Review

July 2003
© 2003 Ernest Lilley / SFRevu
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July 2003 UK Releases by John Berlyne

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Summer is in full swing here in the UK, so whilst you're sheltering from the rain, you'll find some great genre releases for this month. So, in no particular order...

Earthlight, the SF and Fantasy imprint of Simon & Schuster, release the second book in the sweeping Saga of the Seven Suns by Kevin J Anderson. The new title, A Forest of Stars is a hefty trade paperback priced at Ł10.99 and is released alongside the mass market edition of book one, Hidden Empire. This is priced at Ł6.99.

From Gollancz, there is a smaller clutch of releases than usual, but an excellent one nonetheless. Top of their list this month is the latest novel in the Legends of the Raven series by James Barclay. Shadowheart is released in hardcover and trade paperback priced at Ł17.99 and Ł10.99 respectively, and the previous series titles have been repackaged, with new cover art and impressive stained edges. Also released is the mass market edition of Elfsorrow priced at Ł6.99 - be sure to catch my Sept'02 review of this title. The Raven books are excellent heroic fantasy and shouldn't be missed.

Also from Gollancz is the mass market edition of Robert Silverberg’s The Longest Way Home (Ł6.99) and, as number 54 in the SF Masterworks series, Pohl and Kornbluth’s superb classic The Space Merchants, described by Kingsley Amis as having "...many claims to being the best science fiction novel so far" - and who are we to argue! The Space Merchants is a trade paperback priced at Ł6.99. Lastly from Gollancz there is The Future War – Terminator 2: Book 3 ny S.M. Sterling. This is a large format trade paperback priced at Ł9.99.

HarperCollins/Voyager lead with a brand new hard cover by David and Leigh Eddings. The Elder Gods is priced at Ł17.99 and you can see what our own Iain Emsley thought about it by reading his review in this issue. There are mass market releases for Stephen Baxter with Phase Space being issued at Ł6.99, and for Raymond E. Feist and Joel Rosenberg, who see their book, Murder in Lamut issued at the same price of Ł6.99.

Feist has a new Riftwar collaboration released this month, this time with Steve Stirling. Jimmy the Hand is a hardcover priced at Ł17.99. Finally, a paperback original release from Voyager in the form of Lynne Flewelling's Hidden Warrior. This is the second title in The Tamir Triad, and it should be noted that the first novel, The Bone Doll's Twin received some excellent reviews and featured cover quotes from both George R.R. Martin and Robin Hobb - true, they're both Voyager authors, but all the same... not bad!

Two high profile titles from Hodder & Stoughton for the summer. The new Jasper Fforde novel, The Well of Lost Plots is released in both trade paperback (Ł10.99) and hard cover (Ł17.99). I can't get enough of this witty and inventive writer and so recommend this one very highly indeed. Find out more by reading my review in this month's issue. And a very different release comes from Simon Clark, the acclaimed British horror novelist. Vampyrrhic Rites, a sequel to Clark's 1998 novel, Vampyrrhic is a hardcover priced at Ł18.99. It just so happens that I've reviewed this one too! Check out the review here and for my review of Clark's previous novel, The Night of the Triffids, go here. From Hodder's paperback imprint, NEL, Ben Bova's "Grand Tour of the Solar System" continues with the mass market release of Saturn. This is priced at Ł7.99. (See SFRevu editor Ernest Lilley's review of the US hardcover edition.)

Following on from last month's mass market release of Alice Borchadt's The Dragon Queen, Bantam Press launch the second novel in this author's Arthurian - or rather Guineverian - series. The sequel, entitled The Raven Warrior is a trade paperback priced at Ł10.99.

A pause here just to note that we've had, so far this month, a Hidden Empire, a Hidden Warrior, a Raven Warrior and a new title in the latest Raven series. Is it just me that's aware of a conspiracy! Look out for Raven Empire...!

From Bantam we also have The Gates of Dawn by Robert Newcomb, the sequel to his monumentally awful novel, The Fifth Sorceress, which I took no pleasure at all in reviewing last year (see my review ). It is my fervent hope that this new book - which I confess I have not yet read, nor am I likely to after the first title - is better than its predecessor. I stand firmly by my appraisal of The Fifth Sorceress, but if you think this new novel is worth our while, then do contact us here at SFRevu and let us know. The Gates of Dawn is a trade paperback priced at Ł10.99.

By contrast Orbit release Thraxas at War by Martin Scott (reviewed this issue - see here) and at Ł5.99 this unfussy and well written fantasy is right up my street. Thraxas at War is a paperback original. In mass market, there are releases for three previously published Orbit fantasies - Monument by Ian Graham; Geomancer by Ian Irvine and Maggie Furey's The Eye of Eternity. These latter two titles are priced at Ł7.99, whilst the Graham novel, a debut work which garnered some warm reviews, is priced at Ł6.99.

There is a notable release from Abacus this month, Orbit’s sister imprint at Time Warner. Jennifer Government is a near future satire by Australian writer Max Barry. An imaginative and cynical swipe at ever increasing corporate globalisation, this one is worth a look. And I liked the tag line on the back of the book, which aptly sets the tone - it says "A wickedly funny satire on globalisation and marketing hype, Jennifer Government is the best novel in the world ever". A trade paperback, priced at Ł9.99. (Ed. Note: SFRevu contributor Alex Lightman concurs with John - see his Apr'03 review of the US hardcover edition)

Finally, two from Macmillan this month. The Briar King by Greg Keyes (reviewed here previously by E.J. McClure) is issued as a very smart looking hard cover priced at Ł17.99. I couldn't find as much as EJ in this one to rave about - it took a loooong time to get going I felt, and the many switches of character viewpoint didn't help. But in spite of my nit-picks, it's a title fantasy fans are very likely to enjoy. The second Macmillan title comes from their Pan imprint and is the paperback edition of Peter F. Hamilton's Misspent Youth. It is priced at Ł6.99 and you can read my review of it here.

More next month.