August seems to be a good month for anthologies, with new collections arriving on the scene from Jane Yolen, Robert Charles Wilson, Ellen Datlow, and Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling. In addition, we have new novels from Nancy Kress, Stephen L. Burns, Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Joan D. Vinge, Nick O'Donohoe, and more. Books are listed alphabetically by author. Only books received are noted. Where available, links to SF Site reviews and book excerpts are provided.

New Arrivals: 1 - 15 August 2000

The Rainy Season James P. Blaylock Ace Fantasy (mass market reprint, 368 pages, $6.99 US/$9.99 Can) Publication date: 1 August 2000 Mass market edition of the 1999 hardcover, another modern gothic tale from James P. Blaylock. He captures the creepy elegance of place, not in the setting of castles and moors, but rather in a neo-Victorian farmhouse and an avocado ranch in Southern California. This novel provides us with a mixture of the mundane and the supernatural, woven together with a smart degree of wit and acuity. Review by Rodger Turner.

Call From a Distant Shore Stephen L. Burns Roc (mass market original, 368 pages, $6.99 US/$9.99 Can) Publication date: 7 August 2000 New novel from the author of Flesh and Silver. "The United Nations' mission to Mars has been plagued with problems since the Ares left Earth's orbit. Indifferent public support, equipment malfunctions, and an ambitious, arrogant first mate are all testing the patience of Commander Jane Dawkins-Costanza. And when she starts hearing voices in her head, she fears the stress of the journey is taking its toll on her mind. But the truth is that Jane is receiving a distress cry. She's not alone. Six people on Earth are also finding their minds invaded by this pleading voice, which claims to be contacting them form Mars's moon Phobos. But nobody on Earth will believe them."

Jean Pierre Targete The Ring: The Sword, the Ring and the Chalice, Book 2 Deborah Chester Ace Fantasy (mass market original, 426 pages, $6.99 US/$9.99 Can) Publication date: 1 August 2000 Second book in the trilogy, sequel to The Sword. "The rebel princess Alexeika is captured and tortured by the evil Grethori -- but is sustained by dreams of the man who will set her free. Prince Gavril yearns to control the dark magick of a cursed sword -- while his desperate betrothed pursues another man's heart. Asked to help protect Gavril, the half-elven Dain continues a quest to fulfill his adoptive father's dying wish. It is a journey that will give him the chance to save the woman he loves -- and will place him at odds with the destiny that he and Alexeika share. A destiny that can only be realized with the help of a long-lost talisman..."

Cliff Nielsen Vanishing Acts edited by Ellen Datlow Tor (hardcover, 384 pages, $24.95 US/$35.95 Can) Publication date: 12 July 2000 This SF anthology includes reprinted stories by Suzy McKee Charnas, Avram Davidson, Karen Joy Fowler, and Bruce McAllister plus 12 new stories from Joe Haldeman, Paul J. McAuley, Ian McDowell, Brian Stableford, Ted Chiang, and others. As the title suggests, each of these stories deals with the issue of endangered species -- "interpreted to include in some cases the human race."

Tom Canty The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror: 13th Annual Collection edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling St. Martin's Griffin (640 pages, trade $17.95 US / hardcover $29.95) Publication date: August 2000 Like its predecessors, this volume casts the widest possible net for the best short fiction of the year, ransacking for their treasure prosperous genre magazines and obscure literary quarterlies, well-publicized anthologies and the smallest of small press chapbooks; and like its predecessors, this is consequently superb. After over 100 closely-printed pages of intensive summary and discussion of the state of the Horror and Fantasy fields in 1999, the editors present a very well-considered 500 pages of short fiction, poems and an essay. Review by Nick Gevers.

Chris Moore Dr Bloodmoney Philip K. Dick Victor Gollancz Millennium (trade, 304 pages, £6.99 UK) Publication date: 10 August 2000 SF Masterworks #32 is Dick's rather bleak novel of post-holocaust America. It's been called the "literary companion to Kubrick's Dr Strangelove." It was written in 1963 and first published two years later under the title Dr Bloodmoney, or How We Got Along After the Bomb. "Seven years after the day of the bombs, Point Reyes was luckier than most places. Its people were reasonably normal -- except for the girl with her twin brother growing inside her, and talking to her. Their barter economy was working. Their resident genius could fix almost anything that broke down. But they didn't know they were harbouring the one man who almost everyone left alive wanted killed."

All Tomorrow's Parties William Gibson Ace Fiction (trade, 278 pages, $13.95 US/$19.99 Can) Publication date: 8 August 2000 on the SF Site Top 10 Books of 1999 This novel concludes the trilogy, set towards the close of the 21st century, that began with Virtual Light and continued in Idoru. Data miner Colin Laney has gone into hiding from the corporations who paid him to hunt nodes, places where data points converge in the galactic expanse of random information. Thanks to the success of 5-SB, an experimental drug he received during tests carried out at the federal orphanage where he grew up, Laney is The Man Who Knows Too Much. 5-SB alters the brain, giving test subjects the ability to focus tightly, to find and follow patterns, to pull the pieces together. Unfortunately, 5-SB subjects eventually succumb to the stalker effect. Review by Charlene Brusso.

John Howe The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle Robert E. Howard Victor Gollancz Millennium (trade, 640 pages, £7.99 UK) Publication date: 10 August 2000 Fantasy Masterworks #8 is the first ever complete chronological collection of Howard's definitive Conan stories, just as he wrote them -- the first volume, that is. More will follow in Millennium's Fantasy Masterworks series. Howard began publishing these stories in the pulp magazines more than 60 years ago now, and Conan has since become a mythic figure of the same stature as Hercules, Achilles or Beowulf. "Conan the Cimmerian: he rose from boy-thief and mercenary to become king of Aquilonia. Neither supernatural fiends nor demonic sorcery could oppose the barbarian warrior as he wielded his mighty sword and dispatched his enemies to a bloody doom on the battlefields of the legendary Hyborian Age."

Charles Robinson The Snow Queen Eileen Kernaghan Thistledown Press (trade, 160 pages, $14.95 Can) Publication date: May 2000 Fantasy and historical realism, magical worlds and polite Victorian society of 19th century Scandinavia combine in this retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale (intended for a YA audience). "At a time when traditional faith is challenged by modern science, the old pagan gods still haunt the northern forests. One of the novel's two heroines, Ritva, lives in this forest with her Saami shaman mother and robber-baron father until a cultured Danish teenager named Gerda is captured and brought to their camp. Gerda has embarked on a dangerous quest to rescue her friend Kai from the Snow Queen, an evil enchantress whose wintry palace lies far to the north. Their quest leads each of the young women to a fuller understanding of their possible roles in the world, and the need for each to find their individual futures on their own terms."

Bob Eggleton Probability Moon Nancy Kress Tor (hardcover, 334 pages, $23.95 US/$34.95 Can) Publication date: July 2000 From the author of the award-winning Beggars trilogy, Maximum Light and Beaker's Dozen, comes this far future novel. "Humanity has expanded into other solar systems using the remnants of the ancient technology of star gates -- instant travel devices left in place by a vanished superrace. But now the human race is in an interstellar war against mysterious aliens, and may be losing. Amid this volatile situation, a new planet is discovered that is inhabited by a humanoid race who always unanimously agree on the truth. A team of scientists is sent to contact and study them, not knowing that their mission is a cover for the military analysis of the planet's moon, which is actually an incredibly ancient artifact -- a ship defended by astonishing advanced technology."

Acorna's World Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough Avon Eos (hardcover, 320 pages, $24 US/$36.50 Can) Publication date: August 2000 This is the 4th Acorna book, featuring the Unicorn Girl. Look for Book 3, Acorna's People, from Avon in mass market paperback in July. It'll contain a teaser chapter from Acorna's World. "Although she has made peace with her Linyaari heritage, Acorna knows that only by returning to the frozen stillness of space will she ever truly feel at home. But the solitude she desires must wait. Answering a faint distress signal leads Acorna to a strange, perfumed world where plants are sentient and think. There she finds a burned-out ship with all the signs of a Khleevi attack. It's been suspected that these enemy aliens have been planning a major assault throughout the region, and now it appears those rumours are true. Facing annihilation of her entire race, Acorna must discover the Khleevi's weakness -- and strike first!"

Walter Velez The Gnomewrench in the Peopleworks Nick O'Donohoe Ace Fantasy (mass market original, 330 pages, $6.50 US/$9.99 Can) Publication date: August 2000 Another humorous adventure of a Gnomewrench novel, in a similar vein to Pratchett's Discworld tales. "Summer, 1945. The war in Europe is winding down, but thanks to their alliance with the gnome-owned, dwarf-run Nieuw Amsterdam Metalworks, Plimstubb Industrial Furnaces still has all the business it can handle. Some of their clients might be a bit -- odd -- but work is work, and Grady Cavanaugh is happy to have a job." Until, that is, gnomish technology gets out of hand. Then it's up to Grady and dwarf friends to find and disable some machines that are more dangerous than even they realize... Review by Todd Richmond of The Gnomewrench in the Dwarfworks.

Michael Cohen Kinsmen of the Grail Dorothy James Roberts Green Knight Publishing (trade, 320 pages, $14.95 US/$20.95 Can) Publication date: June 2000 Arthurian legend, focussing on the quest of Gawain and Perceval for the Holy Grail, first published in 1963 by the author of The Enchanted Cup (1953) and Launcelot, My Brother (1954). "This legend-shrouded artifact... draws Gawain's world-weary soul, even as treason and intrigue in the City of Legions threaten all that Arthur has achieved. Gawain must decide whether to complete his quest or turn aside, with the Grail tantalizingly within his grasp, in order to help Arthur in his hour of greatest need."

Michael Whelan Tangled up in Blue Joan D. Vinge Tor (hardcover, 240 pages, $23.95 US/$34.95 Can) Publication date: August 2000 Although the latest from Joan D. Vinge takes us back to Tiamat, the world of her Hugo Award-winning The Snow Queen, it is nevertheless a stand-alone novel. "BZ Gundhalinu is a by-the-book 'Blue' on the trail of high corruption within the force. When a police raid goes horribly awry, BZ finds himself teamed up with Nyx Lais Tree, a hard-nosed cop with no respect for the rules, and Devony Seaward, a beautiful hooker with a heart of gold. Together these three must fight the corruption of Tiamat and try to expose it before they all end up dead." Noir, suspense, romance, myth and SF all in one package. Review by Rich Horton. Review by Catherine Asaro.

Vincent di Fate The Empire of Isher A.E. Van Vogt Orb, Tom Doherty Associates (trade, 352 pages, $14.95 US/$21 Can) Publication date: July 2000 For the first time ever, the complete story of the Empire of Isher is available in a single volume. The Weapon Makers (1947) and The Weapon Shops of Isher (1951) are compiled here, telling a tale of bizarre adventure sometimes dreamlike fantasy in what is a classic of golden age science fiction.

Ciruelo Cabral A Dragon-Lover's Treasury of the Fantastic edited by Margaret Weis Aspect, Warner Books (mass market reprint, 336 pages, $6.50 US/$8.99 Can) Publication date: August 2000 A mass market reprint of the 1994 trade edition, which includes stories from Anne McCaffrey, Orson Scott Card, Roger Zelazny, George R.R. Martin, Esther M. Friesner, and others. "One of the world's leading dragonists and dracophiles, gathers the greatest classic dragon stories of our time, written by the winners of every award in the fields of fantasy and science fiction." If anyone knows dragons, it certainly ought to be Margaret Weis.

Stephan Martiniere The Perseids and Other Stories Robert Charles Wilson Tor (hardcover, 224 pages, $22.95 US/$32.95 Can) Publication date: August 2000 The author of Darwinia and Bios now offers his first short story collection. The title story won the Aurora Award for short fiction (Canadian SF award) and others in the collection were Nebula or Hugo nominees. Also included are three new stories, written for this collection. The tales herein are somewhat interconnected, although not so much as to fit together as a single narrative (that's what novels are for). These stories are concerned with "large preoccupations, such as the human response to a universe stranger than we can imagine. Throughout are showcased Wilson's suppleness and strength: bravura ideas, scientific rigor, and living, breathing human beings facing choices that matter."

Sister Emily's Lightship and Other Stories Jane Yolen Tor (hardcover, 240 pages, $22.95 US/$32.95 Can) Publication date: August 2000 This book represents the first collection of Jane Yolen's short stories written for adults. As well as the Nebula Award-winning title story, it contains about 25 other tales which saw previous publication in such venues as F&SF Magazine, different Martin Greenberg anthologies, various of the Windling & Datlow Fairy Tales anthologies, and other notable collections -- plus you'll find 3 all-new, never-before published stories. In an afterword, the author talks briefly about the inspiration for each of the stories. All in all, a rare treat for fans of Jane Yolen! Review by Robert Francis.

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