The Locus Index to Science Fiction

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Habitats ed. Susan M. Shwartz (DAW 0-87997-948-8, Aug ’84 [Jul ’84], $2.75, 220pp, pb); Original anthology of sf stories. A satisfying group; recommended. (FCM)

The Conglomeroid Cocktail Party Robert Silverberg (Arbor House 0-87795-577-8, Jun ’84 [May ’84], $14.95, 284pp, hc); Collection of 16 stories by a master of sf short fiction. Highly recommended. (CNB)

The First Target Book of Horror ed. Kurt Singer (Target 0-426-19852-2, 1984, £1.60, 143pp, pb); Stories from Weird Tales of the Supernatural (W.H. Allen 1966), Ghouls and Ghosts (W.H. Allen 1972), and Satanic Omnibus (W.H. Allen 1973).

The Second Target Book of Horror ed. Kurt Singer (Target 0-426-19887-5, 1984, £1.60, 144pp, pb); Stories from Weird Tales of the Supernatural (W.H. Allen 1966), Tales from the Unknown (W.H. Allen 1970), Ghouls and Ghosts (W.H. Allen 1972), Satanic Omnibus (W.H. Allen 1973), and They Are Posessed (W.H. Allen 1976).

The Lunatics of Terra John Sladek (Gollancz 0-575-03464-5, Jul ’84 [Jun ’84], £7.95, 192pp, hc); Collection of 18 stories with afterwords to each by the author. Seven seem to be originals.

Riding the Torch Norman Spinrad (Bluejay 0-312-94391-1, Aug ’84 [Jul ’84], $6.95, 166pp, tp); This novella first appeared in a three-novella anthology, The Threads of Time (1974), was reprinted in a two-novella anthology, Binary Star #1 (1978), and now appears alone for the first time. This edition is illustrated by Tom Kidd and has afterwords by Robert L. Forward and James Frenkel. It’s one of Spinrad’s best stories. Recommended. (CNB)

Wild Animals Peter Straub (Putnam 0-399-13013-6, Oct ’84 [Sep ’84], $18.95, 591pp, hc); Omnibus edition of Straub’s early novels Julia (1975) and If You Could See Me Now (1978), plus his never-before-published second novel Under Venus. All have some elements of the supernatural.

Aliens, Travelers, and Other Strangers et al Boris & Arkady Strugatsky (Macmillan 0-02-615230-4, Nov ’84 [Oct ’84], $19.95, 220pp, hc); Anthology (the actual editor and translator is Roger DeGaris, but his name does not appear on the book) of 13 stories by Russian sf authors, including Gansovsky’s outstanding novella “Vincent Van Gogh”. Recommended. (FCM)

Alien Cargo Theodore Sturgeon (Bluejay 0-312-94008-4, Jun ’84 [Jul ’84], $14.95, 284pp, hc); Collection of 14 early stories culled from other collections (there are no copyright acknowledgements), with a few lines of new introduction to each.

Utopia Hunters Somtow Sucharitkul (Bantam 0-553-24526-0, Dec ’84 [Nov ’84], $2.95, 225pp, pb) [Inquestor]; Collection of interwoven stories in the “Inquestor” series.

The Book of Lost Tales, Part II J. R. R. Tolkien (Allen & Unwin 0-04-823265-3, 1984, £12.50, 385pp, hc) [Middle-Earth]; Original fantasy collection. Volume two in “The History of Middle-Earth”.

Re/Search No 8/9: J.G. Ballard ed. Vale & Andrea Juno (Re/Search Pub. 0-940642-08-5, Oct ’84 [Sep ’84], $8.95, 171pp, tp); One of a series of trade paperbacks that are a cross between a magazine and a book, this one is devoted to Ballard and includes interviews, fiction, non-fiction, autobiography, bibliography, collages, photos, and critical essays about Ballard, illustrated with suitably bizarre photos etc. [J. G. Ballard]

The 25th Pan Book of Horror Stories ed. Herbert van Thal (Pan 0-330-28206-9, 1984, £1.50, 157pp, pb); Anthology of new and reprint horror stories.

Rhialto the Marvelous Jack Vance (Underwood-Miller/Brandywyne 0-88733-004-5, Aug ’84 [Jul ’84], $40.00, 198pp, hc) [Dying Earth]; Limited edition of 1,000 copies, boxed and signed. This is a collection of three fantasy novellas, two new and one revised, all set in the Dying Earth. Illustrations by Stephen E. Fabian.

The War of Powers Robert E. Vardeman & Victor Milán (NEL 0-450-05661-9, Jun ’84 [May ’84], £2.50, 457pp, pb) [War of Powers]; First omnibus edition of the first half of a six-volume fantasy series; this has The Sundered Realm, The City in the Glacier, and The Destiny Stone (all Playboy 1980).

The Dune Storybook Joan D. Vinge (Putnam 0-399-12949-9, Oct ’84 [Sep ’84], $6.95, unpaginated, hc) [Dune]; Juvenile adaptation of the David Lynch screenplay for the movie based on Frank Herbert’s novel, with numerous color stills from the film.

In a Lonely Place Karl Edward Wagner (Scream/Press 0-910489-08-4, Dec ’84 [Nov ’84], $35.00 limited signed/numbered/boxed; $15.00 trade, 249pp, hc); Reprint (Warner 1983) collection of dark fantasy stories with new illustrations by Val Lakey Lindahn and an introduction by Peter Straub, plus one new story and an afterword by Wagner not in the Warner edition. First hardcover edition.

The Year’s Best Horror Stories: Series XII ed. Karl Edward Wagner (DAW 0-87997-973-9, Nov ’84 [Oct ’84], $2.95, 239pp, pb); Anthology of 19 horror stories from 1983 including the World Fantasy Award winner “Elle Est Trois (La Mort)” by Tanith Lee.

Fandom is a Way of Death Bill Warren & Allan Rothstein (LASFS, Oct ’84 [Sep ’84], $3.25, 43pp, pb); An L.A.con publication, this is a murder mystery set at the worldcon, complete with real-life characters.

The Book of the River Ian Watson (Gollancz 0-575-03396-7, May ’84 [Apr ’84], £7.95, 208pp, hc) [Yaleen]; Uncharacteristically straightforward, this reads almost like standard adventure fiction — though some theological overtones appear. Upbeat Watson which may bring him a bigger audience while putting off some long-time fans. The first of an sf trilogy, “The Book of the River”.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock Storybook Lawrence Weinberg (Simon & Schuster 0-671-47662-9, Jul ’84 [Jun ’84], $6.95, unpaginated, hc) [Star Trek]; Juvenile film tie-in with lots of color stills.

A Treasury of Fantasy ed. Cary Wilkins (Crown, 1984, hc); Reprint (Avenel 1981) fantasy anthology from an “instant remainder” publisher. Also as The Mammoth Book of Classic Fantasy (Robinson 1987).

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