Black Gate Magazine Issue #9 Fall, 2005     208 pages, $9.95     On Sale December 18, 2005     Edited by John O'Neill     Published by New Epoch Press     Cover Art by Dan Krall     Interior Art by Mark Evans, Matt Hughes, Chuck Lukacs,         Bernie Mireault, and Denis Rodier     Buy this issue - only $10 postpaid!

"The Whited Child" "Payment Deferred" "The Thrall" "The Hand That Binds" "The Longday Hunt" "The Fifth-Dimension Catapult"

Fiction "The Whited Child"         by Michael Canfield         Bad Pete spoke for the Mountains, and did their will. Until the wolves came.... "Payment Deferred"         by James Enge         Morlock the Maker returns to confront a crafter of golems... and a challenge he may not survive. "The Thrall"         by Michael Shultz         In a world enslaved to the Thrall, a thrall-less girl might look like salvation... unless she happened to be your daughter. "Seijin's Enlightenment"         by William John Watkins         Seijin was a samurai of almost peerless skill and reputation. But his greatest test still awaited him. "Pets"         by Adam J. Thaxton         All she wanted was a pet. That, and not to be devoured by an Avatar monster. "The Hand That Binds"         by Michael Livingston         The creature came in the night and killed everything it found. What hope could this young warrior offer? "It's a Wonderful Con"         by Larry Tritten         Never trick an old trickster... no matter how soft his reputation might be. "The Longday Hunt"         by Sean Oberle         Legend said she was a minor goddess – a petty, insane killer. But if she awoke, it would mean death on a scale Jace had never before seen. "The Final Flight of Major Havoc"         by Carl Reed         Major Havoc was having a bad day – and the giant dog tracking him was the least of his worries. "A Touch of Crystal"         by Martin Owton & Gaie Sebold         It was a thrill to finally meet real elves. Except for all the paperwork. Black Gate Fantasy Classic "The Fifth-Dimension Catapult"         by Murray Leinster         Professor Dunham and his daughter were marooned in the Fifth Dimension... a bizarre landscape of unearthly flora and fauna – and the Ragged Men, whose cruelty knew no bounds. A classic from the great era of pulp fantasy! Features Retro-Hugos That Will Never Be         by Rich Horton Departments Editorial: Life After 40 (Such As It Is)         by John O'Neill Letters         From Our Readers Back Issues         A List of rare (but miraculously still available) back issues of Black Gate Next Issue         What wonders await you in Issue #10? We give you the lowdown. Review Features Book Reviews     Tumithak of the Corridors, by Charles R. Tanner     In Lands That Never Were: Tales of Swords and Sorcery, Edited by Gordon Van Gelder     The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova     Four and Twenty Blackbirds, by Cherie Priest     Dragon Rider, by Cornelia Funke     The Dark Hills Divide, Land of Elyon: Book 1, by Patrick Carman, narrated by Aasne Vigesaa (audiobook)     The Black Angel, by John Connolly     The Death Collectors, by John Kerley         by Jennifer Brozek, Thomas F. Cunningham, Lisa DuMond, Sue Granquist, Todd McAulty and Todd Ruthman Gaming Fantasy Game Reviews     Northern Crown: New World Adventures, Atlas Games     Eberron: Explorer's Handbook, Wizards of the Coast     His Last Command: A Gaunt's Ghosts Novel, Dan Abnett, Black Library     The Secrets of Zir'an Core Gamebook, Paragon Games     Dungeons and Dragons: Frostburn, Wizards of the Coast     Dungeons and Dragons: Sandstorm, Wizards of the Coast         by Don Bassingthwaite and Todd McAulty Comics Knights of the Dinner Table: The Java Joint         by Jolly Blackburn, John O'Neill, and Steve Johansson