Arthurian Sites in the West by C.A. Ralegh Radford & Michael J. Swanton
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
For those of you hooked on Arthurian legendary and lore, this book serves as a perfect counterpoint, describing and discussing the archæological evidence at four putative Arthurian sites in southwest Wales: Cadbury-Camelot, Tintagel, Glastonbury and Castle Dore and the Tristan Stone. Originally designed for specialists in mediæval literature attending a conference, the book's purpose was to present what, if any, hard archæological or historical evidence there was for the traditional association of certain sites in southwestern Britain with Arthurian legends.

Guardian of the Vision by Irene Radford
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
This book is the latest instalment of the story of the descendents of Merlin and Nimuë and their battle for the powers of the Pendragon continues in Elizabethan England. Twins Griffin and Donovan Kirkwood were once as close as their looks. The main difference is that Griffin has inherited the magic that is needed to claim the title of Pendragon.

The Fractal Prince by Hannu Rajaniemi
reviewed by Greg L. Johnson
In the Oort Cloud, post-human societies sculpt ice into massive art forms, while on Earth uncontrolled nanotech and wild viruses twist and shape the desert and anyone who dares venture there. A thief and an angel contemplate the consequences of completing their mission, and two sisters play a game of family politics with the fate of the last humans on Earth at stake. That's just the start.

The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi
reviewed by Rich Horton
Jean le Flambeur is a thief. As the novel opens, he is sprung from a space-based prison by Mieli, an Oortian woman who hopes to get her lover back by serving a certain goddess -- and the service now requested is to have Jean steal something. And that requires a trip to the Oubliette on Mars, where Jean apparently once lived under a different name, and betrayed a woman, and hid something that Mieli's employer wants.

Keeper of the Realm by H.J. Ralles
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
One exposure to a group of LARP gamers is more than enough to convince anyone that these role players live inside the world of the game. Are video and computer gamers that... well... obsessive? How many people would want to be in the game, following the rules and doing there best to survive? Come to think of it, how many would make it through when the new reality hits them in the face and they have only one life to risk; no reset for when the boss beats them?

The Surgeon's Tale and Other Stories by Cat Rambo & Jeff VanderMeer
reviewed by Mario Guslandi
A slim booklet of only 90 pages, it assembles five pieces of fiction including the title story, a collaborative work by the two writers. It is the highlight of the book, providing an excellent mix of horror and fantasy where an old surgeon reminisces about his years as a medical student and the daring experiment attempting to bring back to life the corpse of a young woman.

Triangulation: Morning After edited by Stephen V. Ramey
reviewed by Trent Walters
This is an anthology loosely themed by the editor and interpreted by the authors. The title suggests this anthology focuses on apocalypses; however, most of these are fantasy stories. About half of the stories would stand well -- if not stand out -- amid the contents of a professional magazine. If there's a standout among these, it might be the Odyssey-flavored, African fairy tale "Nyabinghi's Sacred Drum" by Susan Urbanek Linville although DeAnna Knippling's alien "The Third Portal" gives Linville's tough competition for that prize.

Piercing the Darkness: Undercover with Vampires in America Today by Katherine Ramsland
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
Be forewarned, if you want the Jerry Springer version of vampires in America, the stories of Goth mall-rats, or the born-again Christian version of vampires as Satanists corrupting just about everybody, this book is not for you.

British Kids Have More Fun: Swallows and Amazons
a column by Georges T. Dodds
John, Susan, Letitia, and Roger Walker are British school-children spending their summer holidays with their mother near a lake in northern England. From an overlook they can see a large island, and plan to sail there and camp. After some planning and gathering of equipment and food, they do so, with John as captain of the small sailboat Swallow, Susan as mate, Titty as Able-Seaman, and Roger as ship's boy -- setting up camp on the island.

Conspiracy of Silence by Kevin D. Randle
reviewed by Thomas Myer
Tom finds that Kevin Randle presents an intriguing case for the U.S. Government covering up the details surrounding the Roswell crash.

The Japanese Devil Fish Girl and Other Unnatural Attractions by Robert Rankin
reviewed by Sandra Scholes
It is only ten years after the Martians had invaded Earth, at least according to H.G. Wells, where they were killed by viruses unknown to them. Professor Coffin has the remains of some of the Martians on display as a curiosity among many other unnatural attractions that are losing their interest quickly among the visitors.

Retromancer by Robert Rankin
reviewed by John Enzinas
We return to the adventures of Rizla and that paragon of perfection, Hugo Rune. The story begins with young Rizla awakening to discover that not only has the past been changed by evil forces and the Nazis have won the war, but he is also now expected to get a job. In his attempt to avoid the latter, he is captured by the former.

The Da-Da-De-Da-Da Code by Robert Rankin
reviewed by Nathan Brazil
Jonny Hooker is a 27 year-old musician who is accompanied, in a metaphysical sense, by an imaginary monkey boy called Mr Giggles. Nobody else can see or hear Mr Giggles, but that does not mean he isn't there. Soon after the story begins, Jonny is found dead in the pond of Gunnersbury Park. Minus his head, which appears to have exploded.

The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse by Robert Rankin
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
Imagine Who Framed Roger Rabbit in Toy City rather than Toon Town, where the characters are wind-up toys or Mother Goose characters, and you'll have some idea of where this book is headed. Chock full of puns, double-entendres, quirky in-jokes, lampooned clichés and loopy characters, this is a story that you will find either outrageously funny or forgettable puerile humour.

The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom
an audiobook review by Gil T. Wilson
Conrad Harrison receives a large inheritance from a father he hardly knew. While returning to his home in Los Angeles, Conrad stops in rural Wisconsin and buys a house. The century-old house was once a birthing house, where midwives delivered countless babies, both alive and dead. Conrad is immediately drawn to the house and goes back to Los Angeles to get his wife, Jo, so they can try to build a new beginning with a marriage that seems to be on the rocks.

Nirvana's Children by Ranulfo
reviewed by Nathan Brazil
The main character, and narrator, is a 15 year-old Filipino named Napoleon, living in Australia. Like most kids of that age, Napoleon is in conflict with his parents, but unlike most, he runs away from home. He quickly discovers that life without money, on the streets and with no friends, is a lot harder than he'd imagined. He joins a gang with an adult leader, known only as Blondie -- a cross between Fagin and Peter Pan -- whose ultimate ambition is to lead a children's crusade, and wrest control of the world from the corrupt adults. Blondie, of course, is two pies short of a picnic, but his followers love him anyway.

Bitten to Death by Jennifer Rardin
reviewed by Michael M Jones
Once again, secret agent extraordinaire Jaz Parks has been sent on a dangerous mission. Along with her mentor/sort-of lover Vayl, she's been dispatched to Greece, to infiltrate a Vampere Trust, a secretive community of vampires that once played home to Jaz's number one target, the terrorist Edward "The Raptor" Ramos. Unfortunately, the mission's pretty much screwed before Jaz and Vayl even arrive.

The History of The Hobbit by John D. Rateliff
reviewed by Steven H Silver
Long before Frodo traveled to Morder to destroy the One Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote another tale of Bilbo, who traveled with the wizard Bladorthin to steal the treasure of the dragon Pryftan. If some of those names are not familiar, it is because Tolkien's The Hobbit went through numerous iterations before reaching its final version.

The Golden Key by Melanie Rawn, Jennifer Roberson, and Kate Elliott
reviewed by Catherine Asaro
Guest Reviewer Catherine Asaro thinks this is a fantasy novel about art. Or perhaps a generational saga? Actually, it is an alternate universe story. Then again, maybe it's hard science fiction. Or should that be hard fantasy? To define it within only one genre is impossible. Suffice it to say that this nominee for the World Fantasy Award is a remarkable book.

Star Wars: Street of Shadows by Michael Reaves
reviewed by Michael M Jones
In the bloody, violent days following the implementation of Order 66, the Jedi have been slaughtered, their temples burned, their fellowship broken by the newly-formed Empire, with the Emperor's protégé, Darth Vader, tracking down those few to survive and escape. One Jedi, Jax Pavan, has gone to ground in the slums of Coruscant, the city-planet that serves as the very heart of the Empire. Here, among with fellow ex-Jedi Laranth, hardboiled reporter Den Dhur, independent-minded droid I-5YQ and Vader's own former personal aide Haninum Tyk Rhinann, Jax Pavan has formed a small detective agency.

Star Wars: Jedi Twilight by Michael Reaves
reviewed by Michael M Jones
On the city-planet of Coruscant, capital of the new Galactic Empire, no one is resting easy. The Clone Wars are still fresh in everyone's minds, with the fall of the Jedi and the ascension of Palpatine to the Emperor's throne still having far-flung repercussions. For not every Jedi is dead, and not all hope has been crushed. Plotting is afoot, and at the center of it all, unwittingly, is Jax Pavan, Jedi Knight turned bounty hunter, having fled into the worst parts of the city in an attempt to escape the fates of his brethren. The past, unfortunately, is about to catch up to him.

Star Wars: Death Star by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry
reviewed by David Maddox
It is the most destructive battle station ever to threaten the Star Wars Universe. The Death Star's name says it all. A weapon of unimaginable proportion that can destroy entire planets in an instant. How could anything stand against such a construct? But how did this monstrosity come to be? And what of those that helped build it?

Star Wars: Darth Maul - Shadow Hunter by Michael Reaves
reviewed by David Maddox
Set mere days before the latest movie, the book begins when a rouge Neimodian decides to get rich by selling information on the Trade Federation's impending blockade of Naboo. The evil Darth Sidious sends apprentice Darth Maul to eliminate the traitor and anyone else he's interacted with. This turns out to be Lorn Pavan, a rogue information broker with a grudge against Jedi along with his sarcastic partner, a 'droid named I-Five. Along the way, young Jedi Padawan Darsha Assant, out on her first mission, gets caught up protecting the two from the deadly Sith Apprentice.

Voodoo Child by Michael Reaves
reviewed by Neil Walsh
It's Mardi Gras, 1998. Most of New Orleans is partying. Mal Sangre is plotting. You see, Mal Sangre is an ambitious man. He wants to be a god. And he doesn't care who has to die -- or how many -- or how horribly -- before he attains his goal.

The River of Shadows by Robert V.S. Redick
reviewed by Dominic Cilli
If you have been following the series, the crew of the Catharand has successfully made it across the ruling sea, well most of them anyway, and now the really weird stuff seems to begin. You see, not only did the crew cross the untraversable ruling sea, it seems they have been transported 200 years into the future and some fairly significant changes have occurred to the human race. Meanwhile, Panzel, Neeps, Thasa and the host of supporting characters are still at odds with the evil sorcerer Arunis and his quest to master the power of the Nilstone in order to destroy Alifros.

The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V.S. Redick
reviewed by Tammy Moore
Sometimes fate has an dark way of fulfilling wishes. The young scholar Pazel Pathkendle wanted nothing more than to follow his lost father onto the waves as a sailor; he never knew fulfillment of that desire would cost him what was left of his family, his city and his freedom. Saved from the slaver's block at the last instant by the intervention of his Arquali "uncle," the doctor Ignus Chadfellow, Pazel was sent to sea as a tarry instead, a bond servant to be traded on his master's whim like a loaf of bread.

The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V.S. Redick
reviewed by David Soyka
The Imperial Merchant Ship Chathrand is an immense six hundred year old vessel that is the last of her kind. Because of his knowledge of certain treacherous waters, a discredited captain has been reinstated to lead a subterfuge in which the ship's sinking will be faked in order to complete a secret mission to uncage an ancient evil to provoke war between the arch-enemy nations of Arqual and the Mzithrin Empire.

Dogs of Truth by Kit Reed
reviewed by Paul Kincaid
She continues to turn out stories that are fresh, daring, clever, unexpected, all the things we love about really great science fiction. Over the past decades, she has won plaudits from most of the top writers in the genre, and from most of the serious press outside the genre. So how come there is still a sense of an undiscovered treasure about her? How come she isn't automatically recognised far and wide for what she is, quite simply one of the best writers at work in the genre today?

Robert Reed

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
It is a world where cities are built on axles or treads, the number of tiers the city has determines its place on the food chain, and London, even though it has been skulking in the wastelands, is high up there. One of the first cities to take to the treads, it has determined, like a shark, to keep moving, and to keep moving it needs to chase down prey -- smaller cities and towns -- and consume them. Literally. It has huge jaws in the lowest tier that open and drag the city or town in, while people from the various guilds wait to dismantle it and take the dwellers as prisoners and slaves. Tom Natsworthy, an apprentice at the Museum of Natural History, has been sent down to help, to make sure that anything of value doesn't get recycled in the great maw of Mechanized Darwinism.

The Revenant by Phoebe Reeves
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Nenut's life came to a grinding, shattering stop one day with the murder of her mother. That and the fact that her father and everyone else blamed her. Now -- even though what she sees may come from the past, the present, the never-was, and, just possibly, the future -- there is no other way to find the answers she seeks. This book is intense, and it requires the reader's full attention. Mesmerizing, heartbreaking, and beautifully done.

Shifter by Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens
reviewed by Alisa McCune
Galen Sword is a troubled man. Orphaned at an early age, Sword has spent most of his life as a playboy looking for new thrills. One night, Sword finds himself in the ER after a horrible car accident. The hospital staff decides he is too far gone and they move on to the next patient. At death's door, Sword is healed and gains memories of his childhood. He is the heir to the Victor of Pendragon but he does not know what this means or where he is from.

Icefire by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Not all alien landscapes exist in outer space. This novel takes you to a place as foreign as the surface of Mars and as inhospitable. Welcome to the frozen desert of Antarctica. Take the chance to get to know it; someone's about to make certain it's wiped out.

Star Trek, The Next Generation: The Continuing Mission by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens
reviewed by Wayne MacLaurin
A lush coffee table-sized tome packed with photos, drawings and sketches covering the entire series from pre-production to the movies and beyond, this book guides the reader through the chapters (seasons) of the series and provide an interesting glimpse into what went on behind the scenes.

A Time to Die by Mickey Zucker Reichert
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
A few years back, Benjamin Nash was elected President of the United States on a platform that promised the most impossible of things: an end to death. Not just sometime, but by the year 2030. It is a promise he has not really able to keep, but 2030 rolls around he's still in office. Doctor Patricia Jewett is a chronic care specialist who obeys the strict laws of life at all cost. The patients must be kept alive no matter the damage, and babies, even if the fetus proves to genetically mutated beyond all expectations of a decent life, are brought to term. Patricia is the one who watches over them all, until two major things happen.

The Beasts of Barakhai by Mickey Zucker Reichert
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Consider Benton Collins, mild-mannered graduate student in biology, not your typical hero-type, maybe not even your average second-banana. One inhabitant of the strange world of Barakhai thinks that Ben is the deliverer the citizens have been waiting for. Zylas, the recruiter of this unlikely champion, doesn't give him much of a chance to say no; instead, he tricks Ben into following him through a bolt-hole into a place no human ever envisioned.

Virals by Kathy Reichs
reviewed by Dan Shade
We find ourselves in the company of four 12- to 14-year-olds. Tory Brennan, Temperance Brennan's niece, is the youngest and the only female in the group. Ben, Hi, and Tory make up the rest of the pack. They are all science and sci-fi geeks and the luckiest kids in the world. Their parents are an elite group of scientists from the University of South Carolina who are fortunate enough to live on Loggerhead Island, off the coast of South Carolina, which is all but deserted except for the research labs, a small pack of dog/wolf mixes, and a bunch of Rhesus monkeys who seem to have lived on the island since escaping from the labs many years ago.

Bam! 172 Hellaciously Quick Stories and The Writing Engine by Luc Reid
reviewed by Trent Walters
The collection of short shorts, Bam! 172 Hellaciously Quick Stories, widely displays his ability for ideas: fiery tornados aswim with sharks, attempted murders on Barbie, a war conducted by clowns. His stories have a penchant for turning familiar ideas on their head: aliens abduct a human to conduct... a taste-test for to discover the superior cheesecake? Another book worth looting is his book on ideas, The Writing Engine. He discusses the psychology of finding and developing ideas.

Year Zero by Rob Reid
reviewed by Greg L. Johnson
The aliens have heard our music, and they like it. Actually, they love it to the point where the first time they heard human music it caused all listeners to become comatose with rhapsody, disrupting entire societies to the point where, after recovering from the shock, calendars were re-numbered, with all dates now measured by whether they are Pre or Post K. What the K stands for is one of the underlying jokes of this hilarious first novel.

Soldiers of the Sun: Overthrowing Sebau by Ivy Reisner
reviewed by Sandra Scholes
Set is a god who has set his sights on a young woman. He has taken an interest in her, and it isn't just a minor crush, he is in it for the long haul after seeing how Naomi is unhappy with her life. She starts out as uninterested in his advances, and even indifferent to them, but she soon comes to understand him more than she thinks later on.

Sweet Miss Honeywell's Revenge by Kathryn Reiss
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
Zibby has been working hard to save money for a brand new pair of roller blades. Blades she plans on getting for her birthday when her mother and aunt finish perusing the tables of the local dollhouse show. Just before the show ends, Zibby finds herself compelled to buy an antique dollhouse that costs exactly -- to the penny -- what she has in her pocket. Her mother is thrilled, but when Zibby comes out of the trance, anger doesn't quite describe her feelings.

Paperquake by Kathryn Reiss
reviewed by Ian Nichols
The mystery begins when Violet Jackstone, the non-identical sibling in a set of triplets, begins to dream of things which she has never experienced, but which seem real to her. Dreams of ordinary domestic pastimes, such as needlepoint, are intermingled with dreams of terrible tragedy, of flames and earthquake. The earthquake dreams, she thinks, might be explained by the series of small tremors which San Francisco, where she lives, is experiencing. But how to explain the domestic dreams?

Paint by Magic by Kathryn Reiss
reviewed by Ian Nichols
One of the objectives of the time-travel story is to evoke the period to which the journey takes place. This is, perhaps, easier when the scene is in the dark ages, or the age of dinosaurs, where action can take the place of characterisation, and the unfamiliarity of the setting can be a fascination in itself. However, when the setting is just a little while ago, and the action is not particularly violent, then the writer is required to evoke the people of the time, rather than the action. It is this skill in characterisation at which the author excels.

Theme Planet by Andy Remic
reviewed by Sandra Scholes
Dexter Colls is a policeman on holiday with his family on Theme Planet. He thinks he has found a great place to take a break from Earth life, but when his family goes missing, he doesn't know where to look until he unearths a conspiracy. This is what gets his policeman's instincts off and running, and this is also where he is out to find the culprits come hell or high water.

Biohell by Andy Remic
reviewed by Martin Lewis
Military SF has never been as popular in the UK as it is in the US. Perhaps it is the fact that the British aren't very good with guns, as evidenced by scores of implausible Mockney gangster films. Perhaps it is a question of politics since British science fiction is often seen as monolithically liberal. That isn't the whole story though.

Hooking the Reader by Sharon Rendell-Smock
reviewed by Charlene Brusso
The book is a compilation of responses from genre writers (mystery, romance, SF & fantasy, western) when asked to supply "what they thought of some of their own opening sentences; to provide some of their own favorites and how they came up with them; and in general their thought processes when creating those sentences." The sheer volume of correspondents is impressive.

Mike Resnick

The Business of Science Fiction: Two Insiders Discuss Writing and Publishing by Mike Resnick and Barry N. Malzberg
reviewed by Steven H Silver
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America publish a quarterly magazine, the SFWA Bulletin, which contains a variety of articles on the business of writing, markets, news about the members, and so on. One feature of the Bulletin, which has run since the 90s, is a series of dialogues between Mike Resnick and Barry N. Malzberg on the business of writing.

Alien Crimes edited by Mike Resnick
reviewed by Peter D. Tillman
This latest entry in the Science Fiction Book Club's original anthology series is a follow-up to Down These Dark Spaceways, a volume of hard-boiled SF detective stories. The highlight is Gregory Benford's "Dark Heaven", an elegant tribute to the Travis McGee mysteries, set in Benford's native Alabama. This atmospheric Gulf Coast pastoral features the obligatory world weary detective in a near future police procedural that takes a very odd turn. Alien amphibians from Centaurus have established a coastal enclave near Mobile. Detective Mckenna is investigating an odd series of drowning homicides...

Worldcon Guest of Honor Speeches edited by Mike Resnick and Joe Siclari
reviewed by Jayme Lynn Blaschke
Collected here are 31 speeches spanning the history of the World Science Fiction convention, delivered by such genre luminaries as Hugo Gernsback, John W. Campbell, Jr., Robert A. Heinlein and Kate Wilhelm. It's not a complete representation -- the editors are quite upfront in the introduction about their inability to secure permission to publish some of the speeches, and difficulty in even locating tapes or transcripts of others.

Men Writing Science Fiction As Women, Women Writing Science Fiction As Men and New Voices in Science Fiction edited by Mike Resnick
reviewed by Michael M Jones
Two of these anthologies explore two sides to the same coin. Science fiction has always been about exploring the realm of possibilities, and that includes exploring gender and perception. The editor approached a number of writers, and asked them to imagine a world from the viewpoint of the opposite gender. The only rules: that the story had to be told from the viewpoint of a specific gender (male if the author was female, female if the author was male), and if changing the narrator from Victor to Victoria or vice versa didn't invalidate the story, they didn't want it. That said, the authors were all ready for the challenge.