Windhaven, first published in 1981, has now been reissued to benefit from George R. R. Martin's success with Game of Thrones. Windhaven is a sea world of small islands where descendants of a crashed Earth spaceship have recycled its light metal into wings so that they can fly between the islands. As generations pass, those with wings have become the privileged class over the land-bound people. Maris, a fisherman's daughter, and an illegal flyer, is the main protagonist in a struggle between the two competing castes. Martin and Tuttle's strong characterisation supports the plotline of societal conflict, much of which is relevant today.

THE MECHANICAL
By Ian Tregillis. Orbit. $19.99.

The Mechanical is the first book in Tregillis' 'The Alchemy Wars', an alternative history trilogy. The story is set in the early 20th century but its origins lie in the 17th century when the Dutch developed mechanical men, the 'Clakkers'. This has ensured the supremacy of the Calvinist Dutch Empire, with only the French Papists providing minimal resistance from North America. The Clakkers, even though intelligent, have been treated as slaves for centuries.. When one Clakker, Jax, decides to seek his freedom, the Dutch seek to destroy him and his associates. Tregillis explores issues of intelligence and freedom in Asmovian style within a detailed alternative history scenario.

GENOCIDE OF ONE
By Kazuaki Takano. Mulholland Books. $29.99.

Genocide of One is the first novel of bestselling Japanese author Kazuaki Takano to be translated into English. In 2004, the American President is informed of a three-year-old boy, Akili, living in the Congo, who represents the next stage of human evolution. A kill team is sent to the Congo as the child's lack of maturity may inadvertently "lead to the extinction of all mankind". The team leader Jonathan Yeager, however, has different ideas, as he wants to use Akili's powers to save his dying child. Takano probes the moral dilemmas at an individual level and also globally, as machiavellian American politics play out to a gripping conclusion.