June Publications
In Vijaya Schartz's Archangel Checkmate, biblical figures such as Archangel Michael, Lilith and the serpent from Eden descend on the earth from their outer space strongholds in another battle in the war between good and evil. Michael must save his earthbound human daughter and all humankind from the "Nefarious Reptilian Lord" who seeks vengeance on the Archangel. (Blue Planet [www.blueplanetbooks.net], $19.95 320p ISBN 1-930501-04-8) On what begins as a pilgrimage in search of a Mayan shaman, Jake, Monica and their guide, Lobo, trek across Mexico in D. Rhoades Hoskins's 2012: The Shaman's Prophecy. It turns out Lobo's not simply a guide, and when the two travelers are apprenticed by the shaman, they embark on a high-stakes race for a Mayan treasure. (Astrovibes [www.astrovibespress.com], $14.95 paper 246p ISBN 0-9706831-0-3) An estate sale specializing in Oklahoma Gothic heralds high school teacher Shannon Parker's unwitting transformation into High Priestess of the Goddess Epona and transportation into an ancient Celtic world replete with divine intervention, shape-shifters, war and centaur romance. In Goddess by Mistake, P.C. Cast introduces modern woman Shannon into a mythic world with humor and verve. (HAWK, $16 paper 596p ISBN 1-930709-32-3)
Fleeing danger, the telepathically gifted Keeborn cats head to the planet of Doroon where one of them, Satin, lands in a colonist's steel trap. An unwitting Racton Wilcourt frees her, and the two new friends perform a second rescue of exiled earthling veterinarian Sandy Coleman, setting in motion a heroic effort to save the Keeborn cats and initiate a peaceful human colony in Gloria Hartman's Race for Boroon. (Robert D. Reed [www.rdrpublishers.com], $11.95 paper 204p ISBN 1-885003-79-X)
Paper Tiger offers collections of work by two late, great fantasy illustrators. The Art of Chesley Bonestell, by Ron Miller and Frederick C. Durante, with a foreword by Sir Arthur C. Clarke, showcases more than 300 drawings by the renowned architect and space artist, from illustrations of the chief engineer's plans for the Golden Gate Bridge (for the benefit of funders); to his favorite among his paintings, The Engulfed Cathedral—A Fantasy; to his pre-space-travel lunar and Martian landscapes for magazines like Galaxy and Astounding. (Paper Tiger [www.papertiger.co.uk], $49.95 256p ISBN 1-85585-884-3) In The Art of Richard Powers, Jane Frank assembles numerous artworks by the prolific cover artist, with appearances by his Dali- and Picasso-esque abstractions; covers for novels by Philip K. Dick and Kurt Vonnegut Jr.; and drawings for Analog magazine. ($29.95 128p ISBN -890-8)
In A Tolkien Treasury: Stories, Poems and Illustrations Celebrating the Author and His World, edited by Alida Becker and illustrated by Michael Green and Tim Kirk, W.H. Auden, Edmund Wilson, Don Studebaker and others weigh in on the life and work of the master fantasy writer. Joan McClusky provides "A Short Biography" and other contributions include "A Chronology of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings " by Douglas Kendall and "The Evolution of Tolkien Fandom" by Philip Helms. (Courage/Running Press, $14.98 192p ISBN 0-7624-0994-0)
