SF/Fantasy/Horror Notes

The Faeries of Spring Cottage, with art by Wendy Froud and story by Terri Windling, carries on the adventures of the faery Sneezle and his friends. An engaging narrative and enchanting artwork (using photos of a real little girl and figurines) add up to an irresistible package for fans of the fey. (Simon & Schuster, $21 48p ISBN 0-7432-0235-X)

Album Zutique #1, edited by Jeff VanderMeer, launches a new anthology series devoted to fantasy in the Decadent, surreal and magic realist traditions. Contributors to this genre-crossing volume include both established names (Elizabeth Hand, Jeffrey Ford) and newer talents (K.J. Bishop, Rhys Hughes). (Ministry of Whimsy [www.ministryofwhimsy.com], $12.99 paper 200p ISBN 1-892389-60-6)

Sterling offers three British imports: James Barclay's latest heroic fantasy, Elfsorrow: Legends of the Raven, in which the elves must struggle with nothing less than the death of their race (Gollancz [Sterling dist.], $15.95 paper 454p ISBN 0-575-07329-2); Stone, an SF novel by Adam Roberts, in which the universe's last criminal considers a cross-planet killing spree (Gollancz [Sterling dist.], $14.95 paper 260p ISBN 0-575-07064-1); and The Book of Arthur: Lost Tales from the Round Table, by Arthurian scholar John Matthews, who retells a number of the more obscure stories associated with the legendary king (Vega [Sterling dist.], $24.95 416p ISBN 1-84333-612-X).