December Publications

Ramsey Campbell fans who can't wait for the U.S. trade edition will welcome the limited British edition of the World Fantasy Award—winning author's new horror novel, The Overnight, set in a haunted bookshop. There's also a deluxe slipcased edition for collectors. (PS Publishing [www.pspublishing.co.uk], $50 416p ISBN 1-902880-96-X)

An interstellar communications blackout gives freedom fighter Evan Kurst the opportunity to deliver the world of Liao from the oppressive occupation of the Republic of the Sphere in Mechwarrior: Dark Age: By Temptations and by War: A BattleTech Novel by Loren L. Coleman, a game designer and author of 10 BattleTech novels. This is the first trade entry in this popular mass-market series. (Roc, $12.95 paper 304p ISBN 0-451-45947-4)

The Solar Queen combines two early novels, Sargasso of Space (1955) and Plague Ship (1956), from SFWA Grand Master Andre Norton's bestselling SF series centered on the spaceship Solar Queen. Despite the dated technology, these adventures still capture the wonder and fun of space travel. (Tor, $24.95 384p ISBN 0-765-30054-0)

Avram Davidson's ¡Limekiller!, edited by Grania Davis and Henry Wessels, collects the late fantasy author's six Jack Limekiller stories, set in "the sub-tropical colony of British Hidalgo." Lucius Shepherd and Peter S. Beagle in their respective introductions testify to the appeal of these exotic tales, three of which were nominated for Nebula or World Fantasy awards. (Old Earth [www.oldearthbooks.com], $30 312p ISBN 1-882968-26-3)

Just in time for the release of the third Lord of the Rings film comes J.E.A. Tyler's The Complete Tolkien Companion, the third, updated edition of the definitive guide to Middle-earth first published in 1976. (St. Martin's/Dunne, $27.95 720p ISBN 0-312-31545-7)