* Allen, Justin : Slaves of the Shinar
(Overlook Duckworth 158567916X, $25.95, 430pp, hardcover, July 2007)

Historical fantasy novel, the author's first novel, set in ancient Mesopotamia, about a thief from Africa and a Niphilim slave who come to battle in the land of Shinar.
• It's subtitled "an epic fantasy of the ancient world", though the Publishers Weekly review on the Amazon page notes "The fantasy label is perhaps misapplied; Uruk and Ander fight their battles -- brutal enough for an Erikson set piece -- with mundane weapons, brawn and brains, and only the wholly fictional Niphilim society prevents it from being legitimate historical fiction."
• The publisher's site has this order page with a description, calling it "part Homer, part Tolkein, part R. Scott Bakker".
• The PW review concludes "Yet despite the lack of wizardry, gods or strange beasts, something in Allen's writing raises the mundane to the level of the fantastic, and the feel of magic crackles through the pages, even if it's nowhere to be found in the words." Amazon also has several 5-star reader reviews.

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* Arthur, Keri : Embraced by Darkness
(Dell Spectra 0-553-58961-X, $6.99, 355pp, mass market paperback, August 2007)

Urban fantasy novel, fifth in a series following Full Moon Rising (2006), Kissing Sin (Feb. '07), Tempting Evil (March '07), and Dangerous Games (April '07), about Riley Jenson, a half-vampire, half-werewolf guardian who protects humans from various supernatural races. In this one Riley pursues a serial killer who targets women.
• Bantam Dell's site has this description and an excerpt.
• The author's website has has US, UK, and Australian covers for the books, and this page for the current book, with an excerpt.

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* Caine, Rachel : Thin Air
(Roc 0-451-46163-0, $6.99, 309pp, mass market paperback, August 2007)

Fantasy novel, sixth in the "Weather Wardens" series about people who can control the weather, following Ill Wind (2003), Heat Stroke (2004), Chill Factor (2005), Windfall (2005), and Firestorm (2006). In this book heroine Joanne Baldwin has lost her memories and is impersonated by a demon.
• The author's website has a sample chapter.
• Amazon has mixed reader reviews.

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* Carlson, Jeff : Plague Year
(Ace 978-0-441-01514-6, $7.99, 292pp, mass market paperback, August 2007)

Science fiction novel about survivors of a nanotech plague; the author's first novel.
• The publisher's website has this description with a blurb from David Brin.
• The author's website has a press kit and excerpts.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review, which calls it "tiresome" -- "though well-written, the heroes' lengthy journeys slow the story to a pace almost as tormenting as organ-liquefying micro-machines." -- and reader reviews that refute PW, among them Pyr editor Lou Anders, who explains in his blog that he loved the book but lost it in a bidding war. Amazon's description also includes praiseworthy blurbs from Robert J. Sawyer, Robert Charles Wilson, and others.

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* Chiang, Ted : The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate
(Subterranean Press 978-1-59606-100-2, $20, 60pp, hardcover, July 2007, jacket illustration Jacob McMurray)

Book edition of a novelette that was published in the September issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and has more-or-less simultaneously appeared in this hardcover edition from Subterranean Press.
• It's about a merchant in medieval Baghdad who discovers a time travel device, and the embedded stories of trying to change the past that ensue.
• The publisher's website has this order page with a description and quotes from reviews. Though this page indicates the trade edition is sold out, Amazon still has copies available.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review: "Half lyrical Arabian Nights legend and half old school cautionary SF tale, this skillfully written story and its theme of insurmountable fate may comfort as many readers as it makes uncomfortable."
• The publisher's site quotes the Booklist review: "Could fantasy be more intelligently exquisite and, ultimately and surprisingly, morally sound than this?"
• Nick Gevers reviews the story in the August issue of Locus Magazine: "Perfectly capturing the period tone and its necessary mixture of pure wonder, erotic titillation, and moral instruction, Chiang conveys concepts from higher physics with arabesque elegance and a timeless aplomb. 'Gate' is one of the major stories of the year."

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* Datlow, Ellen, & Terri Windling, eds. : The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales
(Viking 978-0-670-06194-5, $19.99, 523pp, hardcover, June 2007, cover illustration Charles Vess)

Anthology of 26 original fantasy stories and poems on the theme of trickster characters from folk literature. Authors include Christopher Barzak, Holly Black, Charles de Lint, Carol Emshwiller, Jeffrey Ford, Theodora Goss, Ellen Klages, Ellen Kushner, Kelly Link, Pat Murphy, and Jane Yolen. Illustrations are by Charles Vess.
• It's the third volume in the editors' "mythic fiction" anthology series, following The Green Man and The Faery Reel.
• The publisher's site has this description.
• Online reviews include one from Green Man Review ("Datlow and Windling deserve their reputation as anthologists par excellence") and one at SF Reader.com.
• Nick Gevers reviewed the book in the June issue of Locus Magazine, saying it's "the best of these [anthologies] so far", and especially recommending the stories by Jeffrey Ford, Kij Johnson, and Kelly Link.

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+ Fallon, Jennifer : Warlord
(Tor 978-0-765-30991-4, $26.95, 508pp, hardcover, August 2007, jacket art Paul Youll)

Fantasy novel, third in the "Wolfblade" trilogy following Wolfblade (US edition January 2006) and Warrior (US edition Sept. 2006), and sixth in the overall "Hythrun Chronicles" following the "Demon Child" trilogy (Medalon, Treason Keep, and Harshini).
• The first edition of this book was published by Voyager Australia in 2005.
• The author's site has this page about the book, with an extract.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review, which calls it the "intricately plotted final novel in the Wolfblade trilogy" and concludes "With cold-blooded maneuverings that include murder, torture and thievery on an awe-inspiring scale, Fallon has brought this segment of the Hythrun Chronicles to a close with a grand flourish."

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* Ferrari, Mark J. : The Book of Joby
(Tor 978-0-7653-1753-7, $15.95, 638pp, trade paperback, August 2007, cover art Mark J. Ferrari)

Fantasy novel about Joby Peterson, who from the age of nine is focus of an age-old battle between Lucifer and the Creator.
• It's the first novel from the author, previously known as an artist. The author's site has a synopsis and several PDF excerpts.
• Tor's site has this description -- "The Book of Joby is an instant classic of contemporary fantasy." -- with an excerpt.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review: "This dark fantasy for Left Behind fans achieves its narrow transcendence only at the cost of many pages and many lives."

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* Gould, Steven : Jumper: Griffin's Story
(Tor 978-0-7653-1827-5, $24.95, 286pp, hardcover, August 2007)

Young-adult novel about a 9-year-old boy named Griffin with the power to teleport. It's a prequel or spin-off to Gould's earlier novels Jumper (1992) and its sequel Reflex (2004), and concerns a character invented for the film version of the original books, Jumper, due next year, starring Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson, Diane Lane, and Jamie Bell (as Griffin).
• Tor's website has this description and excerpt.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review, which calls it a "breakneck-paced SF adventure" and concludes "While series fans will almost literally be jumping for joy, newcomers may not fully appreciate the saga's thematic scope and history without first reading Jumper and its sequel, Reflex."

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* Guran, Paula, ed. : Best New Romantic Fantasy 2
(Juno 978-0-8095-5784-4, $13.95, 301pp, trade paperback, September 2007, cover art Timothy Lantz)

Anthology of 15 stories first published in 2006. It's designated 2nd in the series, though the title has changed from last year's Best New Paranormal Romance (described here).
• Authors include Eugie Foster, Esther Friesner, Sarah Monette, Richard Parks, M. Rickert, Delia Sherman, and Sonya Taaffe.
• The publisher's site has this description, with the table of contents.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review, which calls it "By turns deliriously romantic and richly melancholic..." and cites standouts by Rickert, Taaffe, and Sandra McDonald. The review concludes "While these offerings from an impressive crew of fantasy heavyweights may not be jam-packed with happy-ever-afters, they explore the many worlds of fantastic romance with passion and panache."

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* Saintcrow, Lilith : The Devil's Right Hand
(Orbit 978-0316021425, $6.99, 391pp, mass market paperback, September 2007)

Dark fantasy novel, third in the series about necromancer and bounty hunter Dante Valentine. In this book Dante is summoned by the devil to hunt down four demons who have escaped from Hell.
• This volume is the first original book from the new US incarnation of Orbit Books, whose website has blog posts and publishing schedules.
• Also published this month -- in stores now, though with nominal publication dates of September '07 -- are reprints of the first two Dante Valentine novels, published earlier in Britain: Working for the Devil and Dead Man Rising.
• According to the author's website there are two volumes forthcoming.
• Amazon has posts by the author.

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* Sanderson, Brandon : The Well of Ascension
(Tor 978-0-7653-1688-2, $27.95, 590pp, hardcover, August 2007, jacket art Jon Foster)

Fantasy novel, second in "The Final Empire" series following Mistborn (2006). This book is about what happens to the victors after they've defeated the powerful Lord Ruler.
• Tor's website has this description, with quotes from reviews.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review: "This entertaining read will especially please those who always wanted to know what happened after the good guys won."
• Faren Miller reviews the book in the August issue of Locus Magazine.

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* Schroeder, Karl : Queen of Candesce
(Tor 978-0-765-31544-1, $25.95, 332pp, hardcover, August 2007, jacket art Stephan Martiniere)

SF novel, "Book Two of Virga" following Sun of Suns (2006), about a miniature cosmos filled with numerous artificial worlds. In this book Venera Fanning lands in the nation of Spyre.
• Tor's website has this description and an excerpt.
• Schroeder's site includes this post in which the author explains why this isn't a trilogy, but a series.
• Amazon has the starred Publishers Weekly review, from its July 9th issue: "Comparable to classic SF epics like John Varley's Gaean trilogy and Jack L. Chalker's Well of Souls series, Schroeder's saga is an awe-inspiring example of masterful world-building. A myriad of themes, from rogue artificial intelligences to the evolution of human bodies and culture, make this futuristic epic one to reckon with."
• Russel Letson reviewed it in the June issue of Locus Magazine, concluding "My hope is that these books turn out to be not a trilogy but an open-ended series -- Schroeder's world-building, storytelling, and character-drawing chops seem strong enough to give even Known Space a run for its money."

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* VanderMeer, Ann, & Jeff VanderMeer, eds. : Best American Fantasy
(Prime Books 978-0-8095-6280-0, $14.95, 459pp, trade paperback, July 2007, cover art Scott Eagle)

Anthology of 29 fantasy stories first published in 2006. Authors include Kelly Link, Elizabeth Hand, Geoffrey Landis, Kevin Brockmeier, Brian Evenson, and Sarah Monette.
• This is the first of a new series apparently modeled after Houghton Mifflin's long-running Best American Short Stories anthologies in that there's a series editor -- here it's Matthew Cheney -- and guest editors for each volume -- here, Ann & Jeff VanderMeer -- who will presumably change from volume to volume.
• The majority of stories are from non-genre sources -- The New Yorker, Mississippi Review, Pindeldyboz, Tin House -- though two are from Strange Horizons and one, by Geoffrey Landis, is from Analog.
• The series has website www.bestamericanfantasy.com and blog bestamericanfantasy.blogspot.com.
• Amazon has the starred Publishers Weekly review, from its May 28th issue, which says "the first in Prime's new annual fantasy anthology series is a breath of eclectic and delightfully innovative fresh air. ... [G]enre and mainstream fiction fans alike will be pleasantly surprised by these unconventional short fiction gems."

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