Mind the Gap by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon
reviewed by Michael M Jones
For as long as she can remember, 17-year-old Jazz and her mother have been taken care of by the enigmatic dark-suited men known as the Uncles, equally relying on and fearing them. For that same length of time, Jazz's mother has drilled into her a sense of paranoia and distrust, to be wary of everyone, no matter what their outward appearance. There's the feeling that they're all waiting for something to happen, and one day, it does. Jazz comes home to find her mother murdered by the Uncles, and a last message written in her own blood: Jazz hide forever.

Jupiter, Issue 20, April 2008 / Jupiter, Issue 21, July 2008
reviewed by Rich Horton
The SF featured tends to have a slightly old-fashioned feel. As with many small press publications, the stories are generally short. The presentation is simple but clean and attractive. As a special feature for the fifth anniversary, issue XXI has a color cover, and rather a nice one, by Jesse Speak. There is typically one poem per issue, and very occasionally another feature -- but mostly we're talking lots of fiction.

Babylon 5.1
TV reviews by Rick Norwood
So far this month, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Fringe have aired. Rick enjoyed one and he was bored by the other. He has some thoughts on why he enjoys SF on TV and what catches his fancy.

Eclipse One edited by Jonathan Strahan
reviewed by Paul Kincaid
More than a generation ago, original SF short story series like Orbit, Universe, and New Dimensions featured writers such as Ursula K. Le Guin, James Tiptree, Jr., Gardner Dozois, Gene Wolfe, Joanna Russ, R.A. Lafferty and Kate Wilhelm. Every so often someone tries to revive the original anthology series. Now Jonathan Strahan is having a go with Eclipse, and specifically taking Universe as his model.

The Blood King by Gail Z. Martin
reviewed by Michael M Jones
The Winter Kingdoms are in turmoil. In Margolan, Prince Jared has brutally seized the throne, and now troops loyal to him wreak havoc and spread terror throughout the land, crushing all those who dare oppose him. His advisor, the undead mage Foor Arontala, continues to feed souls to a dark artifact, all in the hopes of resurrecting the dread Obsidian King by the time of the Hawthorn Moon, which approaches swiftly. Creatures born of magic stalk the borders of neighboring kingdoms, and the restless spirits of the unjustly dead cry out for revenge.

Warrior Wisewoman edited by Roby James
reviewed by Amal El-Mohtar
Warrior Wisewoman is the first volume of what's to become an annual anthology put out by Norilana Books as a sister-series to Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress. The idea is to have a series devoted to women's science fiction with a strong focus "on the interface between scientific exploration and our sense of wonder." It consists of twelve short stories, by Douglas A. Van Belle, Rose Lemberg, Catherine Mintz, Bhaskar Dutt, Nancy Fulda, Fran LaPlaca, Mary Catelli, Anna Sykora, Peg Robinson, Vylar Kaftan, Colleen Anderson and Sally Kuntz.

Nexus Graphica
a column by Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams
The "Janes" have been reigning, to certain degree, over the graphic novel world. Those would be the P.L.A.I.N. Janes created by writer Cecil Castellucci and artist Jim Rugg, the kick-off title to DC/Vertigo's Minx line of graphic novels, the marketing ploy being that they are more femme-friendly types of comics, and the irony being that Cecil was one of the few actual femmes initially writing for the imprint. Mark London Williams gives a little history and has an inteview with Cecil.

New Audiobooks
compiled by Susan Dunman
At times it's more convenient (and enjoyable) to hear the latest in science fiction and fantasy. Recent audiobook releases include works by Orson Scott Card, Allen Steele, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, M. John Harrison, Philip K. Dick and Elizabeth Bear.

New Arrivals
compiled by Neil Walsh
Our latest new arrivals include new books from Terry Pratchett, Lee Driver, Ian C. Esslemont, Steven Erikson, Dave Duncan, and forthcoming books from Charles de Lint, Thomas M. Disch, Christopher Barzak, new anthologies, and much more.

Rhetorics of Fantasy by Farah Mendlesohn and Feminist Narrative and the Supernatural by Katherine J. Weese
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
As a preface, it is worth pointing out that these titles are written by academics, largely for academics in the field of English literature, so even if you are an academic like Georges, but in the field of agriculture, some of this is difficult to wade through if one isn't knowledgeable in the field's jargon. He admits he had to take notes to sort it all out. This isn't to say the material isn't interesting or the approach valid, just that these aren't the sort of books one takes to the beach.

The Scent of Shadows by Vicki Pettersson
reviewed by David Hebblethwaite
Joanna Archer belongs to a wealthy Las Vegas family, but she didn't turn out quite like Olivia, her glamorous sister. Brutally raped at the age of 16, Joanna learned how to fight back and is now a photographer, documenting the side of Vegas that the tourists don't see. But, when a blind date turns sour, she discovers that there's a whole lot more out there than even she knows about. Every major city has its own Zodiac troop, a dozen people with extraordinary powers of strength, healing, and more besides; they are the Light, whose mission is to maintain peace and battle their Shadow counterparts.

2012: A Conspiracy Tale by Bryan Collier
reviewed by John Enzinas
Unknown by most, there has been a conspiracy to return some aliens to their former god king status with the help of their human underlings who have been maintaining and managing their master's agenda for millennia.