| Authors | Title | Series | Description | Format |
|---|
| Iain M. Banks | Inversions | | First published in the U.K. in 1998, Banks's latest novel steps back from the usual grand scale and ultra high-tech of his well-known "Culture" SF series (Excession, etc.) to the intrigue-ridden courts of a politically fragmented world. In Haspidus, a woman named Vosill, a foreigner from the distant archipelago nation of Drezen, serves as personal physician to King Quience, in spite of social mores that treat women as little more than property. Vosill's servant--actually a spy reporting to one of Quience's trusted right-hand men--finds himself doubting his master's claims that Vosill is a danger to the king, even as he uncovers evidence that suggests that Vosill is much more than she seems. Meanwhile, across the mountains, the stern warrior DeWar serves as chief bodyguard to General UrLeyn, the Prime Protector of the Tassasen Protectorate. His close contact with UrLeyn earns him the distrust of UrLeyn's fellow generals; those loyal to UrLeyn fear DeWar himself could be the perfect spy and assassin, while others worry he will discover their own secret plots. As conspiracies unfold and loyalties shift dangerously in both lands, the story of Vosill and DeWar and their unspoken connection unfolds with masterful subtlety. Banks's new novel should further expand his reputation for creating challenging, intelligent stories full of notable characters trapped in complex situations that have no easy solutions. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. | Trade Paperback |
| Iain M. Banks | Consider Phlebas | | In the midst of a war between two galactic empires, a shapechanging agent of the Iridans undertakes a clandestine mission to a forbidden planet in search of an intelligent, fugitive machine whose actions could alter the course of the conflict. Banks ( Walking on Glass ) demonstrates a talent for suspense in a new wave sf novel that should appeal to fans of space adventure. For large sf collections. JC
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. | Trade Paperback |
| Iain M. Banks | Excession | | It's not easy to disturb a mega-utopia as vast as the one Iain M. Banks has created in his popular Culture series, where life is devoted to fun and ultra-high-tech is de rigueur. But more than two millennia ago the appearance--and disappearance--of a star older than the universe caused quite a stir. Now the mystery is back, and the key to solving it lies in the mind of the person who witnessed the first disturbance 2,500 years ago. But she's dead, and getting her to cooperate may not be altogether easy.
Review by Ann Cecil (PARSEC):
Capsule comment: Excellent space opera, with lots of plot, battles, murders, aliens, strange points of view, amazing advanced technology, amazingly unadvanced human beings, and a satisfyingly rousing climax with an enigma left off to the side for possible resolution, hinting at some future book. Recommended.
"Excession" is a name given to a mysterious object, found floating in multi-dimensional space by starships of The Culture, an advanced multi-world, multi-being society. The starship Minds that really run The Culture consider this object to be an Outside Context Problem; that is, a potential major scary event, since the object is breaking several of the physical laws known to The Culture. The Minds, each of which have developed personalities of their own, quite as quirky and distinctive as humankind but in a totally different direction, are concerned that the object may mean to do something seriously upsetting, like destroy the known universe and all that is in it, including The Culture.
Humans are very much a part of The Culture, and several kinky members of that species play a part in the unfolding events, along with members of the Affront, a particularly aggressive species, long on tentacles and cruelty, and short on strategy and politeness. I only call the various humans involved kinky because they include a woman who extended her pregnancy for 40 years (the gestational record of all time!), a man who thinks the Affront are really neat, especially when they break his ribs, another man who hasn't talked to another being in over a hundred years and doesn't want to, and a girl who makes spoiled an understatement.
The starship Minds, which have interesting names like 'Shoot Them Later' and 'Not Invented Here,' are not only characters but contribute a sub-plot involving a Conspiracy among some of their number to rig the galactic game. Exactly who is playing what, and how the assorted beings all fit into each other's games, is part of the convoluted fun of the book. Everything balances out, with some reasonably logical pseudo-science for background, and a lot of genuine moral questions lightly touched on in the foreground. In the grand tradition of good space opera, the suggestion of depth is there for those who want more than action, but the action is fast and furious enough to satisfy.
Altogether a great deal of fun, thought it does require that you pay some attention. Recommended with no reservations at all. | Trade Paperback |
| David Bannerman | The Magic Man | | Briggs discovered early that people bigger than life are more readily accepted than ordinary people. That's why he became an extraordinarily successful con man. And that is why, when the government needs someone special, someone with the gift of gab, with the ability to blend in with any surroundings, someone with an intimate knowledge of the cold world of the espionage agent, they call for Briggs. He can be who he needs to be, when he needs to be. And he knows the Russian mind and language as if they are his own. | Paperback |
| René Barjavel | The Ice People | | | Hardcover |
| Clive Barker | The Inhuman Condition | | | Hardcover |
| John Barnes | Kaleidoscope Century | | A stunning evocation of humanity's violent downward slide, Barnes's fourth SF novel is set on Mars during the early part of the 22nd century, in a universe chimerically similar to that of his first, Orbital Resonance. The novel consists primarily of a series of escapades undertaken by narrator Joshua Ali Quare, whose violent career path under the aegis of the Organization, a successor group to a super-efficient amalgam of KGB/Communist Party, is the ultra-leftist equivalent of many Heinlein protagonists. Born in 1968, Joshua had been recruited by the KGB in the late 20th century, which infected him with a virus that incapacitates him in a near-coma every 15 years, from which he awakens, rejuvenated, 10 years younger each time, but nearly amnesiac. Joshua has been ruthless in pursuit of his missions, most of which have concerned scientific discoveries. Like others around him, he has lost almost all human feeling: he voices only the occasional expression of regret after "serbing" a sorority or defiling his father's grave. The environment Barnes creates is appalling: Josh and his cohort-in-crime, Sadi, appear to delight in their repeated antisocial actions and attitudes. Josh spouts such homilies as "if you don't want a brain to think the wrong thoughts, the surest way is to put a hole in it." Whether or not one is put off by the pervasive cynical mentality, as a picture of the degradation of society in the 22nd century, the novel is gripping.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. | Hardcover |
| John Barnes | Finity | | In Finity, John Barnes starts with the premise that Hitler won World War II, but that's not the only curious thing that's going on in his world. Earth in 2063 is filled with intelligent cars and personal ballistic transports, but the United States has vanished from humanity's collective memory. Like everyone else, Lyle Peripart isn't even aware that he's forgotten about the U.S., until the enigmatic tycoon Geoffrey Iphwin offers him a job and tries to bring it up in conversation. Iphwin thinks that Lyle's specialty, abductive reasoning, might be the key to solving the mystery, and he's not alone.
Lyle soon finds himself observed by strange Nazi spies and the target of several murder attempts, but he also discovers some unexpected aces in his sleeve: his fiancée turns into a deadly pistoleer when needed, though she doesn't seem to remember it! And he suddenly finds himself in possession of a cat named Fluffy. While Finity isn't Barnes' best effort, it's an intriguing and entertaining "What if?" adventure that keeps the action coming and the pages turning. --Craig E. Engler --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. | Paperback |
| John Barnes | Earth Made of Glass | Earth Made of Glass | In a sequel to A Million Open Doors, John Barnes writes another novel in the universe of the Thousand Cultures. Humanity dwells in colonies (some natural and some artificial) spread over hundreds of planets that lost touch with each other for over a thousand years. Due to the invention of the springer, an instantaneous teleportation device, the worlds are communicating again. But after centuries of isolation, reunification results in intense cultural and economic stress.
Giraut and Margaret, characters from the earlier book, are now a husband and wife diplomatic team for the Council of Humanity. They also do clandestine work for the Office of Special Projects, an undercover organization that deals with serious problems that result when local governments prove intractable. Their next assignment: promote peace and cooperation on Briand, a hellish planet whose physical hostility is matched only by the hatred its two cultures show to each other.
Tamil Mandalam was founded by classical Tamils, and Kintulum was founded by classical Mayans. Tamils believe themselves to be perfect and believe that once the springer does open Briand to humanity, they will show the rest of the universe how to live. The Mayans, when they communicate at all, apparently feel the same way. The magnificence of each culture's accomplishments in art and literature is overshadowed by citizens' bigotry.
A difficult assignment indeed; as if high gravity, high temperatures and ethnic attacks weren't enough, Giraut and Margaret's mission grows even more troublesome because of their marital problems, Margaret's depression, and the bureaucratic thick-headedness of Briand's Ambassador. --Bonnie Bouman | Hardcover |
| John Barnes | A Million Open Doors | (sequel to) Earth Made of Glass | Giraut Leones lives in Nou Occitan, a place where young people spend most of their time gossiping, writing poetry, and fighting duels over various insults. Eventually we find that Nou Occitan is just one of humanity's "Thousand Cultures," an artificial colony set up on a terraformed world to bring art, chivalry, and other old-fashioned values to life. Some years ago the springer, a device enabling teleportation travel, was opened, resulting in friction between the traditional dilettantes and Interstellars, youngsters who adopt new ways of life.
Giraut's old friend Aimeric is called back to his home colony of Caledony to aid in the economic recession and cultural explosion that will surely follow the opening of the springer there. When Giraut is betrayed by his entendedora (part mistress, part girlfriend), he seizes the opportunity to go along as an ambassador. A Million Open Doors becomes a coming-of-age tale as Giraut adapts to a culture radically different from his own. Caledony society is colorless, repressed, money-driven; it emphasizes religion and hard work. Bewildered by the discouragement of art or pleasure, Giraut opens a college to teach Occitanian culture to interested Caledonians. The threatened religious and political leaders, of course, look on this as an oddity, if not an outright seed of revolution. During the cultural and political upheavals on Caledony, Giraut and friends learn about life, love, diplomacy, and cross-cultural friendship.
The premise--human colonies flung across the universe evolving on hundreds of different planets now being transformed by instantaneous space travel--has been explored before. But John Barnes's sense of humor and world-building skills make it great fun. --Bonnie Bouman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. | Hardcover |
| John Barnes | One for the Morning Glory | | An original SF talent has now turned to humorous fantasy. In the Kingdom of Underhill, the toddler Prince Amatus sips the Wine of the Gods?and his left side vanishes. The King orders the execution of the four royal attendants deemed responsible for the calamity, eventually replacing them with Companions who join Amatus on a series of deadly quests. As the Companions fall one by one, Amatus rises to the stature of a hero-king, regaining his left side and throne along the way. Barnes fills the narrative with the intelligent world-building, well-chosen detail, smooth prose and deft characterization that have marked his other books (including Mother of Storms, nominated for a 1995 Hugo Award). It is also permeated with verbal wit?men are deadly shots with pismires, and the Vulgarians are housed in stupors?but the wordplay palls deeper into the story, as sympathetic characters die by the handful and Underhill comes to resemble Bosnia. While not completely successful either as straight high fantasy or as a satire of the genre, however, the novel still manages to generate a great sense of fun.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. | Hardcover |
| William Barton, Michael Capobianco | Alpha Centauri H | | From a grossly overpopulated Earth in 2239 A.D., an exploratory colonization mission to Alpha Centauri finds Mies Cochrane carrying an autovirus inside him that, after sexual intercourse, halts conception?the perfect birth control. The explorers discover the remains of an ancient civilization and a way to see what caused their extinction through the eyes of the last, long-dead inhabitant. The authors (Iris, LJ 2/15/90) make a strong statement about overpopulation, solutions to it, and humanity's purpose for existing. This thought-provoking book, a mix of sexually explicit passages and scientific exposition, is recommended for adult sf collections.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. | Hardcover |
| William Barton, Michael Capobianco | Fellow Traveler | | | Paperback |
| T. J. Bass | Half Past Human | | | Paperback |
| Gael Baudino | Shroud of Shadow | | The author of the Lambda Award-winning Gossamer Axe (1990) produces another winning combination of intrigue and imagination. Largely set in times of torture and the Inquisition, it spans hundreds of years and thousands of miles as the last elf struggles to aid an apostate nun on the run, meanwhile dreaming of a distant future when elven magic will reawaken. Although Natil the harper, more woman now than elf, can glimpse a 747's gleam in the sky while within earshot of the Inquisition's agonies, she must rely on her human wits, dwindling magic, and, most of all, her faith in "The Lady" for the elven magic to survive. Baudino gives us minutely detailed images of a medieval world beset by poverty and greed, political scheming in the name of gold and God, and brutal exploitation of the weak by the powerful. The colors, sounds, and stenches of the time live, as do its otherworldly yearnings for goodness and godliness, its dark nights of the soul for villains and heroines alike, and its crises of faith that, whether Christian or pagan, are ultimately themes for all ages. Whitney Scott | Paperback |
| Lorna Baxter | The Eggchild | | In a country ruled by four families endowed with special powers, a boy and girl from two of the families find a mysterious Eggchild and feel compelled to protect it and discover its true identity. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. | Paperback |
| Stephen Baxter | Voyage | | Kennedy survived. Like many alternate history stories, that's the premise of Stephen Baxter's Voyage. But in Baxter's version of the past, that one altered fact is the propellant that drives humanity into space, beyond the primitive lunar landings of the 1960s. Spurred by a JFK who champions space flight and a Nixon administration that backs NASA, humans reach Mars in 1986. But this is a tragic tale as well as a triumphant one, for Baxter's relentless realism chronicles the perils of extended space flight as well as its glamorous achievements, making for a gritty, true-to-life story. | Hardcover |
| Stephen Baxter | Raft | | 'Raft is fast paced, strong on suspense, efficiently written, and has moral weight, but it is in the creation of a genuinely strange and believable new universe that Baxter excels! rigorous, vigorous SF at its enjoyable best' Time Out 'Almost perfect! Raft is very, very hard SF and it's great fun' Interzone 'This debut novel polishes its ideas with such realistic brilliance you can see a whole civilization in it' The Times --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. | Paperback |
| Stephen Baxter | Ring | | Michael Poole's wormholes constructed in the orbit of Jupiter had opened the galaxy to humankind. Then Poole tried looping a wormhole back on itself, tying a knot in space and ripping a hole in time.
It worked. Too well.
Poole was never seen again. Then from far in the future, from a time so distant that the stars themselves were dying embers, came an urgent SOS--and a promise. The universe was doomed, but humankind was not. Poole had stumbled upon an immense artifact, light-years across, fabricated from the very string of the cosmos.
The universe had a door. And it was open... | Paperback |
| Barrington J. Bayley | The Garments of Caean | | | Hardcover |
| Barrington J. Bayley | Soul of the Robot | | | Hardcover |
| Peter S. Beagle | The Fantasy Worlds of Peter Beagle | | This Hardcover collection of Peter Beagle works includes: 'Lila the Werewolf','The Last Unicorn','Come, Lady Death' and 'A Fine and Private Place'. | Hardcover |
| Elizabeth Bear | Ink and Steel: A Novel of the Promethean Age | The Stratford man | Bear has done her homework for the setting of this delightful little piece of politicking that begins when Cristofer Marley, better known as Kit Marlowe, turns up stabbed through the eye and branded a traitor. Complications arise when he wakes up in Faerie and is pressed into the service of another queen. A group including Burbage and Oxford brings Will Shakespeare in to replace Marley, and while Will labors for Gloriana, Kit serves the Fae court. Both endeavor to live, love, and do their duty. There is a war to be fought with words both in and outside of the mortal realm. Bear takes a period that is famously a maze of intrigue and treachery, adds more of each to the mix, and comes up with a fine story that even a mere mortal may follow. Her take on the apparent inconsistencies in the lives of Marlowe and Shakespeare is certainly no less far-fetched than some that purport to be scholarly. A damn fine reimagining of history and legend. --Regina Schroeder | Trade Paperback |
| Greg Bear | Eternity | (Sequel to) Eon | Bear's popular novel Eon introduced The Way, an infinite tunnel in space-time opening on other universes. Following a nuclear holocaust on Earth and the 40-year-long Jart Wars against rapacious aliens, the entrances were sealed. That decision is reconsidered in this sequel. On the asteroid/spaceship Thistledown, scientist Olmy investigates the mental processes of the little-known Jarts while on Gaia, a Greek-dominated alternate Earth, young Rhita Vaskayza herself enters The Way. A partially recovered Earth witnesses the reappearance of The Way's designer, Pavel Mirsky, who now describes it as a tapeworm winding through the guts of the universe and urges that it be reopened so that it can be destroyed. This slow, visionary tale is less than compelling, but its portrait of the different responses of intricate, interlocking cultures is striking.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. | Hardcover |
| Greg Bear | Moving Mars | | In this 1995 Nebula Award-winning novel, a revolution is transforming the formerly passive Earth-colony of Mars. While opposing political factions on Mars battle for the support of colonists, scientists make a staggering scientific breakthrough that at once fuels the conflict and creates a united Mars front, as the technically superior Earth tries to take credit for it. Backed against a wall, colonial leaders are forced to make a monumental decision that changes the future of Mars forever. | Hardcover |