by Henry Leon Lazarus

Noted New York editor, David Hartwell, spoke to the Philadelphia SF society last month about the impending doom of the publishing industry and to science fiction. He told us that the few distributors left are concentrating on best sellers for the small racks found in drug stores and food markets leaving the unknowns for the book stores. He indicated that it might mean the death of the original SF paperback. Maybe that's the future, but this month, at least, the best books are original paperbacks.

Consider Sarah Zettel's tremendous, Fools War (paper from Aspect). In a future where computer programs keep people alive in their star ships and stations, artificial intelligences gone awry can kill. When the crew of the Pasadena unknowingly transports a bad Artificial Intelligence, it starts them on a trip through settled space to the dark secrets that lie beneath. I especially liked the real feel of Ms. Zettel's odd societies, from the actual Muslim, to the imaginary Freer (who refuse to land on planets) and Fool (too odd to explain here) societies. I think this is a potential award nominee.

I admire Avonova's courage in publishing the well-written An Exchange of Hostages (paper) by Susan R. Matthews. This is a tale of a caring physician, who because he has been assigned to the Fleet, is trained in the extra duties of a fleet surgeon - torture. It's impossible to put down, but when I tried describing it to friends, they showed an immediate reaction, i.e. disgust. It's fascinating and horrific at the same time. The other Avonova releases are lighter. Sharon Green continues her fun (but overly long) tale of five magic users who have finally gotten to the Competitions (paper). Raymond E. Feist concludes his latest trilogy and eleventh book in his Riftwar series, as the kingdom faces its greatest challenge in the huge army driven by the Rage of a Demon King (hard). While familiar magicians try to close the rift keeping other demons out, the outnumbered kingdom army has to burn whole cities with slash and burn tactics to survive. This is definitely pulse pounding. R. Garcia y Robertson takes his time travelers to a bronze age (1504 b.c.e.) where other travelers have taken on the role of the classic Greek gods and have to be stopped. In addition to the action, Atlantis Found (paper) nicely melds what is known about the period to the Greek myths. Scott Ciencin continues his odd Elven Ways trilogy with Ancient Games (paper). As before, it takes place three hundred years after elves, proclaiming themselves angels, came from another universe to Earth in the fifteenth century. In this volume Tom, the artist, is tested in his hunt for his angel friend and learns more about his powers. Joe Haldeman's collection, None So Blind is out in paper as is Paul J. McAuley's odd mystery Pasquales's Angel which takes place in a fifteenth century Florence uplifted by Leonardo Da Vinci's inventions to the age of steam.

Classic science fiction explores strange environments and none comes stranger that the version of Saturn that Robert L. Forward has created in Saturn Rukh (hard from TOR). It's a gaseous world of giant and intelligent floating beings that our explorers from earth have to contend with and communicate and eventually work with in order to survive. This might eventually become be a classic. I wasn't as happy with Poul Anderson's conclusion to his Harvest of Stars series, The Fleet of Stars (hard) in which a download of Anson Guthrie (in a robot body) has to work with a human rebel on Earth who is fighting the machines which control the human parts of the solar system to find hidden information about the galaxy. It was a bit too obvious for me, but still up to the master's standard.

I also wasn't as happy with the conclusion to Jack L. Chalker's The Wonderland Gambit, The Hot-Wired Dodo (trade from Del Rey) in which the adventurers, trapped in their computer generated realities, finally make contact with the real one. The computer crash in the middle is neat, but unfortunately he stole the ending from Philip K. Dick and that was disturbing. Terry Brooks' First King of Shannara, which is a nice intro to the long series as well as a self-contained prequel, is out in paper. Del Rey has also reissued The Art of Star Wars (three volumes in trade) with the new artwork from the current releases.

Melanie Rawn continues her Exiles trilogy with Mageborn Traitor (hard from DAW) in which minor clashes between the two groups of magic users readies the scene for the concluding volume. In doing so, Ms. Rawn shows off the matriarchal background. I don't mind stories about women in power, but whore houses filled with men for women's pleasure and problems with husband beating where the husband is bigger than the wife, belong more in a satire than in a serious work. Marion Zimmer Bradley has her fourteenth collection Sword and Sorceress (paper) as well as the reprint of Exile's Song, a novel that could easily conclude her long Darkover series as well as introduce new readers to it. Martin H. Greenberg has put together a collection of new Elf Fantastic (paper) stories, and the final Mage war novel by Mercedes Lackey and her husband Larry Dixon, The Silver Gryphon, about an adventure of the children of the previous books, is out in paper.

Oliver Johnson starts an odd mix of horrific background with standard fantasy plot in The Forging of the Shadows (trade from ROC) The sun has been dying since the gods left this world, bringing out vampires and other horrific creatures. This first book details the final night of the City of Thrull and the meeting of the three maimed adventurers who will eventually try to re-light the sun. Sci-Fi Private Eye (paper) is a collection of classic sf who-done-its. Tracy Hickman's gut-wrenching tale of a father who follows his son into a relocation district for super-aids victims, only to discover that the government is destroying the districts, The Immortals, and Michael Williams tale of an odd world in which chaotic magical eddies move about, Arcady, are both out in paper.

Kevin J. Anderson and Doug Beason have another tale of their FBI agent who gets involved with government high tech. In Fallout (paper from ACE) militia terrorists have infiltrated the Nevada nuclear test site and killed a Russian inspector. I hope stealing bomb materials aren't this simple. Anne Logston has a nice romance about a fire mage novice in an arranged marriage with the new king in the next kingdom, who comes to love and protect her husband with her growing fire powers. Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois have collected some classic tales of Timegates (paper)

During the twenty years between the first Star Trek series and the movies were the Lost Series (trade from Pocket). Judith and Grafield Reeves-Stevens do a good job of putting the half written scripts and stories of the Phase II series that never happened in a book that is a must for fans of the show.

Gawain and Lady Green by Anne Eliot Crompton (hard from Donald I. Fine) is a lyrical look at the classic authurian tale for literary readers with some interesting duidic inferences.

The Dark Side is a collection of horror stores by Guy D. Maupassant (trade from Carol and Graf).

Finally, since the light of science popularization, Carl Sagan, is no long with us, Ballantine has reissued his diatribe against idiotic science - The Demon Haunted World (trade). If you believe that that x-files brings reality to life, you'll hate this exposure of ufo's and other silly sciences. I was fascinated.

The Philadelphia Science Fiction Society meets monthly, with a guest speaker for each meeting. Guests are welcome to attend this, the second oldest science fiction club in the country.