+ Connolly, John : The Book of Lost Things
(Atria 0743298853, $23, 339pp, hardcover, November 2006)

Young adult fantasy novel about a 12-year-old English boy, mourning the death of his mother, who finds a portal to a fantasy world.
• The author's site has a description with links to an excerpt and reviews. The books was published earlier in Australia and the UK, where Hodder & Stoughton set up this microsite for the book, with interviews, Q&A, synopses, excerpts, and various extras.
• Amazon has several posts by the author, plus the Publishers Weekly review, which says "Connolly echoes many great fairy tales and legends (Little Red Riding Hood, Roland, Hansel and Gretel), but cleverly twists them to his own purposes. Despite horrific elements, this tale is never truly frightening, but is consistently entertaining as David learns lessons of bravery, loyalty and honor that all of us should learn."

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* Crichton, Michael : Next
(HarperCollins 0-06-087298-5, $27.95, 431pp, hardcover, December 2006)

SF thriller about the threat of biotechnology and genetic engineering.
• The author's site has this page for the book, with the flap copy, press releases, and a link to tie-in website www.NEXTgencode.com, which offers news stories, products, and ads.
• HarperCollins' site has a description and Chapter One excerpt.
• Amazon has the flap description and reader reviews.

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+ Dunmore, Helen : Ingo
(HarperCollins 0-06-081852-2, $16.99, 328pp, hardcover, September 2006)

Young adult fantasy novel, first of a series, about an 11-year-old girl, Sapphire, whose family is mysteriously drawn to an undersea world off the Cornwall coast.
• HarperCollins has this description and an excerpt.
• The author's site has this description for the 2005 UK first edition of the book -- "Ingo is the first book in a major series for children, set in a tantalisingly beautiful and dangerous world of adventure under the sea, where the Mer people live." -- and a link to HarperCollins UK's mini site for the book, with background on the myth and a PDF excerpt.
• Amazon has the starred Booklist review: "Dunmore's narrative skims expertly across the pages as it chronicles the kids' thrilling adventures (the dolphin-riding scenes are grand) and deftly weaves in an ecological message about protecting the sea."

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* Finn, Mark : Blood and Thunder: The Life and Art of Robert E. Howard
(MonkeyBrain Books 1-932265-21-X, $15.95, 264pp, trade paperback, November 2006, cover illustration John Picacio)

Nonfiction biography of the creator of Conan the Cimmerian, Solomon Kane, and other characters. The book includes illustrations, an index and bibligraphy, and an introduction by Joe Lansdale.
• MonkeyBrain's site has this description.
• Wikipedia has this entry for the author.
• Amazon has a brief description and a couple reader reviews, including one from Jess Nevins: "With enthusiasm, skill, and expertise Mark Finn has written the new and definitive biography of Robert E. Howard. ... Howard could not hope for a better biographer than Mark Finn, nor a better biography than Blood and Thunder."
• Also online is a diary post by Bill Crider and Rick Kleffel's Agony Column review.

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* Hughes, Matthew : Majestrum
(Night Shade Books 1-597-80061-9, $24.95, 209pp, hardcover, October 2006, cover art Tom Kidd)

Far-future SF/fantasy novel, first in a trilogy, about sleuth Henghis Hapthorn in the Archonate setting of several earlier works by Hughes.
• The publisher's site has this brief description, and offers a limited edition, signed by the author and containing bonus material, limited to 125 copies, for $49.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review, which says the book "introduces Henghis Hapthorn, a sleuth who combines the confident brilliance of Sherlock Holmes with the amusing voice of P.G. Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster, in a fantastical mystery reminiscent of Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy novels."
• Nick Gevers reviewed the book in the October issue of Locus Magazine, alluding to the two sequels: "Judging by the present volume, the ride should be exhilarating and thoroughly amusing."

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* Hunter, Faith : Bloodring
(Roc 0-451-46108-8, $14, 337pp, trade paperback, November 2006)

Post-apocalyptic fantasy novel, first in a series, in which winged seraphs have appeared on Earth, triggering an ice age and religious strife.
• The author's site has a full description, plus a timeline, author background and pics, and links to Yahoo group Enclave.
• Amazon has the book description plus the Publishers Weekly review, which calls it "entertaining if flawed".

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+ Jones, Diana Wynne : The Pinhoe Egg
(HarperCollins/Greenwillow 0-06-113124-5, $17.99, 515pp, hardcover, October 2006, jacket art Brandon Dorman)

Young adult fantasy novel in the author's "Chrestomanci" series, about Marianne Pinhoe, member of a witch clan living near Chrestomanci Castle, who discovers a magical egg in her family's attic.
• HarperCollins has this description and an excerpt.
• Amazon has School Library Journal and Booklist reviews; the latter concludes "A must for Chrestomanci fans, this solidly entertaining tale is also accessible to readers new to the series."
• Carolyn Cushman reviewed it in the August issue of Locus Magazine, calling it a "charming YA fantasy... with a touch of English manor house mystery."

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* Koontz, Dean : Brother Odd
(Bantam 0-553-80480-4, $27, 364pp, hardcover, December 2006, jacket illustration Tim Hallman)

Horror novel, the third Odd Thomas novel following Odd Thomas (2003) and Forever Odd (2005), about a young man who can see spirits of the dead. In this book Odd perceives entities called bodachs while staying at a monastery in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
• The author's site has this page for the book, with a description and excerpt.
• Amazon has posts by the author, plus reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist The latter says the book is "reminiscent of a sunny monster-movie sequel -- say, Son of Frankenstein -- in which stock characters do their shtick with a wink and a nod: "Dontcha just love us?" In this case, yes, we do."

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* Rickert, M. : Map of Dreams
(Golden Gryphon Press 1-930846-44-4, $24.95, 15+313pp, hardcover, November 2006, cover painting Thomas Canty)

Collection of 22 stories, most first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction since 1999. The title story is a 100-page short novel original to this volume. Reprinted stories include "Cold Fires", "Anyway", and "The Harrowing".
• The book has an introduction by Christiopher Barzak, and an afterword by F&SF editor Gordon Van Gelder.
• The publisher's page has a description, the table of contents, links to reviews, and links to two of the stories published online.
• Both Gary K. Wolfe and Nick Gevers reviewed the book in the October issue of Locus Magazine. (See the publisher's page for links.) Wolfe calls it "the most impressive debut collection I've seen this year"; Gevers concludes "M. Rickert has mastered her own distinct creative territory, and has become a formidable writer."

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* Rosenblum, Mary : Horizons
(Tor 0-765-31604-8, $24.95, 316pp, hardcover, November 2006, jacket art John Harris)

Near-future SF novel about political intrigue aboard an orbital habitat called New York Up, where an empath from Earth searches for the fate of her brother.
• The author, who also writes mysteries as Mary Freeman, has this website and this blog.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review, which calls it a "well-done tale of politics in near-Earth orbit" that "provides a fascinating picture of how humanity might develop in zero gravity". Amazon's 'search inside' feature includes an excerpt.
• Gary K. Wolfe reviewed it in the November issue of Locus Magazine, saying the book "is an excellent example of an increasingly rare breed -- a good SF novel which is satisfied with being a good SF novel. ... it's immensely satisfying with its cast of intelligent, sympathetic characters, its attention to detail, and its clear and efficient style."

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+ Self, Will : The Book of Dave
(Bloomsbury USA 1596911239, $24.95, 496pp, hardcover, November 2006)

Satiric SF novel about a future society that takes an ancient manuscript -- the diary of a London taxi driver in 2000 -- as its sacred text. The book includes a glossary of Mokni, the future language that "combines cabby slang, cockney and the Esperanto of graffiti" according to the PW review.
• The first edition was published by Viking in the UK in June.
• Self's blog has these posts about the book.
• Amazon has starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist; the former concludes "Self is endlessly talented, and in crossbreeding a fantasy novel with a scorching satire of contemporary mores, he's created a beautiful monster of the future that feeds on the neurotic present -- and its parents", the latter "This is as rousing an indictment of organized religion -- and especially fundamentalism -- as readers are likely to encounter in the post-9/11 canon."

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* Stross, Charles : The Jennifer Morgue
(Golden Gryphon Press 1-930846-45-2, $25.95, 313pp, hardcover, November 2006, cover painting Steve Montiglio)

Fantasy novel, sequel to The Atrocity Archives (2004), about computer geek Bob Howard working for the British secret service to battle the effects of Lovecraftian magic, in this case a device called the Jennifer Morgue that allows communication with the dead.
• The volume includes an extra story, "Pimpf", first published online in Jim Baen's Universe, and an afterword, "The Golden Age of Spying", plus a glossary of abbreviations, acronyms, and organizations.
• Sci Fi Wire posted this interview with Stross in which he calls this volume his James Bond pastiche.
• Golden Gryphon Press has this page for the book, with a description and links to reviews.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review, which says the book is "alternately chilling and hilarious" and concludes "Stross has a marvelous time making eldritch horror appear commonplace in the face of bureaucracy."
• Nick Gevers reviewed it in the November issue of Locus Magazine, calling it "Stross's most entertaining novel to date". The full review is linked from the Golden Gryphon page.

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* Woodworth, Stephen : From Black Rooms
(Bantam 0-440-24253-3, $6.99, 334pp, mass market paperback, November 2006)

Supernatural thriller, fourth in the "Violet Eyes" series following Through Violet Eyes, With Red Hands, and In Golden Blood, about people with violet eyes who can channel the dead. In this book, Violet Natalie Lindstrom channels dead painters and discovers a plot to artificially create Violets.
• The official Violet Eyes website has a description and a link to an excerpt on the publisher's site.
• Amazon has posts from the author and reader reviews.

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* Wright, John C. : Fugitives of Chaos
(Tor 0-765-31496-7, $25.95, hardcover, November 2006, jacket art Scott M. Fischer)

Fantasy novel, second in the "Chronicles of Chaos" series following Orphans of Chaos (2005, just out in paperback), about five orphans with supernatural powers at a British boarding school. In this volume the students try to escape from the school and regain their memories. One more volume, Titans of Chaos, is to follow.
• The author's website has this page for the book, with excerpts from various reviews.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review: "With its focus on Golden Age genre tropes and quirky teenage romance, this fantasy adventure reads a bit like J.K. Rowling meets Roger Zelazny, and should be of particular interest to youthful fans looking for something less predictable than the usual YA fare."
• Nick Gevers reviewed the book in the November issue of Locus Magazine: "Glorious and intelligent reading, this series, multi-layered and bracingly strange."

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