Pipeline: December 2010

As we are now moving into a mid-month release date, some of these books are January releases.

Evaporating Genres: Essays on Fantastic Literature, Gary K. Wolfe (Wesleyan) [Purchase] — Though the release date says January 2011, this one’s already out. This book was a “blind buy” for me. It promises to be a marvelous mix of essays by one of the field’s most knowledgeable and insightful reviewers and critics. — Alvaro Zinos-Amaro

I read some of these essays when they were first published. Wolfe is very sharp on the subject of genre. This should be required reading for anyone who wants to do criticism of speculative fiction. — Cheryl Morgan

The Best of Larry Niven, Larry Niven, ed. Jonathan Strahan (Subterranean) [Purchase] — A fine collection, finely edited. Contains many must-read stories, such as “Neutron Star.” For anyone who enjoys short-length SF, Larry Niven, or “Best Of” collections. — Alvaro Zinos-Amaro

Up the Bright River, Philip Jose Farmer, ed. Gary K. Wolfe (Subterranean) [Purchase] — A wide-ranging collection by a writer who broke new ground and experimented in almost all imaginable sub-genres. This can serve as an introduction to Farmer’s canon for newbies or as pleasurable world-building tour (with a few surprises) for those already initiated. — Alvaro Zinos-Amaro

Brave New Worlds, ed. John Joseph Adams (Night Shade) [Purchase] — Adams has been coming out with some great anthologies in recent years. This one is almost 100% reprints, which should allow him to get some of the absolute best stories that pertain to his overall dystopian theme. — Karen Burnham

The Alchemist, Paolo Bacigalupi (Subterranean) [Purchase] & The Executioness, Tobias Buckell (Subterranean) [Purchase] — These are paired novellas coming out from Subterranean press — Paolo gives the introduction to Tobias’ story and vice versa. These appear to be set in a straight-up fantasy universe, and I think it will be fascinating to see what they do with it. — Karen Burnham

Harbinger of the Storm, Aliette de Boddard (Angry Robot) [Purchase] — This is the sequel to the debut Servant of the Underworld. I’ve very much enjoyed de Boddard’s short fiction, and think that her take on Aztec/alt history/mystery should be worth reading. — Karen Burnham

Engineering Infinity, ed. Jonathan Strahan (Solaris) [Purchase] — Is there any end to the number of good anthologies coming out in recent years? I rather hope not. I’ve always had a soft spot for SF that really gets into the nuts-n-bolts of the future, and I suspect that Strahan will be able to get stories that do that without being formulaic or purely pedagogical. — Karen Burnham

Ventriloquism, Catherynne M. Valente (PS Publishing) [Purchase] — Believe it not, this is Valente’s first collection. PS Publishing always produce beautiful books, so this one should be quality in all departments. — Cheryl Morgan

The Universe of Things, Gwyneth Jones (Aqueduct) [Purchase] — This is a collection of short stories. I haven’t seen a table of contents for it, but there are a number of short stories that Jones has written in the world of the Aleutian Cycle and I’m hoping this has most, of not all, of them in it. — Cheryl Morgan

Grandville Mon Amour, Bryan Talbot (Jonathan Cape) [Purchase] — The Badger is back! Detective Inspector Le Brock returns in another breathtakingly beautiful graphic novel adventure. Steampunk furries do Tarrantino. What’s not to like? — Cheryl Morgan