Geeks With Books
a column by Rick Klaw
Rick Klaw gives us a look at how things work from behind the counter of a book store. This time, he gives us a special installment of his column. Rick's going to provide some answers to emails he received based upon what he had to say in his first two columns.

Claremont Tales by Richard A. Lupoff
reviewed by Hank Luttrell
This collection hints at the richness of the author's talent. It includes a murder mystery which takes place in a Japanese scientific colony on the moon, 2 pastiches of James Thurber, 2 of H.P. Lovecraft, and 2 which may be autobiographic, "The Monster and Mr. Greene" and "Mr. Greene and the Monster."

Blue Bamboo by Osamu Dazai
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
This collection of delightful short fantasies by a major Japanese author of the post-war era are certainly not what one would expect of modern Western post-Tolkienian fantasy, but neither are they the traditional Japanese tales of ghosts and spirits one finds retold in Lafcadio Hearn's Kwaidan. While several are inspired by older Japanese, Chinese and even European folktales, the author retouches these tales, adding and substracting his own elements, to present his own commentaries on life and human interaction.

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. This time his crusade takes a new direction and -- pulling no punches -- he takes on the genre magazines.

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, June 2001
reviewed by Nick Gevers
This issue is a nostalgia fest. Five writers look backwards, their gaze simultaneously longing and, usually, ironic; and, unsurprisingly, the majority commemorate the former (apparent) openness of America. Oh! for the 20s and its robust echoes of the Old Frontier. Oh! for the times when men were men and could fly biplanes, box in makeshift rings, or tinker with dangerous technologies without state and federal regulation. Oh! for the pop culture of those times, with its dearth of artifice, its simple dedication to adventure! Or sentiments to that general effect. With artifice added. With a new cynical take on adventure. With the gloss that 75 years as a self-conscious genre brings...

Similar Monsters by Steve Savile
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
This collection of tales, replete with broken memories, dented reality and aching loss, resonate strongly with each exposure, like photos you tell yourself you won't look at again, but cannot keep your hands and eyes off. So much of the author's work carries the same painful attraction, fortunately it is worth every dark shadow on the path behind you to venture into his world.

Mid-June Books
compiled by Neil Walsh
There's plenty of great summertime reading to choose from right now, with new novels from C.J. Cherryh, Connie Willis, Storm Constantine, George Foy, L.E. Modesitt, Jr.; classic reprints from Arthur C. Clarke, Eric Frank Russell, Megan Lindholm; and much more besides.

Point of Dreams by Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett
reviewed by Victoria Strauss
Every winter in Astreiant, a masque is held. Based on ancient traditions and aligned with the stars, it's integral to the health of the queen and the realm -- and more important now than ever, for the queen is soon to announce her chosen successor. This year, the play that is the source of the masque is itself sourced in an ancient text, the Alphabet of Desire, a compendium of flower- and plant-based spells, which most people believe to be a hoax but which may, just possibly, be real.

Appleseed by John Clute
reviewed by Rich Horton
Nathaniel Freer, the solitary interstellar trader, comes to a system called Trencher to pick up his latest cargo, a shipment of nanoforges for the planet Eolxhir. Earth is long dead, a victim of a galaxy-wide information disease called "plaque", which seems to corrupt any computer based systems it infects. The still-functioning parts of the Galaxy are inhabited by a mix of "meat" species and AI's (aka "Made Minds"). As he picks up his cargo, Trencher suddenly comes under attack, apparently from both plaque and from an inimical alien entity called Opsophagos of the Harpe.

Space Soldiers edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois
reviewed by Peter D. Tillman
If you're in the mood for a fast-paced (but thoughtful) look at future warfare and its consequences, this is for you. Peter's choices are Alastair Reynolds' "Galactic North" and Paul J. McAuley's "Gardens of Saturn."

Hammerfall by C.J. Cherryh
reviewed by Greg L. Johnson
Set on a desert world inhabited by a fairly primitive looking village and nomadic tribe culture, our viewpoint character is Marak, a warrior and leader who has become mad. His madness is of a type that afflicts many. The Ila is gathering the mad together and she tells Marak to go where the voices tell him. Reaching the tower, we learn there is nanotech underlying everything, and the Ila is a refugee from an ages old war.

The Exchange by Jeff VanderMeer
reviewed by Nick Gevers
This chapbook features a short story of rare brilliance, spooky drawings of a malicious daft elderly couple and matching pair of squid, and a range of hilariously contradictory mock advertisements... How to explain all this intricate, ingenious, and highly worthwhile nonsense?

Babylon 5.1
TV reviews by Rick Norwood
Rick offers his thoughts on the forthcoming TV mini-series version of The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. He also shares some ideas on why the screenplay has the greatest influence on a film, using the animated films Shrek and Atlantis as examples.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Where do they go, the monsters of our childhood? After we conjured these boogeymen and solid shadows and beasties under the bed, did we really think they would fade away with our childish fears? Did we expect them to go quietly when we didn't need them anymore? Come to think of it, whoever said we had grown up?

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 points us towards The Reader's Chair, a company that concentrates on Lois McMaster Bujold's novels.

Dogged Persistence by Kevin J. Anderson
reviewed by Steven H Silver
The author plays with ideas in the stories collected here. While some of the ideas may seem clichéd, he manages to bring a fresh perspective to the concepts and present them in a new way. These ideas run the gamut from interstellar travel and cloning to time travel and ghost stories. He shows a skill in selecting the appropriate setting and genre for the ideas he wants to explore.

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...

Villains Victorious edited by Martin H. Greenberg & John Helfers
reviewed by Hank Luttrell
In this anthology, the bad guys and gals win. It includes stories by authors such as Tanya Huff, Rosemary Edghill, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Gary A. Braunbeck & Lucy A. Snyder, Fiona Patton, Michelle West and Peter Crowther.

A.I.
a movie review by Rick Norwood
Do not under any circumstances take a child to see this film. That's the most important thing you need to know. The next question is, do you want to see it yourself? It's very much worth seeing, but it isn't fun and it isn't easy. It does, however, treat science fiction ideas with the respect they deserve.

Tales of the King's Blades by Dave Duncan
reviewed by William Thompson
This novel concludes the author's 3 separate yet inextricably connected Tales of the King's Blades. While each book has been written in the guise of a stand-alone and can be read as such, his compositional accomplishments cannot be fully appreciated, nor inconsistencies existing within the parallel stories understood, without a reading of the entire series.

The Moon Pool by A. Merritt
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
Are characters like the scientist-skeptic, the hulking blonde Norse berserker, the slightly fey heroic Irishman, and the nefarious double-crossing Russian clichéd? Completely. Are plot devices like lost races, male characters enraptured by incredibly beautiful virginally pure or malevolently evil priestesses (or possibly both combined), alien super-science, and vampiric transdimensional life-forms as ancient as the hills? Absolutely. Except that the author is one of those who created these clichés. Besides which, his breadth of imagination and sense and ability to depict completely alien surroundings and atmospheres far outweigh the aspects of his work which tie it to his time.