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Year: 2020

Catch-22 in Space: The Small Colonial War Series by Robert Frezza

Catch-22 in Space: The Small Colonial War Series by Robert Frezza

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A Small Colonial War, Fire in a Faraway Place, and Cain’s Land by Robert Frezza
(Del Rey/Ballantine, 1990-96). Covers by Stephen Hickman and Peter Peebles

Anyone else out there read stray book comments on the internet that send them off in search of 30-year old paperbacks? No? Yeah, that figures. Well, that’s what happened to me when I stumbled on this brief mention of Robert Frezza’s 1990 military SF novel A Small Colonial War on Reddit last night.

Anyone read A Small Colonial War? Catch-22 in space. Need to find my copy, it was dad’s favorite SF and he was very well read. Had to send my paperback to his widow.

It’s a total cluster-f**k of an empire trying to impose their will on a rebellious colony, told mainly from the point-of-view of the invaders. And it’s hilarious. And brutal. And hilarious.

A Small Colonial War was the first novel in a trilogy published between 1990-96. I’ve never read it, and I’m not 100% even sure I’ve ever seen a copy. But that small mention pinged around in my head because someone else had recommended A Small Colonial War recently, and it took some mental gymnastics to remember who and when. (Cut me some slack — I read about a lot of books).

But I remembered eventually. It was James Nicoll, in his July post Five Doomed Armies in Science Fiction at Tor.com. Here’s his more involved take.

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Mission Impossible with Dragons: The Kingdom of Grit Trilogy by Tyler Whitesides

Mission Impossible with Dragons: The Kingdom of Grit Trilogy by Tyler Whitesides

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The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn-small The Shattered Realm of Ardor Benn-small The Last Lies of Ardor Benn

The Kingdom of Grit trilogy by Tyler Whitesides (Orbit Books). Covers by Ben Zweifel

I was in Barnes & Noble on Saturday and I found a fat fantasy with a striking cover, and all the hallmarks of a good read — starting with this cover quote by David Dalglish, author of the bestselling Shadowdance series:

Mission Impossible, but with magic, dragons, and a series of heists that go from stealing a crown to saving the world.

The book was The Shattered Realm of Ardor Benn by Tyler Whitesides, and I was surprised to find it was the second volume in a trilogy. How had I missed the first one? Because it was released only two weeks ago, that’s how. And the final volume? It’s due in less than a month. That’s over 2,000 pages of epic fantasy, served up on a platter by Orbit Books.

The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn (752 pages, $17.99 paperback/$9.99 digital, October 22, 2020)
The Shattered Realm of Ardor Benn (704 pages, $17.99 paperback/$9.99 digital, November 3, 2020)
The Last Lies of Ardor Benn (672 pages, $17.99 paperback/$9.99 digital, December 1, 2020)

Okay, technically the first book was originally published two years ago, but still. Orbit has repackaged the first volume (with a brand new cover by Ben Zweifel), and side-by-side these books look very striking indeed. Reviewers have been kind as well (the British Fantasy Society says, “There is something a little Locke Lamora about Ardor Benn which fans will delight in… The pace in this first book is excellent and holds up from start to finish, and it looks like we have a very desirable series to devour in Kingdom of Grit“). If you’re looking for a substantial new fantasy series to get you through the fall, look no further.

See all our recent coverage of the best new fantasy series here.

Ellsworth’s Cinema of Swords: Louis Hayward, Everyman with a Sword (Part 1 of 2)

Ellsworth’s Cinema of Swords: Louis Hayward, Everyman with a Sword (Part 1 of 2)

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The Man in the Iron Mask 1939-small

The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)

Independent Hollywood producer Edward Small had his biggest hit in 1934 with a version of The Count of Monte Cristo and was determined to follow it up with more swashbucklers. But he needed a leading man, and after several years’ delay finally found him in Louis Hayward, an actor trained on the British stage who’d come to America in the early Thirties, where he mainly played romantic leads in light comedies and the occasional prestige drama. Hayward was charming, well-spoken, looked good in period costume, and had a deft hand with sword, so Small signed him to a three-film contract. Small’s new star ending up making half a dozen swashbucklers for him and several more for other producers. Some of these are forgettable, but most of them are pretty good or better and are nowadays unfairly overlooked. Let’s start with the earliest and most successful.

The Man in the Iron Mask

Rating: ****
Origin: USA, 1939
Director: James Whale
Source: Hen’s Tooth Video DVD

This is the first sound version of Iron Mask and stars Louis Hayward in the dual role of King Louis XIV/Prince Philippe. Hayward was a leading man who appeared in a variety of parts, heroic and romantic, from the late 1930s to the early ‘50s, but if he’s remembered today, it’s as the star of eight or nine small to medium-budget swashbucklers made mainly for independent producer Edward Small (of which this is the first). The genial Hayward didn’t have the compelling screen presence of Errol Flynn or Tyrone Power, but he was likeable and determined, with enough handsome charm to carry off the romances.

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The Return of Fantasy Magazine

The Return of Fantasy Magazine

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Fantasy Magazine is back! Nearly ten years since publisher John Joseph Adams merged it with Lightspeed, Fantasy has returned as a standalone digital magazine co-edited by Christie Yant and Arley Sorg and published by Adamant Press.

The magazine has a rich history. It originally appeared in 2005, publishing six print issues before moving online in 2007. Its editors have included Sean Wallace, Paul Tremblay, and Cat Rambo; John Joseph Adams took the reins in March 2011, and bought the magazine from Sean Wallace’s Prime Books in November of that year. We last covered Fantasy Magazine in April 2011 with issue #49 — an issue that included Peter S. Beagle, Jonathan L. Howard, and Carrie Vaughn.

What’s in the first issue of the new Fantasy? Here’s Arley and Christie from their editorial.

In this issue we have Shingai Njeri Kagunda’s heartbreaking tale of a time-skipping sister told with a dash of poetry, “And This Is How to Stay Alive”; a surreal tale of perspective, “An Introduction” by Reina Hardy; May Chong’s wildly fun and sensual werewolf fantasy poem, “things i love about my werewolf girlfriend”; “The Secret Ingredient is Always the Same,” by Sarah Grey, a poem of heartbreak, survival, and friendship; Osahon Ize-Iyamu brings us a story of personal truth and potential in “To Look Forward”; Tamoha Sengupta gives a brief, vivid account of young love and pure rebellion in “Love Laws and a Locked Heart”; and we have an interview with Burning Roses author S.L. Huang.

It’s enormously exciting to see Fantasy reappear, and in such capable hands. Check it out here, and buy digital issues for just $2.99 at Amazon and other fine online venues. See all our recent magazine coverage here.

New Treasures: Daughter of the Serpentine by E. E. Knight

New Treasures: Daughter of the Serpentine by E. E. Knight

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Novice Dragoneer and Daughter of the Serpentine (Ace Books). Covers by Dan Burgess

Happy Book Birthday to Daughter of the Serpentine, the second volume in E. E. Knight’s hugely popular Dragoneer Academy series!

Eric, of course, needs no introduction to Black Gate readers — his 11-volume Vampire Earth series and his six-volume Age of Fire epic are both perennial favorites in our offices, and Eric’s also a regular blogger for us. And I was very proud to publish his Blue Pilgrim tale “The Terror in the Vale,” one of the very best stories in our Black Gate Online Fiction library.

The opening volume in his new series, Novice Dragoneer, was published last year to wide acclaim. The Bibliosanctum called it “Delightfully entertaining,” and Booklist proclaimed it “An excellent fantasy coming of age story.” Anticipation for the second book has been through the roof, and it looks like the wait was worth it — check out this snippet from the rave review at Library Journal.

Knight (Age of Fire series) continues the story of Ileth, a teen who comes from nothing and strives to fulfill her childhood dream of becoming a dragonrider in the Serpentine academy. Ileth has matured since the first book and takes on new challenges, such as balancing two apprenticeships; one as a dragonrider and the other as a dancer. As she rises in rank, enemies threaten the republic, forcing her to take charge of her future sooner than she anticipated. Knight creates a marvelous character study of a young woman within the walls of a mostly male-dominated world… VERDICT: Highly recommended… Start with the first in the series or just dive right into this perfect adventure tale.

Daughter of the Serpentine was published today by Ace Books. It is 496 pages, priced at $16.99 in trade paperback and $9.99 in digital formats. The cover is by Dan Burgess. Read an excerpt here. See all our coverage of the latest releases by BG Staff here.

Jack Higgins & The Eagle Has Landed

Jack Higgins & The Eagle Has Landed

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Higgins_EagleLandedPBEDITEDI’m a Jack Higgins fan. I’ve got 49 of his books on the shelves, and one more on my Kindle. He writes page-turning adventures which I usually tear through pretty quickly. I haven’t read all of the books of his which I own, but I’ve read most. And the ones set in WW II, more than once.

After reading James Lee Burke’s Swan Peak, which was my first Dave Robicheaux book in over a decade (and still a fantastic series), I decided to revisit Higgins. It had been more than ten years since reading him, too. I wanted one of his pot-boilers: Quick, action-packed reads. And the earlier ones were slim volumes. I decided on one I had not read yet and picked The Khufra Run.

Jack Nelson runs a charter seaplane in the Mediterranean. A beautiful, young, naked woman runs out in front of his car in the hills. This type of thing is not uncommon in a Higgins novel. Aided by an off-the-rails former fellow POW, Nelson ends up helping the woman – who has a secret or two, of course – recover a lost treasure. Which is more or less in a plane wreck in a swampy marsh. And a really bad guy also wants it. Higgins wrote a lot of these types of books, and they’re fun reads.

I thought about revisiting another old favorite, Robert Ludlum. But I stuck with Higgins and resumed the Sean Dillon series. I had stopped at Dark Justice. I like Dillon, but at about book ten, it felt like the books were all becoming pretty much the same. And I wasn’t that interested in his war with the Rashid Family (which continued on even after Dillon ‘took care of them,’ as it were). Add in the constant overlap with the ‘American connection,’ and there wasn’t much appeal.

The book wasn’t doing much for me early on. But I think that series is at its best when Higgins works the Irish angle in. The latter half, which included some of Higgins’ former IRA associates, improved the book. I didn’t mind it. But I didn’t feel the need to continue on to the next one. So, which of his to read?

You ask me for my favorite Higgins, and I’m gonna answer The Eagle Has Landed before you can blink.

A lot of folks are familiar with the hit film from 1976. I have it on VHS, and it’s fantastic. Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence, Jenny Agutter, Anthony Quayle, Larry Hagman, and Treat Williams are all part of a great cast. Several components of the book were dropped, but the movie still works. I always enjoy it. Several top-flight performances are delivered. Highly recommended.

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Vintage Treasures: The Black Grail by Damien Broderick

Vintage Treasures: The Black Grail by Damien Broderick

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The Black Grail (Avon Books, September 1986). Cover by Luis Royo

I picked up Damien Broderick’s The Black Grail mostly because of the great Luis Royo cover (which speaks to me vividly of 80s-era SF and fantasy), but it turns out to have a pretty interesting back story.

The Black Grail is Broderick’s sixth novel, a substantial expansion and retelling of his first novel, 1970’s Sorcerer’s World. Most sources list them as separate books since, to quote from the ISFDB, “their difference is substantial enough to consider this a different work.” The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction calls it “a far more complex and sophisticated rewrite of Sorcerer’s World… [depending] upon elaborate plotting involving alternative timelines and temporal paradoxes.”

That alone was enough to pique my interest, and that was before I found this brief 4-star review on Goodreads that compared it to Jack Vance’s masterwork:

I really enjoyed this book from the Dying Earth sub-genre. It had a lot of ideas packed into the 310 pages. I found it to be a fairly quick read that moved along with an action packed plot and interesting twists on familiar Dying Earth themes…

Lightsabers, elaborate plotting, temporal paradoxes, and Dying Earth motifs? I’m sold. This one has shot to the top of my TBR pile. The Black Grail was published by Avon Books in September 1986. It is 310 pages, priced at $3.50. It has never been reprinted in the US, and there is no digital edition. The cover is by Luis Royo. It’s part of the 6-volume Faustus Hexagram series that also includes The Judas Mandala (1982), Striped Holes (1988), and The Sea’s Furthest End (1993).

See al our recent Vintage Treasures here.

A Tour of a Pop-Culture Phenomenon: Marvel: The First 80 Years

A Tour of a Pop-Culture Phenomenon: Marvel: The First 80 Years

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Marvel: The First 80 Years, magazine edition from Titan Comics. On sale November 2020

I was in Barnes & Noble yesterday, picking up some new releases, including a new Stellaris anthology and the latest Year’s Best anthology from John Joseph Adams (here’s the complete stack of titles I walked out with), and literally on my way out of the store my eye fell on a colorful cover in the magazine section. I reversed course to get a closer look, and three minutes later I was back in the checkout line, buying one more item.

The magazine was Marvel: The First 80 Years, a 160-page full color special release from Titan. It’s a little pricey, even with my B&N discount ($19.99 cover price), but according to the scant facts I can find on the internet, it’s a limited release magazine version of the upcoming book Marvel: The First 80 Years, scheduled for hardcover release in two weeks with a $29.99 price tag.

I didn’t know any of that yesterday, tho. I shelled out nearly 20 bucks for an oversize magazine because it looked more than worth the money. Have a look at the gorgeous interior photo spreads below and see if you agree.

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Adventure in the Final Days of Civilization in the British Isles: The Trials of Koli by M.R. Carey

Adventure in the Final Days of Civilization in the British Isles: The Trials of Koli by M.R. Carey

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The Rampart Trilogy by M.R. Carey, all published by Orbit: The Book of Koli (April 2020),
The Trials of Koli (September 2020), and the forthcoming The Fall of Koli (March 2021). Cover designs by Lisa Marie Pompilio

Post-apocalyptic reading doesn’t seem the best thing for these times of global pandemic and a presidential term that’s seen the US move backward on almost every progressive climate policy. And yet as I explained in my review of The Book of Koli, M. R. Carey has managed to create an enjoyable post-apocalyptic quest through the voice of his flawed, compelling, imminently likeable narrator, Koli. The Trials of Koli, released in September, picks up right where Book 1 left off, with Koli and his companions traveling across an ecologically transformed England in the wake of civilization to find the source of a signal that might mean a semblance of technology and government remaining in London.

Of course, a quest is only as good as those you travel with, and in this Koli is fortunate. Besides the traveling medicine woman Ursula, who carries some of the country’s last viable medical technology, and the sentient Dreamsleeve Mono, an advanced music player that has become Koli’s closest friend, the character who shines in this volume is Cup, a vagabond picked up as captive after a tussle with a cannibalistic cult at the end of the first volume. Cup becomes an ally and companion in this second volume, and with her character Carey is able to explore what life might be like for “crossed,” or transgendered, individuals in this new world.

Besides navigating the spectrum of hatred to acceptance that Cup elicits as they travel through various villages, Cup’s identity provides a point of conflict within the company. Ursula, with her access to medical technology, must decide if it’s ethical to give Cup the hormone-blocking treatment she wants to postpone the onset of puberty, even though the therapy for full gender transition is no longer available. This conflict isn’t a major plot point, but it’s integral to the heroes’ journey and a nuanced depiction of a transgendered character. Of course, at the same time our heroes are navigating this they’re also figuring out how to deal with the coming seed-fall of a forest full of carnivorous trees.

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Future Treasures: Nophek Gloss by Essa Hansen

Future Treasures: Nophek Gloss by Essa Hansen

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Nophek Gloss-smallThere are times when you need to tune out all the chaos in the world. The week after a tumultuous US election is definitely one of them.

And you know what helps with that, don’t you? A brand new book from an exciting debut author. The one I’ve got in mind is Nophek Gloss, the tale of a young man who sets out on a single-minded quest for revenge across the galaxy when his planet is destroyed. It arrives from Orbit on Tuesday, and it’s preceded by a lot of great press.

What kind of press? Michael Mammay (Planetside) says it “reads like a Becky Chambers novel crossed with Firefly,” and The Quill to Live calls it “a bizarre journey through space and time with a lovable crew of rogues on a spaceship.”

Booklist says it’s packed with “fast-paced action, and stunning scientific concepts, with mercantile and political intrigues spanning manifold universes,” and Publishers Weekly calls it a “wonderfully inventive debut“:

A revenge plot leads mechanic Caiden across a multiverse populated by a colorful array of humanoid species in Hansen’s wonderfully inventive debut, the first of a space opera trilogy. Fourteen-year-old Caiden lives on a planet that raises vicious predators called nophek. When the planet is attacked by a new shipment of nophek, Caiden alone escapes, and uses his unique ability to manipulate technology to pilot an abandoned spaceship. Caiden soon joins a team of scavengers who guide him to Emporia, an interstellar marketplace where he learns more about the Casthens, who orchestrated the slaughter of his people, and undergoes genetic manipulation to accelerate the development of his body and mind. He emerges a 20-year-old determined to bring down the Casthen… Space opera fans will be eager for the next installment.

Nophek Gloss is the opening novel in The Graven series. It will be published by Orbit Books on November 17, 2020. It is 448 pages, priced at $16.99 in trade paperback and $9.99 in digital formats. The cover is by Mike Heath. Read the first two chapters here.

See all our recent coverage of the best upcoming SF and fantasy here.