Pipeline: May 2011

Welcome to Bordertown, Holly Black & Ellen Kushner (eds.) (Random House) [Purchase] — Long, long ago, before even there was Buffy, there was still urban fantasy. It existed in a place called Bordertown, and in the form of a legendary series of shared-world anthologies edited by Terri Windling. With the current popularity of urban fantasy showing no sign of abating, Holly Black and Ellen Kushner have decided it is time for Bordertown to return. The result is a star-studded anthology featuring Bordertown veterans such as Emma Bull and Charles de Lint; big names such as Patricia A. McKillip, Neil Gaiman and Jane Yolen; and more recent favorites such as Catherynne M. Valente, Cory Doctorow and Nalo Hopkinson. This should be one of the best anthologies of the year. — Cheryl Morgan

Deadline, Mira Grant (Orbit) [Purchase] — With Feed on the ballot for both the Shirley Jackson and Hugo Awards, the sequel must be an eagerly anticipated book. Just how is Grant going to carry this off when she … well, that would be telling. But if you have read Feed, you probably want this book very badly. — Cheryl Morgan

Titus Awakes, Mervyn Peake & Maeve Gilmore (Overlook Press) [Purchase] — Yes, you did read that correctly. There is a new Gormenghast book due out. Peake, of course, died in 1968, but he left notes for a fourth book and his wife, Maeve Gilmore, took them and turned them into a novel. However, she did nothing with it, and she died in 1983. The book was only rediscovered last year when the couple’s granddaughter was cleaning out an attic. The publication of the book is timed to more or less coincide with the centenary of Peake’s birth, though the US publisher is jumping the gun a little. — Cheryl Morgan

Sightings, Gary K. Wolfe (Beccon Publications) [Purchase] — Possibly the most successful small press in the world, at least in award terms, Beccon Publications, is continuing to produce fine collections of criticism. The previous volume in Gary K. Wolfe’s collected reviews, Bearings, is a Hugo nominee this year. Sightings covers the years 2002-2006. — Cheryl Morgan

Pardon This Intrusion: Fantastika in the World Storm, John Clute (Beccon Publications) [Purchase] — John Clute and I talk extensively about this book in our interview in this issue. — Cheryl Morgan

Dead of Veridon, Tim Aker (Rebellion) [Purchase] This is set in the same universe as Aker’s Heart of Veridon, which I found to be an action-packed, steampunk, new-weird really fun book to read. Looking forward to seeing how the writer and universe mature. — Karen Burnham

Good Luck, Yukikaze, Chohei Kanbayashi (Haikasoru) [Purchase] — After thirty years of war with alien invaders, a sentient war plane turns on its human masters. Or does it…? A rare Anglophone outing for one of Japan’s most popular science fiction authors. — Jonathan Clements

The Door to Lost Pages, Claude Lalumière (ChiZine Publications) [Purchase ebook] — If you’ve read Lalumière’s collection, Objects of Worship [ebook], you’ll want to pick up this novella too, since it promises to be equally unpredictable and thought-provoking. If you haven’t read the collection, you’ll want to check out both. — Alvaro Zinos-Amaro

Dancing With Bears, Michael Swanwick (Night Shade Books) [Purchase] — The return of con-men Darger and Surplus. Jeff VanderMeer called this novel “flat-out brilliant, edgy, kick-ass,” saving me the job of having to look for adjectives. — Alvaro Zinos-Amaro

Hunt the Space-witch!: Seven Adventures in Time and Space, Robert Silverberg (Paizo Publishing) [Purchase] — In a year bountiful with Silverberg re-prints, this collection of early action-centered stories promises to offer perhaps the most unadulterated fun. — Alvaro Zinos-Amaro