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Books
Received Archive
Some of these books
are currently out with reviewers, but most are the books we've received
that are unlikely to be reviewed. Usually this is simply because they
haven't appealed to any of our reviewers (sometimes for obvious reasons...).
- Twighlight of the Past: A Rift in Time by Michael Parziale
(Nightingale Press, $14.95, 232 pages, paperback,
published 2005, received 22 February 2006.)
"A mysterious assassination attempt and missile
attack propels Newl Rift into an adventure that will forever change
the world of Aldurea... Can Newl extinguish the flames of a war torn
world and save all that he holds dear?.." [status:
available]
- The Lady of the Red Moon by Ann Walland-Moore
(Pen Press Publishers, £7.99, 354 pages,
paperback, published 2005, received 17 February 2006.)
"Once four immortals, bearing swords of power,
fought battles in heaven, under the command of the most powerful sword,
Aren, which has the Elorianen, the Starstone, set in its hilt. Now
Kere'us, bastard son of the lord of a very minor kingdom is commanded
by the recalcitrant goddess Yannya to take Aren from its current owner,
a sorcerer..." [status: available]
- Acorna's Children: First Warning by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth
Ann Scarborough
(Corgi, £6.99, 398 pages, paperback,
first published 2005, this edition published 1 March 2006, received
8 February 2006.)
"Acorna's daughter, Khorii, must contend with
an overwhelming legacy to forge a path of her own... A simple journey
to visit relatives turns into a race against time when Khorii comes
across a derelict spacecraft drifting in space, it crew dead in their
seats..." [status: with reviewer]
- Rama II by Arthur C Clarke and Gentry Lee
(Gollancz, £6.99, 495 pages, paperback,
first published 1989, this edition published 12 January 2006, received
5 January 2006.)
"In 2130, an alien spaceship, Rama,entered
our solar system. The first product of an alien civilisation to be
encountered by man, it revealed many wonders to mankind -- but most
of its mysteries remained unsolved...Sixty-six years later, a second
approaching spacecraft was detected; four years on, the Ramans are
definitely returning. But this time, Earth is ready..." [status:
available]
- The Cosmic Puppets by Philip K Dick
(Gollancz, £6.99, 143 pages, paperback,
first published 1957, this edition published 12 January 2006, received
5 January 2006.)
"Yielding to a compulsion he can't explain,
Ted Barton interrupts his vacation in order to visit the town of his
birth, Millgate, Virginia. But upon entering the sleepy, isolated
little hamlet, Ted is distraught to find that the place bears no resemblance
to the one he left behind -- and never did. He also finds that in
this Millgate Ted Barton died of scarlet fever when he was nine years
old..." [status: available]
- A Maze of Death: SF Masterworks 63 by Philip K Dick
(Gollancz, £6.99, 190 pages, paperback,
first published 1970, this edition published 1 December 2005, received
5 January 2006.)
"Fourteen people arrive on the strange planet
of Delmark-O; they have nothing in common other than a desire to make
a fresh start. And they have no idea why they are there and no way
of escaping. And then the first murder takes place..." [status:
available]
- Galactic Pot-Healer by Philip K Dick
(Gollancz, £6.99, 177, paperback, first
published 1969, this edition published 1 December 2005, received 5
January 2006.)
"Galactic Pot-Healer blends quixotic
adventure and deliciously paranoid theology in a uniquely imaginative
and metaphysical quest." [status: available]
- The Dragon Tarot by Nigel Suckling, illustrated by Roger
and Linda Garland
(Cico Books, £12.99, 64 pages, boxed
set of book and tarot cards, published October 2005, received 15 December
2005.)
Tarot cards with pictures of dragons. [status:
available]
- The Risen Empire by Scott Westerfield
(Orbit, £7.99, 704 pages, paperback,
first published 2005, this edition published January 2006, received
8 December 2005.)
"A cutting edge space opera in which galactic
cultures clash: human, inhuman and post-human." [status:
available]
- Bridge of Souls: The Quickening Book Three by Fiona McIntosh
(Orbit, £7.99, 674 pages, paperback,
published December 2005, received 8 December 2005.)
"The epic conclusion to The Quickening trilogy
-- fast paced, page-turning fantasy, perfect for fans of David Eddings
and Terry Brooks." [status: available]
- Sister of the Dead by Barb and J C Hendee
(Orbit, £6.99, 438 pages, paperback,
published January 2006, received 8 December 2005.)
"The third instalment of this powerful new
fantasy adventure series with appeal to fans of both Tolkien and Buffy.
Magiere is a dhampir -- half human, half vampire -- sired for the
purpose of slaying the undead..." [status:
available]
- Lord of the Shadows: Book Three of the Second Sons Trilogy
by Jennifer Fallon
(Orbit, £7.99, 576 pages, paperback,
published December 2005, received 8 December 2005.)
"Marked as a traitor by his own people and
distrusted by his new allies, Dirk Provin walks a dangerous tightrope
of political intrigue as he tries to find a way to expose the truth
about the second sun." [status: available]
- Bridge of Rama: Book Five of the Ramayana by Ashok K Banker
(Orbit, £7.99, 433 pages, paperback,
published December 2005, received 8 December 2005.)
"Hapless Sita is the prisoner of the king
of rakshasas, Ravana. To win her back, Rama and his loyal vanar friend
Hanuman have assembled a vast army. Desperate, and using only their
wits and their bare hands, they must build a rock bridge across the
ocean to reach Lanka..." [status: available]
- The Warrior Prophet: The Prince of Nothing Book Two by R
Scott Bakker
(Orbit, £7.99, 740 pages, paperback,
first published July 2005, this edition published January 2006, received
8 December 2005. Orbit, £12.99, 609 pages, trade paperback, published
July 2005, received 28 June 2005.)
"The Holy War stands on a knife edge. If all
is not to be lost the great powers of the world will have to choose
between their most desperate desires and the end of the world. Between
hatred and hope. Between Anasurimbor Kellhus and the Second Apocalypse..."
[status: available]
- Children of the Serpent Gate: Book Three of The Tears
of Artamon by Sarah Ash
(Bantam Press, £10.99, 530 pages, trade
paperback, published 5 December 2005, received 1 December 2005.)
"Ingenious and unforgettable, Children
of the Serpent Gate delivers a thrilling conclusion to the epic
trials of a man of honour in a world of chaos -- one that can only
be laid to rest by an Emperor's Tears." [status:
with reviewer]
- An Occupation of Angels by Lavie Tidhar, introduction by
Liz Williams
(Pendragon Press, £4.99, 84 pages, paperback,
published 1 December 2005, received 25 November 2005.)
"In 1945, the Archangels materialised over
the battlefields of Europe, ushering in a new Cold War. Fifty years
later, they are being killed off ... one by one. But who -- or what
-- can kill an angel? [status: with
reviewer]
- Capacity by Tony Ballantyne
(Tor, £10.99, 329 pages, trade paperback,
published 18 November 2005, received 23 November 2005.)
"Why does every AI that visits the planet
Gateway commit suicide within just hours of arriving there? Justinian
Sibelius has been sent to the planet to try and find a reason, but
how can someone with merely human intelligence solve a puzzle that
has defeated minds far greater than his own?" [status:
available]
- The Translation of Bastian Test by Tom Arden
(Immanion Press, £12.99, 261 pages, paperback,
published 2005, received 5 November 2005.)
"From the author of offbeat fantasy epic The
Orokon comes a bizarre science fiction adventure, rich in mystery,
malevolence and something close to magic. Erotic, moving, hilarious
and disturbing ... a haunting, atmospheric work of visionary imagination
that will haunt the mind forever." [status:
available]
- A Dark God Laughing: A Dream and a Lie Book One by Fiona
McGavin
(Immanion Press, £12.99, 278 pages, paperback,
published 2005, received 5 November 2005.)
"In the bleak northern city of Zoelon, they
burn witches on Wintertide's Eve amongst the smoke and squalor of
the factories. And in the east, a dark power is stirring and growing
stronger ... Times are dangerous for one such as Alix Reste, for Alix
sees the future and he carries within him a destructive power that
is beyond anything he can understand or control." [status:
available]
- Poe's Progeny: An Anthology of Contemporary Stories Inspired
by Classic Dark Fiction edited by Gary Fry
(Gray Friar Press, £11.99, 379 pages,
numbered paperback edition, also available as signed hardback, published
2005, received 5 November 2005.)
"This book aims to show how the ideas and
techniques of the greats might be utilised to explore the modern world.
Here you will find neither pastiche nor period prose. Rather thoroughly
contemporary visions whose aging, tell-tale heart still beats with
dismaying memory of the past and irrepressible fear for the future..."
[status: with reviewer]
- King Kong conceived by Edgar Wallace and Merian C Cooper,
novelization by Delos W Lovelace
(Gollancz, £6.99, 201 pages, hardback,
published 1 December 2005, received 3 November 2005.)
"From the seething jungles of Skull Island,
a land which time and civilisation have forgotten, to the skyscrapers
of teeming New York City, King Kong inspires terror and awe as his
colossal saga of innocence, passion and towering rage unfold against
a tragic love story of gargantuan proportions." [status:
available]
- Confessions of a Crap Artist by Philip K Dick
(Gollancz, £7.99, 246 pages, paperback,
first published 1975, this edition published 10 November 2005, received
3 November 2005.)
"Jack Isidore is a 'crap artist', a collector
of crackpot ideas and worthless objects. His beliefs make him a man
apparently unsuited for real life and so his sister, and edgy and
aggressive woman, and his brother-in-law, a crass and foul-mouthed
businessman, feel compelled to rescue him from it. But, observed through
Jack's murderously innocent gaze, Fay and Charley Hume are seen to
be just as obsessed as Jack ... " [status:
available]
- The Forgotten Beasts of Eld: Fantasy Masterworks 48 by Patricia
A McKillip
(Gollancz, £7.99, 199 pages, paperback,
first published 1974, this edition published 10 November 2005, received
3 November 2005.)
"Sybel, the beautiful great-granddaughter
of the wizard Heald, has grown up on Eld Mountain with only the fantastic
beasts summoned there by wizardry and companions. She cares nothing
for humans until, when she is sixteen, a baby is brought for her to
raise, a baby who awakens emotions that she has never known before
... " [status: available]
- Elegy for a Lost Star: Book Five of The Symphony of Ages
by Elizabeth Haydon
(Gollancz, £6.99, 316 pages, paperback,
first published 2004, this edition published 10 November 2005, received
3 November 2005.)
"The dragon Anwyn has been freed and, disoriented
and confused, remembers only two things: Rhapsody -- the woman who
trapped her in a dragon's body and locked her in the grave -- and
an all-encompassing desire to wreak vengeance ... " [status:
available]
- The Deep Range by Arthur C Clarke
(Gollancz, £6.99, 224 pages, paperback,
first published 1968, this edition published 10 November 2005, received
3 November 2005.)
"Since the beginning of time the sea has worked
its will on humanity, and for as long, man has struggled against its
awesome power. But in the 21st century man believed the battle finally
won: the sea, mankind's age-old enemy, had finally been conquered
... " [status: available]
- The Sword of Angles by John Marco
(Gollancz, £14.99, 792 pages, trade paperback,
also available in hardback priced £19.99, published 17 November
2005, received 3 November 2005.)
"Set in a richly built world, which beautifully
evokes magical lands, detailed in its dissection of motive, and compelling
in its characters, The Sword of Angels is the latest work from
a natural and mature storyteller reveling in his ability." [status:
available]
- The Great Dune Trilogy by Frank Herbert
(Gollancz, £14.99, 910 pages, trade paperback,
first published 1965, this edition published 17 November 2005, received
3 November 2005.)
"Herbert's evocative, epic tales are set on
the desert planet Arrakis, the focus for a complex political and military
struggle with galaxy-wide repercussions ... Arrakis is the source
of spice, a mind-enhancing drug that makes interstellar travel possible:
it is the most valuable substance in the galaxy ... Dune is
consistently voted The Most Popular Science Fiction Novel of All Time,
and is as respected and loved by its fans as Lord of the Rings."
[status: available]
- The Vesuvius Club: Graphic Edition by Mark Gatiss, illustrated
by Ian Bass
(Simon & Schuster, £12.99, 99 pages,
trade paperback, published 7 November 2005, received 22 October 2005.)
"Lucifer Box esq as you have never seen him
before -- rendered in stylish black and white illustrations, with
six special colour plates, showing him to his best advantage." [status:
available]
- Eye of the Labyrinth: The Second Sons Book Two by Jennifer
Fallon
(Orbit, £7.99, 530 pages, paperback,
first published 2003, this edition published November 2005, received
21 October 2005.)
"Wracked with guilt, Dirk Provin has fled
the Lion of Senet's court in Avacas to hide in the Baenlands with
Tia Veran, where he finds he can't escape his destiny, no matter how
hard he tries." [status: available]
- Death Masks: The Dresden Files Book Five by Jim Butcher
(Orbit, £6.99, 408 pages, paperback,
first published 2003, this edition published November 2005, received
21 October 2005.)
"Harry Dresden, Chicago's only practising
professional wizard, should be happy that business is pretty good
for a change. But now he's getting more than he bargained for ...
some days, it just doesn't pay to get out of bed. No matter how much
you're charging." [status: available]
- Blood Rites: The Dresden Files Book Six by Jim Butcher
(Orbit, £6.99, 452 pages, paperback,
first published 2004, this edition published November 2005, received
21 October 2005.)
"For Harry Dresden there have been worse assignments
than going undercover on the set of an adult film. Dodging flaming
monkey poo, for instance ... The film's producer believes he's the
target of a sinister entropy curse -- but it's the women around him
who are dying, in increasingly spectacular ways ... " [status:
available]
- Conventions of War: Book Three of The Dread Empire's Fall
by Walter Jon Williams
(Simon & Schuster, £10.99, 677 pages,
trade paperback, published 7 November 2005, received 20 October 2005.)
"The breathtaking conclusion in the towering
epic of intergalactic war, begun in The Praxis and The Sundering."
[status: available]
- Twist by Ian Larkin
(Running Water Publications, £not advised,
119 pages, paperback, published 28 September 2005, received 18 October
2005.)
"Jonathon Freeman works in an office. He's
worked there for years. The same old routine, day in, day out ...
But things are starting to change. He's met a girl. Or is it two girls?
He's seen one of his colleagues turn into a lizard. He's touched a
shadow that could be a gateway into another dimension. And he's been
plagued by some truly disgusting demons." [status:
available]
- Movies in Fifteen Minutes by Cleolinda Jones
(Gollancz, £8.99, 401 pages, hardback,
published 20 October 2005, received 13 October 2005.)
"Informed by an encyclopaedic knowledge of,
and a genuine love for, the movies, Jones has created one of the funniest
movie parodies ever made and only the biggest names feel her wrath."
[status: available]
- The Art of Discworld by Terry Pratchett, illustrated by Paul
Kidby
(Gollancz, £10.99, pages unnumbered,
large paperback, first published 2004, this edition published 20 October
2005, received 13 October 2005. Gollancz, £14.99, 112 pages,
hardback, published 30 September 2004, received 28 September 2004.)
"In The Art of Discworld, Terry Pratchett
takes us on a guided tour of the Discworld, courtesy of his favourite
Discworld artist, Paul Kidby. Following on from The Last Hero,
The Art of Discworld is a lavish 112 page large format, sumptuously
illustrated look at all things Discworldian." [status:
with reviewer]
- Emerald Eye edited by Frank Ludlow and Roelof Goudriaan
(Aeon Press, £6.99, 293 pages, paperback,
published 2005, received 13 October 2005.)
"This collection features the best fiction
(essentially fantasy, science fiction and horror) we could get our
hands on from Irish writers in the last fifty years." [status:
available]
- Pseudo-City by D Harlan Wilson
(Raw Dog Screaming Press, 226 pages. Paperback:
$15.95, published September 2005, ISBN 1933293020. Hardback: $29.95,
published April 2005, ISBN 1933293101. PDF available for review.)
"D Harlan Wilson's fourth book, Pseudo-City,
is a collection of twenty-nine short stories and flash fiction set
in an imaginary, 'post-real' city that is a hauntingly satirical version
of our own technocapitalist reality. Deftly blending elements of postmodernism,
horror, absurdism, science fiction and fantasy, Wilson crafts worlds
that are a reflection of the ultraviolent, intrusive media that bombard
us on a daily basis." [status: available]
- The Clock King and the Queen of the Hourglass by Vera Nazarian,
Introduction by Charles de Lint
(PS Publishing, £not advised, 123 pages,
signed, numbered, limited edition paperback, also available as signed,
numbered, limited edition hardback, published October 2005, received
7 October 2005.)
"Nazarian isn't excessively concerned with
the nuts-and-bolts of her future world, for all her attention to detail
and explanation of how things work. She wants to give us the vision,
the eerie feel of the situation. She wants us to experience the red
of the swollen sun, the dry dust of the streets, the strange mechanics
of the ancient machineries that allow life in this desolate world."
[status: available]
- Nowhere Near An Angel by Mark Morris, Introduction by Stephen
Gallagher
(PS Publishing, £not advised, 367 pages,
signed, numbered, limited edition hardback, also available as signed,
numbered, limited edition deluxe hardback, published September 2005,
received 7 October 2005.)
"During the long, hot summer of 1976, sixteen
year-old Rob Swann decides to kill himself. Then, on a tinny transistor
radio, he hears the Sex Pistols for the first time and it changes
everything ... " [status: available]
- Fishin' With Grandma Matchie by Steven Erikson, Introduction
by Graham Joyce
(PS Publishing, £not advised, 89 pages,
signed, numbered, limited edition paperback, also available as signed,
numbered, limited edition hardback, published September 2005, received
7 October 2005.)
"Let's just say that what we have here ...
is the author taking a vacation from the militations of the giant,
arching plots of his brilliant and intelligent massive fantasy series.
Here he allows words and spaces between words to go soaring like a
splendid dream. The result is an extraordinary evocation of a space
that might have been occupied by Mark Twain if he had been more disposed
to Fantasy, and Edward Lear if he hadn't." [status:
available]
- Secret Stories by Ramsey Campbell, Introduction by Jeremy
Dyson
(PS Publishing, £not advised, 418 pages,
signed, numbered, limited edition hardback, also available as signed,
numbered, limited edition deluxe hardback, published August 2005,
received 7 October 2005.)
"Secret Stories is a black comedy of
creativity gone wrong, a contemporary Liverpool crime novel, a study
of one of today's typical sociopaths." [status:
available]
- The Cosmology of the Wider World by Jeffrey Ford, Introduction
by Jeff VanderMeer
(PS Publishing, £not advised, 173 pages,
signed, numbered, limited edition, paperback, also available as signed,
numbered, limited edition hardback, published August 2005, received
7 October 2005.)
"In the quintessential Ford tale, we start
somewhere strange but unthreatening and it becomes stranger, or we
start with the unfamiliar only to have our comfort level undermined
in some way. The reader almost always comes to realise that the strangeness
was there all along." [status: with
reviewer]
- Pytho by Philip Ward
(Immanion Press, £12.99, 348 pages, trade
paperback, published 2005, received 7 October 2005.)
"The author has tried symbolically to express
the disquiet which many feel about the misuse of power, about greed
and the exploitation of the natural environment. He also explores
the more mystical side of human experience." [status:
available]
- Mission of Gravity: SF Masterworks 62 by Hal Clement
(Gollancz, £6.99, 203 pages, paperback,
first published 1954, this edition published 13 October 2005, received
1 October 2005.)
"A much-deserved re-issue of one of SF's most
beloved novels, this is a vividly realised vision of a strange alien
species and the scientifically plausible world they inhabit." [status:
available]
- Barry Trotter and the Dead Horse by Michael Gerber
(Gollancz, £5.99, 306 pages, paperback,
first published 2004, this edition published 13 October 2005, received
1 October 2005.)
"As twisted and funny as the first two, Gerber
is also just as affectionate towards JK Rowling's originals." [status:
available]
- The Plucker: An Illustrated Novel by Brom
(Abrams, $24.95, 143 pages, hardback, published
2005, received 8 September 2005.)
"In the shadowy land of make-believe, Jack
and his box are stuck beneath the bed with the other castaway toys,
forced to face a bitter truth: children grow up and toys are left
behind ... " [status: available]
- Albedo, Ireland's Magazine of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror
(Albedo One Productions, £4.95, 55 pages,
magazine, published August 2005, received 8 September 2005.)
"Welcome to #30, our Glasgow World Science
Fiction Convention issue. To celebrate our attendance at Worldcon
(which, for most of the Albedo crew, is a first) we include
in these pages more fiction than we have ever before published in
a single issue." [status: available]
- The Undead: Zombie Anthology edited by DL Snell and Elijah
Hall
(Permuted Press, price unspecified, published
31 October 2005; eBook (PDF) available for review.)
"...includes classic tales of survival in a world populated by the
living dead as well as an array of unique takes on the zombie genre:
zombies as reality entertainment, glimpses from inside the life
of the undead, intergalactic war with humanity’s own dead turned against
us, and everything in between." [status:
available]
- Looking for Jake and other stories by China Miéville
(Macmillan, £17.99, 303 pages, hardback,
published 23 September 2005, received 19 September 2005.)
"...includes a novella and thirteen
stories of brilliant diversity, of visionary ciyscapes and urban paranoia,
ghosts, monsters and impossible diseases." [status:
with reviewer]
- Damned Nation by Nick Pollotta
(Wildside Press, $17.95, 323 pages, trade
paperback, August 2005, ISBN: 0-8095-1099-8. PDF review copy available.)
"Four arms, three eyes, no mercy..." A prequel
to the "Bureau 13" trilogy." [status:
available]
- Kushiel's Avatar by Jacqueline Carey
(Tor, £7.99, 967 pages, paperback, first
published 2003, this edition published 16 September 2005, received
2 September 2005.)
"Their search will take Phedre and Joscelin
on a dangerous journey that will carry them to distant countries where
madness reigns and souls are currency, and down a fabled river to
a land forgotten by most of the world ... And to a power so mighty
that none dare speak its name." [status:
available]
- The Ghost From The Grand Banks by Arthur C Clarke
(Gollancz, £6.99, 253 pages, paperback,
first published 1990, this edition published August 2005, received
30 August 2005.)
"It is 2010. In two year's time it will be
the centennial of the sinking of the Titanic. Two of the world's most
powerful corporations race to raise the vessel ... Then the perfectly
preserved body of a beautiful girl is found. She was not on the ship's
passenger lists. The quest to uncover the secrets of the wreck and
reclaim her bones becomes an obsession ... and for some , a fatal
one." [status: available]
- The Child Garden: SF Masterworks 61 by Geoff Ryman
(Gollancz, £7.99, 388 pages, paperback,
first published 1989, this edition published August 2005, received
30 August 2005.)
"In a semi-tropical London, surrounded by
paddy fields, the people feed off the sun, like plants, the young
are raised in Child Gardens and educated by viruses, and the Consensus
oversees the country, 'treating' non-conformism. Information, culture,
law and politics are biological functions. But Milena is different:
she is resistant to viruses and an incredible musician, one of the
most extraordinary women of her age." [status:
available]
- Out of the Darkness by Harry Turtledove
(Pocket Books, £6.99, 655 pages, paperback,
first published 2004, this edition published 3 October 2005, received
25 August 2005.)
"The final instalment of Harry Turtledove's
masterful series of a magical world at war." [status:
available]
- Isolde: The Lady of the Sea by Rosalind Miles
(Pocket Books, £6.99, 466 pages, paperback,
published 3 October 2005, received 25 August 2005.)
"Isolde is last in a line of famous warrior
queens who have guarded Ireland from time before memory, and now she
and her knight, Tristan must play out their fate and face her enemies
in a final battle, a war that could spell ruin for them both." [status:
available]
- Straken: High Druid of Shannara Book Three by Terry Brooks
(Simon & Schuster, £17.99, 368 pages,
hardback, published 15 August 2005, received 22 August 2005.)
"Young Penderrin Ohmsford has been charged
with the daunting task of rescuing his aunt Grianne, Ard Rhys of the
Druid order, from her forced exile in the terrifying dimension of
all things damned: the Forbidding." [status:
available]
- Provender Gleed by James Lovegrove
(Gollancz, £14.99, 330 pages, trade paperback,
published 15 September 2005, received 22 August 2005.)
"Top British Family the Gleeds are hosting
the social event of the year, their annual ball. Venice has been reconstructed
in all its glory in the grounds of its estate, Dashlands, and should
provide the perfect romantic backdrop for Provender -- the young,
disaffected Gleed heir upon whom the family line, and status, depends
-- finally to find a wife." [status:
available]
- Mind's Eye by Paul McAuley
(Simon & Schuster, £12.99, 422 pages,
hardback, published 5 September 2005, received 22 August 2005.)
"When he chances upon a strange piece of graffiti
daubed on the walls of a north London restaurant, the violence of
his reaction takes Alfie Flowers by surprise. The thorny circle of
dashes and zigzags seems to reach right inside his brain -- and provokes
a flashback to a terrifying childhood incident ... yet the real secret
of the graffiti patterns is to be found amidst the chaos of post-war
Iraq ... " [status: available]
- Iron Sunrise by Charles Stross
(Orbit, £15.99, 419 pages, hardback,
published March 2005, received 15 February 2005. Orbit, £6.99,
480 pages, paperback, this edition published August 2005, received
28 July 2005.)
"A suspenseful future tale of intergalactic
espionage and planetary destruction." [status:
available]
- Shadow of the Giant: Book Four of the Shadow Saga by Orson
Scott Card
(Orbit, £17.99, 365 pages, hardback,
published August 2005, received 28 July 2005.)
"Bean, Ender Wiggins' former right-hand man,
has shed his reputation as the smallest student at Battle School ...
Now he and his wife, Petra, yearn for a safe place to build a family
-- something he has never known. Yet no such place exists on Earth,
a world riddled with Bean's enemies from the past. Once again he must
follow in Ender's footsteps and look to the stars." [status:
with reviewer]
- Harshini: The Demon Child Trilogy Book Three by Jennifer
Fallon
(Orbit, £7.99, 615 pages, paperback,
first published 2001, this edition published August 2005, received
28 July 2005.)
"The Demon Child R'shiel has finally accepted
her destiny, and is searching for answers, whilst the gods use men
as pawns in their divine war. But time is running out. R'shiel must
defeat Xaphista soon ... But how can she defeat a god?.." [status:
available]
- Æon Four edited by Marti McKenna and Bridget McKenna
(Scorpius Digital Publishing, price not known,
http://www.aeonmagazine.com,
2005, received 27 July 2005.)
Fiction by Kij Johnson, Laura Anne Gilman
and others; non-fiction by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and others. Issue
two also available. [status: available,
along with earlier editions]
- Body Snatchers in the Desert: The Horrible Truth at the Heart
of the Roswell Story by Nick Redfern
(Pocket Books, £8.99, 236 pages, paperback,
first published June 2005, this edition published 15 August 2005,
received 21 July 2005.)
"Now, through brand-new testimony from military
whistleblowers, eyewitness intelligence reports, and an astonishing
body of corroborative evidence, Nick Redfern lays out a shockingly
plausible new theory on the Roswell incident ... " [status:
available]
- The Sex Column: and other misprints by David Langford
(Cosmos Books, $17.95, 240 pages, trade paperback,
also available in hardback priced $29.95, published July 2005, received
21 July 2005.)
"Langford turns his wry eye on the whole SF
scene, applying his famous wit to our genre's triumphs, follies, outrages,
kinks, chicanery, scandal, decades-overdue anthologies, and dogged
yet heart-warming attempts at English sentences." [status:
available]
- Trailer Park Fairy Tales by Matt Dinniman
(Elastic Press, £5, 166 pages, paperback,
published 1 August 2005, received 21 July 2005.)
"An ex-Siamese-twin Spam sculptor, a mathematical
genius dinner lady, and a teenage exorcist are but three of the characters
in these entertaining, multi-genre stories. Urban fairytales will
never be read quite the same way again." [status:
with reviewer]
- Scattered Suns: The Saga of Seven Suns Book Four by Kevin
J Anderson
(Simon & Schuster, £10.99, 728 pages,
trade paperback, published 4 July 2005, received 2 July 2005.)
"In a galaxy torn by war, treachery and shifting
alliances, no one can know the truth about their friends or enemies."
[status: available]
- Beyond Each Blue Horizon by Andrew Hook
(Crowswing Books, £20.00, 211 pages,
hardback, published 2005, received 1 July 2005.)
"Beyond Each Blue Horizon contains
edgy, different, thought-provoking stories ... " [status:
available]
- Olympos by Dan Simmons
(Gollancz, £10.99, 690 pages, paperback,
published 30 June 2005, received 1 July 2005.)
"Olympos is the sequel to Ilium.
Together these books are set to be the SF event of the decade. An
awe-inspiring melding of Homer's Iliad and cutting-edge epic space
opera." [status: available]
- Double Negative: Book One in the Serendipity Trilogy by
Robin Gilbert
(Pendragon Press, £7.99, 284 pages, paperback,
published 2005, received 30 June 2005.)
"There is evil afoot -- bloody murder! --
at Hops Castle ... and some are intent on blaming the exhausted, starving
and penniless Bhark Lhoudly and Whindy the Brave ... " [status:
available]
- The Mask Behind the Face by Stuart Young, introduction by
Mark Samuals
(Pendragon Press, £4.99, 73 pages, paperback,
collection published 2005,The Death of Innocence first published
1998, Daddy's Little Girl first published 1997 received 30
June 2005.)
"Some people hide behind masks. And some people
don't even realise they're wearing one ... Stuart Young's second print
collection of short stories." [status:
available]
- The Shadow Road: Book Three of The Swan's War by Sean Russell
(Orbit, £7.99, 520 pages, paperback,
first published 2005, this edition published July 2005.received 28
June 2005)
"A Century of enmity has ravaged the one kingdom,
as the mighty families of the Renne and the Wills have fought for
their right to the crown. But now the decades of bloodshed have roused
the unquiet river spirits from a timeless sleep, reviving a feud more
deadly than any conflict of man." [status:
available]
- Blood and Memory: The Quickening Book Two by Fiona McIntosh
(Orbit, £7.99, 536 pages, paperback,
published July 2005, received 28 June 2005.)
"The machinations of King Celimus have robbed
Wyl Thirsk of almost everyone he held dear, and those few who have
survived will bear the scars forever. Myrren's gift offers Wyl the
opportunity to strike back, but at what price?.." [status:
available with book one]
- Knight of Knives: A Novel of Malaz by Ian Cameron Esslemont,
introduction by Steven Erikson
(PS Publishing, £not advised, 284 pages,
signed, numbered, limited edition hardback, also available as signed,
numbered, limited edition deluxe slipcased hardback, published April
2005, received 12 June 2005.)
"It gave the empire its name, but the island
and the city of Malaz is now a sleepy back-water port. This night
its residents are barring doors and shuttering windows: a once--in
-- a -- generation Shadow Moon has arrived and threatens to bring
among them demon hounds and other, darker beings." [status:
available]
- Horizon Storms: the Saga of the Seven Suns Book Three by
Kevin J Anderson
(Pocket Books, £6.99, 659 pages, paperback,
first published 2004, this edition published 4 July 2005, received
11 June 2005.)
"The titanic war between the elemental alien
hydrogues and faeros continues to sweep across the Spiral Arm, extinguishing
suns and destroying planets. Chairman Wenceslas and King Peter must
now unify the human race with iron-fisted policies in a final bid
to stand together -- or face total annihilation." [status:
available]
- Grief by Ed Lark
(Reverb, £7.99, 149 pages, paperback,
published 2005, received 3 June 2005.)
"Grief is both a unique dystopia, or perhaps
an interpretation of the present, and a remarkable psychological fantasy,
disturbing, witty and moving by turns." [status:
available]
- Who Needs Cleopatra? By Steve Redwood
(Reverb, £7.99, 233 pages, paperback,
published 2005, received 3 June 2005.)
"This richly comic novel does for history
what Jasper Fforde did for literature, only with more sex and violence
-- join Leonardo da Vinci, Boadicea, Cain (and Mabel) on a rollercoaster
quest through time where the future (and present) of humanity itself
is at stake." [status: available]
- In Milton Lumky Territory by Philip K Dick
(Gollancz, £7.99, 213 pages, paperback,
first published 1985, this edition published 9 June 2005, received
28 May 2005.)
"Susan is ten years older than Bruce and recently
divorced. They've also met before, when she was his teacher in fifth
grade. But she wants someone to manage the store and he's keen to
try ... In Milton Lumky Territory is a haunting novel of American
small-town life in the 1950s, one of the fine mainstream works from
Philip K Dick ... " [status: available]
- Mary and the Giant by Philip K Dick
(Gollancz, £7.99, 232 pages, paperback,
first published 1985, this edition published 9 June 2005, received
28 May 2005.)
"Mary Anne Reynolds is a young and vulnerable
woman, determined to make her own unique way in the world, but Pacific
Park, California, in the early 1950s, with its hidebound attitude
to sexual mores and its bigoted view of race, does not offer her too
many opportunities or allow her too much room to manoeuvre." [status:
available]
- Deathstalker War by Simon R Green
(Gollancz, £6.99, 570 pages, paperback,
first published 1997, this edition published 9 June 2005, received
28 May 2005.)
"Owen Deathstalker, last of his line, was
wrongly outlawed by the evil Empress Lionstone XIV, but in making
an enemy of Deathstalker, the Iron Bitch sowed the bitter seeds of
revenge..." [status: available]
- The Glamour by Christopher Priest
(Gollancz, £7.99, 235 pages, paperback,
first published 1984, this edition published 9 June 2005, received
28 May 2005.)
"The glamour is the unsuspected underworld
to our normal lives, seductive and sinister, peopled by those who
can never be seen. It exists on the edge of reality, full of doubt,
behind a veil of invisibility. This is the story of two young people
who fall in love while trying to escape from the glamour." [status:
with reviewer]
- Ringworld: SF Masterworks 60 by Larry Niven
(Gollancz, £6.99, 288 pages, paperback,
first published 1970, this edition published 9 June 2005, received
28 May 2005.)
"The artefact is a circular ribbon of matter
six hundred million miles long and ninety million miles in radius.
Pierson's Puppeteers, the aliens who discovered it, are understandably
wary of encountering the builders of such an immense structure, and
have assembled a team of two humans, a mad puppeteer and a kzin, a
huge cat-like alien, to explore it ... " [status:
available]
- Chimaera: Volume Four of The Well of Echoes by Ian Irvine
(Orbit, £12.99, 835 pages, trade paperback,
published December 2004, received 9 November 2004. Orbit, £7.99,
836 pages, paperback, this edition published June 2005.)
"The Magnificent final volume of the hugely
popular Well of Echoes series." [status:
available]
- Crash Deluxe by Marianne De Pierres
(Orbit, £6.99, 323 pages, paperback,
published June 2005, received 13 May 2005.)
"Parrish Plessus, sometime coup leader, paid
assassin and ex-bodyguard, is finding life tough ... but she can make
everything alright again if she can manage just one little task. Bring
down the media ... " [status: available]
- Haunted by Kelley Armstrong
(Orbit, £6.99, 495 pages, paperback,
published May 2005, received 13 May 2005.)
"Eve Levine -- half demon, black witch and
devoted mother -- has been dead for three years. She has a great house,
an interesting love life and can't be killed again -- which comes
in handy when you've made as many enemies as Eve." [status:
available]
- Thief of Lives by Barb & J C Hendee
(Orbit, £6.99, 472 pages, paperback,
published June 2005, received 13 May 2005.)
"Magiere, half-human child of a vampire, and
Leesil, her half-elf partner are investigating the sinister murder
of a Councilman's daughter in a nearby town ... But this murder is
not all it seems, and has all the hallmarks of something much darker,
more complicated, more calculating. It seems that someone was trying
to send a message, but was it a vampire or an even more dread force?"
[status: available]
- The Completely Blank Book by Tom Thompson
(Publish and be Damned, £not advised,
163 pages, paperback, published 2004, received 12 May 2005.)
"There's more than a feel of Terry Pratchett
or Douglas Adams about this first in a trilogy of stories about the
mild mannered Stanley's adventures under the crust of the earth ...
Suitable for all ages, this fantasy tale introduces a range of wild
characters doing the oddest things." [status:
available]
- Iridium by David Murdoch
(Publish and be Damned, £not advised,
274 pages, paperback, published 2005, received 12 May 2005.)
"Iridium follows the exploits of a
dysfunctional crew aboard a cargo ship bound for a remote research
station. As relationships become more strained, unsettling facts start
to emerge about the cargo and its purpose." [status:
available]
- Time Hunter: Echoes by Iain McLaughlin and Claire Bartlett
(Telos Publishing, £7.99, 138 pages,
paperback, also available as signed, numbered, limited edition hardback
priced £25.00, published April 2005, received 5 May 2005.)
"Echoes of the past ... echoes of the future.
Honore Lechasseur can see the threads that bind the two together,
however, when he and Emily Blandish find themselves outside the imposing
tower-block headquarters of Dragon Industry, both can sense something
is wrong ... " [status: available]
- Star Warped by A3R Roberts
(Gollancz, £7.99, 384 pages, small hardback,
published 26 May 2005, received 4 May 2005.)
"Adam Roberts ... is as merciless as an Imperial
Star Destroyer as he lampoons the Star Wars Universe and its bizarre
cast of characters and creatures and, later, the boring stuff about
trade and taxation routes." [status:
available]
- The Crown Rose by Fiona Avery
(PYR, $25.00, 454 pages, hardback, published
3 May 2005, received 29 April 2005.)
"The Crown Rose tells the story of Isabella
of France, born heir to the throne. Her life from childhood to later
years is a life of turmoil, strife and longing. It is a tale of chivalry,
and knighthood, and romance, and war, and lost secrets and hidden
mysteries; of honour and duty and sacrifice and the power of a few
dedicated people to change the face of the world itself." [status:
available]
- Replay: Fantasy Masterworks 45 by Ken Grimwood
(Gollancz, £6.99, 270 pages, paperback,
first published 1986, this edition published May 2005, received 28
April 2005.)
"Jeff Winston, at the age of 43 and trapped
in a tepid marriage and dead end job, dies and then wakes up as an
eighteen-year-old in college. He has all the memories from the next
25 years of his life intact, enabling him to live his time again ...
until he dies again at 43 and wakes up in college ... " [status:
available]
- The McAtrix Derided by the Robertski Brothers
(Gollancz, £5.99, 300 pages, paperback,
first published 2004, this edition published May 2005, received 28
April 2005.)
"Gordon (or 'Nemo' as he's known in a
variety of internet chatrooms) finds himself rudely awakened to the
reality of his mundane existence ... He, like the bulk of humanity
(but not you, because you're reading this book which is about the
world being a virtual world and how could that happen?), is trapped
in the McAtrix." [status: available]
- Æon Three edited by Marti McKenna and Bridget McKenna
(Scorpius Digital Publishing, price not known,
http://www.aeonmagazine.com,
2005, received 11 April 2005.)
Fiction by Jay Lake, Ken Rand and others;
non-fiction by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and others. Issue two also available.
[status: available]
- The Sunborn by Gregory Benford
(Orbit, £6.99, 423 pages, paperback,
published May 2005, received 22 April 2005.)
"The first manned mission to Mars has been
a resounding success, and excitement grows as more new discoveries
are made. However, one discovery continues to defy rational explanation--the
'marsmat' -- a complex anaerobic life-form found in the planet's honeycomb
of tunnels." [status: available]
- Thraxas Under Siege by Martin Scott
(Orbit, £6.99, 265 pages, paperback,
published May 2005, received 22 April 2005.)
"Solving the crimes of elves, orcs and dwarves
would tire the most talented of operators. As Thraxas can hardly be
classed amongst their number, he feels very tired indeed. However,
everyone knows there is no rest for the wicked, which means all the
more work for Thraxas." [status: available]
- The Ardly Effect: Book 1 in the Two Moons Trilogy by Mitis
Green
(Brambling Books, £7.99, 209 pages, paperback,
first published as an ebook February 2005, this edition published
April 2005, received 21 April 2005.)
"Inhabitants of two moons orbiting a gas giant
realise they have a common past. Their search for their roots reveals
more than they had bargained for and the truth they find "out there"
illuminates a side to human nature that is probably left in the dark."
[status: available]
- The Queen of Sinister: The Dark Age 2 by Mark Chadbourn
(Gollancz, £10.99, 175 pages, trade paperback,
published 25 March 2004, received 4 March 2004. Gollancz, £6.99,
435 pages, mass market paperback, this edition published 14 April
2005, received 14 April 2005.)
"The plague came without warning. Nothing
could stop its progress: not medicines, not prayer ... Caitlin Shepherd,
a lowly GP ... is humanity's last hope, but she carries a terrible
burden: a consciousness shattered into five distinct personalities
... and one of them may not be human ..." [status:
available]
- Dying Inside: SF Masterworks 59 by Robert Silverberg
(Gollancz, £6.99, 199 pages, paperback,
first published 1972, this edition published 14 April 2005, received
14 April 2005.)
"David Selig's life is not impressive: he
has no job and no meaningful relationship. And yet, Selig has the
power of a god, for he can read other people's minds ... But now,
with the onset of middle age, his capacity to probe minds is fading
and Selig is struggling to come to terms with the knowledge that he
is dying inside." [status: available]
- Anima by M John Harrison
(Gollancz £6.99, 473 pages, paperback,
The Course of the Heart first published 1992, Signs of Life
first published 1997, this collection published 14 April 2005, received
14 April 2005.)
"When a writer like M John Harrison looks
at love, you know that the results will be unusual and compelling,
evocative and imaginative, dark, depressing and transcendent." [status:
available]
- The Runes of the Earth: The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
by Stephen Donaldson
(Gollancz, £18.99, 593 pages, hardback,
published 21 October 2004, received 15 October 2004. Gollancz, £12.99,
593 pages, trade paperback, this edition published 14 April 2005,
received 14 April 2005.)
"It's ten years since we last saw the book's 'hero', Thomas Covenant,
a man struck down by a disease thought eradicated
... and despite believing she has lost Thomas for good, Dr Avery begins
receiving messages from Covenant; strange messages that seem to plead
for help yet warn her away ... " [status:
available]
- An Inconvenient Return by David Kay
(Writersworld, £not advised, 163 pages,
paperback, published 2004, received 13 April 2005.)
"An Inconvenient Return is set in a
world disintegrating from absent mindedness in which the hero Philip
is imprisoned by the army for reasons he does not understand." [status:
available]
- Tanequil: High Druid of Shannara Book Two by Terry Brooks
(Simon & Schuster, £17.99, 357 pages,
hardback, published 6 September 2004, received 31 August 2004. Pocket
Books, £6.99, 469 pages, paperback, this edition published May
2005, received 13 April 2005.)
"Pen Ohmsford is the only one who can rescue
the rightful High Druid of Shannara from her exile. But what even
he doesn't know is that a long banished evil has returned -- an evil
that may threaten everyone in the Four Lands." [status:
available]
- The Life to Come by Tim Lees
(Elastic Press, £5.00, 200 pages, paperback,
published 1 May 2005, received 13 April 2005.)
"From Paris to Morocco, to the English countryside,
here are sixteen stories where reality and fantasy collide, dispatches
from a world with only one clear certainty: that the life to come
will be far stranger, more perverse and perilous than we could ever
dream." [status: with reviewer]
- Armies of Hanuman: Book Four of The Ramayana by Ashok K Banker
(Orbit, £7.99, 420 pages, paperback,
published April 2005, received 17 March 2005.)
"The original Ramayana was written
three thousand years ago by a reformed thief-turned-sage named Valmiki.
Now, with stunning imagination and wonderful storytelling, Indian
writer Ashok K Banker has recreated this epic tale for modern readers
everywhere." [status: available]
- The Ghosts of Blood and Innocence: Book Three of the Wraeththu
Histories by Storm Constantine
(Immanion Press, £14.99, 442 pages, trade
paperback, published 1 May 2005, received 10 March 2005.)
"As Wraeththu struggle to uncover the secret
of their origins, it is now time for second generation hara of this
hermaphrodite race to make their mark on history." [status:
available]
- Little Machines by Paul McAuley, introduction by Greg Bear
(PS Publishing, £not advised, 328 pages,
signed, numbered, limited edition hardback, also available as signed,
numbered, limited edition deluxe hardback, published April 2005, received
10 March 2005.)
"In the seventeen polished, ingenious and
often darkly humorous stories collected here, multiple award-winning
author Paul McAuley takes a fresh look at staple genre themes spanning
science fiction, horror and alternate history." [status:
with reviewer]
- The Devil's Armour by John Marco
(Gollancz, £6.99, 746 pages, paperback,
first published 2004, this edition published 10 March 2005, received
9 March 2005. Gollancz, £10.99, 559 pages, trade paperback, published
18 March 2004, received 1 March 2004.)
"The
Devil's Armour is another massive,
action-driven fantasy novel full of magic, betrayal and battle, from
an exciting new talent in the world of fantasy." [status:
available]
- The Companions by Sheri S Tepper
(Gollancz, £6.99, 452 pages, mass market
paperback, published 10 March 2005, received 9 March 2005. Gollancz,
£10.99, 452 pages, trade paperback, first published 2003, this
edition published 19 February 2004, received 24 January 2004.)
"Time is running out for Jewel's creatures,
but it might be running out for Humanity too: the planet Moss, itself
a living entity, is not sure it cares for any of the species currently
living on its surface." [status: available]
- Divine Endurance by Gwyneth Jones
(Gollancz, £6.99, 305 pages, paperback,
first published 1984, this edition published 10 March 2005, received
9 March 2005.)
"The stunningly original first novel by Gwyneth
Jones who has become one of the most important and finest writers
of SF and fantasy of her generation. Both a complex adventure and
a poignant love story, it is a tale rich in beautifully observed characters
and wonderfully realised lands." [status:
available]
- Æon Two edited by Marti McKenna and Bridget McKenna
(Scorpius Digital Publishing, price not known,
http://www.aeonmagazine.com,
2005, received 7 March 2005.)
Fiction by Howard V Hendrix, Bruce Holland
Rogers and others; non-fiction by Jay Lake, Kristine Kathryn Rusch
and others. [status: available]
- The Lair of Bones: Book 4 of The Runelords by David Farland
(Pocket Books, £6.99, 429 pages, paperback,
this edition published 4 April 2005, received 25 February 2005. Earthlight,
£10.99, 429 pages, trade paperback, published 1 December 2003,
received 18 November 2003.)
"The stars fall from heaven and the very earth
trembles in pain. With Gaborn's kingdom of Mystarria in ruins, four
powerful kings march to claim its spoils, even as a vast array of
reavers sallies forth from the underworld, intending to put an end
to mankind ... " [status: available]
- A Blackbird in Amber: The Third Book in the Blackbird Series
by Freda Warrington
(Immanion Press, £17.99, 311 pages, hardback,
first published 1987, this revised edition published 1 February 2005,
received 24 February 2005.)
"The terrible Serpent M'gulfin has been destroyed,
but Earth's future is in peril. Its death has unleashed a chaotic
power that may prove more dangerous than the Serpent itself ... "
[status: available]
- Essential SF: A Concise Guide by Jonathon Cowie and Tony
Chester
(Porcupine Press, £8.90, 269 pages, paperback,
published summer 2005, received 23 February 2005.)
"The criteria for inclusion in the guide are
based on what the many (and not the compilers) consider best ... this
guide is a systematic distillation of a mass of primarily Anglophone
literature, cinematic production, TV series and graphic SF." [status:
available]
- Birth of Darkness: Book One of the Dark Destiny Trilogy by
Mark T Smith
(Amber Dragon Publishing, £6.99, 355
pages, paperback, published 2004, received 17 February 2005.)
"Auryn Neecon, First Lord of the Empire, is
an Eternal. He will never grow old and has protected and led his people
for over five centuries ... As the Imperial Navy stands on the brink
of war, Auryn attempts a desperate plan to halt the invasion ... and
he finds himself not only fighting to save the Empire, but unravelling
the mysteries of his own creation." [status:
available]
- Falling Into Heaven: Fourteen Tales of Terror by LH Maynard
and MPN Sims
(Sarob Press, £not advised, 172 pages,
hardback, published 2004, received 17 February 2005.)
" ... Maynard and Sims offer in Falling
Into Heaven rare glimpses into experiences neither wholly fantasy
nor reality, fable or fiction ... they shape their parables of fear
and longing into the raw material of the modern reader's nightmares
... " [status: available]
- Dragonmaster Book Three: The Last Battle by Chris Bunch
(Orbit, £6.99, 326 pages, paperback,
first published 2004, this edition published 2005, received 15 February
2005. Orbit, £10.99, 326 pages, trade paperback, published October
2004, received 14 September 2004.)
"The Great War against the Roche is over.
But the world is grey, battered and the promise of peace never quite
materialises for Hal Kailas ... However, an old concern re-emerges
... what or who is savaging the dragons in their native lands?" [status:
available]
- The Risen Empire by Scott Westerfield
(Orbit, £12.99, 626 pages, paperback,
first published as The Risen Empire: Book One of Succession and The
Killing of Worlds: Book Two of Succession in 2003, this edition published
March 2005, received 15 February 2005.)
"The undead Emperor has ruled the Eighty Worlds
for sixteen hundred years. His is the power to grant immorality to
those he deems worthy, creating an elite class known as the Risen.
Along with his sister, the eternally young Child Empress, his power
within the empire has been absolute. Until now ... " [status:
available]
- Visits to the Flea Circus by Nick Jackson
(Elastic Press, £5.00, 172 pages, paperback,
published 1 February 2005, received 6 February 2005.)
"Quiet magical realism and poignant character
stories go hand in hand in Nick Jackson's first collection of stories.
His understated style and meticulous prose lead us into situations
from which reality is the only escape. Obsessed with the minutiae
of life, Jackson's characters explore the meaning of self within society's
constraints." [status: available]
- The Elastic Book of Numbers edited by Allen Ashley
(Elastic Press, £6.00, 278 pages, paperback,
published 1 February 2005, received 6 February 2005.)
"In this unique collection of 21 stories,
some of the world's finest fictioneers examine the effect of numbers
on humankind's past, present and future. From the rewriting of history
through the thrill of the roulette wheel to the codes controlling
the starships, each of these tales engages with numbers in innovative,
entertaining and meaningful ways." [status:
available]
- Siberia by Ann Halam
(Orion, £8.99, 233 pages, hardback, published
20 January 2005, received 3 February 2005.)
" ... At 13, and with only the Lindquists
for company, Sloe sets off an an epic 1000 mile journey embracing
breathtaking adventure, danger and hardships in her quest to be reunited
with her mother. In a moving and totally absorbing novel. Sloe evolves
into a heroine equal to anything amidst this dazzling combination
of science, adventure, fantasy and fairy tale." [status:
available]
- Halo: The Fall of Reach by Eric Nyland, The Flood
by William C Dietz and First Strike by Eric Nylund
(Orbit, £6.99, each 340 pages each, paperback,
published February 2005, received 3 February 2005.)
"The official novels of the award-winning
Xbox game. Now, brought to life for the first time, here is the full
story of that glorious, doomed conflict." [status:
available]
- Earth, Air, Fire and Custard by Tom Holt
(Orbit, £12.99, 410 pages, hardback,
published February 2005, received 12 January 2005.)
"Our lovestruck hero is about to discover
that custard is definitely in the eye of the beholder. And that it
really stings." [status: with reviewer]
- WAS: Fantasy Masterworks 43 by Geoff Ryman
(Gollancz, £7.99, 454 pages, paperback,
first published 1992, this edition published 13 January 2005, received
6 January 2005.)
"An epic fable of lost innocence, WAS
tells the stories of three people linked by the magic of The
Wonderful Wizard of Oz ... WAS is a powerful, moving
story about survival, and about the power of human imagination to
transcend the bleakest circumstances." [status:
available]
- Karloff's Circus: Accomplice Book 4 by Steve Aylett
(Gollancz, £9.99, 128 pages, paperback,
published 12 February 2004, received 6 February 2004. Gollancz, £6.99,
128 pages, paperback, first published 2004, this edition published
13 January 2005, received 6 January 2005.)
"Violaine's prophecy comes to pass. The troops
do something useful. Two living Steinway Spiders attack. Rudloe confronts
the Conglomerate with his cowardice." [status:
available]
- Hidden Camera by Zoran Zivkovic, translated from Serbian
by Alice Copple-Tosic
(Polaris, £ not advised, 279 pages, paperback,
first published 2003, this edition published 2004, received 6 January
2005.)
" ... I thought about how the fish and I lived
in two parallel worlds that had nothing to do with each other, and
yet were of mutual benefit. What the fish received from my world was
quite elementary: food and warmth. I, in return, received from theirs
something immeasurably more complicated: inner tranquillity. If I
wanted to thank them for this gift, how could I possibly do it? How
could I explain the concept of inner tranquillity to a being without
a soul? I couldn't ... " [status: with
reviewer]
- Star of Gypsies by Robert Silverberg
(Pyr, uncorrected advance reading copy, 508
pages, will be available as trade paperback priced $15.00, published
March 2005, received 5 January 2005.)
"Told as a rollicking first-person narrative,
Star of Gypsies is a charming and imaginative Space Opera adventure
recounted in classic Silverberg style." [status:
available]
- Gene by Stel Pavlou
(Simon & Schuster, £12.99, 430 pages,
hardback, published 3 January 2005, received 10 December 2004.)
"Detective James North is called upon to deal
with a young, mentally unstable man holding a child hostage at New
York's Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art ... North finds himself injected
with a substance that causes hallucinatory nightmares and flashes
of memory that are not his own ... Gene is the story of forgotten
Greek warrior Cyclades who fought and died in the Trojan Wars and
was fated by the gods to be reincarnated seven times." [status:
available]
- Prince of the Lake by Roger Butters
(Immanion Press, £17.99, 311 pages, hardback,
published 1 November 2004, received 8 December 2004.)
"Prince of the Lake is based on the
Norse epic of Beowulf: the story of an ordinary man who became a legendary
hero. This novel focuses upon the early life of the Gothic prince
Beowulf Wagmunding, Earl of Slane, and his cousin Athelstan of Karron
Tha, also known as Hawkeye." [status:
available]
- Angel Road by Steven Savile
(elastic press, £6.00, 227 pages, trade
paperback, published 2004, received 2 December 2004.)
"A collection of poems and short stories,
some previously unpublished." [status:
available]
- Fallen Angel by Stephanie Bedwell-Grime
(Telos Publishing, £9.99, 216 pages,
paperback, published November 2004, received 30 November 2004.)
"When Porche Winter sees a she-devil in a
downtown Toronto bar, she knows this can only mean trouble ... And
so it is down to one fallen angel, a small cherub and a former stockbroker
to try and save every soul on the planet." [status:
available]
- Goblins! by Brian Froud and Ari Berk
(Pavilion, £14.99, 65 pages plus unnumbered
section, hardback, published November 2004, received 30 November 2004.)
"Brilliantly written and illustrated by Brian
Froud and Ari Berk, Goblins combines the detailed, folkloric
approach of faeries and Runes of Elfland with the wackiness
of Lady Cottington to make their most visually rich and outrageous
book yet." [status: available]
- Scheherazade 27: The Magazine of Fantasy, Science Fiction and
Gothic Romance edited by Eliabeth Counihan
(magazine, £3.50, 37 pages, A4 paperback,
published 2004, received 23 November 2004.)
"Inside the pages of this edition you will
meet all creatures great and small, form a magpie to a dragon, with
frogs, mogs and mutts in between." [status:
available]
- The Ethos Effect by L E Modesitt, Jr.
(Orbit, 7.99, 579 pages, paperback, published
December 2004, received 9 November 2004.)
"Following the unfortunate, yet unavoidable
destruction of a civilian liner during a short but brutal space battle,
Commander Van C Albert is resigned to a life away from the military.
But then Van takes command of a starship for the Integrated Information
Systems foundation ... " [status: available]
- New Spring: A Wheel of Time Novel by Robert Jordan
(Orbit, £6.99, 423 pages, paperback,
published December 2004, received 9 November 2004.)
"An unmissable prequel to the No 1 best-selling
Wheel of Time series reveals the origins of the epic quest
for the Dragon Reborn." [status: available]
- Blood Pact and Blood Debt by Tanya Huff
(Orbit, £6.99 each, 376 and 362 pages
respectively, paperback, Blood Pact first published 1993, Blood
Debt first published 1997, this edition published December 2004,
received 9 November 2004.)
"The Blood series features PI Vicky
Nelson solving crimes on the mean streets of Toronto, ably assisted
by Henry Fitzroy, the bastard vampire son of Henry VIII." [status:
available]
- Moving Target: Book two of Vatta's War by Elizabeth Moon
(Orbit, £6.99, 438 pages, paperback,
published November 2004, received 9 November 2004.)
"Ky Vatta was a military cadet destined for
great things, until an act of kindness incurred the Academy's wrath
and ended her career ... now ... a threat emerges that challenges
even her sharp wits. To confront it is to risk everything she has
gained. But if she was to survive it, it could leave the military
forever in her debt ... " [status: available]
- Blood Trail and Blood Lines by Tanya Huff
(Orbit, £6.99 each, 344 and 358 pages
respectively, paperback, Blood Trail first published 1992,
Blood Lines first published 1993, this edition published
November 2004, received 29 October 2004.)
"A must for fans of Laurell K Hamilton and
Kelley Armstrong!" [status: available]
- The High Lord:The Black Magician Trilogy Book Three by Trudi
Canavan
(Orbit, £7.99, 647 pages, paperback,
published November 2004, received 29 October 2004.)
"Sonea has learned much at the magicians'
guild and the other novices now treat her with a grudging respect.
But she cannot forget what she witnessed in the High Lord's underground
room -- or his warning that the realm's ancient enemy is growing in
power once more ... " [status: available]
- A Blazing World: The Unofficial Guide to The League of Extraordinary
Gentlemen Volume Two by Jess Nevins, introduction by Alan Moore
(MonkeyBrain Books, $15.95, 304 pages, paperback,
published September 2004, received 22 October 2004.)
"This pulse-pounding volume contains an exclusive
interview with and introduction by League of Extraordinary
Gentlemen co-creator and author Alan Moore, plus an interview
with and additional commentary by co-creator and illustrator Kevin
O'Neill." [status: available]
- Wizardry & Wild Romance: A Study of Epic Fantasy by Michael
Moorcock
(MonkeyBrain Books, $18.95, 206 pages, published
September 2004, received 22 October 2004.)
"Out of print for nearly twenty years, Michael
Moorcock's seminal study of epic fantasy, Wizardry and Wild
Romance, is once more available. Newly revised, expanded and updated
by the author, this invaluable work analyzes the Fantasy genre form
its earliest beginnings in medieval romances ... and up to the brightest
lights in the field today." [status:
with reviewer]
- Projections: Science Fiction in Literature and Film edited
by Lou Anders
(MonkeyBrain Books, $15.95, 328 pages, paperback,
published December 2004, received 22 October 2004.)
"Projections examines the history and
the people, the science and the society, the lives, times and themes,
the cultural impact and the critical response of the dynamic genre
that is speculative fiction, as seen through the eyes of some of today's
most recognised writers." [status: with
reviewer]
- The Discontinuity Guide: The Definitive Guide to the Worlds and
Times of Doctor Who by Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping,
forward by Terrance Dicks, introduction by Lou Anders
(MonkeyBrain Books, $15.95, 349 pages, paperback,
published November 2004, received 22 October 2004)
" ... The Discontinuity Guide is a
brilliant attempt to stitch 26 years of television history into a
coherent narrative. Well thought-out and credible explanations are
offered for the seemingly irreconcilable or merely obscure bits of
the mythos, making this an essential reference for the longtime fan
and a hilarious introduction for the new one." [status:
available]
- Time Hunter: Kitsune by John Paul Catton
(Telos, £7.99, 100 pages, paperback,
also available as deluxe signed and numbered limited edition hardback,
published 2004, received 15 October 2004.)
"In the year 2020, Honoré Lechasseur
and Emily Blandish find themselves thrown into a mystery as an ice
spirit wreaks havoc during Kyoto's Gion festival, and a haunted funhouse
proves to contain more than just paper lanterns and wax dummies ...
" [status: available]
- Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collector's Calendar 2005
(Gollancz, £12.99, 1 page per month,
large format calendar, published 23 September 2004, received 30 September
2004.)
"Lavishly illustrated by some of the world's
best award-winning fantasy artists, including, of course, Paul Kidby,
the calendar also features both real time world dates and Discworld
dates. There is a biography of each artist and author Terry Pratchett,
who, for the first time, has chosen twelve of his favourite scenes
to be depicted as illustrations." [status:
with reviewer]
- New York Dreams: Virex Trilogy Volume Three by Eric Brown
(Gollancz, £6.99, 325 pages, paperback,
published 12 August 2004, received 23 September 2004.)
"Private detective Hal Halliday's addiction
to VR is a sure way of escaping the mess that his life has become
... But in the real world, Hal's ex-girlfriend has vanished, along
with child prodigy Suzie Charlesworth. Hal forces himself away from
the easy answers of VR to confront the complexity of reality." [status:
available]
- Demonstorm: Legends of the Raven by James Barclay
(Gollancz, £10.99, 438 pages, hardback,
published 26 August 2004, received 23 September 2004.)
"The dragons have gone home, the elves are
safe. The Raven have kept their promises. But fate has not finished
with them." [status: available]
- Interzone 194 edited by Andy Cox
(TTA Press, £3.50, 66 pages, bimonthly
magazine, published September 2004, received 23 September 2004.)
"Interzone 194 features contributions
from Steve Mohn, Douglas Smith, Karen D Fishler, Jay Lake, Anthony
Mann, David Langford, Nick Lowe, Martin Hughes, Peter Crowther, Mike
O'Driscoll, Elizabeth Counihan, Sandy Auden, Iain Emsley, Rick Kleffel,
Paul Kinkaid, Bob Keery." [status: available]
- Blood Price by Tanya Huff
(Orbit, £6.99, 330 pages, paperback,
first published 1991, this edition published October 2004, received
14 September 2004.)
"It began with blood and death. And Vicky
Nelson, PI was at the scene. The victim had been brutally, inhumanly
opened up. Messy work. She'd had to cover the corpse with her coat.
It had sort of made her feel involved ... Now Vicky is caught up in
the deadly pursuit of a mass murderer with an inhuman appetite for
mayhem and destruction" [status: available]
- Alchymist: Volume Three of The Well of Echoes by Ian Irvine
(Orbit £12.99, 678 pages, trade paperback,
first published 2003, this edition published March 2004, received
10 February 2004. Orbit, £7.99, 704 pages, paperback, this edition
published October 2004, received 14 September 2004.)
"The masterpiece of epic fantasy continues
... " [status: available]
- Fishy Wishes; Wish You Were Here and Djinn Rummy by Tom Holt
(Orbit, £8.99, 646 pages, paperback,
Wish You Were Here first published 1998, Djinn Rummy
first published 1995, this omnibus edition published October 2004,
received 14 September 2004.)
"Two suspiciously funny novels from the master
of comic writing." [status: available]
- Houdini's Last Illusion by Steve Savile
(Telos, £7.99, 76 pages, paperback, published
July 2004, received 3 September 2004.)
"Houdini knows that time is running out, and
before he is ready to die he must perform one final trick, the greatest
illusion of his life ... Steve was among the 2002 winners of Writers
of the Future award for Houdini's Last Illusion." [status:
available]
- Northern Storm: Book Two of the Aldabreshin Compass by Juliet
E. McKenna
(Orbit, £7.99, 596 pages, paperback,
published September 2004, received 1 September 2004.)
"Warlord Daish Kheda has vowed to reclaim
his people's land. Exiled from the kingdom and separated from his
family, Daish journey's north to seek answers. The wizard Dev has
pledged to assist him, hungry to discover the secrets of this powerful
dark magic. And it is Dev's obsession that will lead the men to further
conflict and into a political battle where strength in magic is key
to the highest rank of all." [status:
available]
- No Traveller Returns by Paul Park, introduction by Elizabeth
Hand
(PS Publishing, £10, 74 pages, signed,
numbered, limited edition paperback, also available as signed, numbered,
limited edition hardback priced £25, published August 2004, received
27 August 2004.)
"No Traveller Returns unravels a world
few of us would care to see depicted in a tapestry ... It is a beautiful,
sad, often very funny story about ... grief and its deniel in which
the narrator's own account becomes part of the process by which death
is, not conquered, but accepted and put to rest." [status:
available]
- The Soddit: Or "Let's Cash in Again" by A.R.R.R. Roberts
(Gollancz, £5.99, 342 pages, paperback,
first published 2003, this edition published 9 September 2004, received
26 August 2004.)
"Following (inevitably, some might say) the
frankly unlikely success of Bored of the Rings comes a new
book from an entirely different author that parodies Tolkien's other,
shorter, masterpiece." [status: available]
- The Simulacra: SF Masterworks 57 by Philip K Dick
(Gollancz, £6.99, 220 pages, paperback,
first published 1977, this edition published 9 September 2004, received
26 August 2004.)
"A few years from now, the president of the
USA will be an android and his entire government a fraud. Everyone
in the world is maladjusted. Doesn't seem possible, does it? Welcome
to the world of Dr. Superb, the sole remaining psychotherapist ...
" [status: available]
- Goddess of the Ice Realm: The fifth novel in the epic saga of
Lord of the Isles by David Drake
(Gollancz, £6.99, 496 pages, paperback,
first published 2003, this edition published 9 September 2004, received
26 August 2004.)
"In Goddess of the Ice Realm, Garric
and his retinue reach the island city of Carcosa. Ilna and her beloved,
Chalcus, are sent to investigate a magical threat to shipping in the
north. Cashel is translated into another world by evil magic, and
Sharina to yet another. All of them face deadly dangers. And their
world teeters on the brink." [status:
available]
- Grendel: Fantasy Masterworks 41 by John Gardner
(Gollancz, £6.99, 123 pages, paperback,
first published 1971, this edition published September 2004, received
26 August 2004.)
"John Gardner's masterpiece reinvents the
world of Beowulf and, in Grendel, a creature of grotesque comedy,
pain and disillusioned intelligence, has created the most unforgettable
monster in fantasy." [status: available]
- Accomodating Brocolli in the Cemetary: or Why Can't Anybody Spell?
By Vivian Cook
(Profile Books, £9.99, 151 pages, hardback,
published 2 September 2004, received 19 August 2004.)
"This light-hearted spelling compendium helps
explain some of the more perverse spelling rules. It also shows how
spelling has stumped, intrigued and infuriated us for centuries."
[status: with reviewer]
- Knees Up Mother Earth by Robert Rankin
(Gollancz, £9.99, 376 pages, hardback,
published 5 August 2004, received 12 August 2004.)
"From Robert Rankin, the creator of far-fetched
fiction and the only man who can make Terry Pratchett laugh, comes
this hilarious seventh novel in the Brentford Trilogy" [status:
available]
- Orcs: The Omnibus Edition by Stan Nicholls
(Gollancz, £7.99, 711 pages, paperback,
previously published as three separate novels in 1999 and 2000, with
a short story first published in 2000, this edition published 12 August
2004, received 29 July 2004.)
"Stan Nicholls turned established fantasy
convention on its head when he made the Orcs the good guys in his
action-packed Orcs trilogy. Bodyguard of Lightening, Legion
of Thunder and Warriors of the Tempest followed the adventures
of Stryke and his band of Orcs ... Included in this volume there is
also a short story, which has previously only been available in a
small press anthology." [status: available]
- Quake by Andy Remic
(Orbit, £6.99, 573 pages, paperback,
published 16 September 2004, received 29 July 2004.)
"A fast-paced, high-octane, near-future techno
thriller for fans of Andy McNab and Matthew Reilly." [status:
available]
- Liverpool Stories
(comma press, £2, June 2004)
Stories set in Liverpool, by Liverpool writers,
including Ramsey Campbell, Martin Edwards and Charlotte Allan. The
first in a series mini-short story anthologies in magazine form, Liverpool
Stories, is to be be published twice yearly and distributed partly
through Inform magazine (the city's what's on magazine) and partly
through Carcanet Press's website (www.carcanet.co.uk).
[status: with reviewer]
- Somnambulists by Allen Ashley
(Elastic Press, £5.00, 190 pages, paperback,
published 1 August 2004, received 22 July 2004.)
"Journey through the nebulous half-world between
sleep and wakefulness, populated with uncertainties and shadows. Poignant
and poetic, edgy and urban, Ashley's great craft amd conviction subverts
our expectations to devastating effect." [status:
with reviewer]
- Sketchbook by Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell
(Paper Tiger, £14.99, 160 pages, large
paperback, first published 2001, this edition published 2004, received
21 July 2004.)
"Sketchbook features many previously
unpublished illustrations and takes the reader into the privacy of
Boris and Julie's studio to see the drawings behind their famous paintings."
[status: available]
- Tall Stories: Expecting Someone Taller & Ye Gods! by
Tom Holt
(Orbit, £8.99, 568 pages, paperback,
published August 2004, received 16 July 2004.)
"Two hilarious comic fantasies available for
the first time in one volume!" [status:
available]
- Shadow Warrior by Chris Bunch
(Orbit £8.99, 710 pages, paperback, published
August 2004, received 16 July 2004.)
"The complete Joshua Wolfe trilogy in one
explosive volume from the master of military SF ... Joshua Wolfe.
Friend, prisoner, then betrayer and executioner of the Al'ar. To humans
he is a hero, a legend. To the aliens he is the Shadow Warrior, master
of the arts of killing ... " [status:
with reviewer]
- The Druid King by Norman Spinrad
(Orbit, £6.99, 564 pages, paperback,
first published 2003, this edition published August 2004, received
16 July 2004.)
"An epic tale of empire and ambition, The
Druid King brings to life one of the most brilliant -- and brutal
-- military campaigns of all time ... Norman Spinard has been an acclaimed
SF writer, editor and critic since the mid 1960s ... The Druid
King is his first historical novel." [status:
available]
- The Seagull Drovers: Legends of the Land Book Three by Steve
Cockayne
(Orbit, £12.99, 328 pages, trade paperback,
published February 2004, received 27 January 2004. Orbit, £6.99,
388 pages, mass market paperback, this edition published August 2004,
received 16 July 2004.)
"Nothing is right in the Land. King Matthew
is indisposed, the city dominated by the malevolent Fang. Crops are
dying and even the seagulls have lost their way. Everywhere, people
are searching for answers ... " [status:
available]
- Hound by George Green
(Bantam Books, £6.99, 553 pages, paperback,
first published 2003, this edition published 5 August 2004, received
8 July 2004.)
"A rip-roaring historical adventure set in
Celtic Ireland, this is the tale of one of Ireland's most celebrated
legends -- the story of Cuchullain, the Hound of Ulster. Retold as
never before, this is a thrilling, timeless tale of heroism and friendship,
of love and betrayal, of war and poetry." [status:
with reviewer]
- Thinner Than Thou by Kit Reed
(Tor, $24.95, 334 pages, hardback, published
2004, received 1 July 2004.)
"Television says it. Magazines say it. American
society commands it. You must be thin. You must be young. Fad diets.
Fat-purging pills. Fitness clubs. Liposuction. Breast implants. Steroids.
In the tomorrow of Thinner Than Thou, the cult of the body
has become the one true religion ... " [status:
available]
- The Well of Yearning: Book One of the Wellspring Trilogy
by Caiseal Mor
(Pocket Books, £6.99, 515 pages, paperback,
published 5 July 2004, received 25 June 2004.)
"Guy d'Alville had been a Knight of the Hospital
before he was expelled from the prestigious military order. His fortunes
had waned dramatically since then. All because of one man, a Templar
Knight from Ireland named Robert Fitzwilliam. So Guy determined this
man would pay with his life." [status:
with reviewer]
- The Mammoth Book of 20th Century Science Fiction: Volume Two
edited by David G Hartwell
(Robinson, £7.99, 617 pages, paperback,
first published 1997, this edition published 15 July 2004, received
25 June 2004.)
"The 20th Century was the science fiction
century, and nowhere is this more apparent than in David Hartwell's
huge classic anthology of science fiction ... Here in the second and
final volume of the collection, he showcases seventeen stories that
prove the sheer range of the genre. [status:
available]
- Deep Ten: A Tenth Anniversary Anthology for the T Party Writers'
Group edited by Gary Couzens and Sara-Jayne Townsend
(T Party Books, £5.00, 128 pages, paperback,
published 31 January 2004, received 18 June 2004.)
"In 1998, the T Party Writers' Group published
the widely-praised anthology Gravity's Angels. Published to
mark the group's tenth anniversary, Deep Ten is a further collection
of ten stories of horror, fantasy, science fiction and slipstream."
[status: available]
- Shadowheart: Legends of the Raven by James Barclay
(Gollancz, £6.99, 438 pages, paperback, first published 2003,
this edition published 8 July 2004, received 16 June 2004.)
- The Scrolls of the Ancients: Volume III of The Chronicles of
Blood and Stone by Robert Newcomb
(Bantam Books, £12.99, 531 pages, trade
paperback, published 5 July 2004, received 14 June 2004.)
"The final book in Robert Newcomb's magnificent
epic fantasy trilogy ... the true identity of the enemy is revealed:
a master of the Craft of Magic whose powers, ambitions and capacity
for cruelty and evil threatens everything the fellowship holds dear
... " [status: all three available]
- The Gates of Dawn: Volume II of The Chronicles of Blood and Stone
by Robert Newcomb
(Bantam Press, £10.99, 467 pages, trade
paperback, published 3 July 2003, received 18 June 2003. Bantam Books,
£6.99, 655 pages, paperback, this edition published 5 July 2004,
received 14 June 2004.)
"In underground labyrinths that once bustled
with life, the fugitive prince, together with his twin sister and
the wizard Wigg take refuge. To them falls the daunting task of rebuilding
Eutracia, but it soon becomes apparent that evil has not yet had its
fill of this ravaged land." [status:
all three available]
- The Fifth Sorceress: Volume I of The Chronicles of Blood and
Stone by Robert Newcomb
(Bantam Press, £10.99, 591 pages, trade
paperback, published 2 September 2002, received 19 August 2002. Bantam,
£6.99, 876 pages, paperback, first published 2002, this edition
published 3 July 2003, received 18 June 2003.)
"Prince Tristan is a reluctant monarch-to-be.
Though born with the endowed blood that will enable him to master
magic, and destined to succeed his father as ruler of this land and
its people, he is a rebel soul. But more than tradition compels Tristan
to ascend the throne. The very survival of Eutracia depends upon it..."
[status: all three available]
- Michael Marshall Smith: The Annotated Bibliography by Lavie
Tidhar
(PS Publishing, £10, 77 pages, numbered
limited edition paperback, also available in hardback priced £25,
published 2004, received 11 June 2004.)
"Here, then, is his work, in all its myriad
editions, states and appearances, and here, also, are his thoughts,
his comments, short breaths of stories about stories." [status:
available]
- Banquet for the Damned by Adam LG Nevill, Introduction by
Ramsey Campbell
(PS Publishing, £35 hardback or £60
slipcased hardback, 492 pages, signed edition, published January 2004,
received 11 June 2004.)
"Has the darkness returned to Scotland's oldest
university town? Is the time of witchcraft and ritual murder here
again?.. This is certainly not a place for outsiders, especially at
night. So what chance do two visitors -- a rootless musician and a
burnt-out explorer -- have of surviving their entanglement with Professor
Eliot Coldwell, the infamous magician and disgraced author of Banquet
for the Damned ... " [status: available]
- The Illmoor Chronicles: The Yowler Fowl-up by David Lee
Stone
(Hodder Children's Books, £10.99, 259
pages, hardback, published 17 June 2004, received 10 June 2004.)
"A terrible sect has arisen in Dullich and
they're even more hell-bent on the destruction of the city than the
citizens themselves ... The second instalment of the weird and wacky
fantast sequence that began with The Ratastrophe Catastrophe
has arrived." [status: available]
- Changeover by Diana Wynne Jones
(Moondust Books, £9.99, 256 pages, paperback,
first published 1970, this edition published 2004, received 10 June
2004.)
"It is the 1960's, and the small African country
Nmkwami is preparing for independence from Britain ... Into this peaceful
scene comes the shadowy figure of Mark Changeover. Is he an international
terrorist? A bomb-throwing anarchist? Or, perhaps, nobody at all?"
[status: with reviewer]
- Terminator 2: The Future War by S M Stirling
(Gollancz, £9.99, 357 pages, trade paperback,
published 24 July 2003, received 3 July 2003. Gollancz, £6.99,
357 pages, paperback, published 10 June 2004, received 9 June 2004.)
"Judgement Day has arrived. The world is consumed
by the holocaust and so begins the final war for mankind's survival:
the war with the machines..." [status:
available]
- The Deceiving Eye: The Art of Richard Hescox text by Randy
M Dannenfelser
(Paper Tiger, £20.00, 128 pages, hardback,
published July 2004, received 9 June 2004.)
"This stunning collection includes text by
the established and widely respected author and critic Randy M Dannenfelser.
It features over 100 of the artist's favourite pieces spanning the
areas of Fine Art, Fantasy and Science-fiction." [status:
available]
- Digital Art for the 21st Century: Renderosity
by John Grant and Audre Vysniauskas
(AAPPL, £19.95, 160 pages, large format
paperback, published May 2004, received 9 June 2004.)
"With over 200 images in full colour, Digital
Art for the 21st Century: Renderosity displays a stunning
variety of the very best of modern digital art. A brief technical
note accompanies each image, and there are autobiographical statements
from the artists." [status: available]
- Wild Magic: Book Two of Fool's Gold by Jude Fisher
(Earthlight, £10.99, 565 pages, trade
paperback, published 4 August 2003, received 4 July 2003. Pocket Books,
£6.99, 565 pages, paperback, this edition published 5 July 2004,
received 7 June 2004.)
"The magic enveloping Elda is turbulent and
unpredicatble and few will count its touch a blessing. It is the most
capricious of times; it is the time of wild magic." [status:
available]
- Eden: The Novel by Ken Wisman
(No publishing details, comb-bound A4 proof
copy, 183 pages, received 7 June 2004.)
"Where will our bioengineering sciences take
us? Back to Paradise? Or straight to Hell?" [status:
available]
- Moon Beaver by Andrew Hook
(Elastic Press, £9.50, 236 pages, paperback,
published 2004, received 7 June 2004.)
"Packed with wisecracks, cynicism and naïve
hope, Moon Beaver examines the meaning of 'self', in a society where
individuality is a commodity and wasted lives are commonplace." [status:
available]
- A Forest of Stars: The Saga of Seven Sons Book Two by Kevin
J Anderson
(Earthlight, £10.99, 727 pages, trade
paperback, published 7 July 2003, received 18 June 2003. Pocket Books,
£6.99, 727 pages, paperback, this edition published 7 June 2004,
received 7 June 2004.)
"Something of inestimable power must have
been required to destroy the Klikiss race. Will humanity be next?
[status: available]
- The Raven Warrior: The Second Book of Guinevere by Alice
Borchardt
(Bantam Books, £6.99, 624 pages, paperback,
first published 2003, this edition published 1 June 2004, received
7 June 2004.)
"Guinevere, Queen of the Dragon People, has
become a woman and taken the power offered to her by the Dragon Throne
... As Guinevere faces her first great challenge as queen, so Black
Leg, her childhood companion, begins his own quest to become a man
and warrior ... [status: available]
- The Wraiths of Will and Pleasure: Book One of the Wraeththu
Histories by Storm Constantine
(Immanion Press, £14.99, 480 pages, trade
paperback, published 2003, received 7 June 2004.)
"After being away for many years, Storm Constantine
returns to the saga of Wraeththu, picking up threads from the original
trilogy and weaving them into a stunning new novel ... " [status:
available]
- The Shades of Time and Memory: Book Two of the Wraeththu Histories
by Storm Constantine
(Immanion Press, £14.99, 489 pages, trade
paperback, published 2004, received 7 June 2004.)
"The warring factions of Wraeththu must unite
to protect their world, and Pellaz must venture into unimaginable
new territories ... The Shades of Time and Memory reveals the
growing pains of this new androgynous race. Wraeththu are no longer
children, running wild in the debris of humanities demise. They must
grow up quickly, or perish." [status:
available]
- The Journals of Eleanor Druse: My Investigation into the Kingdom
Hospital Incident by Eleanor Druse
(Bantam Books, £6.99, 249 pages, paperback,
published 27 May 2004, received 7 June 2004.)
"Eleanor Druse has always been interested
in the paranormal, but her fascination intensifies after she has a
near-death experience at Kingdom Hospital while visiting a childhood
friend who had attempted suicide ... " [status:
available]
- The Day After Tomorrow by Whitley Strieber
(Gollancz, £6.99, 249 pages, paperback,
published 27 May 2004, received 7 June 2004.)
" ... the gripping tie-in novel to the new
blockbuster from the director of Independence Day. The planet
is warming up and as the ice caps melt, the great currents of the
ocean shift and the Northern Hemisphere is plunged into a new ice
age ... But as Western civilisation succumbs to blizzards and tidal
waves ... mankind's only saviour is making a lonely, terror-filled
trip north ... " [status: with reviewer]
- Vampire Seductress by Lance Panzer
(www.booksunbound.com,
e-novel, 87,000 words; 348 paperback pages. March 2003. Formats: html-pc;
html-mac; rocket e-book; microsoft e-reader; hiebook file (all @ $4.95);
also on CD-ROM @ $9.95. Review copy available from the publisher.)
"Sensuous. Witty. Disturbing. Erotic. Stylish. Fast-paced. Intelligent."
[status: available]
- The Gift: The First Book of Pellinor by Alison Croggon
(Walker Books, £7.99, 494 pages, paperback,
published 3 May, received 7 May 2004.)
"Maerad is a slave in a harsh, desperate settlement
, taken there as a child after her family is destroyed in war. She
is unaware that she possesses a powerful Gift, a Gift that marks her
as a member of the School of Pellinor ... " [status:
available]
- Darkness: The Corean Chronicles Book Two by L E Modesitt,
Jr
(Orbit, £7.99, 551 pages, paperback,
published June 2004, received 6 May 2004.)
"Once again Alucius must risk everything and
tap into his hidden magical talent, of Corus and all he holds dear
will be lost for ever." [status: available]
- In Your Dreams by Tom Holt
(Orbit, £12.99, 474 pages, hardback,
published June 2004, received 6 May 2004.)
"Paul Carpenter, hero of The Portable Door,
is back, and so is his angular object of desire, Sophie. Except they're
not exactly living happily ever after. She's dumped him and moved
to Hollywood. So now Paul spends his days mooning over the gorgeous
office intern ... when what he really should be doing is asking himself
how he managed to land a promotion ... " [status:
available]
- Demons of Chitraku: Book Three of the Ramayana by Ashok
K Banker
(Orbit, £6.99, 615 pages, paperback,
published June 2004, received 6 May 2004.)
"Rama has quelled the demon invasion. He has
thwarted the domon lord Ravana. And he is wedded to the enchanting
Sita. But the young prince's problems are far from over. For Rama
has been challenged by the fabled axe-wielding brahmin Parshurama
... And, should he survive the confrontation, a greater crisis awaits
him ... " [status: available]
- The Pendragon Cycle: Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur, Pendragon, Grail
(5 separate novels) by Stephen Lawhead
(Lion Publishing, £6.99 each, 400-500
pages each, paperback, first published 1987-1997, this edition published
April 2004, received 1 May 2004.)
"With great skill and vitality, experienced
author Stephen Lawhead brings together the legends of Arthurandthe
world of Celtic mythology to produce a stunning epic tale of the struggles
between light and darkness, good and evil ... Those who have enjoyed
the recent revival of The Lord of the Rings may particularly
enjoy this acclaimed series." [status:
available]
- Five Great Novels: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Martian
Time-Slip, A Scanner Darkly, Ubik, The Three Stigmata of Palmer
Eldritch by Philip K Dick
(Gollancz, £12.99, 841 pages, trade paperback,
published 20 May 2004, received 1 May 2004.)
"Dick's tales of twisted perceptions and false
realities have shaped modern SF, and provided the inspiration for
numerous blockbuster films. In his writing, nothing is what it seems,
our sense of the world order is fatally undermined, and mass media
tells us nothing but artful lies." [status:
available]
- The Sound of White Ants by Brian Howell
(Elastic Press, £5.00, 167 pages, paperback,
published 1 May 2004, received 23 April 2004.)
" ... a collection of literary mixed-genre
short fiction ... Taking the iconographic images of the schoolgirl
and the salaryman, mingled with the bittersweet experiences of the
sexually repressed, these stories embed themselves beneath the plastic
veneer of contemporary Japanese society, revealing a world caught
precariously between its future and its past." [status:
available]
- Five Great Novels: The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, The
Invisible Man, The First Men on the Moon, The Island of Doctor Moreau
by H G Wells
(Gollancz, £10.99, 593 pages, trade paperback,
published 22 April 2004, received 16 April 2004.)
" ... a collection of the most remarkable
and influential works from the man widely regarded as the greatest
science fiction writer who ever lived." [status:
available]
- Futures: 50 Years of Space Art-The Challenge of the Stars
by David A Hardy and Patrick Moore
(AAPPL, £17.95, 109 pages, hardback,
published 2004, received 16 April 2004.)
"This is a unique book, which only this author/artist
team could produce, and it brings together their combined wealth
of experience and expertise in revealing the wonders of the cosmos
to a wide audience, along with a cautiously optimistic forecast of
our future in space." [status: available]
- Club Dead: A Sookie Stackhouse Vampire Mystery by Charlaine
Harris
(Orbit, £6.99, 274 pages, paperback,
published May 2004, received 9 April 2004.)
"There's only one vampire Sookie Stackhouse
is involved with (at least voluntarily) and that's Bill. But recently
he's been kind of distant -- like another state distant ... But when
Sookie finally finds Bill -- caught in an act of serious betrayal
-- she's not sure whether to save him, or sharpen some stakes." [status:
available]
- Medalon: The Demon Child Trilogy Book One by Jennifer Fallon
(Orbit, £7.99, 615 pages, paperback,
published May 2004, received 9 April 2004.)
"According to legend, the last king of the
ancient Harshini race sired a half-human child. Now the demon child
must be found -- and it must be killed ... " [status:
available]
- Jaws of Darkness by Harry Turtledove
(Pocket Books, £6.99, 576 pages, paperback
, published 4 May 2004, received 9 April 2004.)
"The grand conflict for control of the continent
of Derlavai rages on in a battle with all the drama and terror of
the Second World War -- but for artillery and bombers, read magical
fire and dragons." [status: available]
- Animal Instincts by Hertzan Chimera
(Double Dragon Publishing, $18.99, trade paperback,
222 pages, with 32 black and white full-page illustrations.)
"In this jaw-dropping collection of pure animal
lust you will find reflections of the horror of the whim of survival
and how it could at any moment be upon us in its hordes, devouring
our minds." [status: PDF version available
for review]
- Spidered Web by Hertzan Chimera
(Cyber-Pulp, $14.00, trade paperback, 166
pages.)
"Hertzan Chimera interviews some of the great
horror/dark fantasy authors around today. Join him as he interrogates
Jack Ketchum, Edward Lee, Tom Piccirilli, and many others with his
highly unusaul bondage/journalism techniques. [status:
PDF version available for review]
- Chim + Her by Hertzan Chimera
(Cyber-Pulp, $14.99, trade paperback, 260
pages.)
"Here we see UK author Hertzan Chimera battle
it out with eight female writers through 29 collaborative short stories."
[status: PDF version available for review]
- Chimera World #1 edited by Hertzan Chimera
(Cyber Pulp, price ?, trade paperback, 221
pages.)
"A collection of the most ferocious, the most
relentless, the most wonderfully rendered nightmare landscapes ever
witnessed in literary history." [status:
PDF version available for review]
- The Changing of Faces by Tim Lebbon, introduction by Simon
Clark
(PS Publishing, £10.00, 98 pages, signed,
numbered, limited edition paperback, also available as signed, numbered,
limited edition hardback priced £25.00, published 2004, received
25 March 2004.)
"In modern fiction ... instinctual awareness
of the approach of doom finds an outlet ... Tim Lebbon has brilliantly
contributed to this literature of world desolation." [status:
available]
- Cartomancy by Mary Gentle
(Gollancz, £6.99, 313 pages, paperback,
published 18 March 2004, received 24 March 2004.)
"Each work in this compendium comes with new
afterwords, and the entire collection is framed by a specially revised
version of the split story Cartomancy. Ideal for readers of
Mary Gently as well as newcomers to her work and anyone who enjoys
intricate and supremely well told tales, this is an engaging and magnificent
collection." [status: with reviewer]
- The Swords of Night and Day: A Novel of Skilgannon the Damned
by David Gemmell
(Bantam Press, £17.99, 459 pages, hardback,
published 1 April 2004, received 19 March 2004.)
"An ancient prophesy foretold that Skilgannon
would return in his people's darkest hour ... But the reborn hero
is an enigma: a young man whose warrior skills are blunted, and whose
memories are fragmented. This Skilgannon is a man out of time, marooned
in a world as strange to him as a dream, remote from all he knew and
loved. Or nearly all ... " [status:
with reviewer]
- White Wolf by David Gemmell
(Bantam Press, £17.99, 428 pages, hardback,
published 10 April 2003, received 21 March 2003. Corgi, £6.99,
589 pages, paperback, this edition published 1 April 2004, received
19 March 2004.)
"The start of a gripping new series from the
bestselling novelist of The Drenai Tales, with a guest appearance
by Gemmell's most popular character of all--Druss the Legend... Introducing
a compelling hero Skilgannon the Damned." [status:
available]
- Dragonmaster Book Two: Knighthood of the Dragon by Chris
Bunch
(Orbit £6.99, 408 pages, paperback, first
published 2003, this edition published April 2004, received 17 March
2004.)
"There is no chivalry, no gallantry, left
in the long struggle between Deraine and Sagene, and their arch-rival
Roche. The fight is no longer for victory, but for survival. And in
the midst of the slaughter stands Hal Kailas, Dragonmaster. His squadron
of dragons soar above the carnage and dark sorcery, dealing death
to the enemies of his people, but even Hal has his weaknesses..."
[status: available]
- The Devil in Green: The Dark Age 1 by Mark Chadbourn
(Gollancz, £6.99, 453 pages, paperback,
first published 2002, this edition published 25 March 2004, received
4 March 2004.)
"Humanity has emerged, blinking from the Age
of Misrule ... Society has been thrown into a new Dark Age where superstitions
hold sway ... Fighting to find their place in this new world, the
last remnants of the Christian Church call for a group of heroes:
a new Knight Templar to guard the priesthood as they set out on their
quest for souls ... " [status: available]
- The Tels by Paul Black
(Novel Instincts Publishing, $14.95, 300 pages,
signed paperback, published 2003, received 28 February 2004.)
"Throughout his life, Jonathan Kortel always
sensed he was different, but never imagined how different, until two
rival factions of a secret group called the Tels approach him out
of the shadows of government. He has a gift that could change his
life, and possibly the world, forever." [status:
available]
- For Two Nights Only: Overtime and Grailblazers by Tom Holt
(Orbit, £8.99, 671 pages, paperback,
published March 2004, received 28 February 2004.)
"Two hilarious comic fantasies in one armour-plated,
broadsword-wielding volume." [status:
available]
- Lore Bringer: Book Three of The Last Clansman by Miller
Lau
(Pocket Books, £6.99, 469 pages, paperback,
published 5 April 2004, received 19 February 2004.)
"The tortured hero, Duncan Talisker, returns
in the third of three breathtaking and acclaimed Last Clansman novels."
[status: available]
- The Power of the Night: The Lamb among the Stars Book Two by
Chris Walley
(Authentic Lifestyle, £7.99, 412 pages,
paperback, published 2003, received 19 February 2004.)
"With the destruction of the Gate that linked
it to the rest of the Assembly, the world of Farhome now stands alone.
Yet Farholme has more than just isolation to face. There is something
in the north, a something that is evil, that challenges and corrupts
all the Assembly stands for." [status:
available]
- Newton's Wake by Ken Macleod
(Orbit, £17.99, 369 pages, hardback,
published March 2004, received 10 February 2004.)
"Newton's Wake is a stunning stand-alone
space opera, charting the struggle for human survival in a universe
dominated by post-human intelligence." [status:
with reviewer]
- Beyond Infinity by Gregory Benford
(Orbit, £6.99, 451 pages, paperback,
published March 2004, received 10 February 2004.)
"A billion years into the future, a human
female is recreated from data held within the vast archives of the
Library of Life. But the Earth to which she is born is far different
to that of her long-extinct race ... A rogue element in an increasingly
unstable universe, she draws the attention of a mysterious alien breed
..." [status: with reviewer]
- Midnight Tides: A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen by
Steven Erikson
(Bantam Press, £20.00, 692 pages,
hardback, will also be available in trade paperback priced £12.99,
published 1 March 2004, received 10 February 2004.)
" ... the eagerly anticipated fifth chapter
in this ten book series, ... War and betrayal, magic and myth collide
in this thrilling new chapter ... " [status:
available]
- Jupiter: Ganymede edited by Ian Redman
(Jupiter, £9.00 for 4 issues, 56 pages,
fiction magazine, Spring 2004 issue, received 9 February 2004.)
" ... the first story is a fantastic piece
from Mary Calloway, she's certainly one to watch for the future. We've
also got fantastic illustrations from Desmond Knight and Greg Hughes."
[status: with reviewer]
- Shaturanga: The Story of Onus by Brian Snelson, illustrated
by Rodney Sellars
(iUniverse, $26.95, 229 pages, hardback, signed
by author, also available in paperback priced $16.95 and as eBook
priced $6.00, published October 2003, received 6 February 2004.)
"Told in the oldest storytelling voice, Shaturanga
departs from the well-worn path of the science fiction fantasy genre
and blazes its own trail through the battlefield of the human soul,
where medieval mentality clashes head-on with future technology across
what was once Earth's ocean floor." [status:
available]
- Hallucinating by Stephen Palmer
(Cosmos Books, $17.95, 302 pages, trade paperback,
published 2004, received 5 February 2004.)
"Hallucinating is a unique vision of
future invasion and future music, featuring cameo appearances from
Ed Wynne of Ozric Tentacles, Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree, Toby
Marks of Banco de Gaia and many others. Michael Dog has written a
foreword. [status: available]
- The Portable Door by Tom Holt
(Orbit, £6.99, 404 pages, paperback,
first published 2003, this edition published 5 February 2004, received
27 January 2004.)
"For Paul Carpenter -- new employee of JW
Wells & Co -- it is fast becoming clear that his new company is
hiding a vast and quite possibly sinister conspiracy. Not that Paul
cares much; he's become obsessed with wooing the enigmatic Sophie,
a bizarre angular woman with all the sexual appeal of a hole-punch."
[status: available]
- The Magicians' Guild: The Black Magicians Trilogy Book One
by Trudi Canavan
(Orbit, £7.99, 465 pages, paperback,
first published 2001, this edition published February 2004, received
27 January 2004.)
"Each year the magicians of Imardin gather
together to purge the city streets of vagrants, urchins and miscreants.
Masters of the disciplines of magic, they know that no one can oppose
them. But their protective shield is not as impenetrable as they believe
... " [status: available]
- Tetrarch: Volume Two of The Well of Echoes by Ian Irvine
(Orbit, £7.99, 683 pages, paperback,
first published 2002, this edition published February 2004, received
27 January 2004.)
"The future of the world now rests in the
hands of just three flawed individuals: Tiaan, whose knowledge holds
the key to a power that can destroy all foes; Nish, who has sworn
to bring the renegade geomancer to justice; and Irisis, whose great
talents are hidden even from herself ... " [status:
available]
- Mothership by John Brosnan
(Gollancz, £10.99, 280 pages, trade paperback,
published 19 February 2004, received 24 January 2004.)
"From one of epic fantasy's great ironic commentators
comes a whole new adventure of corruption, imagination and originality
to set a new standard in witty, intelligent fantasy." [status:
available]
- Matrix Warrior: Being the One--The Unofficial Handbook by
Jake Horsley
(Gollancz, £6.99, 231 pages, hardback,
published 1 April 2003, received 21 March 2003. Gollancz, £5.99,
263 pages, paperback, this edition published 15 January 2004, received
22 January 2004.)
"Combining an in-depth reading of the film
with philosophical enquiry and the teachings of Castaneda, Jake Horsley
has produced a profound yet witty companion to the film; if the matrix
were true this would be all you would need to get yourself unplugged."
[status: with reviewer]
- The Archon by Catherine Fisher
(Hodder Children's Books, £5.99, 391
pages, paperback, published 12 February 2004, received 22 January
2004.)
"Alexos, the new Archon, will lead a pilgrimage
to the Well of Songs. Great riches are said to lie there, and the
Archon seeks peace with the Rain Queen. But the desert is a place
of strange menace for the Archon and his companions, and behind them
there is always the general, Argelin, seeking riches and power for
himself." [status: available]
- Downward to the Earth: SF Masterworks 56 by Robert
Silverberg
(Gollancz, £6.99, 213 pages, paperback,
first published 1977, this edition published 12 February 2004, received
22 January 2004.)
"Drawing heavily on Conrad's Heart of Darkness,
this is one of Robert Silverberg's most intense novels, placing the
reader at the heart of an individual's journey through a once colonised
alien planet. Explored but abandoned by man, the planet is a mystery
and, for lone traveller Gunderson, an obsession which takes him on
a mission to share the religious rebirth of an alien species, and
ultimately offers redemption from guilt and sin." [status:
available]
- The Raven Game by Caiseal Mor
(Pocket Books, £6.99, 399 pages, paperback,
first published 2002, this edition published 2 March 2004, received
22 January 2004.)
The Raven is a carrion creature and its tale
is one of blood and death ... But the Raven is also one of the aspects
of the Morrigan, goddess of war, and few may escape her claws ...
The Raven Game presents the magical conclusion to the critically
acclaimed Watchers trilogy; a powerful and evocative tale drawn
from the rich literary heritage of Celtic mythology." [status:
available]
- Nylon Angel: The First Parrish Plessis Book by Marianne De
Pierres
(Orbit, £6.99, 330 pages, paperback,
published January 2004, received 20 December 2004.)
"In a future where the rich live behind the
safety of a giant fortress-wall and everyone else can go to hell,
Parrish Plessis has learnt some useful survival tactics ... She's
tooled up, jacked full of stim, and tonight she's going to take her
chance." [status: available]
- Angel: Hollywood Vampire by Keith Topping
(Virgin Books, £6.99, 456 pages, paperback,
first published 2000, this edition published 8 January 2004, received
20 December 2003.)
"A unique and indispensable guide for Angel
and Buffy fans alike, Hollywood Vampire will lead you
step-by-step through seasons one to four of Angel, cross-referencing
the two programmes, and offering insight into common themes. It also
covers Angel novels and comics, as well as Angel on
the Internet." [status: available]
- The Iron Chain: Legends of the Land Book Two by Steve Cockayne
(Orbit, £6.99, 486 pages, paperback,
first published 2003, this edition published January 2004, received
16 December 2003.)
"When Leonardo Pegasus invented the Multiple
Empathy Engine he unwittingly conjured something else -- a malevolent
spirit that danced in the depths of the machine, a spirit eager to
make mischief ... "[status: available]
- New Spring: A Wheel of Time Novel by Robert Jordan
(Orbit, £16.99, 334 pages, hardback,
published January 2004, received 16 December 2003.)
"The first of three unmissable prequels to
the No.1 bestselling Wheel of Time series reveals the origins
of the epic quest for the Dragon Reborn." [status:
available]
- The Sword of Shannara Trilogy by Terry Brooks
(Orbit, £14.99, 1191 pages, trade paperback,
published January 2004, received 16 December 2003.)
"A classic series that has become one of the
most popular epic fantasy tales of all time -- at last collected into
one volume." [status: available]
- Incompetence by Rob Grant
(Gollancz, £9.99, 291 pages, hardback,
published 31 December 2003, received 9 December 2003. Gollancz, £6.99,
323 pages, paperback, this edition published 1 October 2004, received
15 September 2004.)
"Welcome to the future, where incompetence
is a way of life. And meet Detective Harry Salt, a man with a terrible
problem: he's actually good at his job. And if he can negotiate his
way through the mess of contaminated evidence, ineptly filed crime
reports and witnesses with long term memory disorders, he might just
find a deadly serial killer, with a penchant for committing the perfect
murder ... " [status: with reviewer]
- Three Hearts & Three Lions: Fantasy Masterworks 40 by
Poul Anderson
(Gollancz, £6.99, 177 pages, paperback,
first published 1953, this edition published 4 December 2003, received
4 December 2003.)
"Only the legendary knight of Three Hearts
and Three Lions can stand against the mighty armies of Chaos. And
he's Holger Carlson, a man snatched out of time with only a vague
prophesy, a quarrelsome dwarf and a beautiful woman who can turn herself
into a swan on his side." [status: available]
- The Science of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials by Mary
& John Gribbin
(Hodder, £8.99, 202 pages, paperback,
published 13 November 2003, received 28 November 2003.)
"Award winning science writers Mary and John
Gribbin reveal how Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy ...
is rooted in astonishing scientific truth ... This is the only non-fiction
book about His Dark Materials and comes with Philip Pullman's
complete support and an introduction by him." [status:
with reviewer]
- Secret Identities: An Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Alias
by Mark Clapham and Lance Parkin
(Virgin Books, £6.99, 273 pages, paperback,
published 2003, received 28 November 2003.)
"Alias, the hit espionage TV series,
mixes high-tech spy action, glamorous disguises, shocking plot twists
and on ongoing family saga into one of the most clever and entertaining
television shows in years ... Secret Identities is the completely
up-to-date and indispensable guide to the world of Sydney Bristow
and the secrets she uncovers." [status:
available]
- Wormwood edited by Mark Valentine
(Tartarus Press, £7.99, 88 pages, paperback,
published 2003, received 25 November 2003.)
"Number 1 of a journal dedicated to the writings
about fantasy, supernatural and decadent literature. With contributions
from Adam Daly, Jonathan Preece, William Charlton, John Howard and
Mark Samuels." [status: available]
- Dragon's Kin: A New Novel of Pern by Anne and Todd McCaffrey
(Bantam Press, £16.99, 292 pages, hardback,
published 4 December 2003, received 20 November 2003.)
"Anne McCaffrey has created a complex, endlessly
fascinating world uniting humans and great telepathic dragons ...
Now, for the first time, Anne has invited another writer to join her
in the skies of Pern, a writer with an intimate knowledge of Pern
and its history: her son Todd." [status:
available]
- Meditations on Middle Earth edited by Karen Haber
(Earthlight, £6.99, 235 pages, paperback,
first published 2001, this edition published 3 November 2003, received
14 October 2003. Earthlight, £10.00, 229 pages, trade paperback,
published 7 May 2002, received 20 April 2002.)
"New writings on the worlds of JRR Tolkien
by: Ursula K Le Guin, George RR Martin, Robin Hobb, Terry Pratchett,
Harry Turtledove and many more." [status:
available]
- Time Out of Joint: SF Masterworks 55 by Philip K Dick
(Gollancz, £6.99, 220 pages, paperback
first published 1959, this edition published 11 September 2003, received
22 September 2003.)
"Ragle Gumm is an ordinary man leading an
ordinary life...Time Out of Joint employs element of paranoia,
schizophrenia and hallucination in a world where even the laws of
time are controlled by forces beyond the boundaries of the physical
world. And as Ragle Gumm discovers, nothing in his ordinary life proves
to be quite what it appears. [status:
available]
- Thirsty by M T Anderson
(Walker Books, £4.99, 239 pages, paperback,
published 2001, received 18 September 2003.)
"Chris just wants to be a normal guy -- to
hang out with his friends Tom and Jerk, avoid his bickering parents,
get a date with Rebecca Schwartz. Lately, though, he's had this strange,
abnormal desire, a thirst for blood..." [status:
with reviewer]
- Barry Trotter and the Unnecessary Sequel by Michael Gerber
(Gollancz, £6.99, 323 pages, hardback,
published 18 September 2003, received 1 September 2003.)
"Like a chronic skin condition, the world's
most irritating wizard is back!..." [status:
with reviewer]
- The Fall of Lautun: Book Three of the Arrandin Trilogy by
Marcus Herniman
(Earthlight, £6.99, 491 pages, paperback,
published 6 October 2003, received 23 August 2003.)
"Marcus Herniman brings to a close this tale
of conflict, magic, loyalty and sacrifice in one of fantasy fiction's
most strongly imagined settings." [status:
available]
- Westchester Station by Patrick Welch
(Double Dragon Press, $14.99, 137 pages, paperback,
published 2002, received 21 August 2003.)
"Westchester Station. An intertimensional
train depot lying somewhere between Chicago and eternity. I, Robert
Winstead, was brought here by someone I did not know for some purpose
I had yet to discover. But I also knew that only by fulfilling the
purpose would I be allowed to leave... assuming I survived the journey."
[status: available]
- West of January by Dave Duncan
(Red Deer Press, Can$ 24.95, 318 pages, paperback,
first published 1990, this edition published 17 June 2003, received
5 August 2003.)
"Imagine a world where time moves very slowly...where
the sun returns to the same point every two hundred years...where
it takes a lifetime for each region of the planet to experience dawn,
midday and dusk...This is Dave Duncan's Verneir..." [status:
available]
- The Stars As Seen from this Particular Angle of Night edited
by Sandra Kasturi
(Red Deer Press, Can$ 12.95, 106 pages, paperback,
published 2003, received 5 August 2003.)
"This is an anthology full of whimsy and deeper
meaning that will delight not only the literati and other poets, but
also those who have always squirmed and muttered that they have never
liked poetry." [status: available]
- House of Chains: A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen by
Steven Erikson
(Bantam Press, £18.99, 762 pages, hardback,
published 5 December 2002, received 14 November 2002. Bantam Books,
£7.99, 1035 pages, paperback, this edition published 4 September
2003, received 5 August 2003. )
"...an epic novel of war, intrigue, magic
and betrayal, from a writer regarded as one of the most original,
imaginative and exciting storytellers in fantasy today." [status:
available]
- Told By The Dead by Ramsey Campbell, introduction by Poppy
Z Brite
(PS Publishing, £35, 359 pages, signed,
numbered, limited edition hardback, also available as signed, numbered,
limited edition slipcased hardback, priced £60, published 2003,
received 8 July 2003.)
"Told By The Dead is Ramsey Campbell's
first short story collection for five years. Spectral terrors abound,
and monsters who might live next door or in our own heads...The contents
range from immediately after the completion of Demons By Daylight
thirty-five years ago to the beginning of this century." [status:
with reviewer]
- Legends of the Raven: Elfsorrow by James Barclay
(Gollancz, £10.99, 454 pages, trade paperback,
also available in hardback priced £17.99, published 22 August
2002, received 3 August 2002. Gollancz, £6.99, 483 pages, paperback,
first published 2002, this edition published 10 July 2003, received
21 June 2003.) "From their homeland
in the southern continent of Calaius they have watched human dynasties
come and go, aloof and untouched. Until now. Elves young and old are
dying of a terrible affliction, struck down at random, in their thousands..."
[status: available]
- Legends of the Raven: Shadowheart by James Barclay
(Gollancz, £10.99, 421 pages, trade paperback,
published 17 July 2003, received 21 June 2003.)
"The magical colleges are tearing the world
apart in their struggle for supremacy. It is down to The Raven to
protect Balaia and the dragons, but with three members dead and with
the threat of everything they know being destroyed, can The Raven
survive, let alone save the day?" [status:
available]
- A Voyage to Arcturus: Fantasy Masterworks 37 by David Lindsay
(Gollancz, £6.99, 280 pages, paperback,
first published 1920, this edition published 12 June 2003, received
12 June 2003.)
"After attending a seance in Hampstead, Maskull
a restless and rootless man, finds himself embarking on a journey
to the planet Tormance, which orbits Arcturus. Alone, he wanders the
startling landscape, open to a bewildering range of experiences, from
love to ritual murder..." [status: with
reviewer]
- Terminator 2: Rising Storm by SM Stirling
(Gollancz, £9.99, 378 pages, trade paperback,
published 18 July 2002, received 11 July 2002. Gollancz, £6.99,
467 pages, paperback, first published 2002, this edition published
12 June 2003, received 12 June 2003.)
"Hunted for years, Sarah and John Connor have
waged a grave battle to save humanity from destruction at the hands
of Skynet. They, and they alone, can keep the apocalyptic Judgement
Day - the day when sentient machines move to destroy their human creator
- from occurring" [status: available]
- Second Contact and Other Stories by Gary Couzens
(Elastic Press, £8.00, 282 pages,
paperback, published 1 May 2003, received 10 May 2003.)
"Attractively packaged with a full colour
cover the anthology of 16 stories, 2 novelettes and 1 novella nudges
conventional boundaries...Dissecting the relationships between time
and identity, perception and misconception, longing and alienation..."
[status: with reviewer]
- Eye in the Sky by Philip K Dick
(Gollancz, £6.99, 243 pages, paperback,
first published 1957, this edition published 8 May 2003, received
8 May 2003.)
"What begins as an ordinary laboratory visit
turns into a bizarre and apocalyptic experience when a particle-light
beam slices across the visitors' paths, plunging them into different
worlds constructed from their innermost dreams and fears..." [status:
available]
- The Dancers at the End of Time: SF Masterworks 53 by Michael
Moorcock
(Gollancz, £6.99, 664 pages, paperback,
first published 1993, this edition published 8 May 2003, received
8 May 2003.)
"Enter a decaying far, far future society,
a time when anything and everything is possible, where words like
'conscience'; and 'morality' are meaningless, and where heartfelt
love blossoms mysteriously between Mrs. Amelia Underwood, an unwilling
time traveller and Jherek Carnelian, a bemused denizen of the End
of Time." [status: with reviewer]
- Acorna's Search by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
(Corgi, £5.99, 351 pages, paperback;
first published 2001, this edition 1 May 2003; received 19 April 2003.)
"...a quest that will once again take her
deep into the realms of space to find the origins of her people..."
[status: available]
- Album Zutique Pocket Book #1 edited by Jeff Vandermeer
(Ministry of Whimsy Press, $12.99, 199 pages,
paperback, signed by editor, published 2003, received 10 April 2003.)
"The Album Zutique Pocket Book Series will
focus on Surreal, Decadent and Fantastical literature in compact editions
under 200 pages." [status: with reviewer]
- Stormrider: A Novel of the Rigante by David Gemmell
(Bantam Press, £16.99, 446 pages, hardback,
published 4 April 2002, received 12 March 2002. Corgi, £6.99,
601 pages, paperback, published 10 April 2003, received 1 April 2003.)
"This is the final novel in the Rigante series...
Ravenheart and Stormrider: enemies of uncommon courage are unaware
that the fate of their world lies in their hands. Both are destined
to be heroes, but one of them is doomed..." [status:
available]
- The Legend of Deathwalker: a Novel of Druss the Legend by
David Gemmell
(Corgi, £6.99, 413 pages, paperback,
first published 1996, this edition published 10 April 2003, received
1 April 2003.)
"Talisman, a mysterious and enigmatic Nadir
warrior, rides out to the Shrine of Oshikai Demon-bane, seeking the
legendary eyes of Alchazzar, twin jewels of enormous power that will
light the path to the Uniter... Garen-Tsen, the sadistic power behind
the Gothir throne believes the magical gems will lead him to glory,
and sends the elite soldiers of the Gothir army to sack the Shrine,
and defeat the few defenders..." [status:
available]
- Morgawr: Voyage of the Jerle Shannara Book Three by Terry
Brooks
(Earthlight, £17.99, 401 pages, hardback,
published 2 September 2002, received 15 August 2002. Earthlight, £6.99,
401 pages, paperback, published 6 May 2003, received 29 March 2003.)
"...the quest at last draws to its climactic
conclusion, as the forces of good and evil vying against each other
to possess an ancient magic race towards an explosive clash..." [status:
available]
- White Crow by Mary Gentle
(Gollancz, £9.99, 846 pages, paperback,
published 10 April 2003, received 25 March 2003.)
"Available for the first time in an omnibus
volume... This volume brings together three brilliantly imaginative,
powerful and disturbing tales--Rats and Gargoyles, The Architects
of Desire and Left to His Own Devices... The white Crow,
one-time Soldier-Scholar of the Invisible College and a practitioner
of Hermetic science and magic, and Baltazar Casaubon, architect and
lover, and a man not too particular about his personal hygeine, are
two of Mary Gentle's finest creations. [status:
with reviewer]
- Children of Dune: The Third Dune Novel by Frank Herbert
(Gollancz, £6.99, 426 pages, paperback,
first published 1976, this edition published 13 March 2003, received
12 March 2003.)
"The sand-blasted world of Arrakis has become
green, watered and fertile. Old Paul Atreides, who led the desert
Fremen to political and religious domination of the galaxy, is gone.
But for the children of Dune, the very blossoming of their land contains
the seeds of its own destruction." [status:
available]
- God Emperor of Dune: The Fourth Dune Novel by Frank Herbert
(Gollancz, £6.99, 453 pages, paperback,
first published 1981, this edition published 13 March 2003, received
12 March 2003.)
"More than three thousand years have passed
since the events first recorded in Dune. Only one link survives
with those tumultuous times: the grotesque figure of Leto Atreides,
son of the prophet Paul Muad'Dib, and now the virtually immortal God
Emperor of Dune. He alone understands the future, and he knows with
terrible certainty that the evolution of his race is at an end unless
he can breed new qualities into his species..." [status:
available]
- Gollancz SF Special Edition: Son of Man by Robert Silverberg
(Gollancz, £9.99, 191 pages, large-format
paperback, first published 1971, this edition published 20 March 2003,
received 12 March 2003.)
"Swept up by a time-flux, a man called Clay
is flung impossibly far into the future and arrives on an Earth with
no moon, and no memory or knowledge of his culture's greatest achievements...
Clay embarks upon an extraordinary odyssey, encompassing billions
of years, coming to understand that his own era is just a thread in
the band of time and is only the dawn of man. What lies ahead is the
time of the Son of Man." [status: available]
- Enchanted World: The Art of Anne Sudworth by Anne Sudworth,
text by John Grant
(Paper Tiger, £14.99, 110 pages, large
format paperback, first published 2000, this edition published 10
April 2003, received 7 March 2003.)
"Enchanted World is the first collection
of Anne Sudworth's work to be published. As one of the most important
painters of fantasy at work today, she has created a remarkable range
of imaginative and mystical works... Award-winning author John Grant
has written a comprehensive and stimulating text that complements
Sudworth's fantastical paintings." [status:
available]
- One More for the Road by Ray Bradbury
(Earthlight, £6.99, 289 pages, paperback,
published 7 April 2003, received 7 March 2003.)
"One More For the Road compiles eighteen
brand-new stories and seven previously published but never before
collected. This is Bradbury's trademark mixture of the strange and
the surreal: abandoned places and betrayed love; time has no boundaries;
faraway planets; the ghosts of dear friends, of errant sons and lost
fathers." [status: with reviewer]
- Parzival and the Stone From Heaven by Lindsay Clarke
(HarperCollins, £6.99, 229 pages, paperback,
first published 2001, this edition published 3 March 2003, received
8 February 2003.)
"...in a world ravaged by war, a world in
which men are ruled by fear, hatred and distrust, there is a need
for a champion who is innocent of heart and pure of spirit... Parzival's
destiny may prove greater than that of any other knight... Lindsay
Clarke retains the spirit of the original myth whilst highlighting
its contemporary relevance in a tale which will enthral both adults
and older children alike." [status:
with reviewer]
- A Sorcerer's Treason: Book One of the Isavalta Trilogy by
Sarah Zettel
(Voyager, £17.99, 525 pages, hardback,
published 2 April 2002, received 3 April 2002. HarperCollins, £6.99,
595 pages, paperback, first published 2002, this edition published
3 March 2003, received 8 February 2003.)
"All at once he caught her hand in a strong
grip, wrapped a braid of cloth around her wrist and pinned her eyes
with his own gaze. She felt it burn through her then, and it forced
open her mind's eye and she saw..." [status:
available]
- The Veil of a Thousand Tears: Volume Two of the Pearl Saga
by Eric Van Lustbader
(Voyager, £18.99, 624 pages, hardback,
published 7 May 2002, received 15 April 2002. HarperCollins, £7.99,
624 pages, paperback, first published 2002, this edition published
3 March 2003, received 8 February 2003.)
"Riane...has overcome incredible odds to complete
the first part of her mission to save Kundala from destruction. But
now there is a new danger to be faced..." [status:
available]
- Sorcery Rising: Book One of Fool's Gold by Jude Fisher
(Earthlight, £6.99, 502 pages, paperback,
this edition published 3 March 2003, received 1 February 2003. Earthlight,
£17.99, 502 pages, hardback, also available as trade paperback
at £10.99, published 3 June 2002, uncorrected proof received
10 April 2002; hardback received 17 June 2002.)
"From the barren isles of the North come the
Eyrans. Hardy seafaring folk. From the South come their old enemies,
the Istrians. Slave-owners who drove the Eyrans from their lands.
And from all over the Elda come the nomadic peoples - the footloose
- purveyors of charms and (until now) harmless potions. But whence
comes the sorcery that disrupts the annual Allfair at which they all
gather?" [status: available]
- The Eyes of God by John Marco
(Gollancz, £7.99, 789 pages, paperback,
this edition published 13 February 2003, received 23 January 2003.
Gollancz, £12.99, 789 pages, trade paperback, also available
as hardback, published 21 March 2002, received 19 March 2002.)
"The Eyes of God is the first book in a major
new fantasy series incorporating Arthurian elements, diverse magic,
battles, intrigue, romance and deception into an elaborate and colourful
epic." [status: available]
- Fantasy Masterworks 35: Lyonesse II: The Green Pearl and Madouc
by Jack Vance
(Gollancz, £8.99, 776 pages, paperback,
The Green Pearl first published 1985, Madouc first published
1989, this edition published 13 February 2003, received 23 January
2003.)
"The Elder Isles, the magical lands of high
enchantment from which King Arthur's ancestors fled to Britain, come
to brilliant life again in the final parts of Jack Vance's majestic
fantasy. In this ancient land the realm of chivalry and the world
of Faerie exist side by side and it is a place of strange beauty,
high adventure and eerie magic." [status:
available]
- The Shrinking Man: SF Masterworks 51 by Richard Matheson
(Gollancz, £6.99, 200 pages, paperback,
first published 1956, this edition published January 2003, received
15 January 2003.)
"Scott Carey has been exposed to a cloud of
radioactive spray. Now he can no longer deny the extraordinary truth.
Not only is he losing weight, he is also shorter. Scott Carey has
begun to shrink..." [status: with reviewer]
- The Birthday of the World by Ursula K Le Guin
(Gollancz, £9.99, 362 pages, trade paperback,
also available in hardback priced £16.99, published 16 January
2003, received 14 January 2003.)
"Here, in Birthday of the World, are
eight brilliant short works, including the original novella Paradise
Lost, which probes the essence of humanity. Six of the tales
are set in Le Guin's world of the Ekumen--'my pseudo-coherent universe
with holes in the elbows' as Le Guin describes it, which was made
famous in the multi-award winning classic novel The Left Hand of
Darkness." [status: available]
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