+ Ballantyne, Tony : Capacity
(Bantam Spectra 0-553-58929-6, $6.99, 390pp, mass market paperback, January 2007) First US edition (UK: Macmillan/Tor UK, November 2005)

SF novel, sequel to Recursion (2004 UK, 2006 US), about 23rd-century cyberspace personality constructs.
• The third novel, Divergence, is due from Bantam Spectra in May. Bantam's site has this description and an excerpt.
• The author's website has this description plus pages about Mahler's 8th Symphony, Wafuku, and other background to the novel.
• The Publishers Weekly review: "Like the first series entry, this novel interweaves several story lines concerning the dubious existence of an omnipotent artificial intelligence known as the Watcher, who controls the Environmental Agency, the organization in charge of all aspects of the digital and physical worlds...."

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+ Baxter, Stephen : Emperor
(Ace 0-441-01466-6, $24.95, 307pp, hardcover, January 2007, jacket illustration Chris Shamwana) First US edition (UK: Orion/Gollancz, July 2006)

Historical SF novel, first in the "Time's Tapestry" trilogy, to be followed by Conqueror and Navigator, about a prophecy that affects four centuries of Roman and British families.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review, which says "Excellent characterization and deft historical scene-setting lift this first of an ambitious new series from Philip K. Dick Award-winner Baxter..."
• Gary K. Wolfe reviewed the book in the November '06 issue of Locus Magazine, noting that "Like Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle (with its similar hints of time travel), Emperor can be viewed as SF -- but a peculiar kind of homeopathic SF, in which a few molecules of the active ingredient are meant to transform the entire solution."

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* Friedman, C. S. : Feast of Souls
(DAW 0-7564-0432-0, $25.95, 449pp, hardcover, February 2007, jacket painting Michael Whelan)

Fantasy novel, first in the "Magister" trilogy, in which female witches' magic comes at the expense of their life force.
• The author's website has this page about the book, which notes: "At the end of her bestselling Coldfire Trilogy, C.S. Friedman challenged readers to imagine what a world would be like if sorcery required the ultimate sacrifice--that of life itself. Now, in a groundbreaking new fantasy novel, FEAST OF SOULS, she introduces us to a terrifying new world in which the cost of magic is just that--a world in which the fuel for sorcery is the very fire of the human spirit, and those who hunger for magical power must pay for it with their lives...."
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review, which calls it an "imaginative, deftly plotted fantasy".

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* Hamilton, Laurell K. : Mistral's Kiss
(Ballantine 0-345-44358-6, $23.95, 212pp, hardcover, December 2006)

Dark fantasy erotic mystery, fifth in the Meredith Gentry series following A Kiss of Shadows (2000), A Caress of Twilight (2002), Seduced by Moonlight (2004), and A Stroke of Midnight (2005). This book is less about private investigation than about magical sex.
• The publisher's site has this description, and an excerpt.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review -- "Lots of earth-shattering, supernatural sex and a rousing climactic battle will have Hamilton's fans panting for more." -- and numerous reader reviews.
• Carolyn Cushman reviewed it in the December '06 issue of Locus Magazine.

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* Hand, Elizabeth : Illyria
(UK: PS Publishing 978-1-905834-93-1, £10, 123pp, hardcover, January 2007, cover art James Hannah)

Short novel about "Obsessive love between two young cousins in a once-great New York theatrical clan, set against the backdrop of Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night' and the ruins of their family's Hudson Valley compound."
• The volume is distributed free to subscribers to PS Publishing's Postscripts Magazine, and is available for direct purchase from its website. A hardcover edition is also available.
• The author's site has the above-quoted description, and publication details.

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* Haydon, Elizabeth : The Assassin King
(Tor 0-765-30565-8, $25.95, 384pp, hardcover, January 2007, jacket art Royo)

Fantasy novel, third volume of the second trio in the author's "Symphony of Ages" series; it follows Requiem for the Sun (2002) and Elegy for a Lost Star (2004).
• The author's website, www.elizabethhaydon.com, has a description of the series and background about music, herbology, and weaponry, etc.
• Tor Books' website has this page about the series, with descriptions and excerpts of the previous books.
• Amazon has Publishers Weekly's starred review, from its October 30th issue, calling it a "sweeping saga of musical magic and ancient prophecies".

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* Hendee, Barb, & J. C. Hendee : Rebel Fay
(Roc 0-451-46121-5, $23.95, 372pp, hardcover, January 2007, jacket art Steve Stone)

Fantasy novel, fifth in the "Noble Dead" series following Dhampire, Thief of Lives, Sister of the Dead, and Traitor to the Blood, about a half-vampire vampire-hunter and her half-elf partner.
• The author's site NobleDead.com has a description, a pronunciation guide, and an excerpt.
• Amazon has the Publishers Weekly review, which calls it "a hybrid crossing Tolkienesque fantasy with vampire-infused horror" and concludes "New readers might find the plot mystifying at times, but fans will enjoy the ongoing clash between elves, humans and the undead."

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* Huston, Charlie : No Dominion
(Ballantine Del Rey 0-345-47825-8, $13.95, 251pp, trade paperback, January 2007)

Horror novel, a hard-boiled detective novel about Manhattan private investigator and 'vampyre' Joe Pitt, sequel to Already Dead (2005). This book involves a new drug that threatens New York's vampire community.
• Del Rey's website has this description, and an excerpt.
• Amazon has Publishers Weekly's starred review, from its October 23rd issue, which concludes "the doomed love story at the heart of Huston's action-filled epic is what truly makes this a noir novel, and the undead microcosm of society he creates is both surprisingly relevant and entertaining."
• Faren Miller reviewed the book in the December '06 issue of Locus Magazine, saying that it "interweaves its dark tale of ambition, betrayals and violence with an unusually well-imagined take on vampirism..."

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+ Nicholls, Stan : The Diamond Isle
(Eos 0-06-073893-6, $14.95, 441pp, trade paperback, January 2007, cover illustration Jon Sullivan)

Fantasy novel, third book in "The Dreamtime" trilogy, following The Covenant Rising and The Righteous Blade.
• The books were first published in the UK as the "Quicksilver" trilogy, with this volume called Quicksilver Twilight, published October 2006.
• The Eos website has this description: "Desperate to find a cure for the curse of immortality and debilitating visions that torment him, Reeth Caldason has traded his fighting skills for potential access to powerful ancient magic. But now Reeth is trapped on the Diamond Isle, fending off the pirates who plague the surrounding waters as he struggles to understand his true nature. And the specter of war looms..."

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* Viehl, S. L. : Plague of Memory
(Roc 0-451-46123-1, $7.99, 371pp, mass market paperback, January 2007)

SF novel in the author's long-running Stardoc universe of medically-themed space operas, most recently in Rebel Ice (2006).
• In this book Dr. Cherijo Torin "must remember if she's to develop a cure for the Hsktskt plague before their race becomes extinct", according to the publisher's description.
• Amazon has several reader reviews.
• Wikipedia's entry for S.L. Viehl lists these and other books under various pseudonyms.

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* White, Steve, & Shirley Meier : Exodus
(Baen 1-416-52098-8, $26, 272pp, hardcover, January 2007, cover art Clyde Caldwell)

SF novel, latest in the "Stars at War" series by David Weber and Steve White, about a hero who takes a stand against an alien menace.
• From the publisher's description: "An implacable foe with telepathic cohesion in battle, near-immortality, and eons-advanced engineering skills threatens to wipe humanity from the galaxy. Their one weakness? No FTL. But that won't last long."
• The publisher's page also has links to several chapters.
• Amazon has a couple reader reviews.

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* Zakour, John : The Frost-Haired Vixen
(DAW 0-7564-0397-9, $7.99, 338pp, mass market paperback, December 2006, cover art Michael Koelsch)

Humorous SF hardboiled detective novel, fourth in a series following The Plutonium Blonde (2001), The Doomsday Brunette (2004), and The Radioactive Redhead (2005).
• The author's website has a description of this and his earlier books, with this headline summary: "If I had to describe my writing in one sentence I would call it: "humorous, pulp, fun, SF which is bubblegum for the brain!" (Okay it would be one long sentence....)"
• Amazon has a description -- "In the year 2060, Zach Johnson, the world's only freelance private investigator, tackles his strangest case yet-solving the murders of two elves at the North Pole..." -- and posts from the author.

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