Recently I contributed ayear's best SF/Fantasy article to Locus Online that I think will interest book-hungry Amazon readers. If you're unfamiliar with Mark Kelly's Locus Online, it is perhaps the best internet source for all things genre, and the electronic presence of the hardcopy magazine.

My article includes several titles familiar to readers from the Amazon Best SF/Fantasy list posted last year. However, it also includes many book not on that list, all of which are linked to Amazon. You'll find novel, first novel, anthology, reprint, and graphic novel recommendations galore. And, for your immediate reading pleasure, I've turned the spotlight on four recommended titles below. (In addition to my article, also take a look at Claude Lalumiere's recommended reading.)

The Stone Gods, Jeanette Winterson - A stunning SF book that's as much satire about our lives today as it is about the future. A new planet is discovered and the narrator and his robotic love are sent to explore it. At times tragic, at times hilarious, The Stone Gods is finally being released in the US in April from Harcourt (UK cover shown above). It's good for you, with its extrapolation about environmental devastation and our consumer culture, but also a fun, quick read.

The Dog Said Bow-Wow by Michael Swanwick - A master of the short form, Swanwick offers up a cornucopia of pleasures in this new volume. From steampunk to magic realism to fantasy, these stories resonate with intelligence and good humor. Not to mention, how can you resist a cover with an upside-down dog muzzle on it? Or an author who has won this many Hugo Awards?

Bright of the Sky by Kay Kenyon - This one's for readers who loved Ringworld by Larry Niven but also for fantasy readers who love great fantasy quests. How can that be, you might ask? It's set primarily in a strange alternative universe but also in the future of our universe. I think the cover, in this case, says it all: the book is exotic, beautiful, and daring. (Book two comes out in March.)

Logorrhea edited by John Klima - Possibly the most overlooked major anthology of 2007, Logorrhea included contributions from writers like Hal Duncan, Jay Lak, Michael Moorcock, and Marly Youmans, as well as yours truly. The premise? Each writer had to take a winning national spelling bee word and write a story around it. The results are wonderful, since this isn't the kind of constraint that straitjackets writers' imaginations--just the opposite. For my part, I wrote a story using all of the spelling bee words chosen by the other contributors. (There's a post on editor John Klima's blog that includes podcasts and other goodies related to the words.)

By : JeffV