As for my own reading recently, what holiday season would be complete without a little horror?

• The Dead Letters by Tom Piccirilli (Bantam, mm, 365 pages, October 206, USA & Canada)
      First of all, I have to say that while I enjoy good horror fiction I rarely read serial killer stuff. I just don't care for it. I picked up Ramsey Campbell's Secret Story, for example, and read several chapters before deciding I really didn't need to bother with the rest. Neither the killer nor the writer were nearly as clever as they seemed to think they were. In The Dead Letters, on the other hand, the focus is not on the killer so much as it is on the father of one of his victims who has dedicated his life to avenging the murder of his 5-year-old daughter. Eddie Whitt has been receiving letters from the killer since the murder of his daughter, the killer's first victim 5 years ago. Only now the killer has stopped killing and is instead abducting abused or threatened children and leaving them with the families of his previous victims. The letters to Whitt continue, perhaps giving clues to the killer's motives... and identity? Meanwhile, Whitt is seeing himself and the family he had, in miniature moving about inside his late daughter's doll house. More than a simple serial killer horror thriller, this is a dark novel with depth and humour that looks at depravity and determination on the razor edge of sanity. The protagonist has that tough, raw edge of film noir darkness about him, except he's not a PI. He's just a guy who wants to carve out some kind of peace, even if he has to flay his own soul to do it. There's a lot to like about this book, even if you're not a fan of serial killer fiction. Piccirilli is rapidly making his way up my list of favourite authors.

Homeland by Michael Amos
Samhain Publishing (trade, 225 pages)
Publication date: September 2006, UK & USA

Tempting Evil by Keri Arthur
Dell Spectra (mm, 416 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 27 February 2007, USA & Canada

The Dreamer's Way by Mari Atherton
Swimming Kangaroo Books (trade, 205 pages)
Publication date: March 2006, USA

Merari by Mari Atherton
Swimming Kangaroo Books (trade, 370 pages)
Publication date: May 2006, USA

Capacity by Tony Ballantyne
Bantam Spectra (mm, 391 pages)
Publication date: 2 January 2007, USA & Canada

Mother Feral's Love by Lawrence Barker
Swimming Kangaroo Books (trade, 288 pages)
Publication date: October 2006, USA

Hydrogen Steel by K.A. Bedford
Edge (trade, 384 pages)
Publication date: December 2006, Canada / March 2007, USA

Stealth Planet by Ray Blackhall
Sparkling Press (trade, 288 pages)
Publication date: 2006, USA

Surviving Demon Island by Jaci Burton
Dell Romance (mm, 341 pages)
Publication date: 2 January 2007, USA & Canada

Unclean: The Haunted Lands, Book 1 by Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms, Wizards of the Coast (mm, 450 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): April 2007, USA & Canada

Scar Night by Alan Campbell
Bantam Spectra (hc, 422 pages)
Publication date: 2 January 2007, USA & Canada

The Secret City by Carol Emshwiller
Tachyon (trade, 224 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): March 2007, USA

Battlestar Galactica: Sagittarius is Bleeding by Peter David
Tor (trade, 352 pages)
Publication date: October 2006, USA & Canada

Adventures in Unhistory by Avram Davidson
Tor (hc, 308 pages)
Publication date: December 2006, USA & Canada
    First published in 1993. Subtitled "Conjectures on the Factual Foundations of Several Ancient Legends." This edition introduced by Peter S. Beagle.

Proteus Rising by Peter Dingus
Speculative Fiction Review (trade, 468 pages)
Publication date: November 2006, USA

Battlestar Galactica: The Cylons' Secret by Craig Shaw Gardner
Tor (trade, 303 pages)
Publication date: October 2006, USA & Canada

Ilario: The Lion's Eye by Mary Gentle
Victor Gollancz (trade, 663 pages)
Publication date: 16 November 2006, UK
    Prequel to Ash.

The Borderkind: The Veil, Book 2 by Christopher Golden
Bantam Spectra (trade, 400 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 3 April 2007, USA

Supervillainz by Alicia E. Goranson
Suspect Thoughts Press (trade, 252 pages)
Publication date: March 2006, USA

The Shluffmuffin Boy is History: Secrets of Dripping Fang, Book 5 by Dan Greenburg
Harcourt (hc, 161 pages)
Publication date: 2006, USA & Canada
SF Site Review of Book 2, Treachery and Betrayal at Jolly Days

Attack of the Giant Octopus: Secrets of Dripping Fang, Book 6 by Dan Greenburg
Harcourt (hc, 148 pages)
Publication date: January 2007, USA & Canada
    For ages 8 to 12.

Dalek I Loved You: A Memoir by Nick Griffiths
Victor Gollancz (hc, 264 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 19 April 2007, UK

Lightning Days by Colin Harvey
Swimming Kangaroo Books (trade, 331 pages)
Publication date: July 2006, USA

No Dominion by Charlie Huston
Ballantine, Dell Rey (trade, 255 pages)
Publication date: 2 January 2007, USA & Canada

Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay
Viking Canada (hc, 421 pages)
Publication date: 13 January 2007, Canada

Medicine Show: The Liquid Laughter Project, Volume 1 edited by Heidi Lampietti
RedJack (trade, 281 pages)
Publication date: November 2006, USA

The End of Harry Potter? by David Langford
Victor Gollancz (hc, 196 pages)
Publication date: 15 November 2006, UK

Dawn by Tim Lebbon
Bantam Spectra (trade, 416 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 3 April 2007, USA
SF Site Review of Dusk

Cupid by Julius Lester
Harcourt (hc, 198 pages)
Publication date: 2006, USA & Canada
    A retelling of the tale of Cupid & Psyche, for readers 12 and up.

Death World by Steve Lyons
Warhammer 40,000, Black Library (mm, 256 pages)
Publication date: January 2007, USA & Canada

Changelings: The Twins of Petaybee, Book 1 by Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
Corgi, Bantam (mm, 333 pages)
Publication date: 1 January 2007, UK

Maelstrom: The Twins of Petaybee, Book 2 by Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
Bantam (hc, 237 pages) / Ballantine, Dell Rey (hc, 239 pages)
Publication date: 1 January 2007, UK / 26 December 2006, USA & Canada

The Fate of Mice by Susan Palwick
Tachyon (trade, 218 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): March 2007, USA

Hart & Boot, & Other Stories by Tim Pratt
Night Shade Books (trade, 209 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 5 February 2007, USA

Starship: Pirate (Book 2 of the Starship Series) by Mike Resnick
Pyr, Prometheus Books (hc, 336 pages)
Publication date: 5 December 2006, USA
SF Site Review of Starship: Mutiny

The Existential Joss Whedon: Evil and Human Freedom in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly and Serenity by J. Michael Richardson & J. Douglas Raab
McFarland (trade, 204 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): April 2007, USA & Canada

.before country by Meika Loofs Samorzewski
A Wombwell Book (trade, 95 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): February 2007, Australia
    SF collection of short stories and code poems.

Imaro 2: The Quest for Cush by Charles Saunders
Night Shade Books (trade, 222 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 26 February 2007, USA

Deadstock by Jeffrey Thomas
Solaris Books (mm, 416 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 5 March 2007, USA

The Silver Bough by Lisa Tuttle
Bantam Spectra (trade, 341 pages)
Publication date: 3 January 2007, USA & Canada
SF Site Review

The Fabulous Women of Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell by Boris Vallejo & Julie Bell, and Anthony & David Palumbo
Collins Design, HarperCollins (illustrated hc, 128 pages)
Publication date: 2006, USA & Canada

The Witling by Vernor Vinge
Tor (trade, 221 pages)
Publication date: December 2006, USA & Canada
    Originally published in 1976 by DAW.

Dragonfrigate Wizard Halcyon Blithe by James M. Ward
Tor (hc, 320 pages)
Publication date: 28 November 2006, USA & Canada

Cynnador by Patrick Welch
Twilight Times Books (trade, 184 pages)
Publication date: December 2006, USA

The Element of Fire by Martha Wells
http://www.marthawells.com/element.htm (trade, 314 pages)
Publication date: 2006, USA
    Originally published by Tor in 1993. This edition revised by the Author.

Stargate Atlantis: Reliquary by Martha Wells
Fandemonium Books (mm, 230 pages)
Publication date: 2006, UK & USA

The Knowing by Larriane Wills
Swimming Kangaroo Books (trade, 298 pages)
Publication date: October 2006, USA

Dr. Identity, Or Farewell to Plaquedemia by D. Harlan Wilson
Raw Dog Screaming Press (hc & trade, 205 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): March 2007, USA

Tesseracts Ten edited by Robert Charles Wilson & Edo van Belkom
Edge (trade, 320 pages)
Publication date: December 2006, Canada / May 2007, USA
SF Site Review of Tesseracts 9

The Mislaid Magician, or Ten Year After by Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer
Harcourt (hc, 328 pages)
Publication date: 2006, USA & Canada
SF Site Review

Magazines

Fantasy & Science Fiction, December 2006, USA
Contributors to this issue include: Matthew Hughes, M. Rickert, Daryl Gregory, Scott Bradfield, Robert Reed, Susanna Clarke.

Fantasy & Science Fiction, January 2007, USA
Contributors to this issue include: Bruce Sterling, Jeremy Minton, David Gerrold, Marta Randall, Neil Gaiman, Robert Reed.

Fantasy & Science Fiction, February 2007, USA
Contributors to this issue include: Matthew Hughes, Alexander Jablokov, John Morressy, William Browning Spencer, S.L. Gilbow.

Hub Magazine, Issue 1, Christmas 2006, UK
Contributors to this issue include: Bud Webster, James Targett, Alasdair Stuart, James Cooper, Ellen Phillips, Liam Rands, James S. Dorr, Martin Owton & Gaie Sebold, John B. Rosenman, Eugie Foster, plus an interview with Keith Brooke.

Mythic Delirium, Issue 15, Summer/Fall 2006, USA
Contributors to this issue include: C.S. MacCath, Theodora Goss, Constance Cooper, Sheree Renée Thomas, Gary Every, Darrell Schweitzer, Lida Broadhurst, Wanda Waterman St. Louis, Jaime Lee Moyer, Julie Shiel, Sonya Taaffe, Danny Adams, K.L. Monahan, Erzebet YellowBoy, Darja Malcolm-Clarke, JoSelle Vanderhooft.
SF Site Review of Issue 13