Mischief and Starlight: The Fantastical Music of S.J. Tucker
So I said to myself, “Self, let us write a blog about the presence of High Fantasy in Music.”
To which I replied, in my characteristic thought-bubble: “AWESOME! That should be EASY PEASY! …Right?”
Well, I told me direly, we’ll just have to see.
I knew I should avoid scribbling about how music itself has influenced Fantasy literature since time immemorial. After all, that’s been written before, and by people with Ph.D.’s no less, and even if I felt like giving it a go, I’d have to memorize all those ballads about Tam Lin and talk intelligently about Margaret Atwood and Ellen Kushner, and learn Old English; I just couldn’t stir myself to that level of scholarship.
What I wanted to explore is the music of now. What does music right here, right now, today, this moment, have to do with Fantasy as a genre? Is there some kind of movement? Are there professional musicians who make their livings singing about dragons and elves and ghosts and, I dunno, Time Lords – and if so, where can I find them?
Two things immediately came to mind when the words “Fantasy” and “Music” collided. The first was S.J. Tucker. The second, Heavy Metal.
Some periodicals are closing, while others are resurrected. The latest revival is 
Yes indeed, Black Gate has carved out its 
Last week I happened to catch an episode of 
IMDB.com said very little about Danny, who virtually disappeared after his iconic role, acting only once more in 1982.
I don’t have a dislike for the vampire in general. I’ve repeatedly reminded myself about this even as I cringe at the saturation in our culture of mediocre work based on supernatural bloodsuckers. (Do I really have to name the book and movie series at the center of this creative blood drain? Of course I don’t.) Vampires are everywhere today, and this visibility has reduced their effectiveness for me, no matter what “new” spin the artists claim they’re putting on the legend. Exceptions are out there—for example the action-packed novels of certain contributor to Black Gate—but today I actively avoid horror and dark fantasy and especially parodies using vampires. I want more werewolves and phantasms and cosmic weirdness. Specifically werewolves. I love werewolves.
We are proud to present a complete work of fiction from Black Gate 14: Alex Kreis’s “The Renunciation of the Crimes of Gharad the Undying.”
Naia was pinned under the rubble when the quake hit, trapped with the cruel sorcer, Cer Vassir. And then her nightmare truly began.
If the constant litany of human suffering and human stupidity that is the 24 hour news cycle has got you down (gee, why would it?) then have a look at