I’ve recently become enamored of Twitter not only as a social watercooler, but as a way to share ideas and meaningful content among like-minded individuals. There’s a growing community of speculative fiction authors, publishers, and bloggers on the micro-blogging site, and I’ve been thinking about ways to collectively engage that community.

To that end, I’m happy to announce the first iteration of the Twitter Speculative Fiction Book Club (#sfbookclub). Our first selection is Joe Haldeman’s seminal classic The Forever War. Here’s how it works.

In the next two weeks, read or re-read Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War. The book should be readily available in brick-and-mortar stores, on Amazon, or in audio format through Audible.

Starting on 15 May, we’ll discuss the book on Twitter for a week, appending the hashtag #sfbookclub to all relevant tweets to make the conversation easy to follow, either through the site TweetChat, Twitter Search, or the search functionality of most Twitter clients.

Feel free to spread the word about #sfbookclub in the next two weeks, but please don’t share any major plot points until the discussion starts.

That’s it! The concept is, I hope, elegant in its simplicity. Since this is the #sfbookclub’s maiden voyage, I’d value any and all input before, during, and after the event to refine the process for future discussions. Post ideas in the comments below, and of course follow me on Twitter.

Bethesda has announced The Infernal City, a novel set after the events of Oblivion. The story will be penned by Greg Keyes, who is also known for his work with the Babylon 5 and New Jedi Order books.

“We’ve been big fans of Greg’s work for a long time, and we’re thrilled he agreed to bring his talents to The Elder Scrolls,” said vice president of public relations and marketing Pete Hines. “We see these books as a natural extension of the franchise and think fans will love the stories and characters Greg has created.”

The plot will revolve around a city that appears in the skies above Tamriel and begins raising the dead. As usual, it’ll be up to an “unlikely duo,” in this case Prince Attrebus and a girl named Annaig, to put a stop to it. Looks [sic] for The Infernal City this fall.

Once a self-described “classic loser” who, if it weren’t for bad luck, wouldn’t have any luck at all, Max is an insomniac who sleeps all day, a night owl in a world of larks, a social outcast and a glutton with nothing to show for himself but empty cigarette packs. At twenty-something, Max is never the early bird and he never gets the worm. Then one day he suddenly finds himself transplanted into an alternate dream universe in the city of Echo, summoned by the chief of the Secret Police. In this world, he is deemed a species of magical secret agent, is made a member of the Department of Absolute Order, and must solve unimaginably extravagant cases with his exceptional new powers. Fate smiles on Max in the city of Echo, where everything that happens to him happens for a reason, and the one-time slacker is known reverently as the “unequalled Sir Max.” As Max learns how to navigate through his bizarre new reality, he takes readers on the journey of a lifetime punctuated by incredible events and a cast of unforgettable characters.

In an additional twist of fantasy, the true author behind the endearing narrator of The Labyrinths of Echo series is revealed in reality as Russian writer Svetlana Martynchik. In the hands of this literary ventriloquist, Max Frei comes alive in the tradition of Sergei Lukyanenko’s internationally bestselling Night Watch trilogy. Similarly sprawling, inventive, and destined for success, The Stranger is soon to become a favorite fixture in bookshelves all over the world.

If Harry Potter smoked cigarettes and took a certain matter-of-fact pleasure in administering tough justice, he might like Max Frei, the protagonist of this fantasy novel… Well-written, well-paced grown-up fantasy with a strong dose of reality.

The Imperial Merchant Ship Chathrand is the last of her kind. Six hundred years old, the secrets of her construction long forgotten, the massive vessel dwarfs every other sailing craft in the world. It is a palace with sails, a floating outpost of the Empire of Arqual. And it is on its most vital mission yet: to deliver a young woman whose marriage will seal the peace between Arqual and its mortal enemy, the secretive Mzithrin Empire. But the young woman in question-Thasha, the daughter of the Arquali ambassador-has no intention of going meekly to the altar. For the ship’s true mission is not peace but war-a war that threatens to unleash an ancient, all-consuming evil.

As the dark conspiracy at the heart of the voyage unfurls, Pazel Pathkendle, a lowly tarboy with an uncanny gift, will find himself in an unlikely alliance with Thasha and her protectors: Hercól, a valet who is more than he appears; Dri, the queen of a race of tiny stowaways who have their own plans for the great ship; and Ramachni, a powerful sorcerer from another world. Arrayed against them are the Chathrand’s brutal captain, Nilus Rose; the Emperor’s spymaster and chief assassin, Sandor Ott; and the enigmatic Dr. Chadfallow, a longtime friend to Pazel’s family whose kind words may hide a vicious betrayal.

As the Chathrand navigates treacherous waters to complete its mission, Pazel, Thasha, and their allies-including a singularly heroic rat-must also navigate a treacherous web of intrigue to uncover the secret of the legendary Red Wolf.

HarperCollins is to publish a new book by the late Lord of the Rings author J R R Tolkien. The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, edited and introduced by Tolkien’s son Christopher, will be published in hardback in May 2009.

The previously unpublished work was written while Tolkien was professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University during the 1920s and ’30s, before he wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The publication will make available for the first time Tolkien’s extensive retelling in English narrative verse of the epic Norse tales of Sigurd the Völsung and the Fall of the Niflungs.

David Brawn, the publishing director of HarperCollins UK, said: “It is an entirely unpublished work, dates from around the early 1930s, and will be published – all being well – in May this year. Otherwise the clue as to what the book will contain is in the title – THE LEGEND OF SIGURD AND GUDRUN. You will surmise from this that it is not a Middle-earth book, but we are confident that Tolkien fans will be fascinated by it.”For those who are wondering about it, I can already tell that this new edition will not be illustrated by Alan Lee; but have not been confirmed who will be the illustrator.

Christopher Tolkien edited Tolkien’s most recent title The Children of Húrin in 2007.

Further details about the contents of the book will be revealed closer to publication.