Ben Aaronovitch, Moon Over Soho (Del Rey Mar 2011)

Sardonic humor and strains of jazz fill this second book in Aaronovitch's acclaimed Rivers of London urban fantasy series, as police constable and sorcerer's apprentice Peter Grant investigates a series of supernatural murders involving music — and maybe even his own father, a failed jazz musician.

Poul Anderson, The Collected Short Works of Poul Anderson, Volume 4: Admiralty (NESFA Press Feb 2011)

NESFA's ambitious series collecting all of Grand Master Anderson's short fiction continues with this selection of 23 stories, including the Hugo and Nebula winner "Goat Song". An introduction/tribute by David G. Hartwell discusses Anderson's place in the SF field.

Elizabeth Bear, Grail (Ballantine Spectra Mar 2011)

The Jacob's Ladder trilogy reaches a powerful conclusion as the generation ship arrives, after centuries in space, at the planet Grail, only to find it already inhabited by genetically altered humans with radically different ideas of the right path for humanity — leading to culture clashes and the threat of war, as well as renewing old shipboard conflicts.

Elizabeth Bear, The White City (Subterranean Press Jan 2011)

Wampyr PI Don Sebastien de Ulloa stumbles across a body in Moscow in this crisply plotted detective novella set in the world of the New Amsterdam series. "What's refreshing about this wampyr tale is Bear's gimlet eye for true details rather than the romantic ones... In those moments that invert what you expect a vampire story to be... Bear makes this world feel solid and inhabited."

Kristen Britain, Blackveil (DAW Feb 2011)

The much-anticipated fourth book in the popular Green Rider fantasy series finds Karigan joining a party to explore the deadly Blackveil forest to see what remains of the ancient cities that once stood there — not realizing that enemies are already there, searching for a powerful weapon.

Stephen Deas, The King of the Crags (Roc Feb 2011)

Dragonriding gets a dark twist in this second book in the Memory of Flames trilogy begun in The Adamantine Palace, with one escaped dragon seeking to free its fellows from their drugged slavery — even as the kingdom struggles under scheming usurpers. First published in the UK by Gollancz (4/10).

Tom Holt, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Sausages (Orbit US Mar 2011)

Holt's latest humorous fantasy novel starts with a highly intelligent pig and a dry cleaner's that isn't there and continues into a manic satirical romp involving a missing "magic" ring, chickens who think they are human, and parallel worlds. "Unlike actual sausages, Sausages isn't weighty on body or mind... it is also a fairly satisfying meal." [Adrienne Martini]

Richard Matheson, Other Kingdoms (Tor Mar 2011)

Noted horror writer Matheson takes a fantastic turn in a somewhat lighter mode for this fantasy/romantic suspense novel. An aging horror writer tells the story of his past as an American soldier during WWI, recovering from injuries in the English countryside, where he finds himself caught between two women — one a witch, the other a faerie. "Though Matheson is clearly straying into the territory of Machen and Blackwood (and to some extent Holdstock), he handles this material with confident ease." [Gary K. Wolfe]

K. J. Parker, Blue and Gold (Subterranean Press Jan 2011)

The philosopher Saloninus, a charming self-professed liar, claims to have discovered the secret of turning lead into gold and to have just murdered his wife in this quasi-medieval fantasy novella. "I had more pleasure reading Blue and Gold than just about anything I've read all year. It features a beautifully constructed plot, plenty of cynical jokes, and even some worthwhile commentary on man as a political beast." [Rich Horton]

Norman Partridge, Lesser Demons (Subterranean Apr 2010)

Partridge's collection of ten stories includes one original novella, and story notes by the author in "this very fine compilation... When the going gets weird, these guys (and gals) get violent. The result is one of the more interesting storytelling styles in contemporary horror fiction." [Stefan Dziemianowicz]

Jonathan Strahan, ed., The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume Five (Night Shade Books Mar 2011)

Strahan gets in early with his pick of the best stories of 2010 in this anthology of 29 stories. Authors include Neil Gaiman, Cory Doctorow, Elizabeth Hand, Pat Cadigan, K.J. Parker, and Bruce Sterling.

Charles Stross, Scratch Monkey (NESFA Press Feb 2011)

Stross's Guest-of-Honor appearance at Boskone 48 is celebrated in this collection of two essays and the title novel, written in 1993, but previously unavailable in print; Stross talks about writing the novel in one essay, while editor Roz Kaveney's introduction discusses working with Stross at the time.