Snare by Katharine Kerr
reviewed by William Thompson
Taking a hiatus from her under-appreciated Deverry / Westlands / Dragon Mage series, the author turns to stand-alone space fantasy. Though science fictional elements remain secondary to her usual interest in story and character development, as well as world-building in a decidedly fantastic vein, the former possesses enough prominence as a frame to lend this work an identity similar to some of the writings of Marion Zimmer Bradley, Anne McCaffrey or Sharon Shinn, though the author remains overall the more competent writer.

Babylon 5.1
TV reviews by Rick Norwood
Rick offers his thoughts on his review of The Matrix Reloaded. After receiving some comments from readers, he watched The Matrix on DVD and the movie again. He's sticking to his guns. An he tells us of some news regarding the reprinting of Flash Gordon by Harry Harrison and Tarzan by Russ Manning.

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, June 2003
reviewed by David Soyka
According to editor Gordon Van Gelder, this month's special Barry Malzberg issue was inspired by the serendipitous submission of two separate pieces of fiction that feature the cranky semi-legend. "So I contacted Barry about writing that essay he'd been promising to write, his memoir of working for the Scott Meredith Agency," Van Gelder notes in explaining why, in this case, there isn't any new fiction from the honored author in question. (There are, however, reprints of two shorts: "A Short Religious Novel" from 1972 and "A Clone at Last" written with Bill Pronzini from 1978.)

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. It was a week of disappointments when it came to books received, choice of titles made by publishers, bad movies, and discovery of new (to Rick) books by Harry Whittington.

Journey into the Void by Margaret Weis and Tracey Hickman
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
In this final chapter of the Sovereign Stone trilogy, the journey towards the Portal of the Gods continues as the races of man, elf, ork and dwarf bring their shards, torn apart by King Tamaros so long ago, to be reunited. Will they reach it before Dagnarus, Lord of the Void, can catch up with them? It proves to be no easy task as friends are lost and Dagnarus and his army get more powerful with every step.

From The Pest Zone: Stories From New York edited by S.T. Joshi and David E. Schultz
reviewed by Gabe Mesa
This collection contains the five stories H.P. Lovecraft wrote during the two year stint in New York City that he would later refer to as his "New York exile." Lovecraft arrived in New York from his beloved Providence in 1924 with high hopes for his new marriage and his future as a writer. He left the city two years later, wifeless, penniless and filled with an abiding loathing for the metropolis that would accompany him the rest of his short life.

Stars and Stripes Triumphant by Harry Harrison
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
What would have happened if, when the war between America's northern and southern states broke out, England decided to try and regain its lost colonies? What would happen if, in retaliation, American invaded and freed Ireland? What if Lincoln was never shot, if Ericsson never died during his ill-fated voyage on the Monitor? What if Disraeli, well-known now for being one of the world's great statesmen, never got into power, but that power stayed with Lord Palmerston?

For Love and Glory by Poul Anderson
reviewed by Rich Horton
The story opens with Lissa Windholm and an alien partner coming across a mysterious artifact, evidently left by the Forerunners, on the planet Jonna. But they are not the first to discover this artifact -- a man named Torben Hebo, one of the oldest humans still alive, and his alien partner have got there first. And their interest is profit, as opposed to Lissa's purely scientific motivation. Torben also rather crudely expresses an interest of a different sort in Lissa herself. But disaster strikes.

A Conversation With William Gibson
An interview with Donna McMahon
On not using Vancouver in his fiction:
"The reason I don't do Vancouver is that I wouldn't want to have to... transfigure it. It's a very personal thing. I would have to become aware of the psycho-geography of Vancouver in a way that I prefer not to. I have these interior maps of New York and London and Tokyo and Los Angeles that I can keep very stark because I'm not in those places that often. But doing it here would change my relationship with the city."

New Arrivals
compiled by Neil Walsh
SF Site's newest arrivals include some tantalizing teasers: forthcoming editions from James P. Blaylock, David J. Schow, Robert Sheckley, James Blish, Caitlín R. Kiernan, David A. Page and more. Plus we've got new works from Kevin J. Anderson, Tad Williams, Margaret Atwood, Joel Rosenberg, and others.

The Uglimen by Mark Morris
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
It's so easy to equate evil with the grotesque. Who doesn't fear the razor-grin of the moray eel, but squeal with delight at the sight of dolphins playing happily offshore? After the thousands of years humans have been around, you'd think we would have gotten past that superficial analysis, but we still believe anything "imperfect" might hurt us. Maybe that why the evil behind beautiful masks is so difficult to perceive until it's much too late.

W³: Women in Deep Time by Greg Bear
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
This book collects three stories about women, and these women are all in some sort of transition, on a journey to accept themselves, as well as to find their place. As the author says in the introduction, "These three stories have a theme in common: the female psyche, multiplied and divided... At any rate, throughout my career (and for whatever reason), I've been fascinated by the female voice."

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.

Night Lives by Phyllis Eisenstein
reviewed by Steven H Silver
One of the nice things about reading a collection of short stories by a single author is the spotlight it shines on the recurrent themes and tropes they use. Reading this collection allows the reader to see these commonalities in the story, while enjoying the different things the author does with them.

Enemies by Lee Hogan
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
Belarus was a beautiful planet. Hard in the winter, true, but in the summer it was a jewel. A perfect place for Andrei Mironenko to set up his new Russia, filled with people of all faiths, who adhered to the Bill of Rights with the same devotion they used when reading their holy books. At least, until the Enemy came.

Duel by Richard Matheson
reviewed by Alma A. Hromic
Steven Spielberg based Duel, his very first movie and the one that launched a glittering career, on the title story of this collection. Three of the stories in the collection were the basis of The Twilight Zone episodes, back when Rod Serling was still running the show. Stephen King states that Matheson was one of his most fundamental influences. With a bunch of iconic references like that, you know you have a classic collection in your hands.

West of January by Dave Duncan
reviewed by Donna McMahon
Raised in a nomadic herding family, young Knobil is an oddity -- a fair, blue-eyed blond playing among browner, dark-haired and much larger companions. Ignorant and uneducated, Knobil doesn't think much about his uniqueness, until his dying mother reveals that he is the son of an angel who visited their camp long ago, and who has left a token that will admit Knobil to Heaven -- if he can get there.