UK SF Book News

Sugar Sugar Rune #5 by Moyoco Anno

Publisher: Del Rey Manga (US)
Date: January 30th 2007
Format: Manga paperback
Price: $10.95
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"Witch girls Chocolat and Vanilla were best friends before they cam to the human world. But the competition to see who will be the next queen of the Magical World has come between them. Worse, Vanilla has embraced the Dark Magic of the Ogres, who are the enemies of all witches."

Tsubasa #12 by Clamp

Publisher: Del Rey Manga (US)
Date: January 30th 2007
Format: Manga paperback
Price: $10.95
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"All is not well on Piffle World. The magical land's most popular sporting event - a race of lightweight aircraft called dragonflies - seems to have been rigged by one of the competitors. But winning the competition is the only way Princess Sakura can recover one of her powerful memory feathers."

Interzone #209 ed. by Andy Cox

Publisher: TTA Press (UK)
Date: March 2007
Format: Magazine
Price: £3.75

About the 'Zine: The 25th anniversary issue of the UK's longest-running sf fiction magazine, featuring new stories from M. Johm Harrison, Gwyneth Jones, Alastair Reynolds, Hal Duncan, Jamie Barras and Daniel Kaysen (plus a free novella by Edward Morris to download on the website) alongside the usual high-quality mix of non-fiction content.

Feast of Souls by Celia Friedman

Publisher: Orbit (UK)
Date: April 5th 2007
Format: Large Paperback
Price: £12.99
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"In the High Kingdom of Danton Aurelius, magisters from across the known world are gathering for an unusual meeting. The High King's son is dying of an apparently incurable wasting disease, and he has charged them with providing an explanation and a cure. There is a mystery here, but not the one the High King thinks: the magisters know the cause of the prince's illness but they dare not reveal it for fear that it will expose the secret at the heart of their order."

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman

Publisher: Headline (UK)
Date: April 5th 2007
Format: Paperback
Price: £7.99
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"After the recent success of his latest novel Anansi Boys, Gaiman has produced Fragile Things, his second collection of short fiction. These stories will dazzle your senses, haunt your imagination and move you to the very depths of your soul. This extraordinary book reveals one of the world's most gifted storytellers at the height of his powers."

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Publisher: Gollancz (UK)
Date: March 15th 2007
Format: Hardback
Price: £12.99
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
The debut novel from the hottest new writer in the horror genre, the multi award-winning Joe Hill. "When Judas Coyne heard someone was selling a ghost on the Internet, there was no question what he was going to do. ... As an ageing death-metal-rock-God, buying a ghost almost qualifies as a business expense."

Guru Guru Pon-Chan #7 by Satomi Ikezawa

Publisher: Del Rey Manga (US)
Date: January 30th 2007
Format: Manga paperback
Price: $10.95
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"Thanks to the miraculous Guru Guru bone, Ponta the Labrador retriever can turn into a human girl - and she has found true love with Mirai Ikawa, who knows her secret but loves her just the same. But lately, the Guru Guru Bone hasn't been working very well, and dating has become ruff-ruff."

Hospital by Toby Litt

Publisher: Hamish Hamilton (UK)
Date: April 5th 2007
Format: Paperback
Price: £14.99
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"This is the most extreme and extraordinary read of the year. From one of Britain's most brilliantly talented younger writers comes a novel you will never forget. Savagely funny and searingly original, "Hospital" is a journey to hell and back. Hospital - get well soon? Yeah, right."

The Execution Channel by Ken MacLeod

Publisher: Orbit (UK)
Date: April 5th 2007
Format: Hardback
Price: £17.99
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"For decades, the ideological aims of terrorists and the political motivation of those who have battled them have been inextricably tied to oil. For all the fine words about peace and prosperity proclaimed by the West, the fear of losing access to the world's greatest supply of oil has been of paramount importance. Now a technological breakthrough may render the competition for oil redundant - and change the military balance into the bargain."

The Intruders by Michael Marshall

Publisher: HarperCollins (UK)
Date: April 2nd 2007
Format: Hardback
Price: £12.99
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"Jack Whalen was an LAPD patrol cop for twelve years. He left in difficult circumstances and now he's not really sure what he is. He's not too sure about his wife, either: when she goes missing on a routine business trip to Seattle, Jack heads up there to find her. Over the coming days it becomes increasingly clear that something has changed, however; and is still changing."

Pichi Pichi Pitch: Mermaid Melody #4 by Pink Hanamori & Michiko Yokote

Publisher: Del Rey Manga (US)
Date: January 30th 2007
Format: Manga paperback
Price: $10.95
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"Lucia Nanami, a mermaid princess, has taken human form to find her fellow princesses and save the seven seas from the evil rule of a would-be emperor, the ambitious Gackto. And now Gackto has kidnapped the boy Lucia loves. A final battle is inevitable, but Lucia has found only four of the seven mermaids..."

Bone Song by John Meaney

Publisher: Gollancz (UK)
Date: March 15th 2007
Format: Hardback
Price: £18.99
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"Lieutenant Donal Connor has been given the most bizarre of new cases. Four famous stage performers have died in recent months, thee of them in state capitals within Transifica, the fourth in far Zurinam. And now the idolised Diva, maria deLivnova is coming to Tristopolis. Donal's boss is determined that nothing like this is ever to happen in his city. Connor is to have anything he needs as long the Diva lives."

The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller

Publisher: Orbit (UK)
Date: April 5th 2007
Format: Paperback
Price: £6.99
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"Enter the kingdom of Lur, where to use magic unlawfully means death. The Doranen have ruled Lur with magic since arriving as refugees centuries ago. Theirs was a desperate flight to escape the wrath of a powerful mage who started a bitter war in their homeland. To keep Lur safe, the native Olken inhabitants agreed to abandon their own magic. Magic is now forbidden them, and any who break this law are executed..."

Command Decision by Elizabeth Moon

Publisher: Orbit (UK)
Date: April 5th 2007
Format: Paperback
Price: £6.99
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"Kylara had to leave a bright future as a military cadet, and was thrown into the brutal world of off-world trading. This subsequent career in the family business was tough: marked by war, mutiny and attempted assassination. But then her home was attacked and her parents killed ? their trading empire left in ruins. Now she must save what is left of the family and the business, with few friends and too few assets. She must make full use of her hard-won experience to not just survive, but to restore the shattered fortunes of the Vatta family and their allies."

Our Universe: An Introduction by Patrick Moore

Publisher: Facts, Figures & Fun (UK)
Date: March 2nd 2007
Format: Pocket Hardback
Price: £6.99
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"Astronomy is said to be the oldest science in the world. Even our cave-dwelling ancestors must have gazed into the sky and marvelled at what they saw there... Here Patrick Moore packs his wealth of knowledge and experience into a thoroughly readable introduction to a perpetually fascinating subject."

Nodame Cantabile #8 by Tomoko Ninomiya

Publisher: Del Rey Manga (US)
Date: January 30th 2007
Format: Manga paperback
Price: $10.95
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"It's showtime for Shinichi's new Rising Star Orchestra. Renowned critics and famous musicians have gathered to see the debut performance. Meanwhile, Nodame is playing hypnotist on Shinichi, trying to cure him of his fear of flying. After all, she wants her true love to be able to perform abroad..."

Air Gear #3 by Oh!great

Publisher: Del Rey Manga (US)
Date: January 30th 2007
Format: Manga paperback
Price: $10.95
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"Itsuki is still getting the hang of his Air Trecks - the super high-tech skates that have helped him fight back against the rival skate gangs making trouble on his turf. But when his two best friends end up in hospital... Itsuki realises he needs to polish his skills - and fast."

Shugo Chara! #1 by Peach-Pit

Publisher: Del Rey (US)
Date: March 27th 2007
Format: Manga paperback
Price: $10.95
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"Everybody at Seiyo Elementary thinks that stylish and super-cool Amu has it all. But nobody knows the real Amu, a shy girl who wishes she had the courage to truly be herself. Changing Amu's life is going to take more than wishes and dreams - it's going to take a little magic!"

Dante's Girl by Natasha Rhodes

Publisher: Solaris (UK)
Date: March 1st 2007
Format: Paperback
Price: £7.99
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"Kayla Steele is a woman with a problem. First of all, she's trying to hold down her job at the perfume counter of a large department store, whilst staying on top of her pile of mounting bills. As if that wasn't enough, she's also on a mission to learn the Dark Arts so that she can avenge the death of her boyfriend and bring down the cabal of supernatural entities that is stalking the streets of L.A."

Everfree by Nick Sagan

Publisher: Bantam (UK)
Date: May 7th 2007
Format: Paperback
Price: £6.99
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"The concluding novel in Nick Sagan's critically acclaimed post-apocalyptic Idlewild trilogy. A small group of humans has survived the apocalyptic epidemic called Black Ep that ravaged the world. These survivors start to wake others who'd been cryogenically preserved to await a future when the disease might be cured."

Danger Dance by Caro Soles

Publisher: Haworth Press (US)
Date: March 1st 2007
Format: Paperback
Price: £9.99
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"Two members of the Merculian National Dance Company are ordered by the dreaded Praetan to leave their tranquil existence to go undercover aboard the starship Wellington to discover who is passing secrets about fleet movements and weaponry to the enemies in the Troia."

Unicorns by Nigel Suckling

Publisher: Facts, Figures & Fun (UK)
Date: March 2nd 2007
Format: Pocket Hardback
Price: £5.99
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"Unicorns are unique not just for their startling singular horns but because people carried on believing in them long after dragons, griffins, manticores and a host of other fanciful creatures had been consigned to myth and heraldry. In this beautifully-produced, well-researched and entertaining book, fantasy writer Nigel Suckling takes us through the history of the unicorn in myth and legend, throughout the world."

Deadstock by Jeffrey Thomas

Publisher: Solaris (UK)
Date: March 1st 2007
Format: Paperback
Price: £7.99
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"Punktown, crime-ridden metropolis on the colony world, Oasis, is home to the scum of countless alien races. Stalking its mean streets is Jeremy Stake, the private detective with chameleon-like abilities he does not want and cannot control. There's his wealthy client, Fukuda, whose company makes synthetic life forms as playthings for the rich. Then there's Fukuda's beautiful teenage daughter..."

Shadowplay by Tad Williams

Publisher: Orbit (UK)
Date: March 6th 2007
Format: Hardback
Price: £18.99
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"Darkness has fallen on the lands of the sun as an army of misshapen fey spill out from beyond the Shadowline. At their head is Yasammez, dark creature of nightmare. A furtive bargain was struck at the gates of Southmarch and the castle was spared, but centuries of enmity will not be so easily appeased."

Camelot's Sword by Sarah Zettel

Publisher: Voyager (UK)
Date: April 2nd 2007
Format: Paperback
Price: £7.99
Buying: Amazon.co.uk

About the Book:
"An evocative romantic fantasy set in the legendary time of King Arthur. Lynet of Cameliard is the youngest child of Lord Kenan, who holds Castle Cambryn in the name of Queen Guinevere. When Lynet's brother, Colan, murders their father the castle and its people are thrown into disarray. Leaving her elder sister Laurel behind as a hostage, Lynet sets off for Camelot to beg Guinevere to return to Cameliard with her and restore order."

• UKSFBN Quick Links Listing for 03.04.08
• Books Received February 17th - March 1st 2008
• Books Received March 2nd - 16th 2008
• Books Received December 1st - 31st 2007
• Books Received November 11th - 30th 2007
• Books Received July 21st - August 16th 2007
• Newsbites round-up Nov 30th 2006
• Books Received, Oct 16th - Nov 17th 2006
• UKSFBN Quick Links Listing for 24.03.08
• Books Received January 1st - 31st 2008

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