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ISBN: 0142302201

ListPrice: $6.99

Summary: Okay, so the story isn't really about witches as I had first thought, but it is full of other majic that just takes your breath away when combined masterfully with different characters and mini- adventures. I definitely recommend this book to lovers of the mysterious ways of magic.

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ISBN: 0684849585

ListPrice: $19.95

Summary: This unique reference book is exactly what its title suggests, a dictionary devoted to cataloging, in the words of its editor, "imaginary places devised by writers of science fiction." The entries begin with Abatos, introduced in Philip José Farmer's short story "Father", and end at Zygra, the imaginary world from John Brunner's 1966 novel "A Planet of Your Own". Along the way are stops such as the Fire Station from "Fahrenheit 451", Anne McCaffrey's famous world of Pern, and the unforgettable Trafalmadore featured in "The Sirens of Titan" and "Slaughterhouse Five".
The dictionary has more breadth than depth, which is understandable given its subject matter, and the selections can at times seem a bit unusual. But it covers most of the major SF places, ranging from things as grand as Isaac Asimov's Para-Universe to individual buildings like the Monarch Tower from Alfred Bester's "The Demolished Man". In between are hours of fun reading, a few good reminiscences of forgotten realms, and answers to pesky questions like, "How wide is Ringworld?" (Answer: 997,000 miles) "--Craig E. Engler"

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ISBN: 0441008518

ListPrice: $5.99

Summary: The perennially popular Gallowglass family has three weddings to plan. But what Warlock wedding could be complete without an army of monsters threatening the planet?

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ISBN: 0441873146

ListPrice: $5.99

Summary: Stasheff continues to bring life into his characters through Warlock and Son. By giving Magnus a more major rule he adds a new dimension to the series and a nice bridge to his future Rogue Wizard series. Any that have loved Stasheff's warlock series, those looking for a new aspect of the Rouge Wizard series, or even those simply looking to enjoy a good Science Fiction/Fantasy novel this one is for you. From the opening where Magnus decides he needs to see the world and sets off for adventure on his own with his father Rod Gallowglass not far behind Magnus through the exciting conclusion, Stasheff will continue to have you wanting to see what happens next and it will become near impossible to put this book down once you start reading.

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ISBN: 0441004334

ListPrice: $5.99

Edition: Reprint

Summary: I have a soft spot for "alternate history" stories. Philip K. Dick's "The Man in the High Castle," which posits that the Axis powers win World War II and occupy the United States, and Len Deighton's "SS-GB," which looks at England under Nazi German occupation, are two of the best of the genre (Harry Turtledove's many such tales notwithstanding). Now I must add Allen Steele's "The Tranquillity Alternative" to the short-list of alternate history novels that I have most enjoyed.



The "space geek" will immediately feel right at home in Mr. Steele's alternate universe. This is a universe in which the first manned spaceflight, in Nazi Germany's "Amerika Bomber," takes place in 1944. It is a universe (in this way like our real one) in which NASA is in serious decline due to slashed funding, personnel cutbacks and the lack of a meaningful mission. And, most intriguing of all, it is a universe in which Dr. Wernher von Braun's early-1950's vision of a major space exploration program comes to pass. You'll find in "The Tranquillity Alternative" all of the hardware that Dr. von Braun conceived and presented to the American public via a series of stunningly illustrated articles in "Collier's Magazine" starting in 1952. The "Space Wheel" is here in all of its full rotating glory, along with the enormous three-stage reusable "ferry rocket," the "lunar reconnaissance vehicle" and the classic "moonship" that fans of Chesley Bonestell will instantly recognize. There is a U.S. lunar base under the Sea of Tranquillity. Ominously, it houses six "interplanetary" ballistic missiles, relics of the time when U.S. military planners thought that basing nuclear weapons on the moon would deter Soviet aggression on Earth (they really did believe this at one time). And there is even a nuclear-powered rocket straight out of George Pal's 1950 film "Destination Moon."



"The Tranquillity Alternative" features interesting, well-defined characters, realistic dialogue and a strong story line involving the pending transfer of the abandoned Tranquillity Base from the U.S. government to a private German space corporation. Mr. Steele keeps the action going at fever pitch as the scene shifts from Earth to the Space Wheel and on to the Moon. He throws in fascinating glimpses of everyday life that add depth and texture to his alternate universe. For example, the Kennedy Space Center is named after President Robert F. Kennedy. Elvis Presley is on tour with U2. Chuck Yeager pilots the maiden flight of NASA's giant new passenger rocket in 1956. And Irwin Allen's "Star Trek" is a top-rated television show for eight seasons between 1958 and 1966. These little throw-away hints of a very different universe from our own are jarringly unfamiliar but logically and internally consistent. They show well the amount of research, thought and hard work that Mr. Steele put into "The Tranquillity Alternative." This is fun stuff. I highly recommend it to all sci-fi readers and to anyone interested in exploring a little of "what might have been."

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ISBN: 067157860X

ListPrice: $6.99

Dimensions: 1 by 4.25 by 7 in.

Summary: David Drake and Steve Stirling are two of the best military science fiction authors that exist, and have earned their excellent reputations. I'm afraid that this book didn't live up to them. This is based in the same Raj Whitehall/Center universe as the earlier excellent Forge and Chosen serieses. In Chosen we saw that the authors like to use historical events as fictional backgrounds for the plot. They do so in this book a little too much. For example the ConFed city and army were Roman. Not close to Roman but dead on for Roman, including camps, cities, armor, siege tactics, everything but assagi for swords. The Emeralds are the Greeks, including phalanax, philosiphers, Athena, and the legend of the Thousand Ship War (a war that takes a thousand ships, sound like Troy?). The main battle is Tyre, with a bit of gunpowder. The story is not that bad, but the societies were just too much Greek and Roman. And the book should have been longer, probably spread into two. The end leaves us knowing that another book will follow, hopefully it will be up to their usual standards.

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