October Publications
In A Crown Disowned: Volume Three of the Cycle of Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan, the lively, well-paced conclusion to Andre Norton and Sasha Miller's fantasy trilogy (To the King a Daughter; Knight or Knave), Rohan must defeat the Ice Dragons and the armies of the North as well as defend his allies from the machinations of Dowager Queen Ysa. The unsurprising, inoffensive narrative contains enough swashbuckling, poisoning and intrigue to keep readers turning the pages. (Tor, $25.95 416p ISBN 0-312-87338-7)
It's 2015 and the human beings who've survived the disastrous climatic changes of recent years face utter destruction in My Mistress, Humanity, by Chuck Rosenthal (Elena of the Stars, etc.). In a plot that parallels that of Frankenstein and provides much philosophical food for thought, the Faustian hero must track down a terrible monster, a dragon, if there's to be any hope for humanity. Regional author tour. (Hollyridge [HollyridgePress@aol.com], $17.95 paper 240p ISBN 0-9676003-5-9)
SF author Paul Park (Coelestis, etc.) deftly explores cultural and psychological themes in his first collection of short fiction, If Lions Could Speak and Other Stories. Kim Stanley Robinson, Terry Bisson and Gene Wolfe, among others, provide testimonials to the quality of Park's prose. (Cosmos [www.wildsidepress.com], $15 paper 196p ISBN 1-58715-508-7)
Sherry Austin puts her fascination with the afterlife to effective fictional use in her debut collection, Mariah of the Spirits and Other Southern Ghost Stories. An Artist Fellowship for Literature from the North Carolina Arts Council helped fund the book. Author tour. (Overmountain, $24.95 193p ISBN 1-57072-239-0; $14.95 paper -231-5)
An expanded 10th anniversary edition of Poppy Z. Brite's modern horror classic, Lost Souls, which includes a "lost chapter" from the first draft, letters from Douglas E. Winter and correspondence with the original book's editor, Jeanne Cavalos, will please this author's cult audience. Brite is coming out this fall with a non-horror novel, The Value of X (Fiction Forecasts, Sept. 16). (Tor, $27.95 688p ISBN 0-765-30152-0)
Heroic fantasy fans will welcome the late Karl Edward Wagner's Gods in Darkness: The Complete Novels of Kane, featuring the immortal warrior and statesman. Jacket artist Ken Kelly supplies an extra illustration as well as his signature for the limited, slipcased edition. (Night Shade [www.nightshadebooks.com], $35 520p ISBN 1-892389-24-X)
