Before we get to that, here's a bit of what I've been reading lately:

• City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer (Prime, hc, published July 2002, USA)
     I had already read the Cosmos edition from 2001, but this Prime edition is about twice as long, with 60,000 additional words of material. It's utterly brilliant. All of it. VanderMeer writes his ominous city of Ambergris into a fully tangible reality. And he does it so skillfully, so cleverly, and using such unusual storytelling forms, that it's truly a unique delight to read.
     One story, for example, is presented as a pseudo-scientific treatise on squid, including about 20 pages of intermittently annotated bibliography. The actual story, however, isn't over until you get to the end of the bibliography. Similarly, the final section of the book is a 40-some page glossary. It was at a few pages from the end, under the entry on the Ambergrisian writer, Sirin, where I realized the true depth of what VanderMeer has done. He's created a fiction within a fiction (et cetera, for at least two further layers, if not more) -- but I'm still not entirely certain which aspect is fictional within the fiction, and which is factual within the fiction, and which may be the ultimate reality. Actually, I'm not going to think about it any longer for fear of waking up in Ambergris...
     If ever there was a book that must be read, this is it. And it does encourage you to think a bit, so if you should look up from the pages to find yourself in a strange and vaguely disturbing city, just make sure you get off the streets before sundown on the day of the festival of the freshwater squid.
  SF Site Review

• Fables: Legends in Exile - Book 1 by Bill Willingham, illustrated by Lan Medina, Steve Leialoha and Craig Hamilton (Vertigo/DC Comics, graphic novel, 126 pages, published December 2002, USA & Canada)
     Snow White, Bluebeard, Ol' King Cole, Prince Charming, the Big Bad Wolf, Beauty and the Beast -- all these and many more characters from fable and fairy tale have taken residence in contemporary New York City, refugees from their beloved homelands and secretly living side by side with mere mortals. When one of their number disappears under gory circumstances, foul play is suspected and an investigation ensues.
     An ingenious introduction to this world of fairy tale characters living in modern New York. It's also a pretty good detective story, but it relies on the art as well as the text to reveal all the clues and tell the whole tale, so pay attention. This is a comic that is definitely worth a look.

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

Morgawr: The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara, Book 3 by Terry Brooks
Earthlight (mm, 403 pages)
Publication date: 6 May 2003, UK
SF Site Review

The Scoundrel Worlds by Chris Bunch
Roc (mm, 352 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 4 August 2003, USA & Canada

Death Masks: The Dresden Files, Book 5 by Jim Butcher
Roc (mm, 384 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 5 August 2003, USA & Canada
SF Site Review of Summer Knight, Book 4

Kushiel's Avatar by Jacqueline Carey
Tor (720 pages)
Publication date: April 2003, USA & Canada
SF Site Review of Kushiel's Chosen

Cities edited by Peter Crowther
Victor Gollancz (hc, 292 pages)
Publication date: 17 April 2003, UK
   Foursight anthology, which contains the following novellas: A Year in the Linear City by Paul di Filippo; The Tain by China Miéville; Firing the Cathedral by Michael Moorcock; and V.A.O. by Geoff Ryman.
SF Site Review of A Year in the Linear City

SF Site Review of The Tain

Wind Walker: Starlight & Shadows, Book 3 by Elaine Cunningham
Wizards of the Coast (hc, 345 pages)
Publication date: April 2003, USA & Canada

Otherwhens, Otherwheres: Favorite Tales by John Dalmas
Silver Dragon Books (trade, 171 pages)
Publication date: 2003, USA
SF Site Review

Woodbyrne: The Fallen Forest by James D'Arienzo Jr.
Moo Press (trade, 346 pages) Publication date: May 2003, USA & Canada

Milky Way Marmalade by Mike DiCerto
Zumaya Publications (trade, 311 pages)
Publication date: 2003, USA

The Physiognomy by Jeffrey Ford
Tor (mm, 244 pages)
Publication date: 16 May 2003, UK
   Tor UK seems determined to maintain their same high standards established in North America. This book is a reprint of the 1998 World Fantasy Award winner.
SF Site Review

The Dragon's Doom: The Band of Four, Book 4 by Ed Greenwood
Tor (hc, 416 pages)
Publication date: May 2003, USA & Canada

Tropic of Night by Michael Gruber
William Morrow, HarperCollins (hc, 419 pages)
Publication date: 18 March 2003, USA & Canada

Dreamer of Dune: The Biography of Frank Herbert by Brian Herbert
Tor (hc, 576 pages)
Publication date: April 2003, USA & Canada

The Merlin Conspiracy by Diana Wynne Jones
Greenwillow Books, HarperCollins (trade, 468 pages)
Publication date: April 2003, USA
   For ages 10 an up.

Cosmic Women by Margaret Karmazin
Piper's Ash Limited (chapbook, 64 pages)
Publication date: 2003, UK

Giantslayer: Gotrek & Felix, Book 7 by William King
The Black Library (mm, 317 pages)
Publication date: May 2003, USA & Canada

Skavenslayer: Gotrek & Felix, Book 2 by William King
The Black Library (mm, 311 pages)
Publication date: May 2003, USA & Canada
   First published in 1999.

Polyphony, Vol. 2 edited by Deborah Layne, assoc. editor Jay Lake
Wheatland Press (trade, 297 pages)
Publication date: 2003, USA
   Second in a biannual anthology series featuring original short fiction. This volume includes works from Michael Bishop, Jack Dann, Carol Emshwiller, Lisa Goldstein, Alex Irvine, Bruce Holland Rogers, Lucius Shepard and many more.

Vincalis the Agitator by Holly Lisle
Warner Aspect (mm, 591 pages)
Publication date: 1 May 2003, USA & Canada
SF Site Review

The Never War: Pendragon, Book 3 by D.J. MacHale
Aladdin, Simon & Schuster (mm, 337 pages)
Publication date: May 2003, USA

Wolfskin by Juliet Marillier
Tor (hc, 496 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): June 2003, USA & Canada

Shades of Night, Falling: The Twilight Zone, Book 1 by John J. Miller
ibooks (trade, 267 pages)
Publication date: May 2003, USA & UK & Canada
   First novel in a new trilogy based on the TV series.

Slave Ring: Clan Brujah Trilogy, Book 1 by Tim Dedopulos
White Wolf (mm, 285 pages)
Publication date: May 2003, USA & Canada

Firebirds edited by Sharyn November
Firebird, Penguin (trade, 432 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): September 2003, USA & Canada
   An anthology of original fantasy and science fiction for readers 12 and up. Includes works from Lloyd Alexander, Emma Bull & Charles Vess, Kara Dalkey, Nancy Farmer, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Diana Wynne Jones, Patricia A. McKillip, Garth Nix, Nancy Springer, and more.

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
HarperCollins (trade, 272 pages)
Publication date: 13 May 2003, USA
   A Discworld story for readers aged 12 and up.

T2: The Future War by S.M. Stirling
HarperEntertainment (hc, 368 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): August 2003, USA & Canada
SF Site Review of T2: Infiltrator

The Seven Deadlies: Trilogy of the Fallen, Book 2 by Greg Stolze
White Wolf (mm, 285 pages)
Publication date: May 2003, USA & Canada

The Light: An Alien Abduction by Michael L. Thal
Adventure Book Publishers (trade, 245 pages)
Publication date: 2002, USA & Canada

The Silver Gryphon edited by Gary Turner & Marty Halpern
Golden Gryphon (hc, 370 pages)
Publication date: May 2003, USA & Canada
   An anthology of stories from James Patrick Kelly, Jeffrey Ford, Michael Bishop, Kage Baker, Richard A. Lupoff, Kevin J. Anderson, Howard Waldrop, Paul Di Filippo, Geoffrey A. Landis, George Zebrowski, Ian Watson, Lucius Shepard, Warren Rochelle, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Richard Paul Russo, Robert Reed, Andy Duncan, R. Garcia y Robertson, Neal Barrett Jr., and Joe R. Lansdale.

Jaws of Darkness by Harry Turtledove
Tor (hc, 576 pages)
Publication date: April 2003, USA & Canada

Gideon's Dawn: The Pearlsong Refounding, Book 1 by Michael D. Warden
Barbour (trade, 527 pages)
Publication date: March 2003, USA

The Court of the Midnight King by Freda Warrington
Pocket Books, Simon & Schuster (mm, 575 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 2 June 2003, UK

Mistress of Dragons by Margaret Weis
Tor (hc, 400 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): June 2003, USA & Canada

The Allegiance of Man: The Book of Man, Book 3 by Jane Welch
Voyager, HarperCollins (mm, 516 pages)
Publication date: 22 April 2003, UK
SF Site Review of Dawn of a Dark Age, Book 1

Dark Ages: Lasombra by David Niall Wilson
White Wolf (mm, 286 pages)
Publication date: April 2003, USA & Canada

Magazines

Fantasy & Science Fiction, July 2003, USA & Canada
Contributors to this issue include: Adam-Troy Castro, Al Michaud, Charles Coleman Finlay, Nick DiChario, Eyal Teler, Carol Emshwiller.

Interzone, March 2003, UK
Contributors to this issue include: Nicholas Waller, Zoran Zivkovic, Nick Wood, Gary Budgen, Dominic Green, plus an interview of Martha Wells.

Paradox: The Magazine of Historical and Speculative Fiction, issue 1, Spring 2003, USA
Contributors to this issue include: Rita Oakes, Brandon Alspaugh, Alan Smale, Robert J. Santa, Ian Creasey, Brian Stableford, James C. Stewart, Wendy A. Shaffer, plus an interview with Kevin Baker.