Close To My Heart: New Worlds: An Anthology edited by Michael Moorcock
reviewed by Martin Lewis
"I'm still not entirely sure what this book was doing in my school library. That was the original 1983 edition,
of course, already ten years old by the time I came to read it. Presumably it was part of some job lot of
paperbacks donated to the school because I can't imagine our librarian actively acquiring it. However it got
there though, it was far more attractive than the books that surrounded it."
New Worlds: An Anthology edited by Michael Moorcock
reviewed by Matthew Cheney
Some of the best science fiction stories of the 60s and early 70s are collected here, among them "Running Down" by M. John
Harrison, "Angouleme" by Thomas M. Disch, and "Traveler's Rest" by David I. Masson. For a reader seeking high-quality
writing, there's not much else between these covers, though tastes vary, and certainly some readers will be more impressed by
a handful of the other pieces.
Voice of the Fire by Alan Moore
reviewed by Neil Walsh
This novel is actually a collection of thematically-linked stories, 12 of them, that all take place in Northampton over
a span of 6,000 years. The first story, set in 4,000 BC, is narrated by a simpleton paleolithic nomad, who speaks
in a difficult dialect, with a severely limited vocabulary, strange grammar, and a naively warped understanding of the
world around him. Each succeeding story uses progressively more elegant language as each jumps ahead further in history, until the last
episode, which is set in 1995, the time of the author's writing.
The Courtyard by Alan Moore
reviewed by Matthew Peckham
It's a hard-boiled Lovecraftian tale with
a linguistic angle that plays with the signifying power of uttered words in altered states. The narrator is an FBI covert
agent named Aldo Sax. His unique talent, as he puts it, is anomaly theory, the ability to "[take] the leftover pieces
from various jigsaw puzzles and [see] what picture they make when you put them together." His investigation into a series
of methodologically related homicides has deposited him into a seedy den of iniquity where he proceeds to unravel the mystery.
A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore
reviewed by Charlene Brusso
Meet thirty-year-old Charlie Asher, mild-mannered owner of a thrift shop in colorful San Francisco. Charlie's small business pays the bills, and he
loves his wife Rachel and the brand new baby girl they've just welcomed into the family. As an average "Beta Male" just trying
to get by comfortably in a city known for the unusual, Charlie wouldn't normally stand out from the crowd -- nor would he want
to. But fate has something more planned for Charlie, despite his best efforts to avoid it.
Fluke by Christopher Moore
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Marine behavioral biologist Nate Quinn wants to answer one question: why do whales
sing? He's in the right place to research 'til he drops in a compound in Maui. He has an extremely motley crew backing him up, an
eccentric patron, a reborn whitebread Rastaferian, a tempting research assistant, etc. His rival may have more money and
flash, but they are really the same animal/different plumage.
The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove by Christopher Moore
reviewed by Todd Richmond
The sleepy town of Pine Cove threatens to boil over when their sole clinical
psychiatrist decides to takes all of her patients off anti-depressants after
one of them commits suicide. This is a strangely delightful story with a
zany group of characters, a 100-foot lizard, and a totally unpredictable plot.
Island of the Sequined Love Nun by Christopher Moore
reviewed by Steven H Silver
What is the author of Practical Demonkeeping and
Bloodsucking Fiends up to now? Steven Silver investigates.
Demon Hunter X by Jim Moore
a gaming module review by Don Bassingthwaite
Think of the book as a haiku or a piece of calligraphy: the
best expression in the fewest number of words or strokes. This is a clean,
spare book and fabulous because of it.
Carolan's Concerto by Caiseal Mór
reviewed by Alma A. Hromic
The back blurb on this book calls it a "joyous romp" -- and never has a truer blurb been written. It
has the kind of legendary hybrid Celto-Catholic vigour which seems to have originated
in, and flourished nowhere other than, old Ireland. This is the sort of world where it is not only possible but practically
expected of you to go straight from a mid-winter revel with the Sidhe in the Hollow Hills to the Christmas Midnight Mass,
by way of a confession that a priest is not only expected to believe verbatim but also to forgive and, much harder, tolerate.
Sinning In Sevens edited by Silvana Moreira and Antonio de Macedo Simetria
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
This may be your first look into the world of Portuguese SF and fantasy.
The publisher, Simetria FC & F, is the Portuguese language
sibling to SFWA and BSFS. Thanks to this fantastic bilingual anthology,
anglophone readers can now discover the rich vein of talent in Portugal and
Brazil.
Spin Control by Chris Moriarty
reviewed by Donna McMahon
Arkady seems to be a lamb sent to slaughter. Nothing in his sheltered, heavily socialized upbringing in a deep space creche with hundreds
of identical A-series Rostov Syndicate clones has prepared him for being dumped on a dying Earth as a pawn in a cynical and violent
espionage game. He's never been outside Syndicate space before, never mind on the ground in war-ravaged Israel among un-engineered humans.
Spin Control by Chris Moriarty
reviewed by Greg L. Johnson
Spin Control is the author's second venture into the universe she first crafted in Spin State. But
whereas Spin State was high-tech, hard SF set in space and alien environments, Spin Control, as the title
implies, is a claustrophobic, intense look at the politics of a near-future earth, and the growing split between what's
left of humanity on Earth and its post-human descendants in space.
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Leopard Lord by Alanna Morland
reviewed by Victoria Strauss
Were-leopards, dueling deities, and true love meet in this romantic
fantasy adventure. Varian is the heir to Leopard's Gard, a barony
whose mountainous lands form a barrier between the populous countries
of the south and the northern wastelands controlled by an evil, nameless god.
NightScape by David Morrell
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
In his introduction, the author reflects on his
childhood and his realization of the pain his mother suffered throughout her life. The result is that all of these stories, unbeknownst
to him, have a theme of obsession. Every person in this collection gets an idea in their head, and it haunts them. They
all pay a price for it. Sometimes things end well despite this price, sometimes not, just as in life.
The Uglimen by Mark Morris
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
It's so easy to equate evil with the grotesque. Who doesn't fear the razor-grin of the moray eel, but squeal with delight at the sight of
dolphins playing happily offshore? After the thousands of years humans have been around, you'd think we would have gotten past that
superficial analysis, but we still believe anything "imperfect" might hurt us. Maybe that why the evil behind beautiful masks is so
difficult to perceive until it's much too late.
Paraspheres edited by Rusty Morrison and Ken Keegan
reviewed by David Soyka
This anthology has a mouthful of a subtitle -- "Extending Beyond the Spheres of Literary and Genre Fiction – Fabulist
and New Wave Fabulist Stories." It reflects the latest categorical gyrations, although, to their credit, the discussion
the editors offer is actually quite straightforward. Essentially, their position is "that there are really at least
three different kinds of fiction: genre, literary (in its realistic, character-based sense), and a third type of fiction
that really has no commonly accepted name, which does have cultural meaning and artistic value and therefore does not
fit well in the escapist formula genres, but which has non-realistic elements that exclude it from the category of literary fiction."
Conjunctions: 39 -- The New Wave Fabulists edited by Bradford Morrow
reviewed by William Thompson
Boasting some of the most well-known names associated with contemporary fantastic fiction and accompanied by
essays from noted critics John Clute and Gary K. Wolfe, one approaches this anthology with a degree of anticipation.
Expectation is perhaps also whetted by the format of its publication: this respected literary
journal. Rarely does fantastic fiction receive such a forum, let alone acknowledgement in an academic press. The reader
might therefore justifiably expect to read, as the publication release promises, a gathering of "bold, distinctive fiction."
The SFWA European Hall of Fame edited by James and Kathryn Morrow
reviewed by Steven H Silver
Every few years, American editors seems to rediscover that there is science fiction beyond the borders of the United States. When
this happens, collections appear spotlighting the work of Australian, or Canadian, or European science fiction authors. The latest
rediscovery has now been made under the auspices of the SFWA and has resulted
in this anthology of sixteen short stories by European authors representing thirteen linguistic traditions.
Only Begotten Daughter by James Morrow
reviewed by Martin Lewis
Every month Murray Katz supplements his income by donating to the local sperm bank. However, one month in 1974
something unusual happens. Murray's donation spontaneously becomes a cell cluster, a potential human. This can
mean only one thing: immaculate conception. Murray's cell cluster is the daughter of God. He steals her and the
ectogenesis machine that supports her and takes her back to his lighthouse on the Atlantic where he christens her Julie.
The Eternal Footman by James Morrow
reviewed by David Soyka
The author ponders the age old question of why God oft-times seems to be so
uncaring. Some may not find the answer particularly comforting, and
certainly there are those who will find it sacrilegious. But if you happen
to share the author's view that what's really sacrilegious is a God who
permits evil, you'll be moved to nod your head in agreement. Not to mention
chuckling at the absurdity of it all.
Blameless in Abaddon by James Morrow
reviewed by Steven H Silver
Morrow's satirical writings convey the sense of an author
who believes in some sort of divine creature (although
not necessarily religious) and who is trying, through writing, to understand.
Bar Crawl of the Damned by William Morton
reviewed by Kristen Pederson
The art is well done in a clear, representational pen and ink style
that isn't too artsy. The comic follows the adventures of
Kurt, a big, round, terminally cheerful biker-leather-Punisher-t-shirt-wearing
werewolf with a frightening capacity for alcohol and Sean, a pasty and cadaverous
vampire with blank eyes and a slightly more bemused and confused expression.
Malachi's Moon by Billie Sue Mosiman
reviewed by A.L. Sirois
Vampires are created by a mutated form of the human disease named porphyria. The
sickness does kill most of its victims, but some arise from a death-like state as vampires, supernatural
beings who can live for centuries, shape-shift, and even dissolve themselves into a mist. The author's vampires
come in three varieties: Predators, corresponding most closely to the classical type of vampire familiar to
us from films and books; Naturals, who try to get by as more or less human beings; and Cravens, physically
impaired vampires who cannot stand the light of day and who are too weak to supply themselves with blood.
Urban Legends: Strange Stories Behind Modern Myths by A.S. Mott
reviewed by Chris Przybyszewski
Check your e-mail. What sort of letters do you get? There will be the normal collage of friends sending well wishes (or otherwise),
posters to your online journal, maybe a listserv message or two. There will, of course, be the
endless reams of spam mail that clog every pore of electronic communications.
There will also be, maybe even once or twice a week, some wild story told by a friend of a friend.
The Magic Ring by Baron de la Motte Fouqué
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
The book, eruditely and seamlessly mixing elements of Arthurian and later chivalric romances, Norse/Germanic myths, Gothic
trappings, and Christian-chivalric ethics, is a clear precursor to William Morris' mediaeval romances, George Macdonald's
spiritual fantasies, and to Richard Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung. Macdonald's fantasies and particularly his
works on literary theory, along with and Morris' early fantasy works are known to have been an influence on Tolkien, and
some more extreme views argue that Tolkien's distaste for Wagner and what his work represented led him to write
The Lord of the Rings as an cultural antidote to that of Wagner.
A Critical History of Doctor Who on Television by John Kenneth Muir
reviewed by Steven H Silver
Originally published in 1999, A Critical History of Doctor Who on Television covers the quintessential BBC television
series from before its debut on November 23, 1963 through its final airing on December 6, 1989. In addition to examining the
individual story lines that the seven incarnations of the Doctor and his companions lived through, the author
provides a context for the television series.
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