Joe Haldeman's Camouflage, a near-future SF thriller that alternates between the experiences of two different aliens who land on Earth, skillfully weaves its disparate plot threads until the cop-out, deus ex machina ending. This is a more sophisticated, if less than satisfying, handling of a similar situation in Hal Clement's Needle (1950). Agent, Ralph Vicinanza.(Ace, $23.95 304p ISBN 0-441-01161-6)
In Twilight Rising, Serpent's Dream, the uneven third entry in Diana Marcellas's romantic fantasy series about witches (The Sea Lark's Song, etc.), Brierly Mefell, the "keystone" sea witch of an ancient prophecy, gets caught up in a love triangle and political intrigue. A convoluted, detail-laden plot and a mopey, inactive heroine make this novel a weaker effort than The Sea Lark's Song. Still, readers will find some enchanting moments. Agent, Richard Curtis.(Tor, $27.95 496p ISBN 0-312-87482-0)
Michael Moorcock fans will welcome the reissue of his 1978 historical fantasy, Gloriana; Or, the Unfulfill'd Queen, which won World Fantasy and British Fantasy awards. This edition includes a new introduction by Moorcock and, as an appendix, the original version of a controversial chapter that he later rewrote. Agent, Howard Morhaim.(Warner Aspect, $14 paper 496p ISBN 0-446-69140-2)
Great Ghost Stories, a reprint anthology edited by R. Chetwynd-Hayes and Stephen Jones, includes a mix of shudder tales by such classic writers in the genre as Ambrose Bierce and J. Sheridan Le Fanu and by such contemporary masters as Ramsey Campbell and Stephen King. In his foreword, horror maven Jones pays tribute to the late Chetwynd-Hayes (1919—2001), "a prolific and erudite anthologist" as well as an author of supernatural fiction himself.(Carroll & Graf, $12.95 paper 272p ISBN 0-7867-1363-1). Cemetery Dance (www.cemeterydance.com) is bringing out the deluxe hardcover edition. ($40 360p ISBN 1-58767-103-4)
Worlds of Tomorrow: The Amazing Universe of Science Fiction Art, by Forrest J. Ackerman with Brad Linaweaver, features 175 full-color covers of SF magazines and paperbacks from the 1920s through the 1960s. The publisher will be teaming up with Paramount Pictures, who'll be releasing Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow this fall, to promote the book at SF and comic book conventions. (Collectors Press [www.collectorspress.com], $39.95 176p ISBN 1-888054-93-X)
