Table of Contents
Most Popular . . .
More . . .
Hotlists 2008
Crime Fiction - embedded
Ranganathan's Five Laws:
Books are for use.
Books are for all; or Every reader his book.
Every book its reader.
Save the time of the reader.
A library is a growing organism.
Spacing Out . . .
Overbooked is Myspacingout and Crimespacing out
Hang out with overbookers
on the overbooked ning
Overbooked is an affiliate of Book Sense. Support your local book store and help support Overbooked. Overbooked is nonprofit, but would prefer not to be in the red - only widely read. Just click on the Booksense link to order books.
Overbooked specializes in providing timely information about fiction (all genres) and readable nonfiction. Overbooked has been online since 1994.
Speculative Fiction Stars 2003
Page Modified: April 2, 2008
Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: A frequently updated list of books which received at least one starred review (indicating a work of unusual merit) from the following review sources: Booklist - BL, Publisher's Weekly - PW, Kirkus, and Library Journal - LJ.
Annotations are from Advance, the Ingram
Book Magazine unless otherwise noted. Titles are arranged by approximate date
of publication, then alphabetically by author.
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
December
- The Destroyer Goddess: In Fire Forged, Part Two
Author: Resnick, Laura
Publisher: Tor $ 27.95 ISBN: 0765308754 Date: 2003
PW
The popular fantasy author now delivers the explosive conclusion of the epic fantasy saga begun in The White Dragon.
Updated 10.28.03 - Air
Author: Ryman, Geoff
Publisher: Griffin $ 13.95 (paper) ISBN: 0312261217 Date: 2003PWBooklist
Chung Mae is the fashion expert of the farming village of Kizuldah, Karzistan. The town gets Air, a new communication technology that will connect everyone without wires or computers. But the initial test of Air is a disaster; people are killed by the shock, and Mae ends up imprinted with the memories of a dying old woman.
Updated 12.15.03 - Night Visions 11
Author: Sheehan, Bill (ed)
Publisher: Subterranean $ 30 ISBN: 1931081948 Date: 2003Booklist
Updated 12.15.03 - Starfist: Lazarus Rising
Author: Sherman, David & Dan Gragg
Publisher: Del Rey $ 19.95 ISBN: 0345460006 Date: 2003PW
The popular Starfist series, featuring Marines in the far future, makes its hardcover debut with this story of a war against aliens on the planet Kingdom.
Updated 10.7.03 - More Tomorrow: And Other Stories
Author: Smith, Michael Marshall
Publisher: Earthling $ 40 ISBN: 0974420301 Date: 2003PW
Updated 11.24.03
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
November
- X President: A Novel of the Cigarette Wars
Author: Baruth, Philip E.
Publisher: Bantam $ 11.95 (paper) ISBN: 0553802941 Date: 2003Booklist
It is the year 2055 and America is entangled in a devastating world war--and losing badly. As the threat of homeland invasion grows stronger, the United States is desperate to change the tide--any way it can. Enter Sal Hayden, official biographer of a former president, who is hired to create the world's most daring, dangerous, and spectacular spin job.
Updated 10.8.03 - Tournament
Author: Clark, John
Publisher: Hyperion $ 19.95 ISBN: 141300928 Date: 2003Kirkus
Updated 7.28.03 - The Dark: New Ghost Stories
Author: Datlow, Ellen (ed)
Publisher: Tor $ 25.95 ISBN: 0765304449 Date: 2003PW
Datlow, referred to by some as the Mistress of Horror, has gathered ghost stories by 15 masters of the macabre in this deliciously frightening anthology of original terror.
Suggested Reading: Scary Stars | Ghostly Stars
Updated 10.20.03 - The Salt Roads
Author: Hopkinson, Nalo
Publisher: Warner $ 22.95 ISBN: 0446533025 Date: 2003LJKirkus
"Whirling with witchcraft and sensuality, this latest novel by Hopkinson (Skin Folk; Midnight Robber) is a globe-spanning, time-traveling spiritual odyssey."--Publishers Weekly.
Suggested Reading: African American Stars
Updated 10.08.03 - Any Man So Daring
Author: Hoyt, Sarah A.
Publisher: Ace $ 23.95 ISBN: 044101092x Date: 2003Booklist
The final book in the Shakespeare fantasy trilogy by the author of All Night Awake. Shakespeare's success comes with a price--his son Hamnet has disappeared in the realm of the Elven King. Now Will must face the powers of darkness to rescue him.
Suggested Reading: Shakespearean Stars
Updated 11.12.03 - The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 14
Author: Jones, Stephen (ed)
Publisher: Carroll & Graf $ 11.95 (paper) ISBN: 0786712376 Date: 2003PW
The 14th volume of the Best New Horror series revisits the momentous events and chilling achievements on the dark side of fantasy.
Suggested Reading: Scary Stars
Updated 10.14.03 - The Dark Tower V: Wolves of Calla
Author: King, Stephen
Publisher: Donald M. Grant/Scriber $ 35 ISBN: 1880418568 Date: 2003PWBooklist
Suggested Reading: Scary Stars
Updated 9.22.03 - Dragon's Kin
Author: McCaffrey, Anne & Todd McCaffrey
Publisher: Del Rey $ 24.95 ISBN: 0345461983 Date: 2003LJ
The Dragonriders of Pern learn about the special talents of the watch-wyers in this new novel by the beloved creator of the series and her son.
Updated 10.7.03 - A Yuletide Universe: Sixteen Fantastical Tales
Author: Thomsen, Brian M. (ed)
Publisher: Warner $ 12.95 (paper) ISBN: 0446691879 Date: 2003Booklist
The contributors to this Christmas anthology include well-known writers with strong fan followings such as Bram Stoker and Hugo Award-winning author of American Gods Neil Gaiman, Hugo Award winner Connie Willis, Anne McCaffrey, Harlan Ellison, Clive Barker, and many others.
Updated 10.23.03 - The Presence of Mine Enemies
Author: Turtledove, Harry
Publisher: NAL $ 24.95 ISBN: 0451529022 Date: 2003Booklist
In the 21st century, Germany's Third Reich continues to thrive after its victory in World War II--keeping most of Europe and North America under its heel. But within the heart of the Nazi regime, a secret lives. Under a perfect Aryan facade, Jews survive--living their lives, raising their families, and trying to avoid discovery.
Suggested Reading: Alternative History Stars
Updated 9.22.03
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
October
- The Two Sams: Ghost Stories
Author: Hirshberg, Glen
Publisher: Carroll & Graf $ 23 ISBN: 0786712254 Date: 2003PW
With this unique collection, acclaimed author Glen Hirshberg breathes new life into an age-old literary tradition.
Suggested Reading: Ghostly Stars
Updated 9.22.03 - Fudoki
Author: Johnson, Kij
Publisher: Tor $ 24.95 ISBN: 0765303906 Date: 2003PW
Set in the same universe as The Fox Woman, this time Kij Johnson takes on another animal totem and enters the world of the creature who comes to be known as Kagaya-hime, a sometime woman warrior, occasional philosopher, and reluctant confidante to noblemen. - Publisher Marketing.
Updated 9.22.03 - Mirror Mirror
Author: Maguire, Gregory
Publisher: Regan $ 24.95 ISBN: 006039384x Date: 2003KirkusPW
From the bestselling author of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (debuting on Broadway this fall), Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister and Lost comes a master retelling of the Snow White story set in Renaissance Italy.
Updated 9.22.03 - Sunshine
Author: McKinley, Robin
Publisher: Berkeley $ 23.95 ISBN: 0425191788 Date: 2003PW
Unfortunately, she wasn't alone. She never heard them coming. Of course she wouldn't, when they're vampires. A new direction for an already successful fantasy author.
Suggested Reading: Contemporary Fantasy Stars | Adult Books For Teens
Updated 10.2.03 - The Night Country: Or, the Darkness on the Edge of Town
Author: O'Nan, Stewart
Publisher: FSG $ 22 ISBN: 0374222150 Date: 2003LJ
A strange and unsettling ghost story in the tradition of Ray Bradbury and Shirley Jackson, The Night Country creeps through the streets of one bedroom community, reaching into the connected yet isolated lives of three people changed forever by a car accident.
Suggested Reading: Scary Stars
Updated 8.14.03 - Lost Boy, Lost Girl
Author: Straub, Peter
Publisher: Random $ 24.95 ISBN: 1400060923 Date: 2003BooklistPW
From the bestselling author of Black House and Mr. X springs a groundbreaking story of the persistence of evil, told with tantalizing ambiguity and structural audacity.
Suggested Reading: Scary Stars
Updated 9.22.03
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
September
- Star Dragon
Author: Brotherton, Mike
Publisher: Tor $ 24.95 ISBN: 0765307588 Date: 2003Booklist
The crew of the Karamojo--human and AI alike--will risk everything to capture the star dragon--a creature of fire with a nuclear furnace for heart. It will take all their technology, all their skill, and more courage than they knew they had, to come home alive. - Publisher Marketing.
Updated 10.8.03 - Budayeen Nights
Author: Effinger, George Alec
Publisher: Golden Gryphon $ 24.95 ISBN: 1930846193 Date: 2003PW
George Alex Effinger's first short-fiction collection in nearly 15 years, these nine tales are set in Budayeen, the walled city in the sand, a city of dark shadows and even darker inhabitants, where a Raymond Chandleresque vision has been created--hardboiled, noir, futuristic--but with a twist. - Publisher Marketing.
Updated 8.11.03 - The Good House
Author: Due, Tananarive
Publisher: Atria $ 25 ISBN: 0743449002 Date: 2003PWKirkus
From the award-winning author of The Black Rose comes a terrifying story of supernatural suspense, as a woman searches for the inherited power that can save her hometown from evil forces.
Suggested Reading: Scary Stars | African American Stars
Updated 8.11.03 - A Fortress of Grey Ice: Book Two of Sword of Shadows
Author: Jones, J.V.
Publisher: Tor $ 25.95 ISBN: 0765306336 Date: 2003PW
In the highly charged epic adventure of Ash March and Raif Sevrance, the fate of the two outcasts is entwined with ancient prophecies and need as the cold, dark world threatens to be torn asunder by a war to end all wars.
Updated 8.18.03 - The Lost Steersman
Author: Kirstein, Rosemary
Publisher: Del Rey $ 14.95 (paper) ISBN: 0345462297 Date: 2003PW
Rosemary Kirstein is the long-awaited sequel to The Steerswoman and The Outskirter's Secret.
Updated 8.25.03 - The Time Traveler's Wife
Author: Niffenegger, Audrey
Publisher: MacAdam/Cage $ 25 ISBN: 193156146x Date: 2003PWLJ
The love story of Henry and Claire whose lives are punctuated by Henry's disappearance to different points in time--sometimes even back to visit Claire as a young woman. When Henry meets Claire, he is twenty-eight, and she is twenty. He's a hip, handsome librarian; she is an art student with Botticelli hair. Henry has never met Claire before; Claire has known Henry since she was six...
Suggested Reading: Librarian Stars | Time Travel Stars | Adult Books for Teens
Updated 8.14.03 - Monstrous Regiment
Author: Pratchett, Terry
Publisher: HarperCollins $ 24.95 ISBN: 006001315X Date: 2003PW
The 29th entry in Pratchett's internationally bestselling Discworld series explores the art of war and the brave women who wage it.
Suggested Reading: If You Like Douglas Adams
Updated 9.08.03 - Hybrids
Author: Sawyer, Robert J.
Publisher: Tor $ 24.95 ISBN: 0312876904 Date: 2003Booklist
In Hominids, Nebula Award-winning author Sawyer introduced a character readers will never forget: Ponter Boddit. Now, Boddit and his homo sapien lover, geneticist Mary Vaughan, are torn between two worlds, struggling to find a way to make their star-crossed relationship work.
Suggested Reading: Alternative History Stars
Updated 9.22.03 - The Companions
Author: Tepper, Sheri
Publisher: Eos $ 25.95 ISBN: 006053821x Date: 2003Kirkus
A thrilling new tale by the acclaimed author of The Visitor, Tepper pens an otherworldly tale of the planet Moss, where a group of humans discover an intelligent race of natives.
Updated 6.19.03 - Crown of Slaves
Author: Weber, David & Eric Flint
Publisher: Baen $ 25 ISBN: 0743471482 Date: 2003PW
The Star Kingdom's ally Erewhon is growing dangerously restive in the alliance. A mission to Erewhon led by Captain Zilwick finds the intrepid agent facing myriad skullduggery, including a radical freed slave organization led by a notorious killer.
Updated 9.08.03 - Master Storyteller: An Illustrated Tour of the Fiction of L. Ron Hubbard
Author: Widder, William J.
Publisher: Galaxy $ 49.95 ISBN: 1592120547 Date: 2003PW
A striking portrait of Hubbard's career as a fiction writer, this chronological history details his writings and corresponding art.
Updated 8.04.03
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
August
- Lord of Snow and Shadows: Book One of the Tears of Artamon
Author: Ash, Sarah
Publisher: Bantam $ 21.95 ISBN: 0553803344 Date: 2003PW
The first book in The Tears of Artamon saga pays homage to the genre's traditions while carving a refreshingly bold place for its exciting new author. Trapped in a land racked by bitter rivalries, Gavril must take up the mantle of his father's rule to unite a divided kingdom.
Updated 6.25.03 - Gathering
the Bones: Original Storeis from the World's Masters of Horror
Author: Dann, Jack (ed)
Publisher: Tor $ 15.95 (trade paper) ISBN: 0765301792 Date: 2003LJ
Chilling new anthology of all-original tales of horror
Includes New Stories by: Ray Bradbury, Graham Joyce, Peter Crowther, Kim Newman, Sara Douglass, Thomas Tessier
M. John Harrison & Gahan Wilson.
Updated 8.14.03 - The
Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Sixteenth Annual Collection
Author: Datlow, Ellen & Terri Windling, editors
Publisher: Griffin $ 35/19.95 ISBN: 0312314248/0312314256 Date: 2003PW
Updated 7.28.03 - Spirits in the Wires
Author: De Lint, Charles
Publisher: Tor $ 27.95 ISBN: 0312873980 Date: 2003LJ
Ancient magic and the Internet weave a spell in the latest Newford novel from urban fantasy master Charles de Lint.
Suggested Reading: Contemporary Fantasy Stars
Updated 8.14.03 - Stars
Author: Ian, Janis and Mike Resnick (editors)
Publisher: DAW $ 23.95 ISBN: 0756401771 Date: 2003PW
Janis Ian has inspired fans for years with her lyrical and evocative music. Now, this popular music legend has invited her favorite science fiction and fantasy writers to interpret her songs using their own unique voices.
Updated 7.21.03 - Dante's Equation
Author: Jensen, Jane
Publisher: Del Rey $ 15.95 ISBN: 0345430379 Date: 2003LJ
From the author of Judgment Day and creator of the popular Gabriel Knight computer games comes an edge-of-the-seat science-fiction thriller that weaves together elements of the Kabbalah and physics with doorways to other worlds.
Updated 6.19.03 - Idlewild
Author: Sagan, Nick
Publisher: Putnam $ 23.95 ISBN: 0399150978 Date: 2003Kirkus
Set in the day after tomorrow, Idlewild opens as a young man awakes with amnesia: He cannot remember who he is and doesn't recognize anything around him--all he knows for sure is that someone is trying to kill him.
Updated 5.29.03 - American Empire: The Victorious Opposition
Author: Turtledove, Harry
Publisher: Del Rey $ 27.95 ISBN: 034544423x Date: 2003PW
The monumental conclusion to the American Empire trilogy finds the Confederacy racing along the path toward renewed war with the United States. In a drama of spies and traitors, lovers and soldiers, Turtledove has created an unforgettable reimagining of history itself.
Suggested Reading: Alternative History Stars
Updated 7.7.03 - Journey Into the Void: Volume Three of the Sovereign Stone Trilogy
Author: Weis, Margaret & Tracy Hickman
Publisher: Eos $ 25.95 ISBN: 0061051780 Date: 2003PW
Led by a brave nobleman, the Dominion Lords, a quartet of champions from each race--man, elf, ork, and dwarf--must bring their shard of the awesome Sovereign Stone to the Portal of the Gods. Fast-paced and thrilling, Journey into the Void is acclaimed fantasists Weis and Hickman at their epic best.
Updated 6.203
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
July
- A Forest of Stars: The
Saga of Seven Suns, Book 2
Author: Anderson, Kevin J.
Publisher: Warner $ 24.95 ISBN: 0446528714 Date: 2003PW
The bestselling and award-winning author continues his stunning epic series: a vast panorama of galactic civilization and apocalyptic war. "A rip-roaring space opera full of mystery, adventure, and suspense."--"Science Fiction Chronicle."
Updated 5.6.03 - The Year's Best Science Fiction
Author: Dozois, Gardner
Publisher: Griffin $ 35/19.95 ISBN: 0312308590/308604 Date: 2003PW
Updated 6.19.03 - Fat White
Vampire Blues
Author: Fox, Andrew
Publisher: Ballantine $ 13.95 (paper) ISBN: 0345463331 Date: 2003Booklist
If Dracula slept with A Confederacy of Dunces, this funny first novel about Jules, a feckless, overweight vampire would be the result. He's watched his neighborhood go to hell--and now, a new vampire is looking to drive him out. Jules must find a way to contend with life's hurdles--without getting a stake through the heart.
Suggested Reading: New Orleans
Updated 4.28.03 - Changing Planes: Stories
Author: LeGuin, Ursula K.
Publisher: Harcourt $ 22 ISBN: 0151009716 Date: 2003Library JournalKirkus
The misery of waiting for a connecting flight at an airport leads to the accidental discovery of alighting on other planes - not airplanes but planes of existence - in this humorous and poignant series of stories by National Book Award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin.
Updated 4.24.03 - The White Dragon:
In Fire Forged, Part One - A Novel of Sileria
Author: Resnick, Laura
Publisher: Tor $ 25.95 ISBN: 0312890567 Date: 2003PW
With this stunning, magical sequel to the epic romantic fantasy, Resnick stakes a claim as a true master of epic fantasy.
Updated 5.19.03 - Ilium
Author: Simmons, Dan
Publisher: Eos $ 25.95 ISBN: 0380978938 Date: 2003PW
From the Hugo Award-winning author of the Hyperion Cantos comes the first book of a breathtaking new saga based on the themes of Homer's The Iliad and Shakespeare's The Tempest--a groundbreaking work from a "magnificently original" (Denver Post) writer.
Updated 5.29.03 - American Empire: The
Victorious Opposition
Author: Turtledove, Harry
Publisher: Del Rey $ 27.95 ISBN: 034544423x Date: 2003Booklist
The monumental conclusion to the American Empire trilogy finds the Confederacy racing along the path toward renewed war with the United States. In a drama of spies and traitors, lovers and soldiers, Turtledove has created an unforgettable reimagining of history itself.
Updated 5.29.03 - Blind Lake
Author: Wilson, Robert Charles
Publisher: Tor $ 24.95 ISBN: 0765302624 Date: 2003KirkusPW
At Blind Lake, a federal research installation in Minnesota, scientists are using a technology they barely understand to watch everyday life in a city of lobster-like aliens on a distant planet. Wilson tells a gripping tale of alien contact and human love in a haunted but hopeful universe.
Updated 6.29.03
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
June
- Redemption Ark
Author: Reynolds, Alastair
Publisher: Ace $ 24.95 ISBN: 044101958x Date: 2003PW
Named the Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year ("Chronicle"), this stunning sequel to Revelation begins late in the 26th century. The human race has advanced enough to trigger alien machines designed to detect intelligent life and destroy it.
Updated 5.29.03
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
May
- Told By the Dead
Author: Campbell, Ramsey
Publisher: PS $ 50 ISBN: 1902880692 Date: 2003PW
Updated 4.7.03 - Bad Dream
Author: Christopher, John
Publisher: Severn $ 26.99 ISBN: 0727859609 Date: 2003PW
Updated 5.12.03 - The Light Ages
Author: MacLeod, Ian R.
Publisher: Ace $ 23.95 ISBN: 0441010555 Date: 2003PW
In this moody work set in a fantastical Age of Industry, Robert Borrows runs away from Bracebridge, West Yorkshire, only to find that he cannot escape from the magical secrets of his past.
Suggested Reading: Alternative History Stars
Updated 4.14.03 - Kingdom River
Author: Smith, Mitchell
Publisher: Tor $ 25.95 ISBN: 0765300087 Date: 2003Booklist
Sam Monroe is the reluctant commander of a tough-minded warrior people in northern Mexico. Sam's people cling to a precarious, hard-won freedom. Toghrul Khan, leader of the Khanate, wants the Kingdom's lucrative trade and lush farmlands. To get them, Sam Monroe must learn not just to command--but to rule.
Updated 5.29.03 - Mistress of Dragons
Author: Weis, Margaret
Publisher: Tor $ 25.95 ISBN: 0765304686 Date: 2003Booklist
From the New York Times bestselling co-author of the Dragonlance, Dark Sword, and Deathgate series, comes her first solo fantasy novel set in an all-new, sure-to-be bestselling world, the Dragonvald.
Updated 4.28.03 - The Wizard Hunters: The Fall of Ile-Rein
Author: Wells, Martha
Publisher: Eos $ 24.95 ISBN: 0380977885 Date: 2003Kirkus
Filled with wonder, adventure, magic, and danger, this is the first volume in an epic fantasy trilogy--the sequel to The Death of the Necromancer--from "one of the best new writers the field has to offer" (C. J. Cherryh).
Updated 2.23.03 - The War of
the Flowers
Author: Williams, Tad
Publisher: DAW $ 24.95 ISBN: 0756401356 Date: 2003LJ
Returning to the fantasy genre that made him a coast-to-coast bestselling phenomenon, Williams has written a new stand-alone contemporary novel set in Northern California, and in the strange parallel world that coexists in the farthest reaches of the imagination.
Updated 5.19.03 - The Phoenix Exultant
Author: Wright, John C.
Publisher: Tor $ 24.95 ISBN: 0765304325 Date: 2003Kirkus
The Phoenix Exultant is a continuation of the story begun in The Golden Age, and is a grand space opera in the tradition of Jack Vance and Roger Zelazny. At the conclusion of the first book, Phaethon of Radamanthus House was left an exile from his life of power and privilege. Now he embarks upon a quest to recover his memory and his life.
Updated 2.10.03
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
April
- Darwin's Children
Author: Bear, Greg
Publisher: Del Rey $ 24.95 ISBN: 0345448359 Date: 2003Library JournalPW
In Darwin's Radio, the human race underwent a leap in evolution, as women began to give birth to human "upgrades." Now a decade has passed, and millions of new children have been born around the world. Darwin's Children is the story of Stella Nova and her fellow new humans as they fight to survive.
Updated 3.3.03 - Kushiel's Avatar
Author: Carey, Jacqueline
Publisher: Tor $ 27.95 ISBN: 0312872402 Date: 2003PWBooklist
The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassed beauty and grace. Citizen Phedre no Delaunay was sold into indentured servitude as a child. Phedre's path has been strange and dangerous, and through it all, the devoted swordsman Joscelin has been at her side, following the central precept of the angel Cassiel: Protect and serve.
Updated 4.28.03 - Talon of the Silver Hawk: Conclave
of Shadows Book One
Author: Feist, Raymond
Publisher: Eos $ 24.95 ISBN: 0380977087 Date: 2003PW
From the New York Times bestselling author of the Riftwar Legacy comes the first installment of a new series--a thrilling new epic of adventure and deceit set in his signature world of Midkemia.
Updated 2.24.03 - Lost in a Good Book
Author: Fforde, Jasper
Publisher: Viking Books $ 24.95 ISBN: 0670031909 Date: 2003KirkusLJ
Literary detective heroine Thursday Next returns in this follow-up to the acclaimed The Eyre Affair. To rescue the love of her life, Thursday must retrieve a supposedly vanquished enemy from the pages of Poe's "The Raven." Soon, Thursday finds herself the target of a series of potentially lethal coincidences.
Suggested Reading: If You Like Douglas Adams
Updated 3.13.03 - The Wreck of the River of Stars
Author: Flynn, Michael
Publisher: Tor $ 27.95 ISBN: 0765300990 Date: 2003Kirkus
In this magnificent stand-alone epic of the spaceways, author Flynn grows in stature. The luxury liner River of Stars was once the envy of all solar sailors, but she operates now as a tramp freighter and her crew is a motley group of misfits. When an unlikely and catastrophic engine failure strikes, the story of their doom has the inevitability and power of a Greek tragedy.
Updated 1.10.03 - Cerulean Sins
Author: Hamilton, Laurell K.
Publisher: Berkley $ 22.95 ISBN: 0425188361 Date: 2003PW
Once a sworn enemy of all monsters, Anita is now the human consort of both Master Vampire Jean Claude and leopard shapeshifter Micah. When a centuries-old vampire hits St. Louis, Anita finds herself needing all the dark forces her passion can muster to save the ones she loves.
Updated 3.27.03 - Wasteland of Flint
Author: Harlan, Thomas
Publisher: Tor $ 27.95 ISBN: 076530192x Date: 2003Kirkus
In five centuries, the mighty Empire of the Mexica, descendants of the ancient Aztecs, has spread out to conquer the earth. Now, on a desolate, barren world far from the heart of civilization, Gretchen Andersson, a young human xeno-archeologist is about to discover an awesome, long-buried secret that could alter the galactic balance of power forever.
Suggested Reading: Aztec Stars
Updated 3.13.03 - Celtika: Book One of the Merlin Codex
Author: Holdstock, Robert
Publisher: Tor $ 25.95 ISBN: 0765306921 Date: 2003PW
From an award-winning fantasist comes a magical novel linking the Arthur cycle to the mysteries of ancient Greece.
Suggested Reading: Legendary Characters
Updated 3.13.03 - Daylight
Author: Knox, Elizabeth
Publisher: Ballantine $ 23.95 ISBN: 0345457951 Date: 2003PWBooklist
Beautifully written, Daylight combines Knox's greatest gifts, her wildly imaginative storytelling and her clear eye for atmosphere and place. The vampires of this book are distinctly Knoxian, as intriguing and intelligently drawn as the angel in The Vintner's Luck.
Updated 3.31.03 - Immortalis
Author: Salvatore, R.A.
Publisher: Del Rey $ 26.95 ISBN: 0345441222 Date: 2003Library Journal
Salvatore, New York Times bestselling author of Transcendence, returns to the magical world of Corona for the epic conclusion of the DemonWars saga.
Updated 4.7.03 - Year Zero
Author: Stableford, Brian
Publisher: Five Star $ 25.95 ISBN: 0786253339 Date: 2003Kirkus
Updated 3.27.03 - Jaws of Darkness
Author: Turtledove, Harry
Publisher: Tor $ 27.95 ISBN: 0765304171 Date: 2003PW
Turtledove's masterful saga of a magical world's cataclysmic war, which began with Into the Darkness, has earned accolades from readers and reviewers alike. In this fifth volume of the series, hope may be dawning. The terrible onslaught of the forces of Algarve begins to founder as it runs into Habakkuk: a sorcerous ship of ice.
Suggested Reading: Alternative History Stars
Updated 3.13.03 - Veniss Underground
Author: VanderMeer, Jeff
Publisher: Prime $ 15 (paper) ISBN: 1894815645 Date: 2003PW
Updated 2.4.03 - Red Thunder
Author: Varley, John
Publisher: Ace $ 23.95 ISBN: 0440010156 Date: 2003PW
Seven suburban misfits are constructing a spaceship out of old tanker cars. The plan is to beat the Chinese to Mars--in under four days at three million miles an hour. It would be history in the making if it didn't sound so insane.
Updated 3.31.03 - Sims
Author: Wilson, F. Paul
Publisher: Forge $ 25.95 ISBN: 0765305518 Date: 2003Kirkus
A new science thriller, Sims takes place in the very near future, when the science of genetics is fulfilling its vaunted potential. It's a world where genetically transmitted diseases are being eliminated, and manual labor is gradually being transferred to "sims", genetically altered chimps who occupy a gray zone between simian and human.
Updated 2.23.03
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
March
- Paper Mage
Author: Cutter, Leah R.
Publisher: NAL/Roc $ 6.50 ISBN: 0451459172 Date: 2003Booklist
The first in a stunning new series inspired by the ancient art of origami. "An enchanting novel, skillfully rooted in Chinese history and myth--mystical, unusual, and thoroughly convincing."--Terri Windling, Editor of The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror.
Updated 4.28.03 - Joust
Author: Lackey, Mercedes
Publisher: Daw $ 24.95 ISBN: 0756401224 Date: 2003Booklist
The first book in this thrilling new series introduces readers to a young slave who dreams of becoming a Jouster--one of the few warriors who can actually ride a flying dragon.
Updated 3.31.03 - Altered Carbon
Author: Morgan, Richard
Publisher: Del Rey $ 13.95 ISBN: 0345457684 Date: 2003Library Journal
A stunning debut sci-fi/noir thriller reminiscent of Blade Runner--and the beginning of a new series featuring a one-of-a-kind anti-hero: ex-UN envoy Takashi Kovaks.
Updated 1.16.03 - Angelica: A Novel of Samaria
Author: Shinn, Sharon
Publisher: Ace $ 23.95 ISBN: 044101013x Date: 2003PW
The bestselling author of The Alleluia Files makes her long-awaited journeyback to Samaria for the story of Archangel and Angelica, as the future of the planet hangs in the balance.
Updated 2.20.03 - The Risen Empire: Book One of the Succession
Author: Westerfield, Scott
Publisher: Tor $ 24.95 ISBN: 0765305550 Date: 2003PW
In this space opera of the 21st century, Zai and pacifist senator Nara Oxham must face the challenge of the of a new race of humans who want to overthrow the powerful, undead Emperor of the empire.
Updated 1.20.03
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
February
- Jinn
Author: Delaney, Matthew B.J.
Publisher: St Martins $ 24.95 ISBN: 0312276702 Date: 2003PW
An ancient evil discovered by Marines in the South Pacific during World War II is linked to a depraved serial killer many years later on the streets of Boston. Detectives Jefferson and Brogon have no idea that to solve this case, their investigation must take them around the world and through time and history.
Updated 1.3.03 - The Revenants
Author: Farrington, Geoffrey
Publisher: Dedalus $ 11.99 (paper) ISBN: 1903517044 Date: 2003Kirkus
Updated 2.23.03 - Crossfire
Author: Kress, Nancy
Publisher: Tor $ 24.95 ISBN: 0765304678 Date: 2003Kirkus
Kress made her reputation in the early 90s with her multiple award-winning novella, Beggars in Spain, which became the basis for Beggars Trilogy. Now comes a brand new science fiction epic, the story of a human colony started by Jake Holman, a man trying to escape a dark past.
Updated 12.02.02 - Children of the Shaman
Author: Rydill, Jessica
Publisher: Roc $ 6.50 ISBN: 0451459113 Date: 2003Booklist
Thirteen-year-old Annat and her older brother, Malchick, leave their sheltered upbringing and reunite with their father, a shaman-healer. With him they venture into the magical kingdom of La Souterraine. Only then and there do they learn what their heritage means to them and to those around them.
Updated 2.20.03 - Laughing Man
Author: Wright, T.M.
Publisher: Leisure $ 5.99 (paper) ISBN: 0843950846 Date: 2003Booklist
New York City detective Jack Erhmun has his own peculiar ways of solving homicides--ways which can frighten his colleagues. Assigned to a series of gruesome murders, Jack delves into facts that make it seem no human killer can be involved. He soon becomes more and more erratic. Is it the case that affects him, or is it something no one dares to consider?
Updated 1.25.03
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
January
- A Shortcut in Time
Author: Dickinson, Charles
Publisher: Forge $ 24.95 ISBN: 0765305798 Date: 2003Library Journal
Dickinson's novels and short stories have won widespread acclaim for their deft characterization, humanity, and humor. Now Dickinson slips beyond the bounds of mundane realism to create a poignant fantasy that bears comparison to the work of Jack Finney and Jonathan Carroll.
Suggested Reading: Time Travel
Updated 1.16.03 - Hades Daughter: Book One of the Troy Game
Author: Douglass, Sara
Publisher: Tor $ 27.95 ISBN: 0765305402 Date: 2003PW
The first title in Douglass's compelling new series, this is a riveting historical fantasy series of love and revenge and the madness that can ensnare even the most noble soul.
Suggested Reading: Legendary Characters
Updated 12.16.02 - Things That Never Happen
Author: Harrison, M. John
Publisher: Night Shade $ 27 (hard) $15 (paper) ISBN: 1892389266/1892389339 Date: 2003PW
Updated 12.16.02 - Anise: A Tale of True Love in a World Gone Mad
Author: Henry, Maren
Publisher: Wildside $ 32.95 ISBN: 1587156997 Date: 2003PW
Updated 1.20.03 - The Briar King
Author: Keyes, Greg
Publisher: Del Rey $ 23.95 ISBN: 0345440668 Date: 2003PW
An ensemble fantasy in the tradition of George R.R. Martin and Terry Goodkind, The Briar King will establish the award-winning Greg Keyes as one of the finest authors in the world of fantasy today.
Updated 12.02.02 - March to the Stars
Author: Weber, David & Eric Flint
Publisher: Baen $ 26 ISBN: 0743435621 Date: 2003PW
Prince Roger MacClintock and the Royal Marines are up against an enemy spaceport, bristling with heavy artillery. Roger's team has only hand weapons. But neither Roger nor the Marines are about to give up in this new adventure by two established masters of military sci-fi.
Updated 1.15.03 - The Poison Master
Author: Williams, Liz
Publisher: Spectra $ 5.99 (paper) ISBN: 0553584987 Date: 2003PW
On a distant world ruled by an alien race, humanity is enslaved, having forgotten its own past and condemned to have no future--until one woman is offered a choice that could restore humanity's freedom.
Updated 12.02.02
Hotlists
Crime Fiction - embedded
Stars
Fiction: Jan-June | July-Dec Crime Fiction: Jan-June | July-Dec
Speculative Fiction Romance Historical Nonfiction | YA
Hotlists
Hotlists: Fiction | Crime Fiction
Genre Hotlists: Christian Fiction | African American Fiction
Stars
Fiction: Jan-June | July-Dec Crime Fiction: Jan-June | July-Dec
Overbooked is a volunteer project undertaken by Ann Chambers Theis: Collection Management Administrator, Chesterfield County (VA) Public Library. 9501 Lori Rd. or P.O. Box 297, Chesterfield, VA, 23832. Phone: 804.748.1760.
Overbooked is not an official Chesterfield County Public Library service. Overbooked.org is a nonprofit web site hosted by CVCO - Central Virginia's Community Online. Overbooked.com is a nonprofit web site in experimental mode. Overbooked does not endorse any commercial providers (or their products and services) linked to from this web site.
Join the Overbooked List - A quiet list for readers to share recent reads, keep up to date with details about new books, discuss favorite authors/titles, etc.
Comments, suggestions, corrections: Ann Chambers Theis (AKA Ann/ACT):
ann_overbooked@earthlink.net
or
ann@overbooked.com
I really appreciate all the e-mail I receive from avid readers and writers and regret that I am not able to respond to all correspondents. Special thanks to those folks who regularly help keep me on track - you know who you are....
Overbooked: FAQ | ACT | Featured Titles | Hot Lists | Stars Lists | Booklists | Nonfiction | Genres | Reader's Advisory | Author Connections
| Interactive Stuff