Gridlinked by Neal Asher
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
This future is no place for the faint-hearted. This is a world where a terrorist blast is as likely to take you out as a slight miscalculation passing through the runcibles that provide instantaneous galactic travel. Don't worry, though, everything is all right, because this universe is run by flawless AIs... Except that just such a mishap occurred, virtually obliterating a whole planet. How such a thing could happen and who will be held responsible are questions that Earth Central has sent in super-agent Cormac to answer.

Corsair by Chris Bunch
reviewed by John Berlyne
Pirates and magic! It would be hard to put these two ingredients together in a fantasy novel and not come up with something to delight one's readers. The author has come up with a salty sea-faring yarn that will transport you to a place far more exotic and interesting than wherever you are right now!

Babylon 5.1
TV reviews by Rick Norwood
In his column, Rick has put together a 2000-2001 episode guide for Star Trek: Voyager, and The X-Files. Check it out, print off a copy of each one and keep them handy for the summer reruns.

Mid-May Books
compiled by Neil Walsh
Recently arrived new books include a new Young Wizards novel from Diane Duane, a new Repairman Jack novel from F. Paul Wilson, a new Rigante novel from David Gemmell, and the first new novel in half a decade from Meredith Ann Pierce.

Child of Venus by Pamela Sargent
reviewed by Greg L. Johnson
With this novel, the author has returned to complete the task she began in Venus of Dreams and Venus of Shadows. The novels are a multi-generational family epic chronicling the history of the Venus Project, the terraforming of the second planet from the Sun. As such, these books deserve a place among all the grandly conceived histories of SF.

California Sorcery by edited by William F. Nolan and William Schafer
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
With a line-up with the likes of Charles Beaumont, Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, and Richard Matheson, the editors, including William F. Nolan, one of the original inner circle members of this writer's group, would have been hard-pressed to present a poor book. Nine of the stories are original to the anthology (including a previously unpublished Charles Beaumont tale), three are reprints, and all carry a spark of what made this group of authors so influential in modern American imaginative fiction.

Dislocated Fictions
a column by Gabriel Chouinard
Gabriel Chouinard's column is dedicated to exposing the risk-takers working in SF and fantasy. He calls them the Next Wave, in a nod to the obvious influences that the New Wave writers had upon them. Here, he gives us some ideas on how you can get good fantastic fiction from publishers and how publishers can get it to you.

Longtusk and Deep Future by Stephen Baxter
reviewed by Hank Luttrell
This is part of a series begun with Silverhair, about a mammoth character who also appears to narrate some of the stories/legends about Longtusk. However, each book in the Mammoth series is complete in itself. It seems like a huge leap from the post-modern space opera of the Manifold books to Earth's pre-history, and in fact the canvas looks much different -- enough to make you want to check the thumbnail bios to make sure they were by the same fellow. Deep Future, is a non-fiction collection of essays which illuminate many of the same deas and themes as the Manifold books.

Vox: SF For Your Ears
a column by Scott Danielson
Scott Danielson is looking at audio SF -- on tape, on CD, on whatever. This time out, he takes us on a tour of his favourite science fiction and fantasy audios. Are any of yours on this list?

The Fresco by Sheri S. Tepper
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
The author's work is always stimulating, intriguing, and enticing, but in this novel she has allowed more of her own wry sense of humour to emerge. The result is what may well be her most accessible story to date. This is a tale for all ages and all appetites -- here is a novel that even people who turn their nose up at speculative fiction can embrace.

Whispers From the Cotton Tree Root: Caribbean Fabulist Fiction edited by Nalo Hopkinson
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
The mere fact that this anthology is edited by the extremely talented Nalo Hopkinson should be enough enticement to lure many readers in. Add to that a truly bone-chilling story by the editor herself -- a unique and sinister twist on a familiar plot. Then, take into account the creative magic of the 20 authors featured in this book, and you have a sampler tailor-made introduction to the realm of Caribbean fabulist fiction. It's an introduction not soon forgotten.

Sequential Art
a column by Scott Tilson
Scott Tilson is taking a look at what has caught his attention in the field of graphic novels. This time, he is recommending author Frank Miller and artist Dave Gibbons' Give Me Liberty and Preacher: Gone To Texas by author Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon. And Scott asks George R.R. Martin what he's reading these days.

The Pickup Artist by Terry Bisson
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
The thought has crossed everyone's mind, at least for a second; what if the brain's capacity is limited? What if the next phone number you automatically memorize pushes out your knowledge of the Children's Crusade. The lyrics to that annoyingly persistent pop song takes the place of the table of elements. Is there only so much room? It's a theory the Bureau of Arts and Entertainment thinks is so, and it's up to Shapiro, the Pickup Artist, to enforce the law and keep the crowding down to a minimum.

Forthcoming Books
compiled by Neil Walsh
Here's a sampling of some of the F&SF books that are headed our way in the coming months...

Horror of the 20th Century by Robert Weinberg
reviewed by Lisa Brunetta
Collectors take note: this illustrated history of 20th century horror is really a treat with its heavy, full-colour pages, a fabric-like cover with an embossed linen texture (red, of course) and a great cover illustration of Dracula with a hapless victim. The book traces the roots of modern horror to well before the 20th century, and continues through to the present day. And there's no shortage of reading material suggestions to keep you going well into the 21st century.

A Riddle of Roses by Caryl Cude Mullins
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
This is fantasy tale for young teenagers, steeped in Celtic mythology. As a first novel, it reads remarkably well, with a nice mix of fantasy, interesting and unusual characters, and an avoidance of didacticism and moral preaching. It also has the nowadays seemingly ubiquitous headstrong young woman who yearns to take on an untraditional role for women in her society, against the wishes or the wisdom of her elders.

Pavane by Keith Roberts
reviewed by Rich Horton
Alternate history is now one of the most popular sub-genres in the SF field, but that popularity is a recent development. And the recent crop of alternate history stories, enjoyable as some of them may be, seem largely minor works, dwelling in the shadows of 3 great alternate history novels which loom over the present-day offerings. This is one of them.

The First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells
reviewed by David Maddox
Set in England at the beginning of the 20th century, average industrialist Bedford finds himself entwined in the machinations of Cavor, an eccentric genius who has developed Cavorite, a substance that negates the pull of gravity. The two men construct a vessel called the Sphere which hurls them to the moon. But the adventurers have very different agendas. Cavor hopes to discover a utopian society he imagines living on the planet, while Bedford is purely interested in the monetary gain the trip represents.

Hothouse by Brian Aldiss
reviewed by Rich Horton
In the far future of Earth, the Sun has expanded, and is nearly ready to go nova. The Earth and the Moon are now both in tide-locked orbits, so that each keeps one face continually toward the Sun. The bulk of Earth's sunward face is dominated by a huge jungle, mostly composed of a single banyan tree, which has been colonized by any number of weirdly evolved plants. Very few animal species remain, and the plant species have adapted to fill many animal niches. One of the few to survive is humans, in several much-altered forms.