Bilsborough, David : The Wanderer's Tale
(Tor 978-0-765-32100-8, $14.95, 448pp, trade paperback, May 2008)
(First edition: Tor, July 2007)

Fantasy novel, the author's first novel and first of a projected trilogy, about evil forces in the land of Lindormyn, defeated 500 years before, attempting a comeback.
• The second volume, A Fire in the North, is due from Tor in June.
• Tor's site has a description and an excerpt.
• Amazon's 'search inside' feature also includes an excerpt.

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Bujold, Lois McMaster : The Sharing Knife: Legacy
(Eos 978-0-06-113906-2, $7.99, 348pp, mass market paperback, May 2008)
(First edition: Eos, July 2007)

Romantic fantasy novel, second in the "The Sharing Knife" duology following Beguilement (2006), about Fawn, a farm girl now married to a Lakewalker patroller, who returns with him to his home, where she faces hostility from the boy's family.
• The third book in the series, The Sharing Knife: Passage, has just been published in hardcover; the fourth volume, The Sharing Knife: Horizon, is due in January 2009.
• The publisher's site has this description with a "Browse Inside" feature including an excerpt.
• Carolyn Cushman's review in Locus Magazine said: "Fawn has a stubborn streak and takes matters into her own hands. There's no big victory over prejudice in the end, more a decision not to let it beat her down, an oddly neutral conclusion that makes this feel more like the middle of the story, not the end."

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Carey, Jacqueline : Kushiel's Justice
(Grand Central 978-0-446-61014-8, $7.99, 880pp, mass market paperback, May 2008)
(First edition: Warner, June 2007)

Fantasy novel, fifth in the series overall and second in the "Imriel" trilogy following Kushiel's Scion (2006). This volume concerns the affair between Prince Imriel and his cousin Sidonie.
• The next volume, Kushiel's Mercy, is due from Grand Central in June.
• Warner's site has this description of the hardcover, with an excerpt.

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Chabon, Michael : The Yiddish Policeman's Union
(HarperPerennial 978-0007149834, $15.95, 418pp, trade paperback, May 2008)
(First edition: HarperCollins, May 2007)

Alternate history novel about a homicide investigation in Sitka, Alaska, a district established as a temporary homeland for Jews following World War II and now about to revert to Alaskan control.
• HarperCollins' site has this description, with links to its Browse Inside feature and to an audio excerpt.
• The book won this year's Nebula Award for Best Novel, and is currently a Hugo Award finalist.
• Strange Horizons ran this review by Lisa Goldstein, which concludes "The Yiddish Policemen's Union is one of the best books, in any genre, I've read in a while."

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Crace, Jim : The Pesthouse
(Vintage 978-0-307-27895-1, $13.95, 255pp, trade paperback, May 2008)
(First edition: Doubleday/Nan A. Talese, May 2007)

Post-apocalyptic novel by a mainstream author, in which the US has suffered an eco-catastrophe and survivors make their way east to board ships for the promised land of Europe.
• The publisher's site has this description with an excerpt.
• Gary K. Wolfe's review last year in Locus Magazine concluded "...the main attraction of The Pesthouse remains Crace's gorgeous prose, his unerring feel for the rhythms of nature. Those rhythms are finally what keep the novel moving along and what pull the reader through the tale -- not his strained and wobbly plot. Crace may be misinformed if he believes that subtracting technology from the world is a particularly inventive idea, but what he does in describing a world reclaimed by nature can be a wonder."

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Fallon, Jennifer : Warlord
(Tor 978-0-765-34871-5, $7.99, 617pp, mass market paperback, May 2008)

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).
• This is a reprint of Tor's 2007 hardcover; 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.

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Foster, Alan Dean : Sagramanda
(Pyr 978-1591026457, $15, 287pp, trade paperback, May 2008)
(First edition: Pyr, October 2006)

SF novel, subtitled "a novel of near-future India", about a scientist who steals a research project from his corporate employer.
• The publisher's site has this description and quotes from reviews.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review, which calls it a "lighthearted techno-thriller" and concludes "SF elements make colorful window dressing for this unpredictable thriller, whose multiple threads Foster juggles like the professional he is."

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Hammond, Warren : KOP
(Tor 978-0-765-35136-4, $6.99, 331pp, mass market paperback, May 2008)
(First edition: Tor, July 2007)

Noir science fiction novel set on the planet Largarto in 2787, where a corrupt police officer pursues a serial killer.
• The sequel, Ex-KOP, is due from Tor in October.
• Tor's website has this description and an excerpt.
• The author's website has a bio, quotes from reviews, pics, and signing dates.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review, which calls the book a "solidly constructed, fast-paced SF debut".

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Lake, Jay : Mainspring
(Tor 978-0-765-35636-9, $7.99, 324pp, mass market paperback, May 2008)
(First edition: Tor, June 2007)

Science fantasy novel set in a 19th century clockwork universe, about a clockmaker's apprentice tasked with rewinding the Mainspring of the World.
• The sequel, Escapement, is due from Tor in June.
• Tor's website has this description, and an excerpt.
• Nick Gevers reviewed last year in Locus Magazine, comparing it to Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun, "combining the immense narrative appeal of the grand travel-among-wonders yarn with deep mystical reflection: breadth and depth in winning picaresque union."

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Modesitt, L. E., Jr. : Natural Ordermage
(Tor 978-0-765-35775-5, $7.99, 600pp, mass market paperback, May 2008)
(First edition: Tor, September 2007)

Fantasy novel, 14th book in the Saga of Recluce following Ordermaster. This is the first of two volumes mostly set in the continent Hamor, concerning Rahl, an apprentice with a bad attitude who's exiled from Recluce to learn how to control his magic.
• The next book, Mage-Guard of Hamor, is due from Tor in July.
• Tor's website has this description.

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Ruckley, Brian : Winterbirth
(Orbit 978-0-316-06806-2, $7.99, 654pp, mass market paperback, May 2008)

Fantasy novel, first in "The Godless World" trilogy, set on a world where the Thanes of the True Bloods' winter festival is interrupted by an attack by ancient foes.
• The second book in the trilogy, Bloodheir, has just been released.
• The publisher's site has this extract.
• The author's site has this synopsis with quotes from reviews, cover images of foreign editions, and an excerpt.

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Watt-Evans, Lawrence : The Ninth Talisman
(Tor 978-0-765-34902-6, $7.99, 309pp, mass market paperback, May 2008)
(First edition: Tor, May 2007)

Fantasy novel, second volume of the "Annals of the Chosen" following The Wizard Lord (2006), about a young man who is one of eight Chosen Heroes who have the responsibility of defeating the current rogue Wizard Lord.
• The third volume, The Summer Palace, is due from Tor in June.
• Tor's website has this description and an excerpt.

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Weber, David, & Linda Evans : Hell's Gate
(Baen 978-1-416-55541-4, $7.99, 1236pp, mass market paperback, May 2008)
(First edition: Baen, November 2006)

Fantasy novel, first in the "Multiverse" series, about two human societies in parallel universes, one based on science and the other magic, who come into conflict.
• Baen's Webscription site has this description with links to 12 chapters.
• The second book in the series, Hell Hath No Fury, appeared in early 2007 in hardcover, and will be in paperback next month.

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Williams, Sean : The Crooked Letter
(Pyr 978-1591026440, $15, 508pp, trade paperback, April 2008)
(First edition: Australia: HarperCollins/Voyager, June 2004)

Fantasy novel, first in the "Books of the Cataclysm" series, about two mirror twins, one of whom is murdered, putting them in two of the many separate 'realms' of existence.
• Pyr's website has this description and a chapter excerpt.
• The second book in the series, The Blood Debt, appeared from Pyr in October 2006; the third, The Hanging Mountains, in 2007.
• The author's website has the blurb and quotes from reviews.
• This novel won both the Aurealis and Ditmar awards in 2005, the only fantasy novel to have won both Australian awards.

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Williams, Tad : Rite: Short Work
(Subterranean Press/Far Territories 978-1596061644, $14.95, 352pp, trade paperback, May 2008, cover art Mark A. Nelson)
(First edition: Subterranean Press, December 2006)

Collection of 15 stories, plus essays and TV scripts, with illustrations by Mark A. Nelson. Contents include novella "Child of an Ancient City", Michael Moorcock tributes "The Author at the End of Time" and "Go Ask Elric", plus a story in his Otherland universe, "The Happiest Dead Boy in the World".
• The publisher's site has this order page with a description and table of contents.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review: "...the stand-alone stories make this volume worthwhile."

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Zahn, Timothy : Blackcollar: The Judas Solution
(Baen 978-1-416-55543-8, $7.99, 456pp, mass market paperback, May 2008)
(First edition: Baen, January 2006)

SF novel, third in the Blackcollar trilogy following The Blackcollar (1983) and The Backlash Mission (1986), about superhuman fighters powered by a drug called backlash.
• Baen's site has this description with links to several chapters.
• Amazon has reader reviews.

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