September Publications
In John Marco's solid sequel to The Eyes of God (2002), The Devil's Armor, the death of Akeela the Mad, king of Liiria, marks a low point in the fortunes of the fantasy kingdom. Lukien, the Bronze Knight of Liiria who betrayed Akeela, now protects the mountain fortress of Grimhold, deep below which lies an enchanted suit of armor, the creation of a long-dead sorcerer. Will Lukien fall victim to the armor's evil aura? (DAW, $24.95 832p ISBN 0-7564-0155-0)
World Fantasy Award winner Tanith Lee brings her series about an alternative Venice, which began with Faces Under Water (1998), to a resounding close with Venus Preserved: The Secret Books of Venus: Book IV. A mysterious virus or worse threatens the survival of the now domed, underwater city of Venus. (Overlook, $25.95 318p ISBN 1-58567-474-5)
A Yuletide Universe: Sixteen Fantastical Tales, a reprint anthology edited by Brian M. Thomsen (The American Fantasy Tradition), boasts an all-star cast of contributors, from L. Frank Baum and Bret Harte to Clive Barker and William Gibson. The cover art of a Santa unloading his sack before a tree and fireplace, with a wizard, a robot and an elf secretly watching in the background, nicely captures the book's otherworldly holiday spirit. (Warner Aspect, $12.95 paper 256p ISBN 0-446-69187-9)
Fans of literate horror will welcome the trade paper edition of Caitlín Kiernan's Low Red Moon, published in limited hardcover by Subterranean (Forecasts, July 21). PW called it "a memorable expansion of the author's unique fictional universe." (Roc, $14.95 paper 336p ISBN 0-765-30729-4)
Richard Matheson's Kolchak Scripts, edited by Mark Dawidziak, collects the veteran horror writer's scripts for the 1970s cult TV show, Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Dawidziak provides an introduction, stills from the show, the script of a never-produced film, The Night Killers, which Matheson co-wrote with William F. Nolan, and much more of interest to the aficionados of the program that Chris Carter has acknowledged was the model for The X-Files. (Gauntlet [www.gauntletpress.com], $150 408p ISBN 1-887368-64-7)
