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1997 NEW & RECOMMENDED

sf novels

f/h novels

first novels

collections

anthologies

nonfiction/art

reprints


 

1997 Non-fiction

Linked titles can be ordered from Amazon.com Books. Or see SF specialty and independent bookstore links.

Dracula: Authoritative Text, Contexts, Reviews and Reactions, Dramatic and Film Variations, Criticism, Nina Auerbach & David J. Skal, eds. (Norton 3/97, $9.95, tp) Annotated critical edition of the Bram Stoker vampire classic in its centenary year, including the "authoritative text," followed by more than 100 pages of scholarly essays. There is also a chronology of Stoker's life and a selected bibliography.

The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, John Clute & John Grant (St. Martin's 6/97, $75.00, hc) Massive, and welcome, one-volume reference, along the lines of Clute & Nicholls's award-winning Encyclopedia of SF. This will be the standard reference for years to come.

Infinite Worlds: The Fantastic Visions of Science Fiction Art, Vincent Di Fate (Penguin Studio 10/97, $45.00, hc) Gloriously illustrated history of SF art and its artists, particularly in the last 40 years or so.

Periodic Stars, Tom Easton (Borgo Press 8/97, $27.00, tp) This collection of 250 of Easton's Analog book reviews is, as the subtitle indicates, "an overview of science fiction literature in the 1980s and '90s."

Spectrum 4: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, Cathy & Arnie Fenner, & Jim Loehr, eds. (Underwood 11/97, 25.00, tp) Definitive full-color yearbook of professional fantasy art, with works by many of the current masters in and out of the recognised fantasy art field, plus a year-end review.

Blood Read: The Vampire as Metaphor in Contemporary Culture, Joan Gordon & Veronica Hollinger, eds. (University of Pennsylvania Press 12/97, $16.50, tp) For this look at recent vampire fiction, the editors include both critical surveys and word from the source, with a section offering essays by Suzy McKee Charnas, Brian Stableford, and Jewelle Gomez.

Jules Verne: An Exploratory Biography, Herbert R. Lottman (St. Martin's 1/97, $26.95, hc) A revisionist biography of the SF founder shows him as a much more complex man than we thought.

Reflections & Refractions: Thoughts on Science-Fiction, Science and Other Matters, Robert Silverberg (Underwood Books 3/97, $19.95, tp) A collection of provocative essays, grouped by theme -- SF, science and society, writing, fellow SF writers, the modern world, and some personal thoughts, after a foreword where the noted author comments on his "pontifications."

Edgar Rice Burroughs: The Exhaustive Scholar's and Collector's Descriptive Bibliography, Robert B. Zeuschner (McFarland 1/97, $46.50, hc) An updating, through 1996, of the 1964 Heins bibliography. A must for Burroughs collectors.

1997 Art Books

The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, Neil Gaiman; ill. Dave McKean (White Wolf 5/95, $21.99, hc). Children's picture book with text by Gaiman and full-color illustrations by McKean; humorous fantasy where the title trade is just the start of a series of juvenile swaps, and things get very strange indeed.

Myth, Magic, and Mystery: One Hundred Years of American Children's Book Illustration, Hearn, Clark, & Clark (Roberts Rinehart 1/97, $29.95, tp) Not just an art book (with numerous b&w and full-color illustrations), but also a history of the past century in the field, examining the literature as well as its illustrators.

A Treasury of the Great Children's Book Illustrators, Susan E. Meyer (Abrams 6/97, $24.95, tp) Lavishly illustrated gathering of work by the major names in the field, from Tenniel and Lear to Rackham, Dulac, Nielsen, N.C. Wyeth, and more, in a useful introduction to its subject.

Michael Parkes, John Russell Taylor (Steltman 1/97, $19.95, tp) Sumptuous gathering of the subtle, often erotic/fantastic lithographs and sculpture of Parkes, with biographical material and a brief history of his career.

Reprint Non-fiction books

Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction; Revised Edition, James Gunn (Scarecrow Press 2/97, $36.00, hc) Expanded edition of a study which first appeared in 1982, and won a non-fiction Hugo. Includes articles on his major works, an Asimov chronology, checklist, and select bibliography. There is a new chapter on Asimov's bestselling late novels, plus the text of an earlier interview.

In Search of Wonder, Damon Knight (Advent 1/97, $20.00, hc) Expanded, revised third edition of a classic gathering of essays on the SF field, with six new essays, including autobiography, coverage of Clarion, and a piece on writing SF.

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