Sano)

Alternate history novel, third in the "Crosstime Traffic" series following Gunpowder Empire (2003) and Curious Notions (2004). In this book a teen-aged girl is kidnapped and enslaved in a Muslim-dominated alternate Europe.
• Amazon has PW and Booklist reviews; the former says it "deals a tad heavy-handedly with the issue of slavery" but that "Turtledove convincingly portrays the conflict between Christians and Muslims", while the latter's Roland Green says "this is the best Crosstime Traffic yarn to date .. featuring, besides two engaging protagonists, extensive exploration of the ethical issues of slavery."

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* Viehl, S. L. : Rebel Ice
(Roc 0-451-46062-6, $7.99, 372pp, mass market paperback, January 2006)

SF novel in the author's long-running Stardoc universe of medically-themed space operas. In this book Dr. Cherijo Tojin crash-lands on an ice-bound planet.
• The publisher's site has this brief description.
• Amazon has the PW and Booklist reviews; the former says "action, adventure and undying love win the day" while the latter concludes "a thrilling addition to the series".

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+ Wilkins, Kim : Giants of the Frost
(Warner 0-446-61728-8, $6.99, 520pp, mass market paperback, January 2006, cover illustration Shasti O'Leary Soudant) First US edition (Australia: Harper Australia, 2004)

Fantasy novel about a skeptical scientist on a Norwegian island who experiences strange events linked to Asgard, the world of the old gods.
• The publisher's site has this description and an excerpt.
• The author's site has this description, with cover images from various editions.
• Amazon has reader reviews.

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