(From the July 1997 Locus.)
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The Gaia Websters, Kim Antieau (Roc 6/97, $12.95, tp) SF novel of post-industrial society in the future Arizona Territory, one woman's strange abilities and nightmares, and a potentially disastrous epidemic with links to the terrible past.
The Eagle and the Sword, A.A. Attanasio (HarperPrism 6/97, $14.00, tp) Unusual Arthurian fantasy with an unlikeable adolescent king-in-the-making, images and ideas drawn from SF, and the trademark Attanasian exoticism; part of an ongoing series where the author rethinks British legendry.
Lady of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley (Viking 6/97, $24.95, hc) Pre-Arthurian fantasy novel linking the worlds of Bradley's acclaimed Mists of Avalon and Forest House, as it tells of three holy women in Roman Britain.
Einstein's Bridge, John Cramer (Avon 6/97, $23.00, hc) SF novel of 21st-century physics, closed timelines, alternate worlds, and alien races -- benevolent and otherwise....
Black Swan, White Raven, Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling, eds. (Avon 6/97, $23.00, hc) Original anthology of adult fairy tales by many noted authors, including Joyce Carol Oates, John Crowley, and Jane Yolen, exploring the enduring power of these stories.
The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fourteenth Annual Collection, Gardner Dozois, ed. (St. Martin's 6/97, $17.95, tp) Dozois's pick of the best SF and fantasy from 1996, by Benford, Blaylock, Kessel, Silverberg, and many more, plus a list of honorable mentions and a summary of the year in the field, is, as usual, self-recommending. The anthology to read each year.
Distress, Greg Egan (HarperPrism 6/97, $21.00, hc) Near-future SF thriller by one of the top names in current SF, set on an artificial island where scientists, debating the Theory of Everything, may cause the one Alpha Moment. Speculative science as only Greg Egan can write.
The Seventh Heart, Marina Fitch (Ace 6/97, $5.99, pb) Contemporary fantasy novel where California disasters result from some disgruntled spirits of place, and the heroine must try to cope with both the difficulties of daily life and a fantastical search for solutions. A first novel.
The Dazzle of Day, Molly Gloss (Tor 6/97, $21.95, hc) Literary author Gloss writes eloquently of Quakers in space on a colony ship, encountering a new world with a characteristic combination of metaphysics, practicality, and caution.
Year's Best SF 2, David G. Hartwell, ed. (HarperPrism 6/97, $5.99, pb) Hartwell's more traditional choice of the best stories from 1996 rarely overlaps with the Dozois volume noted above, and both gatherings are worth the serious fan's attention.
The Horns of Elfland, Ellen Kushner et al., eds. (Roc 5/97, $5.99, pb) Original anthology of 15 fantasy stories of music and magic, by Gene Wolfe, John Brunner, Terri Windling, and others, featuring excellent, insightful work -- and themes ranging from faerie fiddling to trad jazz and hip-hop.
Voyages by Starlight, Ian R. MacLeod (Arkham House 6/97, $21.95, hc) Collection of 10 SF and fantasy stories by a notable new author, each distinctive, and mostly about people trapped by their obsessions. Foreword by Michael Swanwick.
Freedom's Choice, Anne McCaffrey (Ace/Putnam 6/97, $23.95, hc) SF novel, a sequel to Freedom's Landing. Unwilling colonists from Earth are learning to make a life for themselves on the alien world where the Catteni have forcibly settled them.
Destiny's Road, Larry Niven (Tor 6/97, $24.95, hc) Solo SF novel set in the world of collaborations Legacy of Heorot and Beowulf's Children, several hundred years further into the history of the earth colony on planet Destiny. Here Niven excels, once again, at both planetary tourism and puzzle-solving.
Dogland, Will Shetterly (Tor 6/97, $25.95, hc) Fictionalized autobiography with touches of magical realism, this novel portrays a boy's early years in a South on the brink of tumultuous change.
The Family Tree, Sheri S. Tepper (Avon 5/97, $23.00, hc) Ecological fable of early 21st-century America and a farther future that seems to spring from fairytales -- two worlds which finally meet, with a startling revelation for the reader. Once again, Tepper is witty, charming, serious, and wise.
Faraday's Orphans, N. Lee Wood (Ace 6/97, $13.00, tp) SF novel of a post-disaster 23rd century in the ruins of Philadelphia and beyond, in territories with elements of myth, featuring a vividly memorable heroine alongside the restless hero.
non-fiction
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.
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.
