* Baker, Kage : Dark Mondays
(Night Shade Books 1-59780-051-1, $26.95, 231pp, hardcover, June 2006, jacket art Mike Dringenberg)

Collection of 9 stories, five of them original to this collection, one other ("Katherine's Story") significantly revised from its 2001 electronic publication at Fictionwise.com.
• The publisher's site has this description, with a table of contents and ordering information. There's also a limited edition with an essay, "Dark Mondays and Peculiar Tuesdays", not included in the trade edition listed here.
• Amazon has the starred Publishers Weekly review, from its May 29th issue: "In this enchanting, if melancholy, story collection ... the supernatural matter-of-factly touches the shabby lives of people in small, isolated towns, providing resolution and revelation."
• Nick Gevers and Faren Miller reviewed the book in the July issue of Locus Magazine; Gevers said "the highlight is the long closing novella, 'The Maid on the Shore' ", a Caribbean pirate adventure which Miller also highlights: "Baker pays tribute to past tales of adventure without glossing over the messiness of the real thing, and the prose can be delicious. So come on in and eat hearty!"

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* Brooks, Terry : Armageddon's Children
(Ballantine Del Rey 0-345-48408-8, $26.95, 371pp, hardcover, September 2006, jacket design and illustration David Stevenson)

Fantasy novel, first in a new series, set on a near-future, post-apocalyptic Earth.
• The author's Armageddon's Children has a summary, chapter excerpts, links to reviews, etc.
• Del Rey's site has this description and an excerpt.
• Amazon has the starred Publishers Weekly review, from its August 7th issue: "Brooks effortlessly connects the Tolkien-infused magic of his Shannara books with the urban, postapocalyptic world of his Word and the Void series." The School Library Journal review by Jane Halsall says "Teens new to his work will love this introduction to his best-selling fantasies."

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* Brown, Eric : Threshold Shift
(Golden Gryphon Press 1-930846-43-6, $24.95, 12+218pp, hardcover, September 2006, jacket painting Bob Eggleton)

Collection of 10 stories, two of which have won the British SF Assocation Award -- "The Children of Winter" in 2002, and "Hunting the Slarque" in 2000.
• "The Spacetime Pit" (1996) is a collaboration with Stephen Baxter. "The Touch of Angels" is original to this book. The introduction is by Stephen Baxter.
• The publisher's page for this book has a description, the table of contents, and a link to the Publishers Weekly review, also quoted on the Amazon page.

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* DeNiro, Alan : Skinny Dipping in the Lake of the Dead: Stories
(Small Beer Press 1-931520-17-8, $16, 215pp, trade paperback, July 2006)

Collection of 16 stories, three of them, including novelette "Home of the", original to this book.
• The publisher's site has this page for the book, with the list of stories and links to several of them online, quotes from reviews, and quotes from advance reviewers.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly and Booklist reviews; the latter's Ray Olson calls it "Refreshing, imaginative, funny-scary stuff."
• Tim Pratt reviewed it in the August issue of Locus Magazine, saying "DeNiro's writing is deeply weird, sometimes challenging, but always smart and affecting" and concluding "His work is close to Aimee Bender and Donald Barthelme territory, but he has a voice uniquely his own."

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* Horton, Rich, ed. : Fantasy: The Best of the Year: 2006 Edition
(Prime Books 0-8095-5650-2, $13.95, 336pp, trade paperback, September 2006, cover art John William Waterhouse, cover design Gary Nurrish)

Anthology of 19 fantasy stories first published in 2005, edited by the Locus Magazine short fiction reviewer, who provides an introduction and notes about the contributors at the end of the book.
• Authors include Gene Wolfe, Theodora Goss, Neil Gaiman, Peter S. Beagle (whose story just won a Hugo Award), Matthew Hughes, George Saunders, Pat Cadigan, Elizabeth Bear, and Gregory Feeley.
• The publisher's website has this page with ordering information.
• Earlier this year Horton summarized his favorite stories of the year in an essay at Black Gate.
• Amazon has the starred Publishers Weekly review: "Horton has gathered a diverse mix of styles and themes that illustrate the depth and breadth of fantasy writing today."
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews the book in the September issue of Locus Magazine, along with three other best-of-the-year fantasy anthologies; he concludes that Horton "has a sharp eye and a fine ear, and it will be interesting to see what this new series settles into".

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* Horton, Rich, ed. : Science Fiction: The Best of the Year, 2006 Edition
(Prime Books 0-8095-5649-9, $13.95, 334pp, trade paperback, September 2006, cover art Les Edwards, cover design Gary Nurrish)

Anthology of 15 science fiction stories first published in 2005, by the Locus Magazine short fiction reviewer, who provides an introduction and notes about the contributors at the end of the book.
• Authors include Joe Haldeman, Alastair Reynolds, Michael Swanwick, James Patrick Kelly, Howard Waldrop, Wil McCarthy, and Robert Reed.
• The publisher's site has this page with ordering information.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review, which observes "This anthology reflects the concerns of the genre today -- and the apparent inability of our society to do anything about them."
• Gary K. Wolfe reviewed the book in the August issue of Locus Magazine, along with four other best-of-the-year SF anthologies, noting that Horton's selection of stories by McCarthy, Tom Purdom, and Mary Rosenblum "might suggest that Horton brings a fairly constructionist view of SF to his first annual, and indeed his is the only anthology this year to include three stories from Analog..."

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* Reynolds, Eric T. : Golden Age SF: Tales of a Bygone Future
(Hadley Rille Books 0-9785148-0-7, $24.95, 292pp, hardcover, August 2006, cover by Chesley Bonestell)

Anthology of 16 science fiction stories, three of them (by James Gunn, Terry Bramlett, and Rudy Rucker) reprints, the others original to this book, by authors including Stephen Baxter, Terry Bisson, G. David Nordley, Mike Resnick, and Robert Sheckley.
• The foreword is by Arthur C. Clarke, and the editor provides an introduction.
• The book has website bygonefutures.com, with excerpt from three stories and praise from reviewers.

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* van Eekhout, Greg : Show and Tell and Other Stories
(Tropism Press no isbn, $6, 56pp, chapbook, August 2006)

Chapbook collection of 6 stories. One story, "Far As You Can Go", and notes to all the stories, are original to this collection.
• The publisher has this page about the book, with ordering information and links to two of the stories at Strange Horizons.

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* Wallace, Sean, ed. : Jabberwocky 2
(Prime Books 0-8095-5076-8, $10, 147pp, trade paperback, July 2006, cover design Garry Nurrish)

Anthology of 28 stories and poems, mostly poems -- the stories are by Megan Messinger, Jeannelle M. Ferreira, Holly Phillips, Richard Parks, Erzebet Yellowboy, and Cassandra Phillips-Sears. Poems are by Mike Allen, Catherynne M. Valente, Tim Pratt, Sonya Taaffe, Laurel Winter, Theodora Goss, Jane Yolen, and others.
• The publisher's site has this description and ordering information.
• Rich Horton reviewed the book in the April issue of Locus Magazine, mentioning in particular the stories by Richard Parks and Holly Phillips.

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* Wayt, Hampton C. : Driving Through Futures Past
(Kythe Publishing 0-9755043-1-2, $26.95, 59pp, trade paperback, February 2006)

Art book, subtitled "Mid-20th Century Automotive Design", collecting around 50 artists' conceptions of future car designs. The book is based on an exhibit held last year at the Petersen Automative Museum in Los Angeles, and art from the exhibit was displayed at this year's World SF Convention in Anaheim, California.
• Artists include Syd Mead, Harley J. Earl, Frank R. Paul, and Virgil Exner, Sr.
• The publisher's website has this description with samples, and ordering information.

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* Wolfe, Gene : Strange Birds
(DreamHaven no isbn, $10, 40pp, chapbook, May 2006, cover art Lisa Snellings-Clark)

Chapbook of two original stories inspired by the paintings and sculptures of Lisa Snellings-Clark. The stories are "On a Vacant Face a Bruise" and "Sob in the Silence".
• Limited to 1000 copies. DreamHaven's order page has further details.
• Nick Gevers reviewed it in the May issue of Locus Magazine, especially recommending the second story; "This is chilling, masterful writing, Wolfe in exceptional form."

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