Take Back Plenty by Colin Greenland
reviewed by Martin Lewis
The Plenty of the title is a gigantic space station built by an alien race called the Frasque. The Frasque have long since
been forcibly evicted by another race, the Capellans, and their bureaucrats-cum-enforcers, the Eladeldi. The Capellans,
with their superior technology, have set themselves up as benevolent hands off dictators of the Solar system.
Tabitha Jute is a blue-collar pilot who has had the good fortune to acquire her own ship, the Alice Liddell. She
is also in dire need of cash to pay off fines and get some urgent repairs.
The Kingless Land by Ed Greenwood
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Aglirta, a land studded with feuding baronies, lethal mages, travelling bards, and -- given the
title -- no king to unite the country. There is a king, but he has been sleeping for some 1000 years now; only
those wielding a mighty magic and legendary relics can awaken him.
Magic is in no short supply in this world. Lady Embra Silvertree, daughter of the most powerful and most ruthless baron of
all, is a sorceress in her own right. Until she is liberated by a pair of reluctant rescuers, she is destined to become the
lifeforce of his castle. Add one reclusive healer to the mix and you have a motley crew heading out to save Aglirta.
The City of Raven's Bluff by Ed Greenwood
a gaming module review by S. Kay Elmore
Kay's favourite part of the book is a walking tour. Over 40 pages of
eye-scrunchingly tiny text lead you along nearly every alley and byway in the
city. Along with black-and-white detail pictures to complement the full-colour
pull-out map, the tour really brings the city to life.
The Devil's Alphabet by Daryl Gregory
reviewed by Rich Horton
Paxton Martin returns to his East Tennessee hometown, Switchcreek, after over a decade in Chicago. He has been
working at various restaurants, but it's clear his life is going nowhere. He's in suspension because of the
events that made Switchcreek famous when he was fourteen. A mysterious disease called Transcription Divergence
Syndrome struck most of the residents of the town. Many died, and most of the rest were altered.
Sable by Mike Grell
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Sable (for those not in the comics loop) is a Vietnam vet, pentathlete, mercenary, safari
guide, game warden, and writer. When a savage attack by an unknown enemy wipes out his family, he becomes an
animal set on vengeance. The lengths he goes to find his enemy edge just past the border of sanity. Finally,
these exploits will result in his exile from the Africa he loves.
Do Androids Sleep With Electric Sheep? Critical Perspectives on Sexuality and Pornography in Science and Social Fiction edited by Johannes Grenzfurthner, Günther Friesinger, Daniel Fabry and Thomas Ballhausen
reviewed by Paul Graham Raven
Subtitled "monochrom's Arse Elektronika Anthology," a name taken
from a conference held in 2008 by self-styled "art-tech-philosophy collective" monchrom, and one can assume
the vast majority of the material within it was generated or presented at said event (although the book
is devoid of any explanation of its origins, as if inviting the reader to work it out for themselves). While a lot
of the content is very much NSFW in subject matter, it's not particularly
titillatory (unless you have a sexual fetish for academic language and/or science fictional speculation, perhaps,
which isn't completely implausible).
Techno Life 2020 by Lois H. Gresh
reviewed by A.L. Sirois
Science fiction writers occasionally find themselves in a dilemma: they have a great idea but no story to fit it. A.L. would
bet serious coin that there isn't an SF writer on the planet who doesn't have a bulging idea file or two sitting
in his or her filing cabinet, desk drawer or hard drive, full of character sketches, tidbits snipped from
newspapers of magazines, or off-printed from a web page somewhere.
The Computers of Star Trek by Lois H. Gresh & Robert Weinberg
reviewed by Jonathan Fesmire
The authors explore Star Trek technology and explain what they
see as more likely to be the future of human technological advancement.
Although the various Star Trek series have always extrapolated
future technology based on current models, even now the computers of
Star Trek are essentially out of date.
The Termination Node by Lois H. Gresh & Robert Weinberg
reviewed by Rodger Turner
The authors created a nerve-tingling story with monstrous consequences. Most of the book's devastating
computer alterations are disarmingly simple and can happen today. Don't let
anyone tell you differently.
Clan Novel: Tzimisce by Eric Griffin
reviewed by Jonathan Fesmire
Often, a dark atmosphere and graphic horror do not quite mix; unseen terrors
raise the level of fear and contribute to the atmosphere. However, this
author manages to plunge the reader into a chilling world that is unbroken
by its graphic violence, as Vampires do battle, killing and torturing each
other with ghastly creativity.
The Rift Walker by Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith
reviewed by Nathan Brazil
The book opens with Princess Adele struggling to reconcile her duties with the call of her heart. The
Equatorian Empire and their American Republic allies stand on the brink on an ill-conceived war with the vampire
clans of the north, and the genocidal strategy formulated by Senator Clark drives Adele to desperate
measures. Reunited with her love, the mysterious Greyfriar, Adele soon finds herself pursued by her own
people, in addition to the bombastic Senator Clark. The American, despite an interrupted wedding ceremony,
still considers himself to be her husband and, by default, the future Emperor.
The Greyfriar by Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith
reviewed by Nathan Brazil
The premise is that in 1870 a terrible plague of vampires swept over the northern regions of the world, annihilating
millions of humans outright, and condemning many more to death from disease and famine. The survivors fled south
to the tropics, where vampires could not stand the constant heat. Aided by their steam-based technology and a
determination to rise again, humans rebuilt their shattered societies. Princess Adele is the heir to the Empire
of Equatoria, a remnant of the old British Empire. Adele is 19, and promised in marriage, for political reasons,
to a man she has never met.
Dalek I Loved You: A Memoir by Nick Griffiths
reviewed by David Maddox
If you were too young, were too old or not in
any way, shape or form British, what was it like living through that crazy era of the 70s and the
effect Doctor Who was having on the population?
Writer Nick Griffiths doesn't try to answer that.
The Ordinary by Jim Grimsley
reviewed by Charlene Brusso
There are plenty of so-called "literary" writers from the mainstream world who are in truth fantasy writers, freely walking
the less-traveled lands of genre to find new ways to frame their stories and ask questions about identity, faith, and
desire. Though not as well known as some, the author's second genre novel shows he is definitely one of the best; complex
as Gene Wolfe, more thorough than Ursula K. Le Guin.
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Cauldron of Iniquity by Anne Lesley Groell
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Meet the Cloak and the Dagger: assassins and investigators of the highest order... with the least experience. Jenifleur
and Thibault are the newest members of the Assassins Guild. Don't let the fact that they survived their first two
assignments fool you; they barely made it out with their lives. Any assignment could be the one that sees the end of
the pair's adventures and their young lives.
Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman
reviewed by Nathan Brazil
In the wake of Heroes and the re-emergence of The Bionic Woman, the author's timing is
fortuitous. Pitched between familiarity and spandex-shifted reality, it is written in
the first person, split between the perspectives of two characters. One, a female cyborg called Fatale, newly recruited
to the newly reformed Champions, the world's greatest superteam, and the other, Doctor Impossible, who is the epitome of
a science-based evil genius.
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
an audiobook review by Nicki Gerlach
Seventeen-year-old Quentin Coldwater is pretty much your average highly-intelligent seventeen-year-old: he
plays at being aloof, cool, and indifferent to the trials of being a teenager. But there’s a secret part of
him that longs for magic -- the same part of him that still loves the series of children’s books set in the
magical land of Fillory.
Tropic of Night by Michael Gruber
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
Jane Doe is on the run from forces that most of us can't comprehend. She's running from her husband.
Once, she was an anthropologist who studied an elusive tribe whose women practiced magic and slept with spirits. After an incident
made her feel as if she were losing her mind, she fled for home where she met the handsome and promising poet, Witt Moore. They
marry and live an enviable lifestyle until they are offered a trip to Africa to study the Yoruba. What they find is so much
more. Witt, wanting to immerse himself into his African heritage is all too eager to go.
Attila's Treasure by Stephan Grundy
reviewed by Neil Walsh
If you're already familiar with the events of the Volsung/Nibelung cycle,
this sequel to Rhinegold can be read as a stand-alone novel combining
Germanic legend with historical anthropological details of the 5th century
Goths and Huns. As a fragment of
the multi-generational tragedy told in Rhinegold, Neil considers this
book to be a tighter work and an even better read than Grundy's first novel.
Silicon Sunset by Scott T. Grusky
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
If John Sladek's Mechasm was the last book that made you laugh at technology
gone awry, you are going to be so pleased you stopped to enjoy this novel. With
paranoia in style again, it has conspiracies to spare and a cynical slant
that will entertain almost every segment of the population.
The Mabinogion by Lady Charlotte Guest and The Mabinogion Tetraology by Evangeline Walton
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
Wow! The people at Harper Collins/Voyager really put together a beaut' here, something reminiscent of
the lovely illustrated editions of late Victorian and Edwardian times. A lovely, evocative and eminently readable, if
bowlderized, translation of the 14th century Red Book of Hergest and the late 16th
century "Peniardd M.S." with 50 gorgeous colour plates by Alan Lee make this edition of the Mabinogion a joy
to behold, to read, and the quality of its production make it an edition worthy of a prominent place on anyone's bookshelves.
Stable Strategies and Others by Eileen Gunn
reviewed by Peter D. Tillman
She is surely one of SF's least-prolific good writers, having published all of eleven stories since her debut in
1978. Fortunately, all of the stories in the collection are worthwhile, and some are brilliant -- such as "Green Fire," co-written
with Michael Swanwick, Andy Duncan, and Pat Murphy: a WWII pulp burlesque,
starring Isaac Asimov and Bob Heinlein, and featuring Tesla
super-science, topless pirates, giant plesiosaurs, a kraken -- and a special guest appearance by Lord Quetzalcoatl.
Reading Science Fiction edited by James Gunn, Marleen S. Barr & Matthew Candelaria
reviewed by Paul Kincaid
What are we teaching our children?
Science fiction is increasingly featured on the curriculum of universities and even schools, but what sort of
science fiction? How is the genre being presented? What purpose can it serve in the classroom? This book
appears to be an attempt to answer those questions. It is a collection of essays that clearly aspires
to be an undergraduate or high school textbook.
The Merlin Mystery by Jonathan Gunson
reviewed by Neil Walsh
Is it a book? Is it a puzzle? Is it the best darned marketing ploy in the
publishing industry? Well, yes, it's all of those, but it's also a beautifully packaged
product, sure to challenge the cleverest of treasure hunters.
UFO in Her Eyes by Xiaolu Guo
reviewed by Paul Kincaid
This novella is a story of aftermath. The event that kick-starts the story happened some days before the book opens,
we never see it, we never know for sure if it really happened. All we know are the consequences that build inexorably
upon it. And even these have clearly been waiting for an appropriate occasion.
Ghosts: Recent Hauntings edited by Paula Guran
reviewed by Mario Guslandi
If you think that the ghost story is a literary genre which, after its golden era in the Victorian and Edwardian ages, is
gone out of fashion, you're completely wrong and this anthology of modern ghostly tales is here to prove it. The editor
has assembled thirty pieces of contemporary fiction (mostly reprints) dealing with spectres, apparitions and
spirits visiting today's world, lurking in our cities, haunting our modern houses, disquieting our skeptical, technological minds.
Those Who Fight Monsters edited by Justin Gustainis
reviewed by Mario Guslandi
Inducing suspension of disbelief is the necessary requirement for any work of fiction. This is especially true for
stories dealing with the supernatural or the paranormal. But when the supernatural issue is addressed
by a "detective," who has to use his skill to analyze and deduce
things become even more difficult and only great
writers can manage to achieve and maintain the required suspension of disbelief.
Infernal Sorceress by Gary Gygax
reviewed by John Enzinas
The book tells the story of two rogues who are framed for a crime they didn't commit and blackmailed into
hunting down the real perpetrators. In doing so, they discover a plot to take over the world which they
temporarily set back. They encounter and thwart and old nemesis. In a surprising twist, the men they are working
for were using them as pawns and actually wished to take over the world themselves.
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