PAPERBACKS

Lois McMaster Bujold. CETAGANDA. (Baen, 7.99). Eighth Miles Vorkosigan book. If you haven't yet discovered Bujold's wonderful romp of a space opera, Cetaganda --set relatively early in Vorkosigan's career-- is a good place to begin.

Stephen Bury. THE COBWEB. (Bantam Spectra, 17.95). By now, you MUST know that this is the pseudonym for Neal Stephenson and J F George. COBWEB is the second book from this team, a classic political thriller format, with trademark Stephenson characters. As always, buried deep in fast action and really good dialogue, some truly brilliant satire. And if you haven't read their earlier book, INTERFACE, don't miss it.

Glen Cook. BLEAK SEASONS. (Tor, 7.99). Black Company #6, or Glittering Stone #1. First Black Company book in years, and beginning of a new trilogy.

Rosemary Edghill. BOOK OF MOONS. (Tor, 7.99). The bewitching Bast is back! Part-time amateur sleuth and practicing Wiccan, Bast is a fun, delightfully no-nonsense character. If you're a fan of Tanya Huff, you should be reading Rosemary Edghill! --TJ

Steven Gould. WILDSIDE. (Tor, 7.99). New adventure from the author of JUMPER. A fast read, great characters, tight, suspensefull plot.

Laurell K Hamilton. BLOODY BONES. (Ace, 7.99). "Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter"; what a business card that would make! GUILTY PLEASURES #5
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Robin Hobb. FARSEER#1: ASSASSINS' APPRENTICE. (Bantam Spectra, 8.99). Brilliant, grim & completely absorbing -- Hobb is a writer with guts & lyricism & a sense of the history of the genre. The back cover doesn't do the book justice--this is High Fantasy written the way Gene Wolfe would write it if he used High Fantasy tropes. --MS

Paul J. McAuley. FAIRYLAND. (Avon, 16.50). McAuley moves very nicely along the border between fantasy and science fiction. FAIRYLAND is a novel about the potential of nanotechnology, and the world McAuley foresees is one book about the potential mess.

Jack McDevitt. ANCIENT SHORES. (HarperPrism, 7.99). . MODERN CLASSIC! Ancient Shores captures the essence of CLASSIC science fiction--the wonder and allure of the unknown are brilliantly presented in this absolutely FANTASTIC novel of discovery and exploration. From simple beginning to extravagant conclusion, this is pure nostalgic enjoyment on a grand scale that hasn't been achieved in years. Need I scream, RECOMMENDED!!!!! -- GS

Ian McDonald. EVOLUTION'S SHORE. (Bantam Spectra, 7.99). McDonald manages to ascend to the level of the really good sf writers, the very few who can take a good, thorny "What if..." and bring to that story the skill to tell it properly, to make a really terrific read. SHORE details the evolution of an alien presence as it meets the evolving human race. Fabulous scope, beleivable characters, excellent picture of a near-future. Classic SF. -- JR

Christopher Moore. BLOODSUCKING FIENDS: A Love Story . (Avon, 16.00). Do NOT read this in a public place, unless having people stare at you while you burst out in fits of laughter doesn't bother you. If you're a Christopher Moore fan (PRACTICAL DEMON-KEEPING, COYOTE BLUE) you'll love this book. If you're a vampire fan, you'll love this book. If you're neither of these things... Here's an excellent opportunity to broaden your horizons! READIT READIT READIT READIT READIT READIT READIT READIT READIT READIT -- TJ.

Jeff Noon. POLLEN. (Ringpull, 13.95). Easily one of the most interesting new talents to trip along. If you like Dick at his most creative, or Jack Womack, or any of the very best writers in the cyberpunk crowd, try Noon. Loosely a sequel to his award-winning novel, VURT, guaranteed different!

Robert J. Sawyer. STARPLEX. (Ace, 7.99). Sawyer's new book is a return to Big Screen science fiction, something he handles as well as any in the pack. Like Greg Benford, Poul Anderson or Charles Sheffield, Sawyer packs a lot of speculative science into a tight plot, and gives us a book that makes us think about the big themes: where this universe came from, and possibly, where it's going.

Dan Simmons. ENDYMION. (Bantam Spectra, 7.99). Third novel in Simmons gigantic Hyperion series, and first of two books that will conclude the series. Most importantly, it's a return to the immense talent Simmons displayed in the original books.

William Browning Spencer. RÉSUMÉ WITH MONSTERS. (White Wolf/Borealis, 7.99). Clever little gem about a man who finds life at the résumé factory a little overwhelming. Especially when he finds that Cthulhu is again out to conquer this world. Lovecraft fans will be especially pleased. -- GS

Bruce Sterling. SCHISMATRIX PLUS. (Ace, 19.00). Sterling's monumental novel, reprinted with all the attendant Shapers-Mechanists universe stories.

Harry Turtledove. WORLDWAR: UPSETTING THE BALANCE. (Del Rey, 7.99). Worldwar #3/4, about an alien invasion that interrupts World War Two. Just out in hardcover, the conclusion: WORLDWAR: STRIKING THE BALANCE. (Del Rey, 32.00).

Connie Willis. BELLWETHER. (Bantam Spectra, 15.95). . BELLWETHER is a prime example of why Connie Willis wins so many Hugo and Nebula awards. Her ability to craft a novel-- deftly threading her chosen themes through the story, carefully balancing the ending with the beginning-- outmatches almost every other author I know. With an insightful and wry understanding of the human condition, not to mention bureaucracy, Willis provides wonderful characters and an amusing plot to subject them to. BELLWETHER is a thoroughly enjoyable book, and I recommend it with great gusto to anyone looking for good stuff to read. --TJ


HARDCOVERS

David Brin. INFINITY'S SHORE. (Bantam Spectra, 32.95). New novel in his award-winning Uplift War series, and sequel to BRIGHTNESS REEF (available in paperback, 8.99).

Lois McMaster Bujold. MEMORY. (Baen, 29.50). Even after nine books, there's still room for unexpectedly moving growth and change, both for Miles Vorkosigan and his boss, ImpSec Chief Illyan. MEMORY is a direct sequel to 1995 Hugo award winner MIRROR DANCE, and this one is just as good. I LOVE THIS SERIES! --TJ

Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling (eds). THE NINTH ANNUAL YEAR'S BEST FANTASY AND HORROR COLLECTION. (ST Martin's/Griffin, 39.99). Can't find a flaw with this wonderful annual survey.

William Gibson. IDORU. (Putnam, 33.95). Gibson returns with a knock-out book about the nature of love in an electronic age. All the characteristics of good Gibson are there, insight, prescience and, as ever, a gentle cynicism.

Terry Goodkind. BLOOD OF THE FOLD. (Tor, 34.95). Third in Goodkind's massive epic Sword of Truth series. A fourth next year.

J. Gregory Keyes. THE WATERBORN. (Del Rey, 33.50). Waterborn #01. Looking for something different in the High Fantasy genre? Keyes novel -- his first -- is an exotic blend of wild, interfering and unpredictable deities with a coming of age. Hezhi's story is particularly compelling; although I wanted more detail, more sense of the world she lives in, I couldn't stop reading because I really had to know what happened to her. -- MS

Melanie Rawn, Jennifer Roberson, & Kate Elliott. THE GOLDEN KEY. (DAW, 29.99). Orders of magnitude better than any other fantasy collaboration I can think of, Rawn, Roberson and Elliott have done a terrific job at evoking a world rich with detail and historicity. This is a three-section novel, a braiding of theme and individual talent -- part of the fun is trying to guess whose work informs which section. -MS

Tad Williams. OTHERLAND. (DAW, 29.99). Williams starts a new series, set in a near-future world that manages to blend the culture and worlds of real and interactive gaming, at the same time combining the epic element of fantasy with the predictive quality of science fiction. Big time.

DISTRACTIONS

Scott Adams. STILL PUMPED FROM USING THE MOUSE. (Andrews & McMeel, 13.95). Newest Dilbert collection.

Scott Adams. DOGBERT'S TOP SECRET MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK as told to Scott Adams. (HarperBusiness, 22.75). Excellent advice from a real corporate flunkie. Classic.

Wayne Douglas Barlowe & Neil Duskis. BARLOWE'S GUIDE TO FANTASY. (HarperPrism, 29.95). Sequel to Wayne Barlowe's exceptional illustrations of major fantasy and science fiction characters.

Ed Godziszewski. THE ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GODZILLA. (G-Force/Daikaiju Enterprises, 24.99). The best and most comprehensive book and guide on the big guy I've seen! -- GS

Terry Jones & Brian Froud (illus). STRANGE STAINS AND MYSTERIOUS SMELLS. (Simon & Schuster, 31.00). Loosely a sequel to the incredible LADY COTTINGTON'S PRESSED FAIRY ALBUM, "based On Quentin Cottington's Journal of Faery Research".

Michael & Denise Okuda. THE STAR TREK CHRONOLOGY: The History of the Future. (Pocket Books, 34.00). Completely revised AND in full-colour.

Bill Watterson. IT'S A MAGICAL WORLD. (Andrews & McMeel, 20.95). Calvin & Hobbes #11, and still fresh.