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Ben Bova
Ray Bradbury
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Raymond E. Feist
Tanya Huff
Guy Gavriel Kay
Stephen King
Paul McAuley
Larry Niven
Harry Turtledove
VanderMeer & Roberts
Gene Wolfe

March
Steven Brust
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2005 Archive

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This page lists books newly available in mass-market or trade paperback editions, previously available only in more expensive editions.

These lists are compiled independently of Locus Magazine's Books Received listings; publishers may send review copies to the Locus Online address on this page.

Date with publisher info is official publication month;
Date in parentheses at paragraph end is date seen or received.

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Books seen May 2005
posted 18 May 2005

Asher, Neal : The Skinner
(Tor 0-765-35048-3, $7.99, 424pp, mass market paperback, May 2005)
(First edition: UK: Macmillan, March 2002)

SF novel, the second novel from UK author Asher, who's published three other novels since (the latest is Brass Man -- description); it concerns three travellers to the remote planet Spatterjay. This is a reprint of Tor's 2004 hardcover edition.
• This fan site has a description of the book.
• Amazon's page has the Publishers Weekly review, while Amazon UK's page (for this US paperback edition) has a review by David Langford. Amazon's 'search inside' feature (click on title or cover image) includes an excerpt.
• Russell Letson's 2002 review said that Asher provides "an exhilarating tour through one of the most ingeniously, elaborately deadly worlds since Harry Harrison invented Deathworld in the 1960s."

(Fri 6 May 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon

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Birmingham, John : Weapons of Choice
(Ballantine 0-345-45713-7, $7.99, 483pp, mass market paperback, May 2005, cover art Jeremy Nicholson)
(First edition: Ballantine Del Rey, June 2004)

Alternate history/time travel SF novel about a United Nations battle group in 2021 somehow sent back to Midway in 1942. First in the Axis of Time trilogy; the next book, Designated Targets, is due in October.
• This edition is repackaged as a thriller rather than a genre SF title. Amazon's 'search inside' feature provides an excerpt, and the Publishers Weekly review, which said "Unlike many alternate histories, the novel avoids the wish-fulfillment aspect inherent in the genre. This is the first of what should be a hugely (and deservedly) successful series."
• The publisher's site has this description and excerpt.

(Tue 17 May 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon

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Czerneda, Julie E. : Survival
(DAW 0-756-40261-1, $6.99, 475pp, mass market paperback, May 2005, cover art Luis Royo)
(First edition: DAW, May 2004)

SF novel subtitled "Species Imperative #1", about a salmon researcher who's drafted to help an alien archaeologist save the galaxy. First of a trilogy. The second book, Migration, just came out in hardcover (description).
• The author's website has this description and excerpt
• The Amazon page has the Publishers Weekly review and reader reviews.
• Carolyn Cushman's review last year in Locus called it an "intriguing new series".

(Tue 17 May 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon

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MacLeod, Ian R. : The Light Ages
(Ace 0-441-01274-4, $7.99, 489pp, mass market paperback, May 2005)
(First edition: Ace, May 2003)

Fantasy novel set in a parallel England where the discovery of "aether" has changed the world and brought about the Third Age of Industry. There was a trade paperback edition last year; this is the first mass market paperback edition.
• Comparing the book's setting to Dickens and its sensibility to Mervyn Peake's, Faren Miller's review in the June 2003 issue of Locus Magazine "can only suggest a fraction of what's going on in this work that also encompasses the mysteries of love, adulthood, disillusionment, fantastic beings and fantastic wealth, and much more."
• The author's webpage includes a description and extract.
• The book was a World Fantasy Award nominee in 2004, and placed #3 on the Locus Poll for best fantasy novel of 2003.

(Fri 6 May 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon

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November, Sharyn, ed. : Firebirds
(Penguin/Firebird 0-1424-0320-2, $8.99, 420pp, trade paperback, May 2005)
(First edition: Penguin/Firebird, September 2003)

Anthology of 16 original young-adult stories. Authors include Delia Sherman, Nancy Springer, Lloyd Alexander, Patricia McKillip, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, and Garth Nix.
• The eponymous website includes a roundtable discussion with several of the contributors.
• Carolyn Cushman's review in Locus Magazine called it "an outstanding anthology with plenty to appeal to fantasy readers of all ages."

(Wed 11 May 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon

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Paolini, Christopher : Eragon
(Knopf 0-375-82669-6, $9.95, 503pp, trade paperback, April 2005)
(First edition: Knopf, August 2003)

Fantasy novel, first of a series ("Inheritance, Book One") by a teenage author from Montana. The book was initially self-published before being sold to Knopf, whose edition has been on bestseller lists for a year and a half. The sequel, Eldest, is due in August.
• The publisher's section for the book has background on the author and an excerpt from the book.
• Amazon has a review by Patty Campbell: "Here's a great big fantasy that you can pull over your head like a comfy old sweater and disappear into for a whole weekend."

(Wed 11 May 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon

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Sterling, Bruce : The Zenith Angle
(Ballantine Del Rey 0-345-46865-1, $6.99, 341pp, mass market paperback, May 2005, cover art David Stevenson)
(First edition: Ballantine Del Rey, May 2004)

Contemporary SF thriller about a computer scientist recruited to investigate the failure of an expensive spy satellite.
• The publisher's site has this description, and author Q&A, and an excerpt.
• Gary K. Wolfe's review in the March '04 issue of Locus called it "a provocative and highly quotable novel that successfully reminds us... That what we tend to regard as speculative SF futures have often been with us all along, just beneath our antiquated radar."

(Fri 6 May 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon

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Stewart, Ian, & Jack Cohen : Heaven
(Warner Aspect 0-446-61103-4, $6.99, 428pp, mass market paperback, May 2005, cover art Steve Stone)
(First edition: Warner Aspect, May 2004)

SF novel about a religion, Cosmic Unity, spreading a destructive message of universal harmony.
• The publisher's site has this description and excerpt.
• Cynthia Ward's Amazon.com review calls it "a fun, thought-provoking, impressive example of classic sense-of-wonder science fiction."

(Tue 17 May 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon

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Stross, Charles : The Family Trade
(Tor 0-765-34821-7, $6.99, 308pp, mass market paperback, May 2005, cover art Paul Youll)
(First edition: Tor, December 2004)

Fantasy novel, first volume of "The Merchant Princes", about a contemporary reporter who discovers a portal to a parallel world, where she is member of a powerful clan. Two volumes will follow: The Hidden Family (due next month in hardcover) and The Clan Corporate.
• Stross' website has a FAQ page with details about this series, and his other books.
• It's a "science fantasy in the 'misplaced modern' mode", according to the Publishers Weekly review on the Amazon page. The review compares it to Roger Zelazny's "Amber" series.
• Damien Broderick's review in last November's Locus Magazine called it "a series of considerable promise ... nicely thought out and confident in its delivery."

(Fri 6 May 2005) • Purchase this book from Amazon

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