Bishop, Michael : Brittle Innings
(Fairwood Press 9781933846316, $18.99, 432pp, trade paperback, August 2012, cover art Paul Swenson)
Nominal Publication Date: Wed 15 Aug 2012

(First edition: Bantam, May 1994)

Fantasy novel set in 1943, about an unusually talented shortstop acquired by a small-town Georgia baseball league.
• Fairwood Press’ site has this description with several dozen blurbs, by Gardner Dozois, Ann VanderMeer, Gregory Benford, Andy Duncan and many others, and quotes from reviews.
• Wikipedia’s Michael Bishop entry includes a paragraph about the book (scroll down), discussing its relationship to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
• The book is included in Damien Broderick & Paul Di Filippo’s just-published Science Fiction: The 101 Best Novels 1985-2010.
• The book won the Locus Award in 1995 for best fantasy novel, and was a finalist for the Hugo, World Fantasy, Campbell Memorial, and Mythopoeic awards.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)


Delany, Samuel R. : Starboard Wine: More Notes on the Language of Science Fiction
(Wesleyan University Press 978-0-8195-6884-7, $27.95, 288pp, trade paperback, July 2012)
Nominal Publication Date: Wed 11 Jul 2012

(First edition: Dragon Press, April 1984)

Nonfiction collection of essays and reviews, revised from its original publication, and with an introduction by Matthew Cheney.
• Wesleyan’s site has this description and the table of contents.
• This follows Wesleyan’s reprint in 2009 of Delany’s first such collection, The Jewel-Hinged Jaw: Notes on the Language of Science Fiction.
• Amazon’s page for this book features its “Look Inside” function providing excerpts.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)


Dick, Philip K. : Solar Lottery
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Mariner 978-0547572611, $13.95, 208pp, trade paperback, August 2012)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 14 Aug 2012

SF novel set in the 23rd century in which the world leader is chosen via an elaborate lottery.
• Wikipedia has a summary.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides a preview.
• This is the latest in Martiner’s series of new editions of this author’s books, along with two other titles this month: We Can Build You and The World Jones Made.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)


* Norton, Andre : Ice & Shadow
(Baen 978-1-4516-3791-5, $12, 512pp, trade paperback, August 2012, cover art Steven Hickman)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Aug 2012

Omnibus of two novels, Ice Crown (1970) and Brother to Shadows (1993), set in the author’s Forerunner universe.
• Baen’s site has this description with links to several chapters.

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)


Silverberg, Robert : Downward to the Earth
(Orb 978-0-7653-3173-1, $15.99, 256pp, trade paperback, August 2012)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 7 Aug 2012

SF novel set on a world inhabited by sentient elephant-like aliens, concerning a human administrator returning to the planet after it gained its independence.
• Tor’s site has this description with an excerpt.
• Wikipedia has this summary.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function also provides an excerpt.
• This novel is the one by Silverberg included in David Pringle’s Science Fiction: 100 Best Novels (covering 1949 to 1984).

• Purchase this book from Amazon | Indiebound
• (Directory Entry)