| Authors | Title | Series | Description | Format |
|---|
| Donald A. Wollheim (ed.), Arthur W. Saha (ed.) | The 1987 Annual World's Best SF | | | Hardcover |
| Donald A. Wollheim (ed.) | The 1988 Annual World's Best SF | | | Hardcover |
| Dave Wolverton | The Golden Queen | | Though billed as science fiction, the latest novel by the author of this summer's Star Wars yarn ( The Courtship of Princess Leia ) reads more like fantasy. Gallen O'Day lives on a backward planet where he works as a bodyguard along with his friend, the genetically enhanced talking bear, Orick. They and Maggie Flynn, Gallen's girlfriend, are whisked into the middle of an intergalactic intrigue by two strangers, the Lady Everynne and her protector, Veriasse. Everynne is a clone designed as the perfect human, beautiful beyond compare and so good that she wishes only to serve the best interests of our species. At this time, humanity has been conquered by the Dronon, an insect-like race controlled by a hive mentality and ruled by a Golden Queen. The Dronon want to genetically reengineer humanity along insect-like lines, a fate that Everynne and her escorts try to deter by challenging the Golden Queen's protector in battle. The story features many charming moments; especially appealing is the talking bear, who retains his ursine nature while still yearning to become a Christian priest. On the other hand, there's little depth or moral force to the losses the characters suffer. Wolverton is obviously trying to gain SF legitimacy (his discussions of genetic research go on for pages), but he relies on fantasy fundamentals time and again, including a standard quest format, stereotypical characterizations and a predictably happy ending. Yet the legions of Star Wars fans will probably devour this mix of familiar themes, archetypal characters and moderately interesting alien technologies. Major ad/promo.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. | Hardcover |
| Patricia C. Wrede | Searching for Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles #2) | Enchanted Forest Chronicles | Dealing as it does with dragon-napping and magic-stealing, this sequel to Dealing with Dragons puts a whimsical spin on familiar fairy-tale elements. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. | Paperback |
| Patricia C. Wrede | Snow White and Rose Red | | Wrede's ( Caught in Crystal ) romantic and charming retelling of the Brothers Grimm tale is the fourth in this series. In the village of Mortlak, near the river Thames, during the reign of Elizabeth I, live the Widow Arden and her two daughters, Blanche and Rosamund. The widow, who supports her family by selling herbs and making healing potions, lives in fear of being accused of witchcraft. Her daughters gather the herbs she needs, sometimes crossing into the realm of Faerie, one of whose borders lies in the forest nearby. Also residing in Mortlak is the real-life Doctor Dee, astrologer to the Queen, who with his friend Edward Kelly seeks to harness the magic of Faerie. Their efforts turn Hugh, one of the half-human sons of the queen of Faerie, into a bear. With the aid of the widow and her daughters, John, the elder Faerie prince, tries to disenchant his brother, who has crossed over to the mortal world. John is initially thwarted in his efforts by Madini, head of a faction in Faerie that seeks complete separation from the mortal domain. In putting her twist on the classic tale, Wrede uses language appropriate to the period and nicely evokes both medieval England and a magic land.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. | Hardcover |
| Patricia C. Wrede | Talking to Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles #4) | Enchanted Forest Chronicles | Grade 4-7-Two rules one must always remember when traveling in the Enchanted Forest: always be polite and never say yes to a favor until you know what you're being asked to do. So begins this delightful rendition of Patricia C. Wrede's Talking to Dragons (Harcourt, 1985). In book four of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, the next generation starts as Queen Cimorene sends her 16-year-old son, Daystar, into the forest with nothing but a magic sword. His mission is to help King Mendanbar escape from an evil wizard's spell. But Daystar has yet to learn that the King is his own father. As the youth wanders around, he meets Shiara, a high-strung but loveable fire-witch, and a host of new and old characters from Cimorene's past. Produced and directed by Bruce Coville, the full-cast performance features sparkling dialogue, charming characters, and excellent sound quality. Listeners will not be disappointed in Daystar, the new main character and his companion Shiara, who has all the makings of a future princess. While this work can satisfy on its own, listeners may want to brush up on the previous novels in the series: Dealing with Dragons (Harcourt, 1990), Searching for Dragons (Scholastic, 1991), and Calling on Dragons (Scholastic, 1994). This energetic presentation shimmers like Daystar's magic sword.
Celeste Steward, Contra Costa County Library, Clayton, CA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. | Paperback |
| Patricia C. Wrede | Calling on Dragons ( The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Book 3 ) | Enchanted Forest Chronicles | Grade 5-9-- Another installment in Wrede's appealing fantasy series, this title will be best appreciated by those already familiar with her cast of characters and their previous adventures. However, those who first encounter Queen Cimorene, King Mendenbar, Morwen (an untypical witch), and Telemain (a very verbose magician), along with their various animal friends and familiars in this book will certainly be inspired to seek out Dealing with Dragons (1990) and Searching for Dragons (1991, both Harcourt). Once again the problem is wizards: they're draining the Enchanted Forest of its magic and, worse, they've invaded the castle and stolen Mendenbar's magical sword. The quest to retrieve it and restore the Enchanted Forest is filled with adventure, peril, and humor, despite the fact that the bulk of the story takes place in only a few days. Wrede's strengths are numerous: sparkling dialogue, amusingly fractured fairy-tale conventions, solid characterization, plenty of action, and truly terrific chapter headings. Both her vocabulary and her sense of humor are pleasingly sophisticated, making this a fun and challenging read. The end result is a captivating and convincing fantasy that sets the stage (and whets the appetite) for future adventures. --Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. | Paperback |
| T. M. Wright | Goodlow's Ghosts | | Short on plot but unusual in substance, this horror tale teams a psychic and the ghost of a murdered PI. Boston detective Sam Goodlow has met his demise at the hand of a hit-and-run driver, but refuses to believe he's really dead; his confused spirit wafts to the home of psychic Ryerson Biergarten. Although taken aback by Goodlow's spooky, transparent appearance, Biergarten feels sympathetic toward the oafish yet affable PI and decides to investigate. He finds "gateways" into another dimension through which physical bodies can pass, apparently accounting for at least a few of the faces pictured on milk cartons. Wright ( Little Boy Lost ) theorizes at length about what it's like to see, or be, a ghost, but there's not much return on reader investment here. Extraneous vignettes about men seduced by not-of-this-world women only string the audience along, and appearances by near-human apparitions, some of whom identify themselves as Goodlow, are simply never explained. Wright's provocative ideas, which could serve as raw material for several books, are never brought to fruition.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. | Hardcover |
| Philip Wylie | After Worlds Collide | (sequel to) When Worlds Colide | | Paperback |
| Philip Wylie, Edwin Balmer | When Worlds Colide | | | Paperback |
| Chelsea Quinn Yarbro | A Baroque Fable | | | Paperback |
| Chelsea Quinn Yarbro | False Dawn | | It is the turn of the tewnty first century. War, disease and pollution have made the earth nearly unfit hor human habitation. Food is scarce and what food remains is quickly confiscated by the pirates. One woman named Thea, has eluded the Pirates for years armed only with a crossgow and her pride and common sense. | Hardcover |
| Nicholas Yermakov | Last Communion | | | Paperback |
| Jerry Yulsman | Elleander Morning | | | Hardcover |
| Timothy Zahn | Angelmass | | How does Hugo-winner Timothy Zahn turn an otherwise straightforward SF page-turner into something truly interesting? With one of the oldest shticks in the book: the good ol' black-hole-that-spits-out-quantum-particles-of-human-goodness trick.
Of course, that's not exactly an old sci-fi shtick, but the essence of it (and its effect) is: the ever-clever Zahn has taken a very cool idea--what if there were quantum particles (or whatever) that compelled people to act ethically--and then explored the impact that might have, in this case on a society and its internal and external interactions. The particles in question are called "angels," and the interstellar alliance known as the Empyrean has been blessed with Angelmass, the eponymous black hole that emits them. The greedy, Earth-based Pax empire sees these angels as a brainwashing alien invasion and threatens to invade the Empyrean itself to set things straight. Thrown into the fray to explicate the implications are a bumbling but earnest Pax scientist-spy, a pretty young grifter, a brother-sister pair of grizzled space vets, and an Empyrean High Senator who fears the complacency that angels have bred into his society.
Fast, fun, and thought-provoking, Angelmass combines Star Wars-style action (which Zahn knows well) with enough substance to satisfy a more serious reading. --Paul Hughes --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
PARSEC Review by Ann Cecil
Writing pop SWARS fiction has been good to Tim Zahn; not only has it given him college funds for his son, but it seems to have polished the talents that won him his first Hugo. Angelmass got overlooked in the Hugo derby last year, but I found it entertaining and enthralling.
Our hero is a fresh-out-of-grad school scientist manhandled into being a spy for Pax, the sort-of Federation that rules most of the Galaxy in this far future of Human colonies grown large and independent. Pax was once a peacekeeping group, but we learn very quickly that they are now becoming ruled by accountants, folks whose worship of profit borders on insanity.
Pax sends Jereko Kosta off with instructions to spy on the Empyreans, a five-world system of Humans who have an edge. They have found tiny beings, spewed from a nearby black hole they named Angelmass, that seem to turn anyone who wears one into an improved person, both more ethical and more reasonable. Pax neglected to mention that Kosta is really supposed to be a decoy, a sacrificial lamb, to distract the Empyreans from initial setup to support an eventual invasion fleet.
Kosta is the original innocent, a lousy spy but a solid researcher. He crosses paths with Chandris: young, pretty, sharp-witted, but from a poor and crooked background. Fate pushes them together, in spite of initial dislike, because they both get caught up in questions about what the angels really are, how they work, and what is actually happening out at Angelmass. All the plot elements, the Pax invasion fleet, the angels, an Empyrean Senator who doubts the angels, the researchers who study the angels, collide in a tense finale that changes many things in all their worlds.
Zahn has a number of well-developed characters (the starship captain is particularly well done, as are the other researchers at Angelmass Institute). He kept me turning pages, eager to see where this impressive max of speculative science and space opera was going, and he surprised me at the end. While his insights into Human nature are not exactly new deas, they are well observed.
Recommended by Ann Cecil. | Paperback |
| Timothy Zahn | Conquerors' Heritage (The Conquerors Saga, Book Two) | The Conquerors Saga | The second novel in Zahn's new trilogy is another finely wrought space adventure. Its theme is interstellar war, as a society faces a new, mysterious, insensate, and deadly race--humans. The whole story is told from the viewpoint of the conquerors of the title--the aliens who call themselves the Zhirrzh--as they desperately try to figure out what hit them and to hit back before the humans unleash a rumored superweapon. Matters are further complicated because the Zhirrzh exist in two states, as biological bodies and, after the bodies die, as incorporeal entities called Elders. Both states are involved in every sort of social, political, and emotional complication, all of which Zahn treats with his usual skill. You may wish the characters' names did not contain so many consonants but, otherwise, hardly fault the book. Roland Green | Hardcover |
| Timothy Zahn | Deadman Switch | | | Paperback |
| Timothy Zahn | A Coming of Age | | | Hardcover |
| Timothy Zahn | Conquerors' Pride (The Conquerors Saga, Book One) | The Conquerors Saga | This novel contains few surprises for those who have followed and enjoyed Zahn's work from before his Star Wars trilogy burst on the scene. In a star-faring future, humanity is facing tensions within its own ranks and also with various nonhuman races when an aggressive, militaristic new foe erupts from out of nowhere. The son of a high-ranking statesman is the sole survivor of a space battle, and his father sets out to rescue him from alien captivity. The story proceeds briskly thereafter, thanks to Zahn's usual knack for swift pacing, plausible technology and characters, and a lived-in setting. Highly recommended to fans of action sf, this is also a good introduction for newcomers to Zahn's approach to the genre. Roland Green | Hardcover |
| Timothy Zahn | Distant Friends and Others | | | Paperback |
| Timothy Zahn | Spinneret | | The vision of an enlightened technocracy in this novel typifies the attitudes that have won both fans and detractors for Analog magazine, where this and many of Zahn's other works have appeared. If that vision seems a throwback to another era, with it comes a welcome hardheaded sense of story construction. As a very late entry in the universe of spacefaring civilizations, humankind must settle for the leavings of the older races. But the seemingly worthless and metal-free planet of Astra has a surprise that makes it the envy and target of better equippedand better-armed aliens. This is millenia-old machinery that forges metal of unknown elements. If this narrative is overshadowed by more substantial books on the theme of exploring and deciphering ancient alien artifacts, it is nonetheless a light, brisk and entertaining yarn. Paperback rights to Baen. December
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. | Paperback |
| Roger Zelazny | Doorways in the Sand | | | Hardcover |
| Roger Zelazny | Jack of Shadows | | | Hardcover |
| Roger Zelazny | Changeling (Changeling Saga, Bk. 1) | Changeling Saga | Zelazny wrote many novels, short stories, and novellas, including Nebula and Hugo Award winners 24 VIEWS OF MOUNT FUJI, BY HOKUSAI, PERMAFROST and HOME IS THE HANGMAN. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition. | Paperback |
| Roger Zelazny, Gahan Wilson (ill.) | A Night in the Lonesome October | | Leaving his ever-popular and ever-expanding Amber series behind for the nonce, Zelazny delivers a cheerful, witty, well-crafted fantasy narrated by Snuff, dog-companion to Jack the Ripper. It seems that Jack is in fact a sorcerer and his gruesome exploits were perpetrated in the service of his magic. But the Ripper's killings are tangential to the tale of an upcoming struggle between magical personages. In a rare occurrence, the cosmic forces are in alignment, permitting an opening for the Elder Gods to return to Earth. "Openers" are contending with "closers," who want to keep the Elder Gods shut out. Snuff recounts the day-by-day preparations as players size up the competition, gather their magical arsenals and make and break alliances. Snuff himself maneuvers among other familiars (a cat named Graymalk, a snake called Quicklime, etc.). An instantly recognizable gothic compliment of characters includes a mad doctor trying to reanimate a patchwork corpse with lightning, a werewolf named Larry Talbot and a "Great Detective" who haunts the sidelines. Zelazny handles this material with a charm few can match, and while this novel does not approach the depth of his best work like Lord of Light , its deft, understated good humor and spare, poetic prose reaffirm Zelazny as one of fantasy's most skilled practitioners.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. | Hardcover |