Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling, Editors

The Essential Bordertown edited by Terri Windling and Delia Sherman
reviewed by Robert Francis
The locale is a kind of cultural DMZ between our mundane world and the Realm of Faerie. Most of the stories at least touch, if not center on, the cultural clashes between elves and humans, or the small group of folk trying to forge a new synthetic culture from both.

Revelations edited by Douglas E. Winter
reviewed by Alex Anderson
This anthology is a strong piece of work by all the authors involved. Each story is unique in style and voice, standing apart from its comrades. Thus, Alex concludes, the anthology is captivating, successful, and brilliant.

A Galaxy in a Jar by Laurel Winter
reviewed by Chris Przybyszewski
The idea of a supernatural being of omnipotent power is standard fair. However, the poet turns this being into a child, one that is mischievous and up past her bedtime. This child god has a precious existence in her possession and also has a grasp at the wonder and beauty inherent there. The reader does not know specifically if the Godlet has specific knowledge of the creatures inside the jar, rather than a view of the celestial planes in general.

Secret of the Sands by Leona Wisoker
reviewed by Dominic Cilli
This is an extremely intricate novel and tells a complex tale set in a desert society that is presided over by a king, yet ruled by Desert Lords and the mysterious ha'rethe told through two alternating storylines. The first is the story of Idisio, a common street thief who accidently picks the pocket of Cadaf Scratha, a desert lord, and ends up embroiled in the political machinations of the king and the desert families. The second is the story of Lady Alyea, one-time lover and trusted friend and advisor to the king, who is asked to travel deep into the desert to preside over the lands of Cadaf Scratha while he completes a mission for the king.

King of Infinite Space by David Wolf
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Anyone who has ever left the city to find peace and security in the country has learned that small towns are where things really happen. Underneath that soft, furry underbelly of rural life lie more secrets, cover-ups, and shenanigans than metropolitan areas can hope to match.

Skullport by Joseph C. Wolf
a gaming module review by John O'Neill
It's an impressive accomplishment and, like all good city supplements, it's worth buying even for those unlikely to drop it wholesale into a campaign. You will find plenty of fascinatingly detailed material within, from the vast criminal empire of the ancient, paranoid beholder known only as The Eye, to the tantalizing tale of the mysterious lady ghost of Skullport's dungeon.

Limbo by Bernard Wolfe
reviewed by Matthew Hughes
In the middle an atomic war (pre-ICBMs) waged by fleets of bombers directed by a Soviet and a Western EMSIAC, Dr. Martine, a neurosurgeon in an airborne MASH plane, has had enough of the murderous madness. He steals an aircraft and, defying the computer, flies to a south Pacific island where he holes up for eighteen years, performing lobotomies on the locals, who have a tradition of skull-boring each other to control aggression.

Bearings: Reviews 1997-2001 by Gary K. Wolfe
reviewed by Paul Kincaid
Two things are different between this volume and its predecessor. In the first place, trivially, this volume carries an introduction by Peter Straub. No famous name introduced Soundings, and to be honest no famous name was needed to introduce it. Wolfe is well enough known and respected in his own right, and it's likely that there aren't many people buying a collection of science fiction book reviews who would need to be told who Gary Wolfe is or why this volume is a good thing.

Gene Wolfe

Crisis on Infinite Earths by Marv Wolfman
an audiobook review by Ivy Reisner
The story opens with the death of Barry Allen as witnessed by Allen himself. What killed him, we soon learn, is a wall of anti-matter that is slowly making its way across, not only Keystone City, not only the Earth, but the entire multiverse. On world after world, the skies bleed to red. Then the shadows come -- creatures that shift between solid and wrath-like and who seek only destruction. Finally, the anti-matter wall sweeps the planet, destroying everything alive.

30th Anniversary DAW Fantasy edited by Elizabeth R. Wollheim and Sheila E. Gilbert
reviewed by Alma A. Hromic
Many of the authors in this anthology are "family" -- writers that the publisher have discovered, nurtured, 'knew them when', as it were -- writers who were with DAW for many years, perhaps for decades. But it doesn't stop there. There are also the so-called 'new babies', the discoveries made in the last few years, names and reputations made by great fantasy sagas read and raised to prominence by a whole new generation of readers.

30th Anniversary DAW Science Fiction edited by Elizabeth R. Wollheim and Sheila E. Gilbert
reviewed by Rich Horton
This anthology features 19 stories by writers who have published books with DAW over the years. They seem to be organized in roughly the order in which the authors first appeared from DAW. Thus the early part of the book features such venerable authors, all of whom have established reputations outside DAW, as Brian Stableford, Brian W. Aldiss, and Frederik Pohl. Later on we see authors known mostly for their recent DAW SF: Lisanne Norman and Julie E. Czerneda, for example.

Writer's of the Future XXIX edited by Dave Wolverton
reviewed by Dave Truesdale
Longtime SF/F readers who for some reason have not yet picked up any of these annual volumes, or those relatively new to SF who might think that since the writers are new and just starting out that it might be an iffy purchase, the writers being as yet untried and not yet proven, one can say to them that they couldn't be more mistaken. Out of the thousands of stories submitted each year, the quarterly and annual winners are carefully vetted by each year's judges for imagination, style, and overall craft, and an inordinately large number have gone on to have stellar careers. It doesn't get any better, or tougher, for the contestants.

The Science of Superman by Mark Wolverton, edited by Roger Stern
reviewed by David Maddox
A strange visitor from another world with powers and abilities far beyond that of mortal men. Our yellow sun makes him faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Superman is the basis for all super heroes and certainly the longest lasting in our history. His exploits, adventures and phenomenal powers are legendary and his costume is one of the most recognizable icons of American civilization. But could a Superman exist in the real world?

Going, Going, Gone by Jack Womack
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Walter Bullitt is an independent man, a freelancer for the government, a voluntary lab rat for psychotropes, a man-about-New-York, with a strong sense of self-preservation. The latest assignment "offered" to him doesn't sit well with his conscience. Could be that he doesn't want to get involved with the notorious Kennedy clan. Certainly, he's more than usually distracted by the arrival of two new female faces in town. And, really, the unannounced company of two ghosts fading in and out whenever the mood hits them isn't adding to his attention span.

Iron Bloom by Billy Wong
reviewed by Sandra Scholes
There aren't many strong female characters in fantasy novels these days, but it is good to see that Billy Wong has included one in his novel From the first few pages, Rose, the heroine is faced with a hulk of a man who doesn't only intend to hurt her; he also has an interest in raping her. The story is a reminder of those video games where the hero or heroine has to wield their way through several hostile enemies. There is a great amount of blood and gore in this...

John Dies at the End by David Wong
reviewed by Sandra Scholes
For those who like to delve into the realms of the unreal and offbeat, this is a really good one. What other cover has a severed hand on it wearing green nail varnish? This is as good an indication as any that what's inside is a fun read. It is an unusual novel that has several influences from some of the most notable horror fiction writers around, H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King and dare one say, Douglas Adams.

The Princess Mage by Maggie L. Wood
reviewed by Sherwood Smith
In this sequel to The Princess Pawn, Willow is still trying to cope with her old-fashioned and determined grandmother, with her mischievous little brother, with her mother being struck down by a suspicious illness, and most absorbingly, with Sir Brand, her boyfriend. Relationships for teens are tough enough without the added hassles of being a princess, a mage still struggling to master magic, and a girl with Earth attitudes. Or should that be Attitude? Her grandmother certainly thinks so -- and sometimes, it seems, so does Brand.

Looking for the Mahdi by N. Lee Wood
reviewed by Donna McMahon
K.B. Munadi is a tough-talking war correspondent who became famous for broadcasting live reports during the Khuruchabja war. What K.B.'s viewers never knew was that "he" was a woman disguising herself as a man so that she could travel freely in the Middle East. Ten years later, she has no intention of passing as a man again, never mind returning to a poverty-stricken hellhole she'd barely escaped. Until she is blackmailed to return accompanied by a humanoid fabricant -- a patented, bio-engineered soldier/spy.

Horrors: Great Stories of Fear and Their Creators by Rocky Wood, illustrated by Glenn Chadbourne
reviewed by Richard A. Lupoff
Certainly an ambitious project, and one worthy of the attempt, this is an attempt to provide a history of gothic literature, taking as its point of departure the famous (or infamous) 1816 party at the Villa Diodati in Italy. There, Lord Byron challenged his companions, Dr. Polidori, Percy Shelley, Claire Claremont and Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (aka Mary Shelley) to a ghost story contest.

The Skein of Lament by Chris Wooding
reviewed by Victoria Strauss
Five years after Lucia's rescue, the Weavers' influence on the nobility of Saramyr has become a stranglehold, and the blight their witchstones have brought upon the land threatens full-scale famine. Though the resistance's reach now extends throughout Saramyr, it's no closer to uncovering the Weavers' secrets, and still not strong enough to openly oppose them. Lucia, who has grown into a fey young woman, is the resistance's titular leader, a semi-mythic role she seems passively to accept, though her mysterious talents, which even she doesn't fully understand, seem to hint at a different destiny.

The Weavers of Saramyr by Chris Wooding
reviewed by Victoria Strauss
In a single night of violence, young noblewoman Kaiku tu Makaima loses everything: home, family, her place in the world. Fleeing from the terrifying shin-shin demons that have attacked her family's estates, Kaiku takes refuge in the forest, together with her handmaiden Asara, who has saved her life. But Asara isn't the loyal servant she pretends to be, and has reasons other than altruism for rescuing Kaiku -- as Kaiku discovers when a hitherto unsuspected power wakes in her, manifesting itself as a blast of fire that incinerates all around her... including, apparently, Asara.

From Black Rooms by Stephen Woodworth
reviewed by Trent Walters
Natalie is a Violet. In this parallel universe, souls communicate to the living world through mediums. Crimes can be solved by talking directly to the victims. Being a Violet means she not only has violet eyes, but that genetically she is one of the rare mediums for speaking to the dead. She has had to be trained to fend off souls from entering her, without her wishing them to. Also, if she wants to speak to a particular soul, she needs a touchstone, something -- usually meaningful to the soul -- that it came in contact with while alive.

Solid by Shelly Workinger
reviewed by Dan Shade
We have nearly one hundred kids with unknown special, genetic designed abilities or attributes. The inoculations of the pregnant mothers were done by your stereotypical mad scientist and his work was carried on by your stereotypical niece who wanted to make his name good. And of course he took his secret to the grave and that makes everyone's job harder.

Worlds That Weren't
reviewed by Steven H Silver
Sokrates and Alkibiades are the two main characters of the editor's story "The Daimon," about a world in which Alkibiades refuses to allow himself to be recalled to Athens, instead continuing the sack of Syracuse and turning his attention to Sparta before returning, triumphantly, to Athens.

The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
reviewed by Sherwood Smith
The time is no longer the English Regency. This novel is set in the late 1820s, when it is apparent that there is no direct heir to the throne. George III's many sons haven't managed to produce a legitimate male heir. Steam engines have been making a cautious appearance between town and country, to the distress of horses, dogs, and people living within range of the vast clouds of smoke. Things have been relatively quiet... until a foreign magician goes missing.

The Grand Tour by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
reviewed by Rich Horton
In this sequel to Sorcery and Cecelia, Kate has married Thomas, Lord Schofield, and become Lady Schofield, and Cecy has married James Tarleton. The four are setting off to the continent for a joint honeymoon tour. Instead of letters, the book is told in alternating sections from Kate's "commonplace book" (in this case mostly a diary) and from a deposition Cecy gives after the events of the novel. Almost immediately trouble strikes in various forms.

Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
reviewed by Margo MacDonald
One of the sweetest fall-outs of the amazing and unsinkable popularity of the Harry Potter books is that the demand for well-written and magical works of fiction for young readers is on the increase. Publishers, very wisely, have jumped at this opportunity to re-publish some of the best of these books, out of print for some time and all but forgotten. We've seen such works as Prince Ombra by Roderick MacLeish, Dogland by Will Shetterley, and A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer reprinted and marketed for young readers and now we may add another to this prestigious list.

Magician's Ward by Patricia C. Wrede
reviewed by Victoria Strauss
Victoria admires Wrede's lively writing style, likable characters, clever dialogue, and command of convincing period detail -- all of which combine to create a swift-paced, entertaining book. Fantasy fans and Regency buffs alike will thoroughly enjoy this sequel to Mairelon the Magician.

John C. Wright

Cuckoo by Richard Wright
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
No matter how rotten your life may be, at least it's your life, right? There is always that last little shred of comfort to cling to. What if you woke up one day to find that you were not you. Not only that, the life you thought you were living is now occupied by a stranger -- living in your house, taking your name, loving your wife. So, you have a sparkly new life, but none of it is familiar, or particularly comforting.

Jaarfindor Remade by Sean Wright
reviewed by David Hebblethwaite
Reality's walls have been breached, and the worlds of Earth and Jaarfindor have become fused. Life in the capital of New Jaarfindor, Queen's Lynn (formerly present-day King's Lynn in Norfolk), presents several challenges: humans rub shoulders with insectiants, and you never know if the person next to you is an android; the mysterious shamutants, living beneath the city, may (it is said) erase your memories if you're not careful; the air is so polluted that decontamination is compulsory whenever you enter a building; and nobody knows what's "Out There" beyond the fog.

The Twisted Root of Jaarfindor by Sean Wright
reviewed by Jakob Schmidt
In line with royal traditions, young Princess Lia-Va has killed her much despised father. But she holds no interest in the throne that is rightfully hers now: an inner voice drives her onto a journey in search of a legendary root, the last piece of a magic puzzle which has been her sole obsession for years. Unfortunately, the roots that are the pieces of this puzzle are also a highly addictive and sought after drug, and Lia-Va's quest itself is turning more and more into a search for the next fix...

Wicked or What? by Sean Wright
reviewed by David Hebblethwaite
Jamey O'Rooke is the fat kid at school, forever being bullied until a couple of strangers mistakenly handed him a mysterious object that was intended for one of his tormentors. Jamey's best friend is Layla, who seems to be on his side but may have her own agenda. And, somewhere else entirely, an individual known as the Third travels across a strange landscape to join them, before it's too late...

New Wave of Speculative Fiction: The What If Factor edited by Sean Wright
reviewed by Jonathan Fesmire
Writers have strange minds. You may feel alone in this, but after reading this book, you can be assured that not only are you in good company, but also your creative mind isn't as strange as some. Thirteen speculative fiction writers contributed to this anthology of stories that will make you pause in your seat, deep in thought, having just glimpsed something stranger than most would imagine.

Slave Trade by Susan Wright
reviewed by Alisa McCune
Rose Rico is a woman with a chip on her shoulder. Rose lives in Mexico in a post-apocalyptic Earth where people just disappear regularly. Rose learns that her mother and the rest of the World Council have entered into an arrangement with aliens called the Domain. In return for technology, Earth provides slaves -- innocent human lives. Through treachery, Rose finds herself in a cube hurtling through space as a slave.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy: The Best and the Brightest by Susan Wright
reviewed by Alexander von Thorn
This book gives a detailed look at the Starfleet Academy experience, and by extension gives us more information about every character who has passed through here. Fans of Star Trek will want to add this book to their collections.

Writer of the Future Chapbooks
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
The names of these 3 chapbook authors may be new to you, but after winning the quarter-finals in the Writer of the Future contest (no connection to L. Ron Hubbard, living or dead), you should prepare to hear their names bandied about.

A Temple Of Forgotten Spirits by William F. Wu
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
The author's imagination and meticulous research takes readers this time into the mind of Jack Hong, a young man with no direction in life. He is ambivalent about his Chinese-American heritage, his past, his future -- everything except his own survival. A meeting with a most unusual visitor in an equally unusual place will set him on the road in search of a mystical creature. To discover what Jack is looking for, he must follow and find the legendary keilin.

Peril's Gate by Janny Wurts
reviewed by William Thompson
Having escaped the plots of the Koriani enchantresses that concluded Grand Conspiracy, Arithon s'Ffalenn flees in winter across Rathain and the empty wastes of Daon Ramon Barrens, hounded by the Armies of Light and his half brother, Lysaer, the Curse of Deshthiere threatening at any moment to overtake him.  Alone, still aware that he is as yet ensnared within the web of the Prime's schemes to undermine the Law of the Major Balance, to break the compact established with the Paravians and grant mankind ascendancy, the Master of Shadow finds himself temporarily abandoned by the Fellowship, who themselves are under sorcerous siege, with no time to spare the s'Ffalenn heir.

Fugitive Prince by Janny Wurts
reviewed by Wayne MacLaurin
Despite its ability to stand as a solo novel, Wayne thinks this book is really meant to be read as a sequel to previous novels in the series, Wars of Light and Shadow.

Flashy Fiction and Other Insane Tales by Jen Wylie and Sean Hayden
reviewed by Trent Walters
Jen Wylie and Sean Hayden take on traditional genre tropes in their short fiction anthology, Flashy Fiction and Other Insane Tales. We run into vampires, zombies, hell, and alien zoos. Each writer brings a personal asset and aesthetic to the collection.