The Fountains of Youth by Brian Stableford
reviewed by Greg L. Johnson
Mortimer Gray is one of the first true emortals, new humans who, barring accident or violence, will theoretically live forever. Mortimer becomes an historian and this ambitious, thoughtful novel is nothing less than the memoirs of an immortal historian who is determined to understand the meaning of death.

Seeds Of Vision by Jonathan Fesmire
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Sometimes, fantasy can become a bit monotonous. In fictional worlds where magic exists and everyone has amazing powers and the line between "good" and "evil" is always razor sharp... well, perfection gets tedious after awhile. That may just be why this work is so refreshing; in the stories of this collection, nobody's perfect and not all wizards are created equal.

By Force of Arms by William C. Dietz
reviewed by Marc Goldstein
The Confederacy, a precarious coalition of alien species, has just survived a mutiny and a plot to overthrow the confederate leadership thanks to the efforts of Colonel Bill Booly. But before the Confederacy can pause to rebuild, a new danger emerges. This time, the stakes are even higher, and the future of all life hangs in the balance. Mysterious aliens called Thrakies have moved into Confederate territory, carrying with them a deadly secret.

Babylon 5.1
TV reviews by Rick Norwood
Rick tells us of a few rumours floating around on the web he's picked up and treats us to an excerpt from Gilbert and Sullivan's little-known operetta, Xena; or, The Warrior Princess.

Mid-August Books
compiled by Neil Walsh
We've seen an excellent harvest of books this season, with new works from Ursula K. Le Guin, Spider Robinson, Steven Erikson, Terry Goodkind, Richard Paul Russo, Joan Slonczewski, Mary Gentle, and others. Plus we received a shipment of SF poetry from such notables as David R. Bunch, Keith Allen Daniels, and Steven Utley

The Body Shop by Patrick Welch
reviewed by Steve Lazarowitz
The title story is a novella that takes us into a rather odd near-future where a man named Egerton is in the business of building bodies for dead people. He uses a bit of surgery and a bit of voodoo to accomplish feats that normal medicine can never hope to match. The tale twists and turns, at times most unexpectedly. In addition to the "title track," there are 16 other stories in this horror collection. All are well worth reading.

New Magazines
compiled by John O'Neill
The SF Site's FictionHome page brings you the latest news and reviews of genre magazines and other short fiction. We look at brand new issues of Talebones, Interzone, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and many more.

A Conversation With Guy Gavriel Kay
An interview with Rodger Turner
On publishers' book positioning:
"If a purely SF house buys a book of mine, they will work to their strength and stress (with cover and marketing) the fantasy elements. If a more literary house acquires rights, they'll go to their strength and think historical, magic realism (a stretch!) or even straight mainstream. I suppose it is fair to say my work, being harder to categorize, offers both challenges and opportunities to publishers..."

Dystopia by Richard Christian Matheson
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
No one matches him in the art of the truly short story. Maybe it's the brutal economy with which he chooses and uses words, as if they cost thousands apiece. Throughout this collection, there is not an unnecessary word to be found. Pick the stories apart. You won't find a better way to say what he has already said. And you won't find a better spokesman for him than this book.

The 3rd Alternative, Issue #23
reviewed by Rich Horton
This is an ultra-stylish English magazine, focussing on science fiction in that mode often called slipstream, and also on contemporary horror, with or without any supernatural component. Andy Cox, the editor, is clearly publishing what he likes, and he does not compromise quality of prose or smoothness of presentation.

Forthcoming Books
compiled by Neil Walsh
Here's a sampling of some of the F&SF books that are headed our way in the coming months...

Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon
reviewed by David Soyka
This is one of those works that are revered by critics and studied in academia, but largely unread even by serious readers. While Seamus Heaney's new translation of Beowulf may have sparked general interest in the oldest of English long poems (and forebear of sword and sorcery fantasy) beyond lit majors who have to read it, doubt exists that the Millennium SF Masterworks reissue of this novel will have similar results.

Mizora: A World of Women by Mary E. Bradley Lane
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
Written in 1880-81, this is the first feminist utopia to propose an exclusively female society. Though it reads easily, as with most utopias it is long on the exposition of the apparent superiorities of the utopian society and short on any sort of plot. Vera Zarovitch, an outspoken Russian noblewoman, is exiled to Siberia, from whence she escapes north by ship. She reaches the inner world of Mizora through an opening in the pole, where an enlightened female society exists in perfect harmony. They are blessed with advanced technologies which permit leisure for continuous education, genetic manipulation of crops and the chemical manufacture of "pure" foodstuffs.

Man of Two Worlds by Julius Schwartz with Brian M. Thomsen
reviewed by A.L. Sirois
To anyone with even a passing knowledge of the comic book industry, and most with a smattering of knowledge of the history of science fiction publishing, the name of Julius "Julie" Schwartz will be familiar. He was around for the beginnings of SF fandom in the 30s. He became the first literary agent specializing in SF while not yet out of his teens, and went on to become one of the most influential editors in comic books.

Worlds without End by John S. Lewis
reviewed by Peter D. Tillman
Besides being a fine primer on modern planetary science, this book is an exceptional resource for science-fiction world builders and readers. The author is a respected planetary scientist reporting on recent discoveries of extrasolar planets, and speculating on the range of possible planets that might host life.