Bujold, Lois McMaster : The Hallowed Hunt
(Eos 0-06-057474-7, $7.99, 423pp, mass market paperback, June 2006)
(First edition: HarperCollins/Eos, June 2005)

Fantasy novel, third in the Chalion series following The Curse of Chalion (Hugo and World Fantasy Award nominee) and Paladin of Souls (Hugo, Locus, and Nebula Award winner). In this book Prince Boleso has been slain by Lady Ijada, whose soul is now inhabited by an animal spirit.
• Bujold's site has a Chalion page with sample chapters, a dictionary, a map, etc.
• Carolyn Cushman's review in Locus Magazine said "...between the gods, the intrigues, and the unusual animal magics, there's more than enough meat to make this truly compelling reading."
• The novel was a Locus Award finalist and is currently a Mythopoeic Award finalist.

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Doctorow, Cory : Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town
(Tor 0-765-31280-8, $14.95, 315pp, trade paperback, June 2006, cover by Dave McKean)
(First edition: Tor, July 2005)

Surrealistic SF novel about a plot to provide free Wi-fi access to Toronto, in which the main character's father is a mountain, his mother is a washing machine, his brothers include a set of Russian nesting dolls, and whose neighbor is a girl with wings.
• The author has made the novel available as a free download.
• Faren Miller's review in Locus Magazine noted "Somehow this loose-jointed, wandering, ramshackle compendium of casual weirdness (perfectly expressed in the title) produces the kind of intimacy - even authenticity - more often associated with a personal journal, a blog, even autobiography."
• The book is currently a finalist for the Canadian Sunburst Award.

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Hunt, Walter H. : The Dark Crusade
(Tor 0-765-34983-3, $7.99, 531pp, mass market paperback, June 2006)
(First edition: Tor, August 2005)

Military SF novel, fourth in the series following The Dark Wing, The Dark Path, and The Dark Ascent, concerning ongoing war between humans and insectoid aliens.
• The author's website includes a chronology of the Dark Wing Universe and an excerpt.
• Amazon has Roland Green's Booklist review, which concludes "The saga now seems to be influenced by Weber, Herbert, and even Tolkien, which is to say by three of the most proven crowd-pleasers in speculative fiction of the last half century."

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King, Stephen : The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah
(Pocket 1-416-52149-6, $9.99, 544pp, mass market paperback, June 2006)
(First edition: Donald M. Grant/Scribner, June 2004)

Fantasy novel, sixth volume in the Dark Tower sequence.
• The author's official site has this excerpt (also as pdf).
• Faren Miller's Locus Magazine review concluded "Self-deprecating, scatological, at times wickedly funny, as familiar with Godzilla movies and the guy behind the Wizard of Oz as he is with the sagas of gods, King turns a potential recipe for literary meltdown into what just might be a masterpiece."
• This is an extra-tall "premium" mass-market edition.

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Lee, Sharon, & Steve Miller : Balance of Trade
(Ace 0-441-01397-X, $7.99, 413pp, mass market paperback, June 2006, cover art Donato Giancola)
(First edition: Meisha Merlin, February 2004)

SF novel in the popular Liaden series about space-traders, set early in the series' timeline.
• The authors' Liaden Universe site has this page about the book, with a link to an excerpt.
• The Booklist review, reprinted on the Amazon page, comments "Lee and Miller's latest is the well-constructed story of a young man coming of age in the midst of a sometimes deadly clash of cultures." Amazon's "search inside" feature includes an excerpt.

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Lindskold, Jane : Child of a Rainless Year
(Tor 0-765-34824-1, $7.99, 437pp, mass market paperback, June 2006)
(First edition: Tor, May 2005)

Contemporary fantasy novel about a woman who returns to her home in Las Vegas, New Mexico, where her mother disappeared years before, and discovers magical qualities in their mirror-filled house.
• The author's site has this page describing the background and motivation for writing the book, and a sample chapter.
• Carolyn Cushman's review in Locus Magazine said "Lindskold also devotes considerable time to local history, the notion of liminal spaces, the significance of colors, and kaleidoscopes, building a web of interrelated information that ultimately offers some moving revelations."

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McKillip, Patricia A. : Od Magic
(Ace 0-441-01334-1, $14, 315pp, trade paperback, June 2006)
(First edition: Ace, June 2005)

Fantasy novel about the ancient wizard Od, the school of magic she founded in the city of Numis, and her attempt centuries later to challenge control of the school by the city's leaders.
• The author's fan site has this page about the book, with a full cover scan and the inside preview text.
• Amazon includes an excerpt with its "search inside" feature, plus the Booklist review, which concludes "With lyrical prose, well-limned characterizations, vibrant action, a sense of the wonder of magic, and a generous dollop of romance, this is a story that will bind readers in its spell."

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Reynolds, Alastair : Century Rain
(Ace 0-441-01307-4, $7.99, 626pp, mass market paperback, June 2006, cover art Chris Moore)
(First edition: UK: Gollancz, November 2004)

SF novel about a future archaeologist, 300 years in the future, who discovers a portal back to mid-20th century Earth. It's a standalone novel, not related to any of Reynolds' previous books.
• Locus' interview with Reynolds, in its August 2003 issue, is excerpted here.
• Locus Magazine's Nick Gevers concluded "Century Rain is an exciting, thought-provoking novel, an audacious synthesis of genre forms. ... Alastair Reynolds is now in his novelistic prime."
• Amazon's "search inside" feature includes an excerpt.

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Sanderson, Brandon : Elantris
(Tor 0-765-35037-8, $7.99, 622pp, mass market paperback, June 2006, cover by Stephan Martiniere)
(First edition: Tor, May 2005)

Fantasy novel, the author's first novel and a stand-alone, about a beautiful city, Elantris, where magic has failed, and a second city affected by the same curse.
• The author's website has a section about the book, with links to sample chapters, reviews, resources, and the first few of the author's chapter annotations.
• The author's next novel, Mistborn, is due in hardcover next month.

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Varley, John : Mammoth
(Ace 0-441-01335-X, $7.99, 341pp, mass market paperback, June 2006)
(First edition: Ace, June 2005)

SF time-travel novel about the discovery of a frozen woolly mammoth -- and next to it, a human being wearing a wristwatch.
• The author's website has a brief description.
• Amazon has the starred review from Publishers Weekly, which calls it a "rollicking, bittersweet tale of time travel and ecology": "Varley's sparkling wit pulls one surprise after another out of this unconventional blend of science and social commentary with real people convincingly doing unreal things. ... Varley should garner new laurels with this outstanding effort."
• Amazon's "search inside" feature includes an excerpt.

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