Year's Best SF 3 edited by David G. Hartwell
reviewed by Greg L. Johnson
SF has a long tradition of annual best of the year anthologies, starting with Judith Merril in 1956 and continuing on through Donald A. Wollheim, Terry Carr, and Gardner Dozois. The appearance of this anthology raises the question: is there really enough good SF published each year to justify another best of the year collection? According to Greg, the answer is yes.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Captain's Table: Dujonian's Horde by Michael Jan Friedman
reviewed by Alexander von Thorn
Rumours of an ancient treasure of powerful technology, a crew of brigands sailing the infinite dark, a missing Starfleet officer, a lost civilization in a pocket universe with a complex political conflict... There is only one man to call for this assignment: Jean-Luc Picard.

Here There Be Dragons by Jane Yolen
reviewed by Robert Francis
The central focus of the book is, not surprisingly, dragons. Sentient civilized dragons, loyal trainable dragons, malicious ravenous dragons, inscrutable dragons, and of course, the human Pendragon.

August New Arrivals
compiled by John O'Neill
Robert Silverberg, Alexander Jablokov, Ben Bova, Patricia A. McKillip, Michelle West, David Drake, Vivien Alcock, Alexander Besher, Charles de Lint, and over thirty others -- they all have new books, and you can get the details here first.

Quest for the Fallen Star by Piers Anthony, James Richey and Alan Riggs
reviewed by Todd Richmond
This book has all the elements of a classic fantasy quest. Todd found it to be both a disappointment and a relief that it is all told in one book -- a disappointment because it seems a little rushed and lacks detail, but a relief because he doesn't have to wait years for the final outcome, several volumes later.

Reckoning Infinity by John E. Stith
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Some authors take their time, steadily setting the scene, developing the characters, building the tension -- easing you into the situation. John Stith grabs you by the arm and yanks you into the centre of the action. It's a one-page-no-turning-back kind of thing. There's no stopping until you reach the final page.

Lord of Sunset by Parke Godwin
reviewed by Jean-Louis Trudel
History is rarely about losers, and it is always written by the winners. Which is why Duke William of Normandy, who won the battle of Hastings, has gotten more press than King Harold, who was beaten and killed on that battlefield. But Harold is truly Lord of Sunset, a memorable figure in an impossible situation, who deserved to be better remembered.

Fine Prey by Scott Westerfeld
reviewed by Thomas Myer
This novel whips together the fields of equestrianism, genetic engineering, and linguistics; slathers on the base emotions of bloodsport; carefully adds layers of alien philosophy, human alienation, and class consciousness. The result is amazing.

For The Time Being by Marie DesJardin
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
On an unknown planet, surrounded by beings straight from a B-Movie festival, fifty years into the future, what is a gang of geniuses supposed to do? Easy answer: build a time machine.

The Physiognomy by Jeffrey Ford
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
A World Fantasy Award nominee, this slim novel takes us to a world where insanity seems the most common condition and where faith is placed in the most tenuous of beliefs. It displays the evil that men do and the chances they have for redemption.

Irrational Fears by William Browning Spencer
reviewed by Neil Walsh
Alcoholism is a cthulhoid conspiracy. No wait! Maybe that's just what the mad cultists want you to think. Or maybe they only want you to think that they want you to think that, in order to cover up the fact that it's actually true. Is that it?

The Black Sun by Jack Williamson
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
The last of the StarSeed ships will soon be leaving Earth, taking its crew through a faster-than-light quantum-wave jump to wherever in the universe a large enough gravitational field exists to pull them out. Originally designed to seed the universe with humans, the StarSeed organization has been run into the ground by the drunken megalomaniac Herman Stecker and his sleazy aide Mr. Hinch. And so it begins...

A Knight of the Word by Terry Brooks
reviewed by Wayne MacLaurin
Five years have passed for John Ross, Knight of the Word. Five years since he aided Nest Freemark in her fight against the Demon. Five years can change a man...

Cythera and Dead Girls, Dead Boys, Dead Things by Richard Calder
reviewed by David Soyka
The story goes that in rejecting J.G. Ballard's automobile-erotic novel, Crash, an editor commented that the author should seek psychiatric help. If that editor ever read Richard Calder, he would undoubtedly recommend immediate institutionalization.

Sole Ownership by Douglas R. Miller
reviewed by Thomas Myer
By the year 2005, humans have nearly wiped out the fishing grounds on which cetaceans (whales and dolphins) and their food supplies depend for survival. So they fight back -- by employing lost or discarded weapons found in the ocean depths.

Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Jewish Fantasy and Science Fiction by Jack Dann
reviewed by Chris Donner
The title of this collection neatly links a speculative glance at the heavens with the strongly Jewish image of wandering, as well as bringing to mind the Star of David. It is apt beyond this, however, suggesting the Jewish people wandering not only over the face of the Earth but also across the cosmos, searching for truth, life, and a place to call home.

Battletech: Warrior: En Garde by Michael A. Stackpole
reviewed by Alexander von Thorn
The Warrior trilogy helped to transform BattleTech from a board game to a living universe. The story scales seamlessly from personal combat to interstellar intrigue without losing focus, and still holds up a decade after first publication.

Slippage by Harlan Ellison
reviewed by Thomas Myer
In a reprise review to coincide with the paperback release, Thomas found these stories to be Grade-A premium quality, both unusual and delightful. But he also thinks these stories mark no departure for Ellison.

Positive Match by Tony Chiu
reviewed by Todd Richmond
In a reprise review to coincide with the paperback release, Todd feels if you've a fondness for B-movies or the medical thrillers of Michael Crichton and Robin Cook, or if you enjoy the exploits of computer hackers, you'll love this book.