February Publications

Richard Matheson: Collected Stories, Volume One, edited by Stanley Wiater, gathers 29 tales by the master fantasist, arranged roughly in chronological order of publication by the author himself, starting with "Born of Man and Woman" (1950). For this reissue, the first of three volumes, Matheson has supplied brief commentaries on each tale that weren't included in the original limited hardcover edition of Richard Matheson: Collected Stories (1989). (Edge [www.gauntletpress.com], $16.95 paper 408p ISBN 1-887368-62-0)

In Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's zippy Balance of Trade: A Liaden Universe Novel, Jethri Gobelyn, who's just your average Terran, does his best to survive a galactic culture clash. (Meisha Merlin [www.meishamerlin.com], $25 464p ISBN 1-59222-019-3) The same publisher also offers To Ride Hell's Chasm, a stand-alone fantasy by Janny Wurts (Sorcerer's Legacy), in which the disappearance of a high-minded princess before her betrothal banquet has unexpected repercussions for the kingdom of Sessalie. ($25 678p -023-1)