Before we get to the new books, I like to offer a few recommendations from my own personal reading, which may include older works as well as more recent material. Here's what I've been reading lately:

• The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman (Pantheon Books, hc graphic novel, 296 pages, 1997 & still being reprinted, USA & Canada)
      What can I say about this classic that hasn't already been said? It's the only graphic novel (read "comic book") ever to have won a Pulitzer Prize. That oughta tell you something. It's a brilliantly unassuming, brutally honest story of a survivor of the Warsaw Jewish ghetto, Auschwitz and then Dachau. But in this telling, the Jews are drawn as mice and the Germans as cats. At the same time, a parallel story is told of the author's relationship with his father -- the survivor relating the overarching story -- who is now an irascible, irritating old man. The two tales are inextricably intertwined. Both are enthralling, and the amalgam is heart-wrenching. It has been described as one of the most potent documents on the Holocaust. It's certainly an important document that should be read. Particularly, it should be read by Americans at this precise point in history. There are too many unnerving similarities between the Nazi propaganda machine and another propaganda machine closer to home.

• V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd (Vertigo, DC Comics, trade graphic novel, 286 pages, 1990 & reprinted thereafter, USA & Canada)
      This is the complete collection of a series from Alan Moore that has been hailed as one of his early classics. It was written in England at the height of the Thatcher era -- and boy, can you tell -- although it could just as easily have been written in America last week. It's dark. It's oppressive. It's about a fascist regime in a near future England following a short but devastating nuclear war in which the UK wasn't really involved. The mysterious hero is a sort of Zorro character in a Guy Fawkes mask -- an escapee from one of the "relocation camps" -- who is trying to awaken the oppressed masses and spur them to take action against their oppressors. It's not an easy job. The sparse, no-nonsense style of writing and the harsh, moody style of illustration combine for a powerful effect. This is a book that is disturbingly relevant today.

• Dummyland: Accomplice, Book 3 by Steve Aylett (Victor Gollancz, trade, 119 pages, November 2002, UK)
      After all that heavy comic-book reading, I decided to indulge in something a little lighter. If you like humorous, absurd, witty and satirical, you should enjoy Steve Aylett. You may find him to be too over-the-top, you may find his humour to be occasionally too adolescent for your taste, but you'll recognize moments of sheer brilliance. I think Aylett's at his best in short works. Each of the Accomplice novels is quite short, so the whole trilogy only runs about 400 pages. By the end, I was finding that even this was becoming a bit long to sustain the gag. I was still laughing -- sometimes out loud, even -- but by the end I'd had enough of Accomplice and its cast of misfits and madmen. Thanks for the memories; now I'm looking forward to seeing what demented hilarity this unorthodox author will create next.

(Books are listed alphabetically by author. Only books received are noted.)

Seven Beyond by Stella Atrium
PublishAmerica (trade, 280 pages)
Publication date: 2002, USA

The Reliquary Ring by Cherith Baldry
Macmillan (trade, 424 pages)
Publication date: 21 February 2003, UK

Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear
Ballantine Books (trade, 430 pages)
Publication date: 11 March 2003, USA & Canada
SF Site Review

W3: Women in Deep Time by Greg Bear
ibooks (mm, 232 pages)
Publication date: March 2003, USA & Canada

13 Phantasms and Other Stories by James P. Blaylock
Ace (trade, 356 pages)
Publication date: 1 April 2003, USA & Canada

The Madness of Priests: Victorian Age Trilogy, Book 2 by Philippe Boulle
White Wolf (mm, 285 pages)
Publication date: February 2003, USA & Canada

Forbidden Wasteland by Jim Branger
Creative Arts Book Company (trade, 127 pages)
Publication date: December 2002, USA

Hyperthought by M.M. Buckner
Ace (mm, 182 pages)
Publication date: February 2003, USA & Canada

Forbidden: Dead God Trilogy, Book 3 by Richard Lee Byers
White Wolf (mm, 285 pages)
Publication date: February 2003, USA & Canada

The Bastard King: The Scepter of Mercy, Book 1 by Dan Chernenko
Roc (trade, 431 pages)
Publication date: March 2003, USA & Canada

Paper Mage by Leah R. Cutter
Roc (mm, 343 pages)
Publication date: March 2003, USA & Canada

The Reclamation Project by Ruth Marie Davis
AmErica House (trade, 349 pages)
Publication date: 2002, USA

Star Wars: Tatooine Ghost by Troy Denning
Lucas Books, Del Rey Ballantine (hc, 403 pages)
Publication date: 11 March 2003, USA & Canada

Babylon Sisters and Other Posthumans by Paul Di Filippo
Prime Books (trade & hc, 323 pages)
Publication date: October 2002, USA

Strangers by Gardner Dozois
ibooks (trade, 191 pages)
Publication date: April 2003, USA & Canada & UK

West of January by Dave Duncan
Bakka, Red Deer Press (trade, 320 pages)
Publication date: 2003, USA & Canada

Schild's Ladder by Greg Egan
Gollancz (mm, 327 pages)
Publication date: 13 February 2003, UK
SF Site Review

Shadow of the Storm by Kurt R.A. Giambastiani
Roc (mm, 350 pages)
Publication date: March 2003, USA & Canada

A Caress of Twilight by Laurell K. Hamilton
Bantam (mm, 441 pages)
Publication date: 6 March 2003, UK
SF Site Review

Fallen Dragon by Peter F. Hamilton
Aspect, Warner Books (mm, 820 pages)
Publication date: 1 March 2003, USA & Canada

The Golden Fool by Robin Hobb
Voyager, HarperCollins (trade, 632 pages)
Publication date: 3 March 2003, UK
SF Site Review

Time Travelers, Ghosts and Other Visitors by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Five Star (hc, 212 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): May 2003, USA

Mojo: Conjure Stories edited by Nalo Hopkinson
Aspect, Warner Books (trade, 341 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): April 2003, USA & Canada

The Merlin Conspiracy by Diana Wynne Jones
Greenwillow Books, HarperCollins (trade, 480 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): April 2003, USA & Canada

Beyond This Dark House poems by Guy Gavriel Kay
Penguin Canada (hc, 120 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): April 2003, Canada

The Best of Dreams of Decadence edited by Angela Kessler
Roc (mm, 338 pages)
Publication date: March 2003, USA & Canada

Giantslayer by William King
The Black Library (mm, 316 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): May 2003, USA

Crossfire by Nancy Kress
Tor (hc, 364 pages)
Publication date: 26 February 2003, USA & Canada
SF Site Review

The Gates of Sleep by Mercedes Lackey
DAW (mm, 446 pages)
Publication date: March 2003, USA & Canada

Joust by Mercedes Lackey
DAW (hc, 373 pages)
Publication date: March 2003, USA & Canada

Witpunk edited by Claude Lalumière & Marty Halpern
Four Walls Eight Windows (trade, 346 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 21 April 2003, USA

From the Pest Zone: Stories From New York by H.P. Lovecraft, edited by S.T. Joshi & David E. Schultz
Hippocampus Press (trade, 150 pages)
Publication date: January 2003, USA

The Human Front by Ken MacLeod & A Writer's Life by Eric Brown
Gollancz (mm double-A side, 90 + 107 pages respectively)
Publication date: 13 February 2003, UK

The Eyes of God by John Marco
Gollancz (mm, 789 pages)
Publication date: 13 February 2003, UK
SF Site Review

Acorna's Rebels by Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
Eos, HarperCollins (hc, 309 pages)
Publication date: 1 February 2003, USA & Canada
SF Site Review

Messiah Node by Lyda Morehouse
Roc (mm, 352 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 3 June 2003, USA & Canada

The Fourth Scenario by Bill Newman
PublishAmerica (trade, 238 pages)
Publication date: 2002, USA

The Goddess Worldweaver, The Seven Circles Trilogy, Book 3 by Douglas Niles
Ace (trade, 356 pages)
Publication date: 4 March 2003, USA & Canada

A Choir of Ill Children by Tom Piccirilli
Night Shade Books (hc, 238 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 21 April 2003, USA & Canada

Signals: The Exploration Chronicles, Books 1 by Kevin D. Randale
Ace (mm, 263 pages)
Publication date: April 2003, USA & Canada

Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days by Alastair Reynolds
Gollancz (hc, 231 pages)
Publication date: 13 February 2003, UK
SF Site Review of Diamond Dogs

SF Site Review of Turquoise Days

Dark Ages: Setite by Kathleen Ryan
White Wolf (mm, 287 pages)
Publication date: February 2003, USA & Canada

Angelica Sharon Shinn
Ace (hc, 485 pages)
Publication date: 4 March 2003, USA & Canada

Horrible Beginnings edited by Steven H. Silver & Martin H. Greenberg
DAW (mm, 316 pages)
Publication date: March 2003, USA & Canada

Science Fiction, The Best of 2002 edited by Robert Silverberg & Karen Haber
ibooks (mm, 400 pages)
Publication date: February 2003, USA & Canada & UK

Norstrilia by Cordwainer Smith
ibooks (trade, 276 pages)
Publication date: March 2003, USA & Canada & UK

Smallville: Whodunnit by Dean Wesley Smith
Aspect, Warner Books (mm, 223 pages)
Publication date: 1 March 2003, USA & Canada

Bitter Waters by Wen Spencer
Roc (mm, 320 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 6 May 2003, USA & Canada

Year Zero by Brian Stableford
Five Star (hc, 314 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): May 2003, USA

Dark Angel: The Eyes Only Dossier compiled by D.A. Stern
Del Rey (trade)
Publication date: 11 February 2003, USA & Canada

Ring by Koji Suzuki, trans. by Robert B. Rohmer & Glynne Walley
Vertical (hc, 352 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 15 April 2003, USA
   Now translated from the Japanese, this creepy novel was made into one of Japan's highest-grossing films, and then remade into the absolute most disturbing film I've ever ever seen: The Ring, from DreamWorks.

The Silver Gryphon edited by Gary Turner & Marty Halpern
Golden Gryphon Press (hc, 330 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): May 2003, USA

Lyonesse II: The Green Pearl and Madouc by Jack Vance
Gollancz, Fantasy Masterworks #35 (trade, 776 pages)
Publication date: 13 February 2003, UK
SF Site Review of Lyonesse I: Suldrun's Garden

Red Thunder by John Varley
Ace (hc, 411 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 1 April 2003, USA & Canada

The Weavers of Saramyr: The Braided Path, Book 1 by Chris Wooding
Gollancz (trade & hc, 400 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): May 2003, UK

Magazines

Black Gate, Spring 2003, USA & Canada
Contributors to this issue include: Peadar O Guilin, Joseph A. McCullough, Todd McAulty, S.C. Smith, Michael H. Payne, Jennifer Busick, Brian A. Hopkins, Don Bassingthwaite, Shawn L. Johnson, Charles R. Tanner.

Fantasy & Science Fiction, May 2003, USA & Canada
Contributors to this issue include: Ellen Klages, Robert Sheckley, Bruce Jay Friedman, Ron Goulart, Arthur Porges, Kit Reed, John Morressy, Harvey Jacobs, Robert Reed.