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New Books Oct #5
T.A. Barron
Barbara Hambly
Charlaine Harris
Stephen King
Martin Millar
Moira J. Moore
Tamora Pierce
Jenn Reese
Philip Reeve
Jeri Smith-Ready
Karen Traviss
Wrede & Stevermer

New Books Oct #4
Francesca Lia Block
Ray Bradbury
S.C. Butler
Susanna Clarke
Paul Di Filippo
Kate Elliott
Flint & Dennis
Michael Flynn
Alan Dean Foster
Melanie Rawn
Kristopher Reisz
David Bryan Russell
Al Sarrantonio
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

2006 Archive

2005 Archive

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This page lists selected newly published SFFH books seen by Locus Online (independently from the listings compiled by Locus Magazine).

Review copies received will be listed (though reprints and reissues are on other pages), but not galleys or advance reading copies. Selections, some based only on bookstore sightings, are at the discretion of Locus Online.

* = first edition
+ = first US edition
Date with publisher info is official publication month;
Date in parentheses at paragraph end is date seen or received.

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New small press & self-published SF/F/H books seen : October - November 2006
posted 11 November 2006

* Bowes, Richard : Streetcar Dreams and other midnight fancies
(UK: PS Publishing 1-904619-38-X, £25, 11+178pp, hardcover, July 2006)

Collection of six stories, including World Fantasy Award winner "Streetcar Dreams". Introduction by Jeffrey Ford.
• The author's site has this page about the book, which explains that the other five stories are 'orphan tales' that didn't end up in previous books Minions of the Moon or From the Files of the Time Rangers.
• The publisher's page has a similar description and ordering information. There's both a hardcover and a deluxe slipcased hardcover edition available.

(Sat 4 Nov 2006) • Purchase this book from Amazon • (Directory Entry)

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* Calder, Richard : Babylon
(UK: PS Publishing 1-904619-57-6, £25, 248pp, hardcover, April 2006)

SF novel set in 19th century London, where portals giving access to a parallel, Mesopotamian Babylon allow Jack the Ripper to murder Babylonian whores. The introduction by K.J. Bishop was reprinted in the April '06 issue of The New York Review of Science Fiction.
• The publisher's site has this description. There's both a trade hardcover and a slipcased hardcover edition available.
• Infinity Plus just posted this review by Nick Jackson.

(Sat 4 Nov 2006) • Purchase this book from Amazon • (Directory Entry)

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* Clute, John : The Darkening Garden: A Short Lexicon of Horror
(Payseur & Schmidt 0-9789114-0-7, $45, 162pp, hardcover, October 2006)

Nonfiction collection of 30 short essays written as entries for Clute's forthcoming encyclopedia of horror. Subjects range from "Horror", "Affect Horror", "Dark Fantasy", and "Strange Stories" to "Cloaca", "Equipoise", "Fustian", and "Motif of Harmful Sensation".
• The essays are illustrated by 30 different artists, including Guy Burwell, Jason Van Hollander, Jay Ryan, and Tara McPherson.
• The publisher's site has this page about the book, with links to an excerpt, sample page images, and a complete list of artists.
• Limited to 500 copies.
• Also available is Postcards of Doom, a boxed set of cards with the 30 illustrations from the book. Limited to 300 numbered sets.

(Fri 3 Nov 2006) • (Directory Entry)

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* Cupp, Scott A., & Joe R. Lansdale, eds. : Cross Plains Universe: Texans Celebrate Robert E. Howard.
(MonkeyBrain Books/FACT, Inc. 1-932265-22-8, 295pp, trade paperback, November 2006, cover art Gary Gianni)

Anthology of 21 original stories "by Texas writers" marking the centenary of Texan writer Robert E. Howard.
• Authors include Bradley Denton, Gene Wolfe (who grew up in Houston), Howard Waldrop, Neal Barrett Jr., Chris Roberson, Lawrence Person, and Michael Moorcock.
• Editor Cupp provides an introduction.
• Contributer Roberson lists the table of contents. Copies were given away to members of last week's World Fantasy Convention. The book is a co-publication of MonkeyBrain Books and the Fandom Association of Central Texas, though neither's website has information about the book, nor is it available from Amazon. Roberson's post linked above notes "at this time there are no plans to make copies commercially available, and no plans for a trade edition."
• RevolutionSF ran this review by Peggy Hailey.
• Update 18 Nov: the book can now be ordered from FACT-Sales.

(Thu 2 Nov 2006) • (Directory Entry)

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* Gunn, Derek : Vampire Apocalypse
(UK: Black Death Books 0-9767914-8-x, $14.99, 215pp, trade paperback, September 2006)

Horror novel, subtitled "A World Torn Asunder", about a world run by Vampires and humans are bred like cattle.
• The author, who is Irish, has this website with excerpts, links to reviews and other publications, and ordering information.
• Amazon has a description, and mixed reader reviews, including 5 stars from Harriet Klausner.

(Sat 4 Nov 2006) • Purchase this book from Amazon • (Directory Entry)

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* Guran, Paula, ed. : Best New Paranormal Romance
(Juno 0-8095-5653-7, $12.95, 312pp, trade paperback, October 2006, cover art Timothy Lantz)

Anthology of 12 stories of "paranormal romance" first published in 2005. This is a new "year's best" anthology published by a new imprint of Wildside Press, Juno Books.
• The editor provides an introduction (with footnotes) explaining what she means of paranormal romance. Authors include Elizabeth Bear, Catherine Asaro, Jane Yolen, Elizabeth Hand, Heather Shaw, and John Grant.
• The publisher's website has a blog and guidelines for next year's anthology.

(Fri 3 Nov 2006) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

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* Herter, David : On the Overgrown Path
(UK: PS Publishing 1-904619-84-3, £25, 8+120pp, hardcover, December 2006)

SF novella about composer Leos Janacek, who while stranded in a remote eastern European village in the 1920s, tries to solve a murder mystery in which he is a suspect. Introduction by John Clute
• The publisher's site has this description with ordering information. Both a hardcover and a paperback edition are available. (Neither is currently listed by Amazon UK.)
• The author has launched blog crazed feuilleton about the book, with photos, an excerpt from Clute's introduction, and notes about other projects.
• Locus Online posted Herter's Letter from Brno in 2004.

(Sat 4 Nov 2006) • (Directory Entry)

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* Kilworth, Garry : Moby Jack and Other Tall Tales
(UK: PS Publishing 1-904619-53-3, £25, 300pp, hardcover, June 2006)

Collection of 21 stories, with an introduction by Robert Holdstock.
• The publisher's site has this description and ordering information. Both a trade hardcover and a slipcased hardcover edition are available.
• Emerald City posted this review by Mario Guslandi in May: "the book is a captivating collection of good, solid fiction providing variety and entertainment."

(Sat 4 Nov 2006) • Purchase this book from Amazon • (Directory Entry)

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* Lake, Jay : Trial of Flowers
(Night Shade Books 1-597-80056-2, $14.95, 263pp, trade paperback, September 2006, cover art Richard Pellegrino)

Fantasy novel set in the City Imperishable, where the disappearance of the city's heir triggers a power-struggle in the face of threats that could destroy the city.
• The publisher's site has this description.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review, which concludes "Filled with violence and some seriously perverse sex, this grand guignol of a book should appeal to fans of such authors of urban fantasies as China Miéville and Jeff VanderMeer."

(Fri 3 Nov 2006) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

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* Littleton, Therese : Teeth
(Payseur & Schmidt no isbn, $10, 18pp, chapbook, June 2006)

Chapbook short story about "genetic transformation, interspecies conflict, and fresh seafood".
• The publisher's site has this page for the book, with links to an excerpt and a image of sample pages.
• Limited edition of 100 copies. Each chapbook comes with a bookmark cord weighted by a shark's tooth (as seen in the image right).

(Fri 3 Nov 2006) • (Directory Entry)

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* Reynolds, Alastair : Zima Blue and Other Stories
(Night Shade Books 1-59780-058-9, $26.95, 280pp, hardcover, September 2006, cover art Chris Mayernik)

Collection of 10 stories first published from 1996 to 2005, including three stories from '05 frequently cited in best-of-year discussions: "Beyond the Aquila Rift", "Understanding Space and Time", and "Zima Blue". Introduction by Paul McAuley.
• The publisher's order page has a description and complete list of contents. There's also a limited edition of 150 copies that include an extra story, "Digital to Analogue" (1992).
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review: "Reynolds may not always convince that intelligence leads to moral behavior, but his fertile imagination can resurrect Elton John on Mars in "Understanding Space and Time" or make prophets of the human condition out of pool-cleaning robots in the title story."

(Wed 25 Oct 2006) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

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* Stableford, Brian : Streaking
(UK: PS Publishing 1-904619-40-1, £25, 8+326pp, hardcover, April 2006, cover by Vincent Chong)

SF novel about luck, concerning a lucky man in a dynasty of lucky men whose playboy gambling life is catching up with him. Introduction by Storm Constantine.
• The publisher's site has this description. Both a trade hardcover and a slipcased hardcover edition are available.
• Strange Horizons posted this review by John Clute in July, while a September Infinity Plus interview covered this book and others.

(Sat 4 Nov 2006) • Purchase this book from Amazon • (Directory Entry)

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* Starmule, Apollo : Undo the Winter
(Satya Yuga Books 0-9763230-0-1, $47.5, 783pp, trade paperback, September 2006, cover illustration Jacinda Sedgley)

SF novel, subtitled "The Odyssey of Sonny-Bob Culpepper".
• The press release has this description: "It is about Captain Sonny-Bob Culpepper, an Anarchist who votes for Republican candidates in the late twenty-second century. He is also a Pagan who worships Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and passionate desire. He is eternally fixated on his penis, whose name is Hemingway."
• Neither the publisher nor the author seems to have a website.

(Thu 26 Oct 2006) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

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* Waldrop, Howard : Things Will Never Be the Same: A Howard Waldrop Reader
(Old Earth Books 1-882968-36-0, $25, 11+311pp, trade paperback, November 2006)

Collection of 16 stories, a career retrospective subtitled "Selected Science Fiction 1980-2005". The edition listed here is a "Special World Fantasy Convention" preview edition; the trade book will be available in December.
• Contents include "The Ugly Chickens", "Flying Saucer Rock and Roll", "Night of the Cooters", "Mr. Goober's Show", "US", and "The King of Where-I-Go". Waldrop provides an introduction.
• The publisher's site has this page for the book, with a scan of the wrap-around cover.

(Fri 3 Nov 2006) • (Directory Entry)

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* Wallace, Sean, ed. : Best New Fantasy: 2006
(Prime Books 0-8095-5678-2, $12.95, 237pp, trade paperback, August 2006, cover art Eikasia)

Anthology of 16 fantasy stories first published in 2005. This is a new "year's best" anthology but with an emphasis on "new" writers.
• Authors include Theodora Goss, Joe Hill, Jeff VanderMeer, Christopher Barzak, Tim Pratt, Jay Lake, Kelly Link, and Holly Phillips.
• The editor provides a brief introduction, and introductions to each story.
• It's not yet listed on the Prime Books website, but Amazon has the cover painting and a brief description.

(Sat 4 Nov 2006) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

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* Watson, Ian : The Butterflies of Memory
(UK: PS Publishing 1-904619-49-5, £25, 10+438pp, hardcover, July 2006, cover by Vincent Chong)

Collection of 17 stories, with an introduction by Paul McAuley. Watson provides detailed notes to each story.
• The publisher's site has this description. Two editions are available: a trade hardcover, and a slipcased hardcover.
• The author's site's news page has a scan of the full cover and notes about the contents.
• Strange Horizons posted this review by Paul Kincaid.

(Sat 4 Nov 2006) • Purchase this book from Amazon • (Directory Entry)

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* Williams, Liz : The Demon and the City
(Night Shade Books 1-59780-045-7, $24.95, 242pp, hardcover, August 2006, jacket art Jon Foster)

SF/paranormal thriller, second in the "Inspector Chen" series following The Snake Agent (2005) about a Singapore detective in charge of supernatural and mystical investigations. In this book Chen's assistant investigates the murder of a young heiress.
• The publisher's page for the book has a description. There's also a limited edition available, for $49, with an additional story, "No Logo".
• Amazon has reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist; the former concludes "Williams weaves a rich, complicated tapestry that merges life with afterlife, otherworldly with worldly and human with inhuman."
• Faren Miller reviewed the book in the October issue of Locus Magazine, concluding "When genre fiction gets down to the nitty-gritty of atrocity and disaster, the specter of 9/11 will rise in the reader's mind whether or not the author intends it. The Demon and the City has too much wit, color and variety to be strictly a grim meditation on history, but I'm glad Williams acknowledged our own ghosts along the way."

(Fri 3 Nov 2006) • Purchase this book from Amazon | BookSense • (Directory Entry)

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* Wiloch, Thomas : Screaming in Code
(Naked Snake Press no isbn, $8, 56pp, chapbook, October 2006)

Collection of 34 prose poems and photocollages, all apparently original to this book.
• The publisher's catalog page has a description, and ordering information. It can also be ordered from Shocklines.
• The author has website Codes and Chaos.

(Mon 23 Oct 2006) • (Directory Entry)

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