In addition, and before we get to those, I'd like to take a brief moment to highlight a couple of good books I found recently:

• The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl by Tim Pratt (Bantam Spectra, trade, 403 pages, December 2005, USA & Canada)
      Reading this, I detected echoes of Charles de Lint and Tim Powers. It's a friendly, character-driven story with some crazy weird stuff happening. It involves missing people, repressed memories, doorways to other dimensions, avatars of dark gods, old west ghost towns and gunfights, earthquakes, mudslides and what may be the end of the world, all set against the backdrop of a present-day Santa Cruz coffee house full of quirky artists and inspiring artwork. This book has more polish and fewer loose ends than you might expect from a debut novel. Definitely worth a read.

• The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil by George Saunders (Riverhead Books, trade, 134 pages, September 2005, USA & Canada)
      This slim and somewhat absurd novel can be read as an allegorical satire, about a nation so tiny that it's only big enough for once citizen at a time. The others (all five of them) must wait their turn in the Short-Term Residency Zone of the neighbouring country. This is the status quo until Phil is put in charge of Special Border Activities, and promotes a belief (or at least reluctant concurrence) that the smaller nation is a dangerous threat. This is satire so sharp, it's like eating spaghetti with nothing but a scalpel. It's doubly clever because the subject of the satire is apparent without being too obvious. Reminiscent of works that appeared under strict soviet rule. Ah, how the pendulum does swing!

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

Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur
Bantam (hc, 293 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 7 February 2006, USA & Canada

The Stones of Green Knowe: The Green Knowe Chronicles by L.M. Boston
Odyssey/Harcourt (hc, 137 pages)
Publication date: 2005, USA
    A classic of fantasy for young readers (8 and up), first published in 1976.
SF Site Review of The Green Knowe Series

K-Machines: Players in the Contest of Worlds, Book 2 by Damien Broderick
Thunder's Mouth Press (trade, 336 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 10 April 2006, USA
SF Site Review of Book 1, Godplayers

Cybernetica by Michael J. Cavallaro
Arcanum Books (trade, 469 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): February 2006, USA

Moonlight & Vines by Charles de Lint
Orb, Tom Doherty (trade, 384 pages)
Publication date: 3 January 2006, USA & Canada
    First published in 1999; winner of the World Fantasy Award.

Galactic Pot-Healer by Philip K. Dick
Gollancz (trade, 177 pages)
Publication date: December 2005, UK
    First published in 1969.

A Maze of Death by Philip K. Dick
SF Masterworks #63, Gollancz (trade, 190 pages)
Publication date: December 2005, UK
    First published in 1970.

Echelon's End: PlanetFall by E. Robert Dunn
Haworth Positronic Press (trade, 319 pages)
Publication date: 15 December 2005, USA

The Essential Ellison: A 50-Year Retrospective by Harlan Ellison, edited by Terry Dowling, with Richard Delap & Gil Lamont
Morpheus (trade, 1250 pages)
Publication date: June 2005, USA
    First published in 2001; this edition revised and expanded.

Ithaka by Adèle Geras
Harcourt (hc, 360 pages)
Publication date: January 2006, USA & Canada

Treachery and Betrayal at Jolly Days: Secrets of Dripping Fang, Book 2 by Dan Greenburg
Harcourt (hc, 129 pages)
Publication date: January 2006, USA & Canada
    For ages 8 to 12.

Felaheen: Arabesk Trilogy, Book 3 by Jon Courtenay Grimwood
Bantam Spectra (trade, 360 pages)
Publication date: 3 January 2006, USA
    Solid conclusion to an exceptional series. - nw
SF Site Review

Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton
Del Rey, Ballantine (mm, 988 pages)
Publication date: February 2005, USA & Canada

Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton
Del Rey, Ballantine (hc, 848 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 7 March 2006, USA & Canada
    Conclusion to the Commonwealth Saga, begun with Pandora's Star.

The Great Dune Trilogy by Frank Herbert
Victor Gollancz (trade, 912 pages)
Publication date: 17 November 2005, UK
    Omnibus edition of three classics: Dune (1965), Dune Messiah (1969), and Children of Dune (1976).

The Amphora Project by William Kotzwinkle
Grove Press (hc, 335 pages)
Publication date: 2005, USA & Canada

Tides by Scott Mackay
Pyr, Prometheus Books (hc, 357 pages)
Publication date: December 2005, USA

The Sword of Angels by John Marco
Victor Gollancz (hc & trade, 792 pages)
Publication date: 17 November 2005, UK

Changelings by Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
Del Rey, Ballantine (hc, 277 pages)
Publication date: 3 January 2006, USA & Canada

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip
Magic Carpet Books, Harcourt (mm, 343 pages)
Publication date: 2005, USA & Canada
    Fantasy for readers 12 and up; first published in 1974.

Temeraire by Naomi Novik
Voyager, HarperCollins (hc, 330 pages)
Publication date: 3 January 2006, UK

The Life of Sigmar by Matt Ralphs
Black Library (hc, 96 pages)
Publication date: December 2005, UK & USA & Canada

Necromunda: Kal Jerico: Underhive Bounty Hunter by Gordon Rennie, Karl Kopinski & Wayne Reynolds
Black Library (trade graphic novel)
Publication date: November 2005, USA & Canada & UK

Starship: Mutiny, Book 1 by Mike Resnick
Pyr, Prometheus Books (hc, 286 pages)
Publication date: 26 December 2005, USA

Silver Screen by Justina Robson
Pyr, Prometheus Books (trade, 383 pages)
Publication date: 31 October 2005, USA
    First published in 1999.

Exalted: The Carnelian Flame by Aaron Rosenberg
White Wolf (mm, 288 pages)
Publication date: November 2005, USA & Canada

Old Man's War by John Scalzi
Sci Fi Essential, Tor (trade, 320 pages)
Publication date: 3 January 2006, USA & Canada
    Justifiably compared to the earlier works of Robert A. Heinlein, although this book is a little more sophisticated. It's a clever, charming and all-around fun story. - nw

The Sound of Angels by Lisa Silverthorne
Wildside Press (trade, 192 pages)
Publication date: November 2005, USA
    Debut short fiction collection.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Gollancz (mm, 473 pages)
Publication date: December 2005, UK
    First published in 1989; winner of the Hugo Award. Together with The Fall of Hyperion, this is a must-read SF classic. - nw

The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Gollancz (mm, 535 pages)
Publication date: December 2005, UK
    First published in 1990.

The Endymion Omnibus by Dan Simmons
Gollancz (trade, 983 pages)
Publication date: December 2005, UK
    Previously published separately as Endymion (1996), and The Rise of Endymion (1997).
SF Site Review of The Rise of Endymion

An Accidental Goddess by Linnea Sinclair
Bantam Spectra (mm, 435 pages)
Publication date: 3 January 2006, USA & Canada

Cartomancy by Michael A. Stackpole
Bantam Spectra (trade, 448 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 28 February 2006, USA & Canada

The Mysteries by Lisa Tuttle
Bantam Spectra (trade, 350 pages)
Publication date: January 2006, USA & Canada
SF Site Review

The Pillow Friend by Lisa Tuttle
Bantam Spectra (trade, 335 pages)
Publication date: January 2006, USA & Canada
    First published 1996.

Equinox at Hilltop by Christopher A. Zackey
The Rose & Lily Press, Xlibris (trade, 128 pages)
Publication date: December 2005, USA

New Sunrise Express by Christopher A. Zackey
Xlibris (trade, 132 pages)
Publication date: December 2005, USA
    Together with Skyslanders and Equinox at Hilltop, this book completes what the author refers to as his thematically-linked Lily Trilogy.
SF Site Review of Skyslanders

Magazines

Black Gate, #9, Fall 2005, USA
Contributors to this issue include: Michael Canfield, James Enge, Michael Shultz, William John Watkins, Adam J. Thaxton, Michael Livingston, Larry Tritten, Sean Oberle, Carl Reed, Martin Owton, & Gaie Sebold, Murray Leinster.

Fantasy & Science Fiction, January 2006, USA
Contributors to this issue include: Terry Bisson, Robert Reed, Bruce McAllister, Matthew, Hughes, Michaela Roessner, Tony Sarowitz, Matthew Corradi.

Fantasy & Science Fiction, March 2006, USA
Contributors to this issue include: Albert E. Cowdrey, Alex Irvine, John Morressy, Trent Hergenrader, Mike Shultz, Ef Deal, Robert Reed.

Mythic Delirium, #13, Summer/Fall 2005, USA
A magazine of speculative poetry. Contributors to this issue include: Catherynne M. Valente, Kristine Ong Muslim, Aurelio Rico Lopez III, Marge Simon, Yoon H Lee, Constance Cooper, Jaida Jones, Darrell Schweitzer, Sonya Taaffe, Carma Lynn Park, Lisa M. Bradley, Danny Adams, Abraham Linik, Karen R. Porter, Gary Every, Drew Morse.

Paradox, The Magazine of Historical and Speculative Fiction, #3, Winter 2005-2006, USA
Contributors to this issue include: Bruce Durham, Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, Carrie Vaughn, D.J. Cockburn, Tom Welch, Jack Whyte, Jane Yolen, Darrell Schweitzer.

Shimmer, #1, Autumn 2005, USA
Contributors to this issue include: Kuzhali Manickavel, Edward Cox, Chrissy Ellsworth, Stephen M. Dare, Dario Ciriello, Richard S. Crawford, J. Albert Bell, Michael Mathews, Jeremiah Swanson, Mel Cameron.