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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.)