Maps: The Uncollected John Sladek edited by David Langford
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
When John Sladek passed away on 10 March 2000, hardly a ripple passed through the speculative fiction audience as a whole. Possibly the greatest satirist of our time had died far too soon and most readers had never even heard his name. With many of his novels back in print and more coming out soon, everyone who missed out on his biting wit and stunning characters has a chance to explore the wealth of material he left us.

All Night Awake by Sarah A. Hoyt
reviewed by David Soyka
William Shakespeare was an Elizabethan playwright who most people think wrote Hamlet and A Midsummer's Night Dream, among others, for the entertainment of both the Crown and the masses. For a variety of reasons, not all of which relate to the genius of the work itself, he is widely regarded as one of the major deities of English Literature and Western Civilization. But who he actually was, well, ah, there's the rub.

Next Victim by Michael Prescott
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Among the many things that terrify us, serial killers and chemical weapons are right at the top of the list. The last thing we need is a meeting of the two, so, naturally, thrill master Michael Prescott decides to throw the lethal combination together. What results is a case that will stretch the resources of the FBI and the strength of one special agent who has pursued the killer for years.

Geeks With Books
a column by Rick Klaw
As in the 80s, Austin, Texas is an exciting place to be. During the beginning and through the height of the Cyberpunk Movement, two influential cyberpunks -- Bruce Sterling and Lewis Shiner -- lived there along with many other talented writers. The current excitement can be traced to two key events.

Electric Velocipede 3
reviewed by Rich Horton
This issue includes 7 stories and 6 poems. Authors featured include Neal Barrett, Jr., Catherine Dybiec Holm, Kevin Donihe, Christina Sng, and several more. There are reviews of albums by the progressive rock band Dream Theater, and of Jeff VanderMeer's book City of Saints and Madmen.

Near Dark
a DVD review by Trent Walters
In addition to faces familiar from Aliens, what this movie has and prides itself over other vampiric movies is genre-crossing and avoidance of tropes: fangs, transformations, holy water, crosses, garlic. The director Kathryn Bigelow, a graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute, teamed up with the film photographer of Terminator, Adam Greenberg, for the visuals of a contemporary horror western.

A Gift of Dragons by Anne McCaffrey
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
This book contains four short stories; three of them from other places, and one brand new. The book is called a gift, and in many ways it truly is, with its small hardcover size, the creamy paper, the sepia print. Every page is a work of art. Tom Kidd illustrated the book, and if one of his beautiful, evocative pictures aren't on it, the text is framed by a pretty, dragon-decorated frame.

Babylon 5.1
TV reviews by Rick Norwood
Top 10 lists are almost irresistible to read -- and equally irresistible to write. A typical top 10 list in the media -- as people who can thumb their noses at books like to call the visual arts -- will consist of 10 movies -- sorry, films. His list is a little different, if only because genre art is not excluded.

The Skyslanders by Christopher A. Zackey
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
While the back cover of this book claims the work's affinity to J.R.R. Tolkien, Lewis Carroll and L. Frank Baum, it is to the latter, and specifically his 1912 Sky Island, that this modern fairy tale is very obviously linked. In addition to the similarities in title and character name, the author has produced an excellent recreation of Baum's whimsical atmosphere.

Writers of the Future, Volume XVIII edited by Algis Budrys
reviewed by Stephen M. Davis
This anthology surprises with the quality of the stories, though really, based on some of the names on the selection committee -- Greg Benford, Orson Scott Card, Larry Niven, Frederik Pohl, et. al. -- no surprise is warranted. Stephen has never read through an anthology that didn't have some unevenness in the story quality, but here the writing talent of those featured is clearly, and consistently, evident.

Trial of Fire by Kate Jacoby
reviewed by William Thompson
One of the better epics to appear over the past several years has been the Book of Elita. While lacking the imaginative scope of Steven Erikson, Ricardo Pinto or Robin Hobb, the author has nonetheless proven herself adept at infusing her high fantasy with a memorable cast of characters displaying some depth, and a well-delineated world enriched by a system of magic and mythos characterized by enough originality to set her work apart from more standard fare. Add to this story-telling skills that evince a maturity uncommon for a relatively new author, along with a willingness to allow both her tale and characters to evolve and develop without dependence upon action and magical fireworks to primarily propel her narrative along, and one is faced with a damned good read as well.

SF Site News
compiled by Steven H Silver
Every day, items of interest to you arrive in our email. Our bi-monthly format doesn't lend itself to daily updates. However, this is a small inconvenience to our Contributing Editor Steven H Silver. He's begun a new column which will fill you in on recent news in science fiction. We'll be updating the page as he sends in new items.

Take a Thief by Mercedes Lackey
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
You would think, from the stories of the heroic Heralds and their fair, strong Queen, that Valdemar would not have the poor and the desperate scraping out a miserable living in any way that they can. But it does, and Skif knows the rules well. Orphaned at an early age, he has spent most of his life working as a drudge in his Uncle Londer's tavern, the most disreputable in all of Haven.

New Arrivals
compiled by Neil Walsh
New Arrivals over the past few weeks have brought us some new works from Greg Keyes, Katharine Kerr, Paul Kearney, Harry Harrison and others -- plus a whole batch of recent magazines to choose from.

Gloriana or the Unfulfilled Queen by Michael Moorcock
reviewed by David Soyka
For what will prove to be the ominous term of 13 years, unprecedented peace and prosperity characterizes Queen Gloriana's rule over the Albion empire and its various protectorates and allies, in antithesis to the madness and bloodshed of her father, King Hern. The power behind the throne, the architect of the elaborate myth of Gloriana that promotes and maintains this Golden Age, is her trusted Chancellor, Lord Montfallcon, who endured great personal sacrifice to survive the intrigues and purges of, and finally triumph over, Hern's corrupted court.

Pendragon by W. Barnard Faraday
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
Anyone who is familiar with Geoffrey Ashe's gorgeous The Quest for King Arthur's Britain or The Discovery of King Arthur's Britain has a background to believe that Arthur may have existed as an historical figure. He just wasn't the King Arthur we're used to. In this addition to the King Arthur canon, General Artorius has been sent by King Aurelian to the North of Britain, where the savage attacks by the Saxons, Picts and Angles are ravaging the land and people. His task is two-fold, to lead the last remains of Rome's Legion against these raiders, and to unite the tribes of Britain to insure their safety.

The Moon Maid by Edgar Rice Burroughs
reviewed by Alma A. Hromic
It's both exhilarating and disconcerting to find this edition. Exhilaration, because it's all out here again, laid out for yet another generation -- it is immortal and everlasting. The other, because this edition comes accompanied by an Introduction, scholarly essays, a glossary, etc. It is startling to see to what extent the wonderful stuff printed in magazines of science fiction's Golden Age has transmigrated into the realm of the University presses.

The Magical Worlds of the Lord of the Rings by David Colbert
reviewed by Alma A. Hromic
The front cover avers that this particular volume was not "authorized, prepared, approved, licensed or endorsed by the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien, New Line Cinema, Warner Bros, or any individual or entity associated with The Lord of the Rings books or movie". Oh good, an unauthorised biography. Alma likes it already.