Babymouse: Dragonslayer by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
reviewed by Charlene Brusso
Babymouse is an engaging kid with big dreams that tend to carry her away at the most inopportune times. Then there's her school, with all its low-level "Lord of the Flies" annoyances, from pop quizzes to bad cafeteria food. She also has to contend with an off-screen narrator who never slacks off when it comes to pointing out her mistakes -- usually in the most sarcastic tone possible. Now Babymouse is off on an epic journey of fantastical proportions.

The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade: The 11½ Anniversary Edition by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins
reviewed by Bonnie L. Norman
If you've been living under a rock for the last ten years or so, you might not have heard of the web comic Penny Arcade. Featuring two cameo characters called Tycho and Gabe, it covers not only the ins and outs of the latest news and releases from the video game industry, but geekdom in general. People such as John Scalzi and Wil Wheaton are staunch fans of the comic and well acquainted with the authors in real life; the foreword of this book is written lovingly by Scalzi himself.

The Accidental Sorcerer: Rogue Agent, Book 1 by K.E. Mills
an audiobook review by Amy Timco
The Accidental Sorcerer, follows the adventures of Gerald Dunwoody, Third-Class Wizard, who has learned to accept his inferior magical abilities despite his ambition for bigger things. Gerald is a civil servant, a magical safety compliance inspector whose job is unfulfilling in general -- and positively dangerous on bad days. When Stuttley's Superior Staff Factory explodes due to unsafe conditions, Gerald's attempts to curb the damage are seen as the cause of the explosion.

Mortalis, Part 1: The Demon Wars by R.A. Salvatore
an audiobook review by Gil T. Wilson
In part one of Mortalis we learn the Touel'alfar, the elves in the land of Corona, have taken the son of Elbryan and Pony and have begun his training as a ranger to replace Nightbird (Elbryan). The Touel'alfarar have also begun the training of another ranger, Brynn Dharielle, a To-Gai girl whose family was killed during the war.

Warbreaker, Part 2 by Brandon Sanderson
an audiobook review by Ivy Reisner
Warbreaker is divided into three parts, which is only unfortunate in that, when you get to the end of one part, you won't want to stop listening.  Part two deepens the characters. Some change and grow. Some show us aspects of themselves we didn't see before. Some discover the truth of themselves and their pasts.

Dune: House Harkonnen by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
an audiobook review by Gil T. Wilson
This book takes place approximately 20 years after House Atreides and about 30 years prior to the original Dune series.  Shaddam Corrino IV is the emperor and wants a son, yet his Bene Gesserit wife produces only daughters, leaving him without an heir to the throne. The emperor is aware of the Bene Gesserit's ability to determine the sex of their children and grows annoyed at Anirul for not giving him a son.

When Shadows Fall by L. Ron Hubbard
an audiobook review by Gil T. Wilson
The first of three stories in this collection, "When Shadows Fall," tells the story of Earth after most of its population has left to colonize the universe, leaving the planet depleted of its natural resources. The few inhabitants have very little food, fuel, air or water. The Earth president and council decide to make a last ditch effort and pool all remaining resources to send out among the stars a plea for help.

Makers by Cory Doctorow
reviewed by Paul Kincaid
If I want to send a message, Sam Goldwyn is reported to have said, I'll use Western Union. He was wrong, of course; most fictions convey a message of some sort, they cannot do otherwise since they emerge from the creator's awareness of and ideas about the world around her. But in the main, and in most successful cases, the story comes first and the message emerges naturally from it. Cory Doctorow reverses this.

Freedom™ by Daniel Suarez
reviewed by Nathan Brazil
This book is a direct continuation of the themes begun in the author's debut novel, Daemon, and reading that title first is essential. Once again, the cast are all players in the world-changing plans set in motion by deceased on-line game guru, Matthew Sobol. The character continues to appear periodically as an avatar, reacting to events in the manner of what gamers know as an NPC; non-player character.

The Book of Dreams edited by Nick Gevers
reviewed by Mario Guslandi
Dreams disturb us, scare us, haunt us. Dreams provide us with unearthly experiences, make us reach the unreachable. Calderon de la Barca wrote that La vida es sueno (Life is but a dream). So, what better subject for a theme anthology? And if you invite to contribute five masters of fantastic fiction the expected result should be a great book.

Uncle Bones by Damien Broderick
reviewed by Rich Horton
This is a collection of four novellas, one from both the beginning of his career and another from 2009 plus two from the early 80s which was a particularly productive period for Broderick. The title story is arguably a Young Adult story and is also a zombie story along with being pure Science Fiction: not at all the tiresome cliché zombie stuff we see altogether too much of these days.

Interzone #225, December 2009
reviewed by Sandra Scholes
One of the most popular magazines for mainstream fantasy and science fiction, it also has a great deal of extra filler information in the form of film reviews, book reviews, comical anecdotes and a two page history of movies. Early on, the reader will be faced with Dave Langford's Ansible Link mentioning various snippets on the world of writing, publishing and the lives of writers in general. His brand of light humour is just enough to ease the reader into the magazine at the start.

Babylon 5.1
TV reviews by Rick Norwood
Every year Rick predicts the best movies, based on the writers, not the director or the stars. A month from now, he'll do that for 2010. He listed thirty genre films in 2009, not counting talking gerbil movies. One 2008 movie, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, wasn't released until 2009. One 2009 movie, The Illuminati: Out of Chaos Comes Order, won't be released until 2010. He saw 16 of the films listed, plus Imaginarium.

Nexus Graphica
a column by Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams
So it's Kick-Ass day here in the comics media. Mark London Williams had originally come to talk just about eroticism in comics, occasioned by the two books: Gilbert Hernandez' High Soft Lisp, and the Eddie Campbell/Daren White collaboration The Playwright. Instead, he's been to see Kick-Ass and noticed how both fit together.

Tome of the Undergates by Sam Sykes
reviewed by Dominic Cilli
The adventure begins with the group aboard a ship being paid to protect a high ranking church official. Almost immediately, the ship comes under attack by pirates and then soon thereafter by certain other denizens of the deep. The group then finds themselves on a nearby island fighting with said denizens and some other particularly nasty enemies in an attempt to recover the title book that was stolen during the first engagement.