Kage Baker, Not Less than Gods (Subterranean Press Dec 2009)

Baker returns to the world of the Company for this steampunk SF novel about Edward Alton Bell-Fairfax's recruitment into the Gentlemen's Speculative Society, the Victorian precursor to the Company, as they attempt to prevent the Crimean War. For fans of the Company series, this is "a must-have" with passages "full of Baker's delightful mix of wit, whimsy, and the macabre." [Adrienne Martini]

Elizabeth Bear, Chill (Ballantine Spectra Mar 2010)

The damaged generation ship Jacob's Ladder attempts to rebuild itself with odd results, even as crew and rebels continue to fight in this fast-paced SF novel, the second book in the Jacob's Ladder trilogy begun in Dust.

Kevin Brockmeier, ed., Real Unreal: Best American Fantasy, Volume 3 (Underland Press Feb 2010)

The third volume in this anthology series (previously from Prime Books) presents 20 stories from 2009, representing a wide range of fantasy styles and sources, by authors both familiar and new. "Nearly all the stories... are brilliantly written, though the language may vary... some [contributors] want to make art, some to make tales, and some to do both. Fantasy, in Brockmeier's eclectic view, can accommodate it all." [Gary K. Wolfe]

Lester del Rey, Robots and Magic (NESFA Press Feb 2010)

The second of two volumes in the Selected Short Stories of Lester del Rey, this collection presents 34 varied stories of science fiction and fantasy from a celebrated editor and underappreciated author.

Daniel Fox, The Jade Man's Skin (Del Rey Mar 2010)

The boy Han, his dragon, and the emperor in exile are caught in a massive web of characters and schemes in this second book in the Moshui (or Books of Stone and Water) trilogy, set in a land reminiscent of feudal China. "Fox does manage to bring it all together as a close-knit saga of love and war — shaped by the supernatural aspects of jade, dragon, and goddess without losing a sense of human character that many a mainstream writer might envy." [Faren Miller]

Joe Hill, Horns (Morrow Mar 2010)

The inexplicably weird mixes with a murder mystery in this convoluted horror novel delving into the depths of human nature, about a man suspected of killing the woman he loves, who suddenly grows horns and finds he has the devilish ability to make people to tell him their darkest secrets.

N. K. Jemisin, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Orbit Feb 2010)

The daughter of a runaway princess unexpectedly becomes the heir to a powerful kingdom in a land where tricksters and demigods are meddling. This first book in the Inheritance trilogy is "a highly promising debut... a blend of inventiveness, irreverence, and sophistication — along with sensuality — brings vivid life to the setting and characters." [Faren Miller]

Garth Nix, The Keys to the Kingdom, Book 7: Lord Sunday (Scholastic Press Mar 2010)

Nix wraps up his wonderfully odd and eerie YA fantasy series The Keys to the Kingdom with this novel, which find young Arthur finally facing the elusive Lord Sunday to claim his birthright and save the House — and the world outside.

Dexter Palmer, The Dream of Perpetual Motion (St. Martin's Mar 2010)

A surreal steampunk/Art Deco Manhattan is the setting for this powerful first novel, which draws heavily on Shakespeare's The Tempest. "The glorious stuff of antiquated science fiction mingles with Shakespeariana and Industrial Age philosophy... and the whole crazy experiment actually works." [Faren Miller]

K. J. Parker, The Folding Knife (Orbit US Feb 2010)

Parker's latest novel, set in an alternate world based on ancient Rome, follows the fascinating character of Bassianus Severus, brilliant and ambitious First Citizen of the Vesani Republic as he tries to lead his nation to prosperity and makes one crucial mistake.

Alastair Reynolds, Deep Navigation (NESFA Press Feb 2010)

This collection of 15 stories spans Reynolds' career, from his very first-published story to recent works. Published in honor of Reynolds' appearance as GoH at Boskone 47.

John Scalzi, The God Engines (Subterranean Press Dec 2009)

Scalzi makes his first foray into fantasy with this powerful, dark novella of a spaceship captain on a secret mission for his church.

Dan Simmons, Black Hills (Little Brown/Reagan Arthur Books Feb 2010)

Acclaimed author Simmons takes another fantastic look at history, this time seen through the eyes of Paha Sapa, a Lakota Indian with strange gifts who as a boy picks up the ghost of Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn, and lives to see the dedication of the Mount Rushmore memorial in 1936. "At the core of the novel is Paha Sapa's passion for the land of his ancestors and of his mythology... [he] might well be the most compelling single character Simmons has created." [Gary K. Wolfe]

Peter Straub, A Dark Matter (Doubleday Feb 2010)

In this character-driven novel, as much a sophisticated mystery as horror, a group of friends try to figure out what really happened years before when they participated in a dark ritual that changed their lives — only to realize that each has a different take on events.