Deadman's Road by Joe R. Lansdale
reviewed by Mario Guslandi
If you ever met Reverend Jebidiah Mercer in some book by Joe R. Lansdale, I'm sure you loved that character at first sight. So, the good news is that the whole package of stories featuring the Reverend are now collected in one volume courtesy of the smart people at Subterranean Press.

The Wolf Age by James Enge
reviewed by Dominic Cilli
We find Morlock in Wuruyaaria: the city of werewolves. The story begins with Morlock being captured by a band of werewolves and subsequently imprisoned. Eventually, Morlock befriends a few fellow prisoners and, soon finds himself in the middle of a political power struggle. To complicate matters, other unseen forces are at work and are using Morlock and the city of werewolves as pawns in a much larger game.

UnderKingdom: Disco Goblins vs. The Machine by Jonathan Culverhouse
reviewed by John Enzinas
This is not the book you expect it to be, given the title and cover art. The cover looks like something just waiting for a 10-year-old boy to add fighter jets shooting things. The title sounds like a discount video game bought for that same boy, that he never ever played. It, therefore, came as a great shock that what's inside was wonderful.

Black and White by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge
reviewed by Nathan Brazil
Iridium is a super villain for political reasons, in command of Wreck City and maintaining loose order by wielding light-based powers. Jet is the Lady of Shadows, sponsored hero of New Chicago, with the ability to call up and manipulate a dark force, which can be bent to many uses. Jet and Iridium first met at superhero school and became best friends. Until life pushed them in opposite and opposing directions.

The Girl With No Hands and Other Tales by Angela Slatter
reviewed by Mario Guslandi
An Australian author who spins beautiful yarns in a musical, fascinating narrative style, her enticing stories are set in a magical world in which reality is colourful and fascinating, made of that elusive, precious substance of which dreams are made. This collection of sixteen enchanting fairy tales for grownups is penned by this incredibly talented writer.

Yellow Rose of Texas: The Myth of Emily Morgan by Douglas Brode
reviewed by Seamus Sweeney
Emily Morgan aka Emily West may, or may not, have been in General Santa Anna's tent at the Battle of San Jacinto, able to alert the attacking Texican forces where their adversary was. And she may, or may not, have been the direct inspiration for the ballad "Yellow Rose of Texas."" In any case, the author takes the print-the-legend approach, and who are we to question the wisdom of a John Ford movie?

Aurealis, #43
reviewed by Rich Horton
In the latest issue of the now venerable Australian magazine Aurealis, there are the usual features: Patricia L. O'Neill's  science column (this one, "Xtreme Science: A Feast for the Census", is about the huge colonies of little beasties we can host), an interview with Trudi Canavan (conducted by Kate Forsyth), and book reviews by Keith Stevenson. But Rich's focus is on the fiction.

Ascendance, Part 2: The Demon Wars by R.A. Salvatore
an audiobook review by Gil T. Wilson
As fate would have it, Aydrian crosses paths with Marcalo De'Unnero, the former Bishop of Palmaris, who has been possessed and is the man that murdered Aydrian's father. De'Unnero begins plotting against Jilseponie, who is now Queen of Honce-the-Bear, in the land of Corona. De'Unnero's plan is to put Aydrian on the throne, topple the church and put himself back in power.

Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold
an audiobook review by Nicki Gerlach
Leo Graf would be one of the first people to tell you that he's just an engineer. A very skilled and accomplished engineer, for sure, but otherwise just an ordinary middle-aged man. He has been summoned by his employer, GalacTech, to travel to the remote space station known as the Cay Habitat, and to teach safety inspection and welding to a new bunch of workers there. When he arrives, he's shocked to discover that the workers are not your average students.

Jupiter, Issue 28, April 2010 / Issue 29, July 2010
reviewed by Rich Horton
With the release of the two latest issues of the nice British pure SF magazine Jupiter, issue XXVIII is subtitled Autonoe and XXIX is subtitled Thyone, Rich wonders what the subtitles will be in the happy event that Jupiter publishes more than 63 issues. He thinks the April issue, Autonoe (XXVIII), is one of the strongest numbers of this magazine to date.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
reviewed by Dan Shade
Vampires, Demons, Clockwork Men, Shape Shifters, Faeries, Evil Humans, and even Werewolves; these creatures make up the Downworlders, beings or persons who are in part supernatural in origin. On the other hand, we have the Nephilim who swear their lives to fighting the Downworlders. These are humans who use magic in many forms to fight their battles against evil. They call themselves Shadowhunters.

Nexus Graphica
a column by Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams
Similar to their previous Nexus Graphica best of the year columns, the selections showcase the difference between the tastes of Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams. Of the twenty titles chosen, ten by each, only two titles made both lists. For comparison purposes, they shared three books last year and two in 2008. Vive la différence! Rick Klaw is hosting the first (or last... depending on your perspective) five selections with Mark London Williams returning in two weeks to announce the remainder.

New Arrivals
compiled by Neil Walsh
This time we're looking at the latest in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series (co-authored by Brandon Sanderson), as well as new titles from Eric Brown, Ian Esslemont, Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Stephen Donaldson, L.E. Modesitt Jr., Karl Schroeder, and many others.

Watching the Future
a column by Derek Johnson
It seems like only yesterday that Halloween was upon us. But a month later, we come to the holiday that many take far more seriously, the one in which people invest far more emotion and economics. Bah, humbug. There are movies that Derek does like to pop into his DVD player during the holidays, and that, given very little fudge factor, actually fit as Christmas movies. In that spirit, he has decided to list ten of those, each of which he feels is worthy of being considered "Christmas movies." 

Babylon 5.1
TV reviews by Rick Norwood
December is the cruelest month, at least as far as new content on television goes. Even if you watch everything, there are only 14 new episodes airing. Rick's recommendations: Smallville, Sanctuary, and Doctor Who.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1
a movie review by Rick Norwood
Rick has seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 twice now, and enjoyed it more the second time than the first. The action sequences, of which there are many, are not as exciting as those in, for example, Unstoppable, the runaway train film. But it is extremely good.

Bearings: Reviews 1997-2001 by Gary K. Wolfe
reviewed by Paul Kincaid
Two things are different between this volume and its predecessor. In the first place, trivially, this volume carries an introduction by Peter Straub. No famous name introduced Soundings, and to be honest no famous name was needed to introduce it. Wolfe is well enough known and respected in his own right, and it's likely that there aren't many people buying a collection of science fiction book reviews who would need to be told who Gary Wolfe is or why this volume is a good thing.