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Reviews in this month's Locus Magazine


Linked titles can be browsed (or ordered) from Amazon.com Books.

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New SF, fantasy, and horror books seen in March

* Aldiss, Brian Supertoys Last All Summer Long and other stories of future time
(UK: Little Brown/Orbit 1-84149-043-1, £6.99, 19+232pp, tpb, January 2001)
Collection of 15 stories (including the 'Socratic Dialogue' "A Whiter Mars", first performed at the 1995 ICFA), of which only 7 have prior publication credits. The title story was the inspiration for Kubrick's planned film AI; this book contains two sequel stories written by Aldiss, "Supertoys When Winter Comes" and "Supertoys in Other Seasons", rights to both of which were purchased by Steven Spielberg, whose own production of AI will be released later this year. Aldiss's Foreword, "Attempting to Please", describes his involvement with both Kubrick and Spielberg. (Wed 7 Mar 2001)

* Anders, Lou, ed Outside the Box: The Best Short Fiction from Bookface.com
(Wildside Press 1-58715-283-5, $16.95, 286pp, tpb, January 2001, jacket art John Picacio, jacket design John Picacio)
Anthology of 18 stories featured on the (now-defunct) website Bookface.com, which lasted from June 2000 to January 2001. Some stories -- by Graham Joyce, Brian Hodge, Tippi N. Blevins, etc. -- had been previously published; others -- by J. Michael Straczynski, John Grant, Kate Orman, Lee Martindale, etc. -- were first published on Bookface.com in 2000. The book has a website here. (Mon 12 Mar 2001)

+ Anthony, Mark The Dark Remains
(Bantam Spectra 0-553-38101-6, $14.95, 497pp, tpb, March 2001, jacket art Stephen Youll)
First US edition (UK: Simon & Schuster/Earthlight January 2001). Fantasy novel, third in "The Last Rune" series. Amazon quotes an unkind PW review and a positive reader review. Check out the series' website. (Thu 1 Mar 2001)

* Baxter, Stephen Deep Future
(UK: Orion/Gollancz 0-575-07195-8, £18, 215pp, hc, January 2001, jacket design blacksheep)
Nonfiction book by the prolific SF novelist about mankind's future. Amazon UK has a review by David Langford, who calls the book "a lively though often chilling tour of possible futures". (Wed 7 Mar 2001)

+ Constantine, Storm Crown of Silence
(Tor 0-312-87329-8, $27.95, 431pp, hc, March 2001, jacket art Doug Beekman)
First US edition (UK: Orion/Gollancz June 2000). Fantasy novel, second book in "The Chronicles of Magravandias" following Sea Dragon Heir, "featuring rites of passage, rituals and alternative sexualities used as everyday occurrences of statecraft" according to the PW review quoted on Amazon. Reviewed by Jennifer A. Hall in the February 2001 Locus, who says the author "masterfully works her gothic story magic into every facet of the book". (Tue 20 Mar 2001)

+ Crumey, Andrew Mr Mee
(Picador USA 0-312-26803-3, $25, 344pp, hc, March 2001)
First US edition (UK: Picador May 2000). Associational novel by the author of D'Alembert's Principle, about a book collector who discovers the Internet. Amazon quotes a positive reader review, and the PW review, which calls the book a "novel of ideas in the grand tradition of Calvino, Borges and Kundera". (Thu 1 Mar 2001)

* Etchison, Dennis Talking in the Dark
(Stealth Press 1-58881-017-8, $24.95, 355pp, hc, March 2001, jacket art J.K. Potter, jacket design Jeff King)
Original collection of 24 stories, one, "Red Dog Down", original; the author's selection of personal favorites from four decades of writing. Like the other Stealth Press titles listed here, this is a high quality hardcover, with cloth-covered boards and patterned endpapers. Available directly from the publisher. (Tue 13 Mar 2001)

+ Farland, David Wizardborn
(Tor 0-312-86741-7, $27.95, 428pp, hc, April 2001, jacket art Darrell K. Sweet, jacket design Carol Russo Design)
First US edition (UK: Simon & Schuster/Earthlight January 2001). Fantasy novel, third in the "Runelords" series following The Sum of All Men (1998) and The Brotherhood of the Wolf (1999). Farland is a pen-name for Dave Wolverton. (Wed 7 Mar 2001)

+ Feist, Raymond E. Krondor: Tear of the Gods
(Eos 0-380-97800-8, $25, 372pp, hc, March 2001, jacket art Liz Kenyon, jacket design Amy Halperin)
First US edition (UK: HarperCollins/Voyager November 2000). Fantasy novel, third in the "Riftwar Legacy" following Krondor: The Betrayal (1998) and Krondor: The Assassins (1999). Amazon has mostly positive reader reviews. (Thu 1 Mar 2001)

* Gerrold, David Bouncing Off the Moon
(Tor 0-312-87841-9, $22.95, 319pp, hc, April 2001, jacket art Royo, jacket design Carol Russo Design)
SF novel in the Heinlein juvenile mode, sequel to Lambda-nominated Jumping Off the Planet, about three brothers who divorce their parents and head for the Moon. Amazon has an enthusiastic reader review. (Tue 27 Mar 2001)

* Hoffman, Nina Kiriki Past the Size of Dreaming
(Ace 0-441-00802-x, $21.95, 342pp, hc, March 2001, jacket art Tim Barrall, jacket design Judith Murello)
Contemporary fantasy novel, sequel to A Red Heart of Memories. Amazon has PW and reader reviews. Reviewed by Faren Miller in the upcoming April 2001 issue of Locus. (Thu 1 Mar 2001)

* King, Stephen Dreamcatcher
(Simon & Schuster/Scribner 0-7432-1138-3, $28, 620pp, hc, March 2001, jacket art Cliff Nielsen, jacket design John Fontana)
Big new Stephen King novel, about four friends and an alien invasion, mostly well-reviewed. Amazon has a review by Tim Appelo, and Slate's Summary Judgment summarizes other reviews and highlights of the book. Reviewed by Ed Bryant in the upcoming April 2001 issue of Locus. (Tue 20 Mar 2001)

Knight, Damon, ed Nebula Awards One
(Stealth Press 1-58881-018-6, $24.95, 8+310pp, hc, February 2001, jacket art Frank R. Paul, jacket design Jeff King)
Reprint (Doubleday 1966). New edition of the first Nebula Awards anthology (first published as Nebula Award Stories), with winning stories by Brian Aldiss, Roger Zelazny (twice), and Harlan Ellison, and runners-up by Ballard, Dickson, Niven, and Schmidt. The cover painting is spectacular, though Frank R. Paul is perhaps not the first artist who comes to mind to represent the New Wave writing of Zelazny, Ellison, Ballard, et al. Available directly from the publisher. (Tue 13 Mar 2001)

* Lackey, Mercedes The Serpent's Shadow
(DAW 0-88677-915-4, $24.95, 343pp, hc, March 2001, jacket art Jody A. Lee)
Fantasy novel set in 1909 London. Reviewed by Carolyn Cushman in the February 2001 Locus, and by Dawn Castner in the upcoming April 2001 issue. (Thu 1 Mar 2001)

* Lee, Gwen, & Doris Elaine Sauter, eds What if Our World is Their Heaven: The Final Conversations of Philip K. Dick
(Overlook Press 1-58567-009-x, $26.95, 204pp, hc, October 2000, jacket design Yellowstone Ltd.)
Nonfiction interview with the posthumously renowned SF author, conducted months before his death in 1981. Introduction by Tim Powers. Amazon has a description. See also the review linked and quoted 6 March on this Field Inspections page. (Tue 27 Mar 2001)

* Levinson, Paul Borrowed Tides
(Tor 0-312-84869-2, $22.95, 238pp, hc, March 2001, jacket art Vincent Di Fate)
SF novel about the first voyage to Alpha Centauri; reviewed by Gary K. Wolfe and Jonathan Strahan in the upcoming April 2001 issue of Locus. (Wed 7 Mar 2001)

* McDevitt, Jack Deepsix
(Eos 0-06-105124-1, $25, 432pp, hc, March 2001, jacket art Chris Moore, jacket design Amy Halperin)
SF novel about a landing party stranded on a planet about to undergo collision with a Jovian-sized world; Gary K. Wolfe's review in the March 2001 Locus cites the "richly familiar Astounding-style universe" and asks "Are the nominations for the 1956 Hugos still open?" (Tue 6 Mar 2001)

+ Miéville, China Perdido Street Station
(Ballantine Del Rey 0-345-44302-0, $18, 710pp, tpb, March 2001)
First US edition (UK: Macmillan March 2000). Grandiose, epic SF/urban fantasy/horror novel garnering much praise since its publication last year in the UK; reviewed in the July 2000 Locus by Faren Miller and Jonathan Stahan; excerpts from Miller's review are here online. Amazon has reader reviews; click on the "see all reader reviews" link to find a short one by Jonathan Carroll, who calls it "the first truly great novel of the new millennium". (Thu 1 Mar 2001)

* Nagata, Linda Limit of Vision
(Tor 0-312-87688-2, $24.95, 349pp, hc, March 2001, jacket art Stephen Youll)
SF novel about biotech/nanotech; the author's first hardcover. Amazon has the PW review. Reviewed by both Gary K. Wolfe and Faren Miller in the March 2001 Locus. (Tue 6 Mar 2001)

* O'Brien, Daniel SF:UK How British Science Fiction Changed the World
(UK: Reynolds & Hearn Ltd 1-903111-16-1, $22.95, 160pp, tpb, October 2000)
History of British SF, almost entirely focusing on TV and film, with heavy attention on the former -- Dr. Who, Thunderbirds, etc. -- and very occasional mentions of writers Aldiss, Ballard, et al. The edition seen appears to be the UK edition (a trade paperback, not a hardcover as Amazon.com indicates) restickered for sale in the US. (Fri 9 Mar 2001)

* Rowling, J.K. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
(Scholastic/Levine 0-439-29501-7, $3.99, 22+42pp, tpb, March 2001)
One of two short tie-in books (ostensibly by "Newt Scamander") to the Harry Potter series, written and published to benefit Comic Relief. (Mon 12 Mar 2001)

* Rowling, J.K. Quidditch Through the Ages
(Scholastic/Levine 0-439-29502-5, $3.99, 8+56pp, tpb, March 2001)
Second Harry Potter tie-in, by "Kennilworthy Whisp", a history of the game played on flying broomsticks. Note Amazon sells both books as a package from a page that doesn't correspond to the printed ISBN of either book. (Mon 12 Mar 2001)

* Ryman, Geoff Lust
(UK: HarperCollins/Flamingo 0-00-225987-7, £9.99, 400pp, tpb, February 2001, jacket art amazon uk)
Fantasy novel about a man who discovers his erotic fantasies about a gym instructor becoming real, and what he does about them; from the author of The Child Garden and Was. Amazon UK has a synopsis. (Wed 7 Mar 2001)

* Shirley, John Darkness Divided
(Stealth Press 1-58881-016-x, $24.95, 10+337pp, hc, March 2001, jacket design Jeff King)
Collection of 22 stories, four of them original to this volume; 2 of the reprints are collaborations, with William Gibson ("The Belonging Kind") and Bruce Sterling ("The Unfolding"). Introduction by Poppy Z. Brite. Available directly from the publisher. (Tue 13 Mar 2001)

* Turtledove, Harry Through the Darkness
(Tor 0-312-87825-7, $27.95, 478pp, hc, March 2001, jacket art Bob Eggleton)
Fantasy novel "of World War--and magic", following Into the Darkness (1999) and Darkness Descending (2000). Amazon has reader reviews. (Tue 27 Mar 2001)

Wilson, F. Paul An Enemy of the State
(Stealth Press 1-58881-015-1, $24.95, 9+335pp, hc, March 2001, jacket design Jeff King)
Reprint (Doubleday 1980). Libertarian SF novel set in the author's LaNague Federation future history. This edition includes two early LaNague stories, "Ratman" and "Lipidleggin'", and a new preface by the author. Available directly from the publisher. (Tue 13 Mar 2001)

+ Womack, Jack Going, Going, Gone
(Grove Atlantic 0-8021-1685-x, $24, 218pp, hc, March 2001)
First US edition (UK: HarperCollins/Voyager November 2000). Contemporary alternate history SF novel, sixth in the "Ambient" or "Terraplane" series according to Amazon UK, about a government agent testing psychotropics who gets involved in a plot to sabotage Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign. Reviewed by Faren Miller in the March 2001 issue of Locus. (Tue 6 Mar 2001)

This page lists selected new science fiction, fantasy, and horror books seen published this month, mostly via bookstores sightings (though all books received for review -- not including advance reading copies -- will be listed). For a comprehensive listing of new books published each month, see Locus Magazine. Its Books Received listings are accumulated as the online Locus Index.

Key: * = first edition, + = first US edition. Date with publisher info is official publication month; date in parentheses at paragraph end is date seen or received.

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