Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
There are so many things always ready to go wrong for Sookie. Her telepathy is no blessing, no matter what those who can only dream of the ability imagine. Certainly, it has helped her out a few times, but it brings her nothing but trouble and the kind of reputation that guarantees she will never be fully accepted, in any social circle. It makes for a lonely life and a lack of self-esteem that is completely undeserved.

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. His column will fill you in on recent news in science fiction. We'll be updating the page as he sends in new items.

Nightmare Logic by Larry Segriff
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
Lately Jonathan Hayes has been plagued by nightmares, but usually they end when he wakes up. But not today. The police surround his house and tell him to come out peacefully. He is arrested for the extremely brutal murder of a sixteen-year-old girl. Someone apparently called in and accused him, and when they ran his name through the computer they found warrants out on him for the murder of two agents -- another act he never committed.

Babylon 5.1
TV reviews by Rick Norwood
Rick offers his thoughts on what to watch on TV in May. He also gives us an idea of which series will be back in the fall and which ones won't be renewed.

Ella Enchanted
a movie review by Rick Norwood
This film almost flew below Rick's radar, since he had assumed it was a quickie attempt to cash in on Shrek 2. But he has had second thoughts. Adults may find Ella Enchanted too silly, but children -- especially little girls -- will love it.

The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson
reviewed by Jayme Lynn Blaschke
The novel is built upon a tripod framework, following the threads of three separate stories in different eras. The readers are introduced to Mer, a Haitian slave struggling to survive a brutal sugar plantation existence as revolution brews; Jeanne Duval, a whore and mistress to poet Charles Baudelaire in 19th century France; and Meritet, a Nubian prostitute who flees her master to seek adventure and inadvertently becomes St. Mary of Egypt.

Riders of the Dead by Dan Abnett
reviewed by Nathan Brazil
This is the story of two young men, Gerlach Heileman and Karl Reiner Vollen, who begin as vexillary and clarion in a company of Empire demilancers. Heileman is drawn as a typically arrogant son of a noble, whose future is all mapped out. Vollen, on the other hand, is from a noble family whose heritage has been lost. He owes his position to favour, and his family are in service to the Heilemans. What they have in common is their training, and firm belief that the forces of Empire will easily repel the invading armies of Northern savages.

21st Century Pulp by Eric Turowski
reviewed by Kit O'Connell
In the glory days of the pulp magazines, the masked adventurer righting wrongs could be found just as commonly in story as he could in his more familiar modern home, sequential art. Apart from the rare modern-day revival à la Kavalier and Clay, costumed hero fiction is largely limited to tie-ins with the major superhero publishers. Fortunately, for the genre's fans there are a few stalwart enthusiasts like this author.

Those of My Blood by Jacqueline Lichtenberg
reviewed by Alisa McCune
Vampires on the moon? This premise provides a unique backdrop for a story in which we meet Dr. Titus Shiddehara, a human/vampire hybrid alien from the planet Luren. Titus, an astronomer has been sent to Project Station on the moon to stop his nemesis and vamphyric father, Dr. Abbot Nandoha, from contacting the home world of Luren.

The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde
reviewed by Rich Horton
Thursday is taking over a minor role in an unpublished detective novel, Caversham Heights. She is still troubled in her memory by Aornis Hades, Acheron's sister. Aornis is a mnemonomorph, who can alter people's memories, and she is trying to erase Thursday's memories of her husband Landen. Miss Havisham is showing Thursday the ropes of her new job, while the Bookworld awaits the release of a new book delivery system, UltraWord™. Then some of Thursday's associates begin to be killed.

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
a give-away contest
Join Hercules as his adventures continue through the mythic world of Greek gods, goddesses and otherworldly beasts in the epic third season of The Legendary Journeys. Join in the adventures that takes Hercules on a wild ride that includes a romp into 18th century France, a deadly dual with an ancient Egyptian mummy, and even a nasty showdown with a very jealous Cupid.
Read the contents, answer the questions, win a DVD. Easy, eh?

Sequential Art
a column by Matthew Peckham
Matthew Peckham reviews selected titles of one week's worth of comics. But don't look for frequent reviews of the more popular stuff here, e.g. Spider-Man or Batman, X-Men or JLA -- they get plenty of attention. Instead, he is dipping into a combination of the low print run mainstream and independent, alternative, web-based or small press stuff.

Kiss It Away by Carol Anne Davis
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Blazing a path of devastation through the lives of everyone in this book is the steroid-powered Nick. A textbook example of antisocial personality disorder at his best, the ex-con is a bomb that continues to go off time and again as his consumption of anabolic steroids escalates out of control. When Ben has the misfortune to cross paths with Nick it sets off a series of tragedies that have the police in overdrive. To Ben's horror, he finds that the focus of their investigation is himself.

Stolen by Kelley Armstrong
reviewed by Alisa McCune
Someone is kidnapping supernaturals and they are never heard from again. Elena, Jeremy, and Clay are invited to a 'United Nations' for the supernatural world in an attempt to stop the kidnappings. Unfortunately for Elena, the council is unable to stop her abduction. She finds herself alone, cut off from the pack, and held captive for study.

New Arrivals
compiled by Neil Walsh
Recently received books at the SF Site office include new and forthcoming collections from Kage Baker, Mary Gentle, Ian R. MacLeod, John Farris, and Jeff VanderMeer, as well as new an forthcoming novels from Rudy Rucker, Larry Niven, Tanya Huff, Ian McDonald, Cory Doctorow, Guy Gavriel Kay, and Neal Asher. All this and more. Whew! It looks like it's going to be a good summer for reading.

The Miles Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold
reviewed by Regina Lynn Preciado
The author has created a living, breathing universe in which well-rounded characters live out lives of unusual danger, passion, and intellect. Miles Vorkosigan himself is a charismatic leader with physical disabilities that make him an outcast at best -- and an abomination at worst -- on his home planet. His overwhelming need to prove himself is at the root of his intense, suspenseful adventures, whether in the military, the security service, the mercenary fleet, or the diplomatic corps.

Aspects of a Psychopath by Alistair Langston
reviewed by Chris Przybyszewski
We are offered the diary of a killer, one who takes a victim, stores her in a closet, and then mutilates and kills her in graphic fashion. The killer (he goes by the name of Saul Roberts) then cuts up the body, puts it in his fridge, and then uses the meat for various meals throughout the rest of the text. Roberts is hardly done there, however. He tells of multiple victims in the course of the diary, as well as his relationship with Laura, whom Saul tolerates to live.