The July issue of David Langford's ever-essential Ansible is now available online.

The paperback edition of Stephen King’s massive tome, Under the Dome, is released this coming week by Hodder at £7.99. This 880-page volume is published with four different covers – it will be interesting to see which is the most successful (assuming fans don’t buy one of each). The story must be familiar to everyone by now: a small Maine town is cut off and separated from the world by the dome of the title. The town’s people come to terms with this and then “the power struggles begin”.

[Posted by Peter Coleborn]

With Neil Gaiman’s name on the cover you always expect something special. In this case, Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio have teamed up to edit an anthology called, simply, Stories. The flyleaf says, “Stories is a groundbreaking anthology that reinvigorates, expands, and redefines the limits of imaginative fiction.”

The book contains 27 all-new stories by: Richard Adams, Kurt Andersen, Lawrence Block, Jonathan Carroll, Jeffery Deaver, Roddy Doyle, Jeffrey Ford, Neil Gaiman, Elizabeth Hand, Joanne Harris, Joe Hill, Kat Howard, Diana Wynne Jones, Joe Lansdale, Michael Moorcock, Walter Mosley, Joyce Carol Oates, Stewart O’Nan, Chuck Palahniuk, Carolyn Parkhurst, Jodi Picoult, Tim Powers, Al Sarrantonio, Michael Marshall Smith, Peter Straub, Michael Swanwick, and Gene Wolfe. 

With such a line-up expect something special, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it heading the ‘best of’ lists for 2010. The book is already available from Headline, at £18.99.

[Posted by Peter Coleborn]

This is the final edition of Midnight Street, as a paper edition. The next issue onwards will only be available as a PDF download available “for a small cost” according to the editorial.

But back to this issue, and we have the usual mix of stories, articles, poetry, planet dodo, and an interview with Gord Rollo. Story wise, we have the usual eclectic mix favoured by the Editor, a variety of tales covering Horror, Dark Fantasy, Science Fiction and Slipstream, although I would say the balance this issue is split between horror and slipstream.

My favourite story is the opener, Under Glass by Joanne Shemmans. A young woman who has just split with her boyfriend sits in a cafe and studies her reflection in the glass. I was expecting this story to end in one or two different ways, but no, the author found another one! Well written with a good and very suitable ending.

White Wall by Tim Nickels is the most original, and the kind of story unique to this publication. It revolves around a man obsessively painting a wall, and says much about the human condition! A nice antidote to all the blood and gore stories.

Immediate Direction Publishing, edited by Trevor Denyer, www.midnightstreet.co.uk.

The peaceful land of Shaihen is under threat of conquest by larger, more aggressive neighbours while raiders are crossing the borders in increasing numbers. In an attempt to secure peace, Rainur, the king of Shaihen, marries Cathva an’ Zelt, daughter of the Caiivorian Emperor – a move which divides the tribal chiefs of Shaihen. When Caras, heir to the Chiefdom of the Arheios, and his friend the wild horsemaster Kierce arrive at the capital for the wedding, Kierce is chosen as the heir to the Lord High Magician. As the Shaihen feel the weight of the Empire’s demands, Kierce’s affair with Cathva leads to Raimur’s death and the fracturing of the Shaihen unity while the rogue Caiivorian raiders, the as-caii, bring war to the land. Caras has to take up the mantle of the warrior and defend his land while Kierce must recover the Staff of Power or the brutal as-caii will conquer the land.

The Shaihen Heritage Duology is a solid, well-written tale; the characters are realistic (not always likeable) three dimensional people with all the flaws and talents of real people while the political manoeuvring and the battle scenes are likewise believable.

My main problem is that as this is such a familiar scenario in fantasy a book has to be really special to stand out and while I enjoyed reading them, I don’t feel these books have the spark that makes them a must-read. My second gripe is the price. £25 is a lot of money for two books, particularly when the same amount could buy the latest fantasy doorstop trilogy. If these books come down in price it might be worth checking them out, but as it is it’s hard not to feel short-changed.

Shaihen Heritage, Book 1: Cloak of Magic and Book 2: Staff of Power, by S.A. Rule, £12.99, published by Bright Pen and Vanguard Press respectively.

Oracle’s Queen is the concluding volume of the Tamír Triad that started with The Bone Doll’s Twin.

According to the prophecy, the land of Skala will only prosper while there is a true queen on the throne.

Unfortunately, the last queen went mad and was disposed of by her son, Erius, thus usurping the position that should have gone to his younger sister. He felt he was justified, when his sister also became tainted with her mother’s madness but to be sure that the throne passed to his son he decided that any girls born to her had to die. Boys were fine. Thus, when twins were born, the girl child was magically disguised as a boy, the other twin dying. Tobin was therefore brought up at court, learning all the skills of a male child and as playmate to Erius’s son Korin.

Volume two, Hidden Warrior, followed Tobin’s training to become a warrior and the fight against the invaders from Plenimar. By the end of the book, the heir’s (nominally Korin) Companions were divided and Tobin revealed as a girl.

This final volume is an account of the struggle between troops and nobles loyal to either Korin or Tobin (who is now going by the name of Tamír). She is proving a very competent field commander even though she is still a few months short of her sixteenth birthday. Korin is being manipulated by the dark wizard, Niryn, who has found him a new wife of the Royal bloodline and who will not let Korin fight until he has sired a child on her.

Unfortunately, the trilogy has declined from a potentially unusual and interesting situation to one that is very predictable. There is an attempt to explore the changing relationship between Tamír and Ki who had been Tobin/ Tamír’s childhood companion but there is insufficient depth towards it. Also, there is little attempt to explore the emotional differences Tamír herself must experience by suddenly becoming female rather than the male she had previously been.

Addicts of this kind of fantasy fiction will probably enjoy the easy style but others may find they would have liked more.

The Oracle’s Queen, by Lynn Flewelling, HarperVoyager.