May Publications

In Michele Hauf's historical fantasy, Seraphim, the mysterious Black Knight pursues the fallen angel Lucifer de Morte, who with his satanic cohorts has devastated 15th-century France. In fact, the Black Knight is Seraphim d'Ange, a woman warrior whose full powers won't become clear until the final showdown with her devilish foe. (Luna [www.Luna-Books.com], $13.95 paper 416p ISBN 0-373-80206-4)

British SF author Brian Stableford (Designer Genes) offers a story collection, Salome and Other Decadent Fantasies, which includes such outré gems as the title tale, "The Last Worshipper of Proteus" and "The Evil That Men Do." (Cosmos [www.wildsidepress.com], $29.95 184p ISBN 1-58714-407-2; $17.95 paper -408-0)

The Wesleyan Early Classics of Science Fiction presents the first scholarly edition of Olaf Stapledon's 1937 masterpiece, Star Maker, edited by Patrick A. McCarthy. Physicist Freeman Dyson provides a foreword. (Wesleyan Univ., $65 356p ISBN 0-8195-6692-6; $24.95 paper -6693-4)

Gary A. Braunbeck's Fear in a Handful of Dust: Horror as a Way of Life gathers a good chunk of the Bram Stoker nominee's provocative writings on film and fiction, most of which appeared in Eldritch Tales, The Scream Factory and other small-press venues. (Betancourt [www.wildside press.com], $32.95 260p ISBN 1-59224-603-6)

April Publication

Cities, edited and introduced by Hugo winner Peter Crowther, showcases urban-themed novellas by four of today's leading fantasy writers: China Miéville, Michael Moorcock, Paul Di Filippo and Geoff Ryman. (Four Walls Eight Windows, $17 paper 292p ISBN 1-56858-304-4)