Milky Way Marmalade by Mike DiCerto
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
Caffrey Quark, retired interplanetary hunter and purveyor of exotic meats is just innocently travelling through space when he comes across a
drifting jukebox. Upon hearing the late 60s-early 70s rock music borne upon the strange black discs, he undergoes a spiritual epiphany
and books a trip through time to mid-60s New York City, to live the music as a member of the progressive rock
group Milky Way Marmalade. But a Gallagher Plus-like android with a few loose circuits, its un-deceased creator, a dog-like
counter-tyranny operative, and a hovering ship's-computer entity, not to mention Nefarious Wretch, a music-hating fascist-megalomaniac, have
other plans.
A Small and Remarkable Life by Nick DiChario
reviewed by Steven H Silver
Set in rural New York in the 1860s, the novel tells the story of Tink Puddah's life and death. Mirroring Tink's
life is the character of Jacob Piersol, the preacher in Skanoh Valley. Following in his father's footsteps, Jacob is constantly
trying to prove himself his father's equal and sees Tink's failure to accept Christianity as one of his major failings.
What Jacob doesn't know is that Tink, whom everyone in town refers to as a foreigner, is, in fact an alien.
A Shortcut In Time by Charles Dickinson
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Josh Winkler calls himself an artist, but his main project is wasting time.
That he should be the first person to confess to being taken for a ride on the time-mangling footpaths of Euclid, Illinois, is
one of those cruel practical jokes fate plays on people. Take the flakiest, least respected member of the community and make him
the messenger for an unbelievable secret...
Dorsai Spirit by Gordon R. Dickson
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
Dorsai Spirit is an omnibus edition of the two first novels of the Dorsai series. Dorsai is a world
where the whole culture is dedicated to the way of the warrior, the solider, where the men leave to become paid solders
in other people's wars while the women stay home to defend the world. The first book, Dorsai, is about Donal Grahame,
a young man who has always known that he was unusual. In The Spirit of Dorsai, a young woman named Amanda
tells the story of the two other amazing women to have held her name.
The Dragon in Lyonesse by Gordon R. Dickson
reviewed by A.L. Sirois
This light fantasy (part of a loosely connected series) is a fast-moving,
inventive, enjoyable book. Jim Eckert is a 20th century mathematician who
has been swept back in time to a 14th century world where magic works. Here
Jim becomes, reluctantly, known as Sir James, the Dragon Knight, largely
because of his ability to turn himself (or, more humorously, parts of
himself) into a whacking great dragon at will!
By Force of Arms by William C. Dietz
reviewed by Marc Goldstein
The Confederacy, a precarious coalition of alien species, has just survived a mutiny and a plot to overthrow the
confederate leadership thanks to the efforts of Colonel Bill Booly. But before the Confederacy can pause to
rebuild, a new danger emerges. This time, the stakes are even higher, and the future of all life hangs in the balance.
Mysterious aliens called Thrakies have moved into Confederate territory, carrying with them a deadly secret.
Imperial Bounty by William C. Dietz
reviewed by Leon Olszewski
Leon figures this one will be enjoyed by fans of William C. Dietz, as
well as those who like the stories of Steve Perry or Mike Resnick. It's
an action-adventure tale, fast-paced with surprises and humor.
Infinite Worlds:
The Fantastic Visions of Science Fiction Art by Vincent di Fate
reviewed by Steven H Silver
Although Steven found this book to be less than sufficient as a textual
reference and history of science fiction art, it is nevertheless a good
introduction to the subject. It offers many tantalizing
samples, leaving you with the desire to see more.
Technophobia!: Science Fiction Visions of Posthuman Technology by Daniel Dinello
reviewed by Paul Kincaid
During 2006 there has been an alarming increase in the incidence of measles in the UK. This
follows on from an increase in mumps noted during 2005. The return of childhood diseases that had declined
to almost negligible levels before now is a result of mass technophobia. Earlier this century it was claimed that the
standard MMR vaccine (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) could cause autism. This claim remains unproven.
Technophobia wins the day.
The Shivered Sky by Matt Dinniman
reviewed by Alisa McCune
Imagine waking up naked in the middle of a vast beach with no ocean in site. Not only do you not know who you are -- but you have no
clue if you are dead or alive -- in heaven or hell. Then others begin arriving in the same condition.
This world is not heaven or hell -- it is another existence altogether.
The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of by Thomas M. Disch
reviewed by David Soyka
This book is as clever as its moniker in explaining (a bit hyperbolically, perhaps, but fittingly for the
genre) its somewhat misleading subtitle of "How Science Fiction Conquered the World."
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Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
reviewed by Charlene Brusso
This book is companion to the popular fantasy series The Spiderwick Chronicles, but
you don't need to have read the Chronicles, to enjoy this gorgeous tome.
The opening chapters contain all manner of helpful information for those seeking to explore the world of fantastical
creatures. For example, fairies like milk and are drawn to it; they like lukewarm the best. And for getting rid of them, a
bag of salt is likewise handy.
The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
reviewed by Charlene Brusso
The series opens with the Grace family, moving into their great aunt Lucinda's
decrepit old Victorian house. Mom tries to put a hopeful spin on things, but the Grace children -- daughter Mallory, the oldest,
and twins Simon and Jared (our narrator) -- are not happy campers. Aunt Lucinda's house is full of cobwebs and creaky old furniture,
untrustworthy electricity, and a strange scrabbling in the walls.
While investigating the noises, Jared discovers a secret room full of pilfered knick-knacks. This is home to the
grumpy household brownie Thimbletack, who doesn't want outsiders in his house.
Blood Moon by Sharman DiVono
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
This novel invents a catastrophe on the scale of the Challenger explosion, but with even more
questions and with stranger answers. This is a tragedy beyond explanation and beyond mankind's reach.
Any investigation is going to be carried out far from home, in a hostile environment.
Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow
reviewed by Matthew Cheney
The author deserves a lot of credit for writing a book like this one,
because he could have written an easier book, a tamer book, a book that wasn't so goofy or passionate or so every which
way, so loose. He could have written a book that held together better, that followed its premises a bit farther, that
was shorter and sharper and shockier, but that book would be a less charming book, a more ordinary one.
Eastern Standard Tribe by Cory Doctorow
reviewed by Greg L. Johnson
A man sits on the roof of a psychiatric hospital, his mind poised on the edge of a question: Is it better to be smart or happy?
Art is a member of the Eastern Standard Tribe, working in London to undermine the working of companies located in Greenwich
Mean. Instantaneous global communication has produced a newly-emerging social structure in which people organise themselves not
necessarily by the geographic area in which they live, but by the sub-culture they most personally identify with.
A Place So Foreign by Cory Doctorow
reviewed by Peter D. Tillman
This is the author's first collection, and it's a nice one.
You can easily judge this for yourself, as he's put up six of the nine stories in the book for free download, along
with Bruce Sterling's perceptive introduction.
Down And Out In The Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow
reviewed by Martin Lewis
The problem with utopia is that it's boring. Post-scarcity environments tend to be lacking in dynamic tension. Whilst we would like to live
in them, we don't necessarily want to read about them. One solution to this is a good old fashioned murder. As Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon
recently showed, even immortality doesn't have to be an impediment to a murder mystery. It is just such a murder that frames
this debut novel, but the actual meat of the story is social politics.
The Area 51 Series by Robert Doherty
reviewed by Nathan Brazil
Long before The DaVinci Code, another writer was putting together puzzle pieces drawn from the most enduring mysteries
of antiquity and modern mythology. The series does not purport to be fact, it's entirely fictional and
that allows its author license to bend the data as he chooses. Fortunately, this only adds to the fun, and quite often the
ingenious linkages he comes up with make a seductive kind of sense. The author's legend peppered prose is filled with wonderfully
entertaining cod science, shoring up an endlessly twisting plot strewn with edge-of-the-seat scenarios.
Mordant's Need by Stephen R. Donaldson
reviewed by Steve Lazarowitz
Terisa surrounds herself with mirrors, in an attempt to prove to herself she exists. Geraden is clumsy and always getting himself
into trouble. One day, he accidentally crashes into her apartment through one of the mirrors, and asks her to return with him to
Mordant, and, Terisa, being the non-entity she is, can't say no. She travels through the mirror into Mordant, where mirrors don't cast
reflections, but are used by wizards called imagers, who use the power of mirrors to do all sorts of interesting and improbable things.
The Runes of the Earth by Stephen R. Donaldson
reviewed by William Thompson
It has been nearly thirty years since he published his first novel, Lord Foul's Bane, the start of twin
trilogies collectively known as The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. Immediately recognized as the
most important and original work of epic fantasy after Tolkien, it intentionally parodied the themes and archetypes established
in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, subverting these motifs to address the sources and nature of despair that
in part informed his consolatory fiction. The series also represented a repudiation of much of the Christian values and romance
underlying Tolkien's writing, abetted by the use of a central character that actively undermined the ideals of heroism found in
his novels, as well as most subsequent and imitative high fantasy.
Reave the Just and Other Tales by Stephen R. Donaldson
reviewed by Thomas Myer
The stories are all good, far better than you will read in
your average short story collection, all of them infested with inventive
characters and fantastical aladdinesque settings.
"Penance" is probably the best story of the lot, with
"The Woman Who Loved Pigs" a very close second (we're talking nano-meters, here).
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