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Month: March 2012

Hercules Coming Back to the Big Screen to Kill Lots of Stuff

Hercules Coming Back to the Big Screen to Kill Lots of Stuff

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dwayne-the-rock-johnson-will-play-herculesI shall be briefer today than usual, since I plan to put up another post on Black Gate this coming Friday: a review of the film John Carter [of Mars]. If I’m doing an overview of all of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Martian novels to coincide with the release of this movie over a hundred years in the making (and in development hell since the mid-1930s, I jest not) then I certainly owe my readers a review of the movie delivered on the day of its release. I’ve already scored my ticket for the Friday morning IMAX screening at the Howard Hughes Center, a genuine six-story screen, not one of those false ones that have popped up around the country that are only squarer and a bit taller than a regular screen.

For today I planned to write a review of one of the old Italian Hercules movies as a long-delayed follow-up to the most popular post I’ve ever done at Black Gate, a joking review of the 1983 Hercules starring Lou Ferrigno. But right as I was planning to explore Hercules in the Haunted World, a piece of important movie news broke, and so I’ll delay my old Herc review to talk about this mythological tidbit from Tinseltown:

According to Variety, MGM is lining up a new live-action Heracles film. Ah, I mean Hercules film.

Are you excited? Allow me to temper your enthusiasm with this statement: Brett Ratner is attached to direct, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to star as the demigod.

Yes, I’m dismayed as well . . . but only because of half of that statement. The first part, containing the name “Brett Ratner.” I don’t mind the idea of Dwayne Johnson playing Hercules one bit. I genuinely like the guy as an action movie star. He’s got charm and humor, and farnbetter acting chops than most guys who are cast strictly based on brawn. Johnson has gotten mired in too many bland kiddie-oriented flicks (Tooth Fairy, last month’s Journey 2: Mysterious Island), so getting him to take on a mythological heavy-weight like Hercules and beat the Hades out of creatures like the Nemean Lion, the Hydra, and three-headed Cerebus sounds like a good turn for his career.

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My Sword is Bigger than Yours, or, When Size Really does Matter

My Sword is Bigger than Yours, or, When Size Really does Matter

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v-next-book

After meeting Violette Malan at ConFusion in Detroit a few weeks back, I wanted to find out a little more about her take on the genre near and dear to my heart, sword-and-sorcery. I asked her if she’d be interested in dropping by Black Gate to say a few words about how she approached her own work in the field, and here’s what she had to say:

When I found sword and sorcery in my teens, there weren’t a lot of strong female protagonists for me to relate to. Jirel of Joiry comes to mind, maybe Red Sonya – but they were already very old by the time I got to them. When I think now of the books and stories I read then, I’m hard pressed to come up with female characters, let alone female protagonists. There must have been some. You know, needing rescuing or marrying or something, but I didn’t find them memorable then, and I don’t really find them memorable now. Okay, I do remember the women that Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser loved, they were well-drawn, significant people. But we all know what happened to them, don’t we? They pretty much continue the tradition of female characters in western literature: if it’s a comedy they marry, if it’s a tragedy, they die. (Hint: for all their humorous elements, the F&GM stories aren’t comedies)

Flash forward a few years and I’m a writer of sword and sorcery, not just a reader. I’m a woman, living in a post-feminist western society, a person who’s written feminist literary criticism (okay, on 18th-century pastoral poetry, but it still counts). Now I get to actually create the kind of female characters I used to imagine when I was young. Protagonists, mind you, real, more-or-less human women. Not the good (or evil) fairies, queens, and goddesses that sociologists and feminist critics call examples of women as “other”.

How was I going to do that? Keeping in mind that – unlike the men – I didn’t have a lot of models I could use as a guide. And keeping in mind that I wanted to avoid either caricature, or cliché. (I think the phrase “no chain mail bras” will cover what I mean by that). I’m not going to talk about how a writer goes about forming any strong character – there are certain elements that apply no matter who or what the character might be. Instead, I’m going to address my own particular dilemma, how to create a strong, female, sword and sorcery protagonist.

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Read an Excerpt from Shawn L. Johnson’s Oath of Six

Read an Excerpt from Shawn L. Johnson’s Oath of Six

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oath-of-sixWe still get e-mail about “Two-Skins,” Shawn L. Johnson’s cover story for Black Gate 5. The tale of a brave and very resourceful young man dragged in chains to the Emperor’s gladiatorial games captured the hearts of many of our readers, and it was obvious the author was destined for great things.

Now we have the pleasure of seeing that promise unfold, with a generous excerpt from Shawn’s first novel, Oath of Six, the first in The Heart of Darkness series, and set in the same setting as “Two Skins.”

The second book in the series, Serpent Without Skin, was released early last year. But now you can get in on the ground floor on a dynamic new fantasy series from an exciting new author.

Atop a perilous, arctic mountain, a modern-day wizard leads the rest of his expedition to their doom. Magic has steadily ebbed from the earth for ages, decimating the creatures of legend, so he has gambled that the ancient hag residing here will know of a cure. She is insane, however, and her advice is treachery.

Soon afterward, David Tyler receives a desperate summons from his estranged mentor. The old wizard is wasting away, and fears he has been cursed by a former apprentice. The trail of the culprit leads the remaining apprentices through a haunted forest where a child has gone missing, and into the mythical underworld — the crossroad of all the myriad, dying worlds. There they face exiled shape-shifters and an insane goddess, in order to confront a childhood friend who has become both a traitor and a murderer.

Without further ado, we present the complete prologue to Oath of Six, currently available at Amazon.com for just 99 cents as a Kindle book. Enjoy!

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Richard Carpenter and Robin of Sherwood

Richard Carpenter and Robin of Sherwood

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Robin of SherwoodI read some bad news earlier this week: Richard Carpenter died. Carpenter, 78 at the time of his death on February 26, was an actor and television writer. He created several shows; he’s probably best known for his children’s series Catweazle, the animated Dr. Snuggles, and the show that I want to talk about here, the ITV-broadcast series Robin of Sherwood. It’s easily my favourite interpretation of the Robin Hood story, and perhaps my favourite filmed piece of sword-and-sorcery.

Robin of Sherwood ran from 1984 to 1986. Carpenter reimagined the story of Robin Hood from top to bottom, infusing it with magic, myth, and the politicised anger of youth. He also created a show that unobtrusively captured the late twelfth century with remarkable fidelity, both in its visual aspects like props and costumes, and also in its social hierarchies and habits of thought. The series ran for three seasons before its production company ran into financial problems. Some plot threads were ended prematurely, without resolution or real development. Carpenter’s observed that the ending as it is works well enough, and I can see his point. Still, I can’t help but wish that the show had gone a bit further.

As it is, Robin of Sherwood’s one of the best examples I can think of in any medium of how to reinterpret a legend. The fact that the re-interpretation was specifically as a fantasy drew me when I first saw it as a teen, but I think the fantasy wouldn’t have mattered if it weren’t for the way Carpenter made the fantasy elements harmonise with themes and elements already present in the Robin Hood tales. Carpenter’s Robin is the spiritual son of Herne the Hunter; Herne’s a god of the ancient and fearsome forest of Sherwood incarnated in a hermit-like shaman. Robin bears a magic sword called Albion, one of the Seven Swords of Wayland. He and his Merry Men (never called that in the show) encounter Templars, Kabbalists, a cursed village populated by ghosts, Satanists, and, in the first episode, an evil wizard. The famous silver arrow is a symbol of Saxon rebellion, a magical item representing freedom.

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New Treasures: At Empire’s End

New Treasures: At Empire’s End

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at-empires-end4Back in January Dark City Games announced the release of their latest solitaire fantasy adventure, Emerald Twilight, by Bret Winters. I seized the opportunity to order the handful of Dark City titles I didn’t have, including Oasis and At Empire’s End, both by George Dew.

They’ve all proved worth the money, but the one that has captured my imagination immediately is the science fiction adventure At Empire’s End. Here’s the blurb:

Growing up on the periphery is not easy. It’s a tough life, and to survive, you have to know how to deal with ruffians, swindlers and thieves. For excitement, and to pay the rent, you make your living as a bounty-hunter. The risks are great, but the payoff can be tremendous.

Your quarry this time is a dangerous pirate, armed and ruthless. Initially, his ventures were an irritation to the locals. But as his greed and daring grew, he garnered the watchful eye of the meagerly-equipped local authorities. Your mission, should you choose to accept, is to capture “The Duke” and bring him to justice. But you must hurry. The provisional government is weak, and with each of “The Duke’s” raids, society falls further into chaos.

You must find “The Duke” and neutralize him before it is too late.

At Empire’s End includes complete self-contained rules for solitaire play (the “Legends of Time and Space” rules), counters, a beautiful color map, and 302 programmed paragraphs. It is also fully suitable for one to four players, and can be run with a game master.

To promote the game Dark City Games created S.O.S, a short solitaire SF role-playing game, which we reprinted in its entirety here on the Black Gate blog in 2010. Check it out.

You can learn more about some of their earlier games on our summary page, and on this page of collected reviews. Or you can order At Empire’s End for $12.95 directly from Dark City.

David Soyka Reviews Journal of a UFO Investigator

David Soyka Reviews Journal of a UFO Investigator

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76377593Journal of a UFO Investigator
David Halperin
Viking (304 pp, $25.95, Hardcover February 2012)
Reviewed by David Soyka

The premise here is we’re reading a diary account of the titular UFO investigator who also happens to be a troubled teenager (though, arguably, “troubled teenager” is redundant).  What starts out as a geeky outlet for outcast middle schoolers to pretend to be something other than outcast middle schoolers metastasizes into a fantastic escapade involving a self-selective group of super smart teenagers seemingly without parental supervision, one of whom is particularly sexy with amorous leanings towards our narrator, a concoction of conspiracy theories, a grueling ordeal in outer space and a love child between our hero and insect-like aliens aliens that has something to do with peace in the Middle East.  In other words, just the kind of grandiose cracked thought process that leads a kid either to a life of lonely megalomaniacal rantings on Facebook or to develop the next on-line role playing game that makes him a fortune so he’s finally interesting enough to get laid.

Amidst all the Ufology is some contrasting harsh reality:

It was Tuesday, but I wasn’t in school. A freak snowstorm the day before had forced the schools to close and put my father into an even nastier mood than usual.

He’s come into my room about eleven the night before, complaining about the racket I was making, typing up UFO sightings on file cards. I promised I’d do something else that didn’t make noise. But he sat down on my bed to talk, starting out calm, reasonable. The way his inquisitions usually do.

He just wanted to understand, he said. How was it a bright kid like me could piss  away my life on this UFO garbage?

You should be able to figure out where this is all heading even without reading the book blurb that gives it away.  While this shall be a spoiler-free review, suffice it to say the fun here isn’t the outcome, but the ride chock-full of allusions to just about every B-movie SF  trope and mystical imaginings about visitors from other worlds that take you there.

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Bargain Fantasy at Amazon.com

Bargain Fantasy at Amazon.com

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imagerI can’t be the only reader out there who laments the decline of the remainder.

You know what I’m talking about. Those big tables near the front of Barnes & Noble, covered with aging hardcovers for $5.98, and about a metric ton of leftover Valentine merchandise. Yeah, those remainders.

It’s not that remainders are gone. But with the loss of Borders, and the slow evaporation of bookstores in general, I don’t get to browse as many aisles of cheap books as I used to. Bummer. Remainders were a great way to try out new authors on the cheap, and pick up a discount Star Trek calender in mid-January (and get Ali a late Valentine’s card, to be truthful, but that’s not really my point.)

What is my point? This is the age of the Internet! And remainders aren’t dead; they’ve just moved online. Booksellers like Amazon.com routinely offer 60 – 80% discounts on close-out books of all kinds, including best-selling science fiction and fantasy, and a diligent search usually turns up hundreds.

Here’s some of the best bargains I found this week on my regular search for discounted SF & Fantasy in Amazon’s Under-20-bucks list:

Now, just like the old days, qualities for most of these titles are limited at these prices, so you have to act fast. Shipping is extra, but for US readers, Amazon will ship free if your total is above $25.

Good hunting, fellow bargain hunters!

The 2012 Sword & Sorcery Mega Panel

The 2012 Sword & Sorcery Mega Panel

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adventures_of_sword_and_sorcery-6John DeNardo and his team at SF Signal know when they have a good thing going.

Take for example the genre-defining 2010 Sword & Sorcery Panel Podcast, recorded at the World Fantasy Convention in Columbus, Ohio and featuring the official brain trust of modern S&S: Howard Andrew Jones , Ryan Harvey, Bill Ward, James Enge, Jason M. Waltz, Sam Sykes, John R. Fultz, Alex Bledsoe, Matthew Wuertz, and the ever-humble John O’Neill.

How do you top that? I know — impossible, right?

Well, all credit to Patrick Hester and Jaym Gates at SF Signal for making a terrific effort. In episode 108 of the SF Signal Podcast they’ve assembled a knock-out line-up of heavy hitters to discuss Sword and Sorcery for the modern reader. Including:

  • Lou Anders — publisher and editor of mega-publisher Pyr
  • Violette Malan — author of The Mirror Prince and many others
  • James L. Sutter — Paizo editor and author of Pathfinder Tales: Death’s Heretic
  • Scott H. Andrews — author, and editor of the splendid Beneath Ceaseless Skies

The podcast features original music by John Anealio. Part One is now available here.

STURGES TOPS THE TOPPER WITH SHORTCUT MAN 2

STURGES TOPS THE TOPPER WITH SHORTCUT MAN 2

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ap-book-review-shortcut-man-17944457jpg102452072The late Leo McCarey is remembered by most film buffs today for his imitation Capra-corn, The Bells of St. Mary’s and Going My Way starring everyone’s favorite likeable cad, Bing Crosby as the sort of priest you’d find in a parish where the nuns looked like Ingrid Bergman. Turn back the clock a few more decades and McCarey was the finest comedy director in Hollywood capturing the very best performances from Laurel & Hardy, an aging Harold Lloyd, and the Marx Brothers in their prime (when Zeppo was still part of the act). McCarey patented the chain reaction gag which tasked the comedy filmmaker with finding a way to consistently “top the topper.”

That was no mean feat. Once you get your biggest belly-laugh from the audience and then set out to find an even bigger laugh, you’re laying the groundwork for disappointment. Quite simply, no one can be that funny all the time. Yet McCarey managed it time and again and so did several other comedy directors who followed in his wake like Howard Hawks, a young Frank Capra (before sentimentality robbed him of his comic timing), Preston Sturges, and Billy Wilder. Very few others have managed to scale those same dizzying heights since Hollywood’s Golden Age and the lost art of the chain reaction gag is one of the measures by which one may easily separate modern and classic comedy. Comedy, in its purest form, allows us to break the pain barrier and laugh.

Such ruminations on the art of comedy are entirely appropriate when discussing P. G. Sturges, a new talent who arrived on the literary scene last year with The Shortcut Man. It was easily my favorite book of 2011. It had everything going for it: a hardboiled mystery mixed with high farce, a keen ear for dialogue, and an even sharper wit in laying bare personal and cultural failings in modern society. Any book that makes the reader think, consistently laugh, and still keeps them riveted to discover the next twist the story will take is exceptional.

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Maid(en) For Me: Gods Of Metal Back On Tour With Maiden England

Maid(en) For Me: Gods Of Metal Back On Tour With Maiden England

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That's a lot of hair!
That's a lot of hair!

What does a mid to late 30-something (closing in on 40, if I’m being honest) consumer of books like Styrbiorn the Strong,  Dune, and World War 2 military history do in between bouts of reading and writing posts for Black Gate? Why, listen to Iron Maiden, of course! I can blast “Invaders” and vicariously experience a Viking raid, play “To Tame a Land” and hear bassist Steve Harris’ take on Frank Herbert’s classic SF novel, and fire up “The Longest Day” for a stirring rendition of the events of D-Day and Omaha Beach.

Iron Maiden has always been a favorite of mine. I personally consider them the best heavy metal band of all time, edging out the likes of Judas Priest (on whom Maiden holds an edge by virtue of a more consistent catalog—Priest has more dud albums) and even heavy metal originators Black Sabbath (whom they beat due to longevity—Black Sabbath spent decades residing in the “where are they now” file, living off past glories). Maiden is to heavy metal what The Lord of the Rings is to fantasy—not the first on the scene, but the best. In my opinion of course, and your mileage may vary.

I’ve always thought of Iron Maiden as the heavy metal band that catered to the nerdy crowd. If you were smart, you liked history and science fiction/fantasy, and of course you liked Iron Maiden. They were and are the antidote for those critics who sneered at metal, labeling it as mindless noise, the stuff of “sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll.” Faux-metal hair bands like Poison and Warrant gave metal a bad reputation, but Iron Maiden elevated this much-maligned genre of music into an art form.

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