But first, I want to tell you about another new book which I read recently. Highly recommended is...

• Secret Life by Jeff VanderMeer (Golden Gryphon, hc, 305 pages, June 2004, USA & Canada)
      As with any book of short fiction, I found a few particular favourites. I'm always a sucker for keenly executed metafiction, and the closing piece is a particular gem in that vein , plus there are some other truly great stories here -- I'm sure you'll find your own favourites. What I didn't find (thankfully) was the unevenness that might have been expected from such a varied collection of work spanning 15+ years of writing. This solid collection includes stories set in the dark and dangerous futuristic world of Veniss, the dank and oppressive antiquated-seeming world of Ambergris, and in worlds more closely resembling our own past or present, albeit with a distinctive VanderMeer flavouring. Some tales in Secret Life have a horrific edge, others a piercing humour, some a bit of both -- the precision cut and thrust of VanderMeer's prose will not leave you unmoved.

The Skinner by Neal Asher
Tor (hc, 474 pages)
Publication date: 16 June 2004, USA & Canada
    First published in the UK in 2002.
SF Site Review

Prince of Christler-Coke by Neal Barrett, Jr.
Golden Gryphon (hc, 244 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): September 2004, USA

Prisoner of Haven by Nancy Varian Berberick
DragonLance, Wizards of the Coast (mm, 310 pages)
Publication date: June 2004, USA & Canada & UK

Forge of Heaven by C.J. Cherryh
Eos, HarperCollins (hc, 405 pages)
Publication date: 4 June 2004, USA & Canada

Counterfeit Kings by Adam Connell
Phobos (trade, 382 pages)
Publication date: May 2004, USA

The Wild Wood by Charles de Lint
Orb (trade, 205 pages)
Publication date: 16 June 2004, USA & Canada
    Back in print for the first time since initial publication in 1994.

Gardens of the Moon: Malazan Book of the Fallen, Vol. 1 by Steven Erikson
Tor (hc, 494 pages)
Publication date: 16 June 2004, USA & Canada
    Finally available in the US! First volume in this strikingly original fantasy series, originally published in the UK by Bantam/Transworld in 1999.
SF Site Review

Medalon: Hythrun Chronicles, Book 1 by Jennifer Fallon
Tor (hc, 431 pages)
Publication date: 30 April 2004, USA & Canada

Prince of the Blood by Raymond E. Feist
Bantam Spectra (hc, 357 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 6 July 2004, USA & Canada
    Rewritten by the author 15 years after first publication.

Wild Magic: Fool's Gold, Book 2 by Jude Fisher
Pocket Books (mm, 565 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 5 July 2004, UK
SF Site Review

The Silent House: A Chronicle of Aglirta by Ed Greenwood
Tor (hc, 381 pages)
Publication date: 19 June 2004, USA & Canada

Dawn of Night: The Erevis Cale Trilogy, Book 2 by Paul S. Kemp
Forgotten Realms, Wizards of the Coast (mm, 302 pages)
Publication date: June 2004, USA & Canada & UK

Newton's Wake: A Space Opera by Ken MacLeod
Tor (hc, 316 pages)
Publication date: 22 June 2004, USA & Canada

Venture: Dark Ages, Book 12 by Matthew McFarland
World of Darkness, White Wolf (mm, 280 pages)
Publication date: June 2004, USA & Canada

Urban Legends: Strange Stories Behind Modern Myths by A.S. Mott
Ghost House Books (trade, 232 pages)
Publication date: 2004, USA & Canada

Ringworld's Children by Larry Niven
Tor (hc, 284 pages)
Publication date: June 2004, USA & Canada

Thinner Than Thou by Kit Reed
Tor (hc, 334 pages)
Publication date: 16 June 2004, USA & Canada

Swiftly: Stories That Never Were and Might Not Be by Adam Roberts
Night Shade Books (hc, 256 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): August 2004, USA

The Lone Drow: The Hunter's Blades Trilogy, Book 2 by R.A. Salvatore
Forgotten Realms, Wizards of the Coast (mm, 370 pages)
Publication date: June 2004, USA & Canada & UK

The First Heroes: New Tales of the Bronze Age edited by Harry Turtledove & Noreen Doyle
Tor (hc, 368 pages)
Publication date: 28 May 2004, USA & Canada

The Autumn Castle: Europa Suite, Book 1 by Kim Wilkins
Victor Gollancz (hc, 465 pages)
Publication date: 17 June 2004, UK

Eden: The Novel by Ken Wisman
1st Books (trade, 185 pages)
Publication date: May 2004, USA

Innocents Aboard: New Fantasy Stories by Gene Wolfe
Tor (hc, 304 pages)
Publication date: 24 June 2004, USA & Canada

The Skein of Lament: The Braided Path, Book 2 by Chris Wooding
Victor Gollancz (hc & trade, 405 pages)
Publication date: 20 May 2004, UK
SF Site Review

Magazines

Fantasy & Science Fiction, July 2004, USA & Canada
Contributors to this issue include: R. Garcia y Robertson, James Stoddard, Daryl Gregory, George Guthridge, John Morressy, Albert E. Cowdrey, Esther M. Friesner.