Holiday Picks - Dogs and Steampunk

Courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle:

Holiday Books: Science Fiction

Dogs, by Nancy Kress.

What could be more unsettling than the notion that your family pet might suddenly turn against you with deadly intentions? Nancy Kress, author of "Beggars in Spain," plays upon that fear in her new science fiction thriller, which features a plague of dog attacks in a small Maryland town. The best scenes have a straight-ahead disaster novel feel to them, full of suspense and creepy details. "Dogs" is an unprepossessing thriller that delivers on the potential of its gripping premise.

Steampunk, edited by Anne and Jeff VanderMeer

Steampunk derives the bulk of its narrative power from the gap between the can-do optimism of the Victorian era and the harsh, ever-present realities of greed, bigotry, paranoia and myopia. This new collection of previously published stories spotlights some of the best short work in the subgenre, with contributors ranging from Michael Chabon to Mary Gentle, Neal Stephenson to Michael Moorcock.