My personal ready of late has been mostly out-of-genre, including things like Joseph Conrad, William James, Mémoires de Monsieur D'Artagnan (which was the inspiration for Dumas' Three Musketeers), and a biography of Crazy Horse. Turning to something lighter, I decided to check out a couple of graphic novels that recently hit the shelves:

• The Maxx, Volume 6 by Sam Kieth (Wildstorm, DC Comics, trade graphic novel, March 2006, USA & Canada)
      This was originally published in individual issues as "Friends of the Maxx" 1-3, and follows some peripheral characters from the larger series outside the context of that overall story arc which ended in volume 5. This material is supplemental to that, and it could be read entirely on its own merit with no prior knowledge of the Maxx storyline or major characters. The first story (what was issue 1 of FotM) follows the hopelessly messed up relationship between Mickey and Dude in their early years, as they both struggle for independence and respect (from each other and from the world at large). The next story (issues 2 & 3 of FotM) follows the road trip of Ira, just out of prison, and his uncle Charley, who is concerned that Ira has become a pansy-assed liberal and wants to make a man out of him. Mickey & Dude are depressing in their hopeless and out-of-control spiral away from their dreams, although they do manage to find solace in each other; Ira and Charley are hilarious and ultimately hopeful in their chaotic odyssey of being taken advantage of by car-jackers, opportunists, and serial killers. The final few pages are a throw-away 2-d version of what was originally a showcase of 3-d Maxx art, which add nothing to the book in hand. If you're not familiar with the work of Sam Kieth, this book would provide an excellent introduction to his deeply warped and charming style.

• Cooties: Lenore, Volume 3 by Roman Dire (Slave Labor Graphics, trade graphic novel, March 2006, USA & Canada)
      And speaking of deeply warped, Cooties collects issues 9-12 of Roman Dirge's continuing adventures of "the cute little dead girl." It's also bizarrely charming -- at least it can be if you appreciate black humour and gratuitous gore. Although this book continues to be episodic, there is also a more coherent storyline being followed than in previous volumes. In addition, the artwork is noticeably cleaner: where it used to appear that the art of Lenore was the creation of a demented child, now it looks like a more sophisticated artist creating in the style of a demented child, which is probably the point after all. The adventures of a morally ambivalent zombie child are at least as amusing as you would expect, but I think the funniest parts of Dirge's works are the little snippets called "Things Involving Me" -- the highlight here being a 2-page comic describing the author/artist's encounter with an animated urinal in Japan. If you haven't read previous Lenore collections, you could easily jump in here. You may feel a bit lost at first, but that's probably how you'd feel if you started at the beginning anyhow. Wherever you start, if you are the kind of person who thinks a comic about a cute little dead girl is a funny idea, Lenore is well worth your time.

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

BSI Starside: The Cause of Death by Roger MacBride Allen
Bantam Spectra (mm, 470 pages)
Publication date: 7 March 2006, USA & Canada

The Patron Saint of Plagues by Barth Anderson
Bantam Spectra (trade, 372 pages)
Publication date: 4 April 2006, USA & Canada

Nikolai Dante: Honour be Damned! by David Bishop
Black Flame (mm, 255 pages)
Publication date: April 2006, USA & Canada

Titan by Ben Bova
SciFi Essential, Tor (hc, 464 pages)
Publication date: 2 March 2006, USA & Canada

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
Fantasy Masterworks #49, Gollancz (trade, 262 pages)
Publication date: 15 March 2006, UK
    First published in 1962, a classic, and one of my personal favourites. -- nw
SF Site Review

K-Machines by Damien Broderick
Thunder's Mouth Press (trade, 319 pages)
Publication date: 15 March 2006, USA

Genetopia by Keith Brooke
Pyr, Prometheus Books (hc, 303 pages)
Publication date: 21 February 2006, USA

Can't Catch Me and Other Twice-Told Tales by Michael Cadnum
Tachyon (trade, 181 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): May 2006, USA

The Giants' Dance: The Language of Stones, Book 2 by Robert Carter
HarperCollins (mm, 593 pages)
Publication date: 6 February 2006, UK

Time Dancers: The Meq, Book 2 by Steve Cash
Del Rey (trade, 416 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 30 May 2006, USA & Canada
SF Site Review of Book 1, The Meq

Deconstructing Dylan by Lesley Choyce
Dundurn (trade, 174 pages)
Publication date: 25 March 2006, Canada & UK

Lords of Terror by Allan Cole & Nick Perumov
Zumaya Otherworlds (trade & e-book, 430 pages)
Publication date: March 2006, USA

Shuteye for the Timebroker stories by Paul Di Filippo
Thunder's Mouth Press (trade, 320 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 10 May 2006, USA

Children of Chaos by Dave Duncan
Tor (hc, 368 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): June 2006, USA & Canada

A Fire in the Sun by George Alec Effinger
Orb, Tom Doherty Associates (trade, 304 pages)
Publication date: 6 March 2006, USA & Canada

The Sword of Straw: The Sangreal Trilogy, Book 2 by Amanda Hemingway
Del Rey, Ballantine (trade, 323 pages)
Publication date: 4 April 2006, USA & Canada

Shaman's Crossing: The Soldier Son Trilogy, Book 1 by Robin Hobb
Voyager, HarperCollins (trade, 535 pages)
Publication date: 6 February 2006, UK

The Fairy Art of Howard David Johnson by Howard David Johnson, with introduction by Colin Bradshaw-Jones
Fantastic-Realism, World Folk Tales (illustrated oversized trade, 64 pages)
Publication date: 2006, UK & USA

Dark Side of the Moon by Sherrilyn Kenyon
St. Martin's Press (hc, 336 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 30 May 2006, USA & Canada

Alabaster by Caitlín R. Kiernan
Subterranean Press (hc, 171 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 25 September 2006, USA

Rogue Trooper: The Quartz Massacre by Rebecca Levene
Black Flame (mm, 256 pages)
Publication date: April 2006, USA & Canada

The Stormcaller by Tom Lloyd
Victor Gollancz (hc & trade, 438 pages)
Publication date: 16 March 2006, UK

Firethorn by Sarah Micklem
Voyager, HarperCollins (trade, 387 pages)
Publication date: 6 March 2006, UK
SF Site Review

Engaging the Enemy by Elizabeth Moon
Del Rey, Ballantine (hc, 403 pages)
Publication date: 28 March 2006, USA & Canada

ParaSpheres edited by Rusty Morrison & Ken Keegan
Omnidawn Publishing (trade, 640 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): August 2006, USA
    Fabulist and new wave fabulist stories by L. Timmel Duchamp, Brian Evenson, Jeffrey Ford, Karen Heuler, Laird Hunt, Shelley Jackson, Janice Law, Ursula Le Guin, Leena Krohn, Mary Mackey, Michael Moorcock, Laura Mullen, Kim Stanley Robinson, Rudy Rucker, Jeff VanderMeer, and others.

Seeker: The Noble Warriors, Book 1 by William Nicholson
Harcourt Children's Books (trade, 432 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): May 2006, USA
    For readers 12 and up.

Infernal Devices by Philip Reeve
Eos, HarperCollins (trade, 368 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 1 June 2006, USA & Canada
    For readers 12 and up.

Paragaea: A Planetary Romance by Chris Roberson
Pyr, Prometheus Books (hc & trade, 400 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): May 2006, USA

Living Next Door to the God of Love by Justina Robson
Bantam Spectra (trade, 454 pages)
Publication date: 4 April 2006, USA & Canada

Cloak of Magic: Shaihen Heritage, Book 1 by S.A. Rule
Bright Pen, Authors OnLine (trade, 348 pages)
Publication date: February 2006, UK

An Old Friend of the Family by Fred Saberhagen
Tor (trade, 207 pages)
Publication date: 16 February 2006, USA & Canada
    First published in 1979.

Inheritance: The Von Carstein Trilogy, Book 1 by Steven Savile
Warhammer, Black Library (mm, 416 pages)
Publication date: April 2006, USA & Canada

Joe R. Lansdale's Lords of the Razor edited by Bill Sheehan & William Schafer
Subterranean Press (hc, 281 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 18 May 2006, USA
    Featuring original tales by Joe R. Lansdale, Gary A. Braunbeck, P.D. Cacek, Hugh B. Cave, Bradley Denton, Stephen Gallagher, Christopher Golden, Tim Lebbon, Elisabeth Massie, Ardath Mayhar, Thomas Tessier, and Chet Williamson.

The Destiny Mask by Martin Sketchley
Pocket Books, Simon & Schuster (mm, 370 pages)
Publication date: 3 April 2006, UK

Visionary in Residence stories by Bruce Sterling
Thunder's Mouth Press (trade, 294 pages)
Publication date: 20 March 2006, USA

Earth Abides by George R. Stewart
Del Rey, Ballantine (trade, 368 pages)
Publication date: 4 April 2006, USA & Canada
    First published in 1949.
SF Site Review

Faith & Fire by James Swallow
Warhammer 40,000, Black Library (mm, 416 pages)
Publication date: April 2006, USA & Canada

The Last Chancers by Gav Thorpe
Warhammer 40,000, Black Library (trade omnibus, 766 pages)
Publication date: April 2006, USA & Canada
    Previously published separately as 13th Legion (2000), Kill Team (2001) and Annihilation Squad (2004).

The Wizard Lord: Annals of the Chosen, Book 1 by Lawrence Watt-Evans
Tor (hc, 335 pages)
Publication date: 7 March 2006, USA & Canada

Route 666: The Demon Download Cycle, Book 2 by Jack Yeovil
Black Flame (mm, 256 pages)
Publication date: April 2006, USA & Canada

Macrolife: A Mobile Utopia by George Zebrowski
Pyr, Prometheus Books (trade, 387 pages)
Publication date: 31 January 2006, USA

Magazines

Fantasy & Science Fiction, May 2006, USA
Contributors to this issue include: Matthew Hughes, M. Rickert, Gene Wolfe, Charles Coleman Finlay, Robert Reed, Steven Utley, Terry Bisson, Albert E. Cowdrey.

Interzone, #203, April 2006, UK
Contributors to this issue include: Karen Fishler, Elizabeth Bear, Paul Di Filippo, Jay Lake, Richard Calder, and an interview with K.J. Bishop.

Son and Foe, #2, quarterly electronic magazine, USA
Contributors to this issue include: Lawrence Watt-Evans (the novel The Spriggan Mirror and a short companion story), and The Light Footwork (music).