But first, here are a few recommendations from my own personal reading:

• The Mount by Carol Emshwiller (Small Beer Press, trade, 232 pages, published August 2002, USA)
      In case you weren't already aware, this book just won the Philip K. Dick Award. In my opinion, there's no way in hell it should have beat out China Miéville's The Scar, but there's no doubt that Emshwiller has indeed created quite a gem here. Aliens have colonized earth and are using humans as their mounts. Most of the novel is told from the first person perspective of Charley, a young mount in training. He's a complex and interesting character, often confused about what is the right thing to do -- or even what that means. This novel deals with such issues as slavery and freedom, racism, loyalty, the treatment of animals, family relationships, and the meaning of friendship.

• Skinwalker by Nunzio DiFilippis & Christina Weir, illustrated by Brian Hurtt & Arthur Dela Cruz (Oni Press, graphic novel trade collecting issues 1-4, published March 2003, USA)
      An FBI agent and an officer of the Navajo Tribal Police team up to track down an unusual killer. Someone has put a new twist on an old Navajo magic, called skinwalking. Traditional skinwalkers don the skins of animals to become that animal. Now there's a murderer out there who's skinning people, presumably to become the victim.
      This is a good crime drama with weirdness, in the vein of the X Files. And this book tells a complete story, although it leaves open plenty of room for further adventures. The greyscale artwork is often a bit stiff, with occasional flashes of subtlety or the odd use of interesting perspective -- but it grows on you. It seems to fit the no-nonsense tone of the story.

• Dirge: Transmetropolitan, Book 8 by Warren Ellis, illustrated by Darick Robertson & Rodney Ramos (Vertigo, DC Comics, graphic novel trade collecting issues 43-48, published May 2003, USA & Canada)
      In this latest collection, our hero, the semi-psychotic media-and-drug-addicted journalist Spider Jerusalem, continues to wage his personal war against the Ultimate Evil, known to the masses as the President. We finally learn the cause and meaning of Spider's apparent ill-health, Spider learns a new meaning of the word "deadline," and we are given to believe that the President has not yet plumbed the depths of evil to which he will descend for the sake of his approval rating.
      The (full colour) artwork in this book is less cluttered-looking than it has been in past volumes, but it maintains the high-quality dynamic style this title has come to represent. Creative layout, character expressions, perspective, and detail are continually used to great advantage (plus, on occasion, lighting and even focus). Transmetropolitan continues to be everything a comic book should be -- intelligently written and skillfully drawn.

(Books are listed alphabetically by author. Only books received are noted.)

Stolen: Women of the Otherworld, Book 2 by Kelley Armstrong
Viking, Penguin (hc, 400 pages)
Publication date: 2003, USA

Minion by L.A. Banks
St. Martin's Griffin (trade, 296 pages)
Publication date: 4 June 2003, USA & Canada

Brighten to Incandescence stories by Michael Bishop
Golden Gryphon (hc, 205 pages)
Publication date: June 2003, USA & Canada

The Sword of Shannara, Part 1: In the Shadow of the Warlock Lord by Terry Brooks
Del Rey, Ballantine (trade, 232 pages)
Publication date: 6 May 2003, USA & Canada

The City Trilogy by Chang Hsi-Kuo, translated by John Balcom
Columbia University Press (hc, 408 pages)
Publication date: May 2003, USA & UK
   Includes the novels Five Jade Disks, Defenders of the Dragon City and Tale of a Feather, translated from Chinese, and available for the first time in English and in a single volume.

Eye in the Sky by Philip K. Dick
Gollancz (trade, 243 pages)
Publication date: 8 May 2003, UK

Budayeen Nights stories by George Alec Effinger
Golden Gryphon Press (hc, 235 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): September 2003, USA

The Riddle of Cthulhu by Ray Emerson
Lumina Press (trade, 232 pages)
Publication date: March 2003, USA

Talon of the Silver Hawk: Conclave of Shadows, Book 1 by Raymond E. Feist
Voyager, HarperCollins (trade, 390 pages)
Publication date: 7 April 2003, UK

Kissing Carrion stories by Gemma Files
Prime Books (trade, 228 pages)
Publication date: July 2003, USA

Sword of Honor: Boundary's Fall, Book 2 by Bret M. Funk
Tyrannosaurus Press (trade, 544 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 31 August 2003, USA
   Continuing the fantasy adventure begun in Path of Glory (2002).

The Difference Engine by William Gibson & Bruce Sterling
Gollancz (mm, 383 pages)
Publication date: 8 May 2003, UK
SF Site Review

The Dragon's Doom by Ed Greenwood
Tor (hc, 414 pages)
Publication date: 28 May 2003, USA & Canada

Exploring the Matrix: Visions of the Cyber Present edited by Karen Haber
St. Martin's Press (hc, 271 pages)
Publication date: 15 May 2003, USA & Canada
   New essays from Stephen Baxter, David Brin, Pat Cadigan, Joe Haldeman, James Patrick Kelly, John Shirley, Bruce Stirling, Ian Watson, Walter Jon Williams, and more.

Ships From the West: The Monarchies of God, Book 5 by Paul Kearney
Gollancz (mm, 296 pages)
Publication date: 8 May 2003, UK
SF Site Review

Nothing Human by Nancy Kress
Golden Gryphon Press (hc, 300 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): September 2003, USA

Gideon's Wall by Greg Kurzawa
Riptide Press (trade, 320 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): September 2003, USA

Trampoline edited by Kelly Link
Small Beer Press (trade, 336 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 15 August 2003, USA
   Stories from Carol Emshwiller, Jeffrey Ford, Karen Joy Fowler, Alex Irvine, Shelley Jackson, Maureen McHugh, and many more.

The Dancers at the End of Time by Michael Moorcock
SF Masterworks #53, Gollancz (trade, 664 pages)
Publication date: 8 May 2003, UK
SF Site Review

Those Who Walk in Darkness by John Ridley
Aspect, Warner Books (hc, 310 pages)
Publication date: 20 May 2003, USA & Canada

Dark Ages: Ravnos by Sarah Roark
White Wolf (mm, 285 pages)
Publication date: June 2003, USA & Canada

Polystom by Adam Roberts
Victor Gollancz (hc & trade, 295 pages)
Publication date: 15 May 2003, UK

Berserker's Star by Fred Saberhagen
Tor (hc, 368 pages)
Publication date: 2 June 2003, USA & Canada

Immortals: Second Demon Wars Saga, Book 3 by R.A. Salvatore
Del Rey, Ballantine (hc, 488 pages)
Publication date: 6 May 2003, USA & Canada

The Praxis: Dread Empire's Fall, Book 1 by Walter Jon Williams
Earthlight (mm, 418 pages)
Publication date: 2 June 2003, UK

The Weavers of Saramyr: The Braided Path, Book 1 by Chris Wooding
Victor Gollancz (hc & trade, 375 pages)
Publication date: 29 May 2003, UK