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Author: John ONeill

Celebrate the Spirit of the Holidays With The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries, edited by Otto Penzler

Celebrate the Spirit of the Holidays With The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries, edited by Otto Penzler

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Here in the Midwest we got a 2-inch dusting of snow on Christmas Eve, just enough to put everyone in the mood for the holidays. When it comes to a White Christmas, there’s nothing like a little just-in-time inventory.

We have our share of holiday traditions here in the O’Neill-Dechene household. And one of them is reading a mystery tale or two from Otto Penzler’s Big Book of Christmas Mysteries over the holidays, curled up in the living room by the fire, next to the Christmas tree. There aren’t a lot of things in this modern world that bring peace to a body. But lemme tell you, that’s definitely one of them.

Otto Penzler’s brick-sized Big Book anthologies are some of the great unsung bargains of modern publishing. We’ve covered a few of them over the years, and he publishes a new one every October (this year’s was The Big Book of Rogues and Villains, which we discussed two months ago.) But The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries, an imposing 672-page volume containing yuletide ctime stories from Ellery Queen, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Ellis Peters, Donald E. Westlake, Damon Runyon, Thomas Hardy, Arthur Conan Doyle, John D. MacDonald, Peter Lovesey, Max Allan Collins, Marjorie Bowen, Ed McBain, Sara Paretsky, Mary Higgins Clark, Ngaio Marsh, Isaac Asimov, Ed Gorman, G. K. Chesterton, Rex Stout, O. Henry, and Agatha Christie, is one of my favorites. Here’s the complete Table of Contents.

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New Treasures: Mountain by Ursula Pflug

New Treasures: Mountain by Ursula Pflug

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I’ve been seeing the name Ursula Pflug pop up more and more in the last few years — in magazines like Lightspeed and Strange Horizons, and prestigious anthologies like David Hartwell’s Northern Suns and Postscripts. Matthew David Surridge reviewed her first short story collection After the Fires for us back in 2012, saying:

I don’t remember where I first came across Ursula Pflug’s name… From what I’d heard, she was a Canadian writer of literary fantasy, which was enough for me to take a chance on the book… Overall, these are quiet tales, surreal, dreamlike, and often elliptical… Still, there’s a clarity to the stories. Though filled with loss and despair, they often conclude with hope: they seem parables about seeking healing or wholeness, fables of fitting into place…

The stories are ultimately memorable, fascinating, because of the precision of language, and because the language briefly gets across the radical instability of fiction: in worlds constructed only of language, not of physics, anything can happen… It’s a distinctive element of a brief and strange collection. After the Fires is fascinating work, haunting and unfamiliar.

On her website she describes her latest, Mountain, as “a near-future cli-apocalypse YA thing.” It’s a novella published by Inanna Publications on June 20, 2017. It is 98 pages, priced at $19.95 in trade paperback and $11.99 for the digital edition. The cover was designed by Val Fullard.

Future Treasures: Robots vs. Fairies edited by Dominik Parisien and‎ Navah Wolfe

Future Treasures: Robots vs. Fairies edited by Dominik Parisien and‎ Navah Wolfe

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Robots vs Fairies-smallThe Starlit Wood, the first book from Dominik Parisien and‎ Navah Wolfe, was one of the most acclaimed anthologies of 2016. It was nominated for the World Fantasy Award and the British Fantasy Award, and won the Shirley Jackson Award. And Amal El-Mohtar’s “Seasons of Glass and Iron” swept the short fiction awards, winning the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus Awards.

Their second anthology, scheduled to arrive in two weeks from Saga Press, is Robots vs. Fairies, and it includes another steller list of contributors, including Seanan McGuire, Jonathan Maberry, Kat Howard, Mary Robinette Kowal, Jeffrey Ford, Madeline Ashby, Lavie Tidhar, John Scalzi, Catherynne M. Valente, and many others. Publishers Weekly says:

Distinguished authors take sides in battles between robots and fairies by crafting serious (and seriously weird) reflections on whether magical or mechanical might would prove the stronger… Ken Liu creatively takes on big cities, rats, and unforeseen consequences in “Quality Time.”… Sarah Gailey’s “Bread and Milk and Salt” is a horrific rumination on the true natures of robots, fairies, and humans. Editors Parisien and Wolfe (The Starlit Wood) have cannily chosen a variety of stories that offer individual, distinctive insights into both living machines and magical creatures, along with glimpses of how humans might react to their face-off.

Reviews have already started to appear. Howling Libraries says Tim Pratt’s “Murmured Under the Moon” is a tale of “a human librarian who takes care of a fairy library, and is forced to go on a rescue mission when the fairy princess is taken hostage by a wicked man… fun, and unique, and magical, and fantastical, and sweet.” And Jim C. Hine’s Peter Pan-inspired “Second to the Left, and Straight On” is “twisted and haunting and beautiful and absolutely heartbreaking… It’s about a private investigator who is seeking out little girls that have been abducted by Tinker Bell.”

Read more at the Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, including the catalog copy and more details on the intricate cover, here.

Here’s the complete Table of Contents.

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January/February 2018 Asimov’s Science Fiction Now on Sale

January/February 2018 Asimov’s Science Fiction Now on Sale

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Asimov's Science Fiction January February 2018-smallAsimov’s SF wrapped up its 40th Anniversary year on a high note last issue, and soldiers on fearlessly into its 41st year with the January/February 2018 issue.

This one features two big novellas: a classic lost-city tale of the 1930s from Rudy Rucker and Paul Di Fillipp, “In the Lost City of Leng,” and a far-future adventure in Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Diving Universe, “The Rescue of the Renegat.” Plus new stories by Cixin Liu, Matthew Hughes, Allen M. Steele, James Gunn, and much more. It’s on sale now at finer newstands.

Here’s editor Sheila Williams’ issue summary.

Our forty-first year sweeps in with the January/February 2018 issue! Two action-packed novellas feature in this exciting installment. Rudy Rucker and Paul Di Filippo take us back to the 1930s and the days of exploration for a thrilling adventure “In the Lost City of Leng.” Hugo Award-winner Kristine Kathryn Rusch rockets us forward in time for her breathtaking account of “The Rescue of the Renegat.” These tales will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout as you wonder who will survive till the curtain falls.

Multiple Hugo Award-winner Allen M. Steele escorts us once again to the planet Coyote for a dangerous journey to “The Barren Isle”; while we know the world may end in fire or ice, Hugo Award-winner Cixin Liu’s first tale for Asimov’s reveals just how perilous the pursuit of art can be in “The Sea of Dreams”; Mathew Hughes returns after too long an absence to expose us to some “Solicited Discordance”; the distinguished James Gunn continues his tales about pilgrims in “The Seeds of Consciousness: 4107’s Story” and “The Final Commandment: Trey’s Story”; new author S. Qiouyi Lu examines the stark choices facing a single parent and the sacrifices that may be made in “Mother Tongues”; Robert R. Chase brings us another thriller with “Assassins in the Clouds”; and Ian Creasey looks at the effect “The Equalizer” will have on tomorrow’s society.

Robert Silverberg’s Reflections on walls continues in “Gog and Magog II”; James Patrick Kelly’s On the Net advises that we “Don’t Read the Comments”; James Gunn brings us a Thought Experiment on “Space Opera and the Quest for Transcendence”; Paul Di Filippo’s On Books reviews works by Daryl Gregory, Jacqueline Carey, Cat Sparks, Neil Clarke, and others; plus we’ll have an array of poetry and other features you’re sure to enjoy.

The introductory blurb to “In the Lost City of Leng” refers to Lovecraft’s “At the Mountains of Madness” as “perhaps the greatest SF tale of all time.” Interestingly, you can buy a canvas print by Rudy Rucker depicting some of the decidedly Cthulhuesque goings-on the story. Here’s a sneak peek.

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Decide the Fate of the World With Tiny Plastic Ships: Axis & Allies by Avalon Hill

Decide the Fate of the World With Tiny Plastic Ships: Axis & Allies by Avalon Hill

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When I was in grad school at the University of Illinois in the early 90s we used to play games in the lobby of Daniels Hall. I played things like Star Trek: The Adventure Game from West End Games, and card games like Hearts. But the hardcore gamers in the corner would push a bunch of tables together and cluster around a massive game board, playing Axis & Allies.

I admit to an enduring fascination with Axis & Allies. It reminded me of the obsessive games I used to play with my gaming group back home in Ottawa, like SPI’s War of the Ring and 4000 A.D. The board was huge, there were hundreds of playing pieces, and every game seemed a constant back-and-forth of razor-thin victories, crushing setbacks, unexpected reversals, and hard-won strategic triumphs. I never had the time (or the courage) to commit to a weekend-long session of Axis & Allies though, and when I graduated I lost my chance. I lost contact with a permanent gaming group… and without that incentive, I never shelled out the (considerable) cash for a copy of the game.

Turns out that was a mistake. The gaming fiends in central Illinois weren’t the only people who loved to simulate the epic struggle of World War II, apparently. Milton Bradley’s Axis & Allies, an expensive game in a niche market, eventually went out of print, but not before enjoying a lengthy and historic run. Over the years the game acquired an almost mythic reputation among strategy gamers, and the few complete copies in circulation quickly became collectors items — and very hard to obtain. I eventually set out to acquire a copy for my collection, and for over a decade I’ve failed.

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Vintage Treasures: Red Dust by Paul J. McAuley

Vintage Treasures: Red Dust by Paul J. McAuley

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Paul J. McAuley was the first book reviewer for Black Gate, way back in 2000-01. His first novel, the far-future space opera Four Hundred Billion Stars (Del Rey, 1988) won the Philip K. Dick Award, the sequels Of the Fall and Eternal Light appeared in 1989 and 1991.

His first standalone novel Red Dust, set on a far-future Mars colonized by the Chinese, was published by Gollancz in the UK in 1993 and AvoNova in the US in 1995. It was packed with big ideas and technologies that are still being explored in SF today, including personality downloads, biotech, virtual reality, nanotech, A.I, and a lot more. Kirkus Reviews raved, saying:

An extraordinary saga.. Seven hundred years hence, a depopulated Earth is ruled by the Consensus eco-fanatics who allow nothing to change; on Jupiter, a self-aware probe calling itself the King of the Cats broadcasts rock music and propaganda; various dwindling groups of dissenters inhabit the asteroid belt; and Mars, habitable but slowly reverting to dust and drought and populated mostly by Chinese, is ruled by a committee of ruthless old men called the Ten Thousand Years, who, in a secret pact with the Consensus, have agreed to let Mars die in return for personal immortality. Young technician Wei Lee, who believes himself beholden to his great-grandfather, one of the Ten Thousand Years, stumbles upon a spaceship crashed in the dust… McAuley’s Mars is at once satisfyingly familiar and disquietingly alien: cultural contrasts, persuasive inventions, and constant surprises are set forth with a weird yet compelling logic. Superb.

The novel has never been reprinted in the US, but copies are still fairly easy to find online. I bought the brand new copy above on eBay for $4 two months ago. It was published by AvoNova in November 1995; it is 392 pages, priced at $4.99 in paperback. The cover is by Tim Jacobus. A digital edition was published by Gollancz/Orion in 2010. Our previous coverage of Paul J. McAuley includes his recent Choice Series and his Confluence novels.

New Treasures: Steal the Stars by Nat Cassidy

New Treasures: Steal the Stars by Nat Cassidy

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Now here’s an interesting artifact. Steal the Stars is a new novel by Nat Cassidy, based on Mac Rogers’s podcast from Tor Labs. The entire project sounds interesting, but let’s start with the podcast.

Steal the Stars is the story of Dakota Prentiss and Matt Salem, two government employees guarding the biggest secret in the world: a crashed UFO. Despite being forbidden to fraternize, Dak and Matt fall in love and decide to escape to a better life on the wings of an incredibly dangerous plan: they’re going to steal the alien body they’ve been guarding and sell the secret of its existence.

Start listening to the new dramatic podcast from Mac Rogers, award-winning writer of The Message and LifeAfter. You don’t want to miss this 14-episode noir science fiction thriller, voiced by a full cast of experienced film, theater, and voice actors.

You can listen to the whole thing at Tor Labs, Tor’s new division devoted to “Bold experiments. Podcast theatre. New ways to experience fantastic fiction.” Or if you’re old-school like me and print is more your thing, you can buy Nat Cassidy’s book. Steal the Stars was published by Tor Books on November 7, 2017. It is 416 pages, priced at $15.99 in trade paperback and $9.99 for the digital edition. The cover was designed by Peter Lutjen.

Weirdbook #37 Now Available

Weirdbook #37 Now Available

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Cover by João Florencio

Weirdbook published a total of five issues this year — that’s roughly 1,000 pages of brand new weird fantasy. That’s an accomplishment worth celebrating.

Issues continue to get better as well. Issue #37 was released this week, and just look at the awesome cover by João Florêncio. This issue is a special treat, as it features four Black Gate authors — Darrell Schweitzer, Michael Canfield, Jackson Kuhl, and John R. Fultz — and 20 other contributors. Click the image above right for the complete Table of Contents. John provides more detail on his story at his blog:

I’ve started a new story-cycle starring Magtone the Poet-Thief, a lyrical lowlife who inherits a gift of ancient sorcery along with a sentient flying carpet. These stories are high fantasy meets sword-and-sorcery, with an ancient-world flavor and a heavy dose of magical weirdness. The saga of Magtone’s wanderings will run mainly in the pages of Weirdbook, but he may show up in a few other publications as well. The first Magtone story is “The Veneration of Evil in the Kingdom of Ancient Lies.” It appears in Weirdbook #37… This inaugural tale introduces Magtone and the fantastic city-state of Karakutas, a metropolitan Babylon built by the power of ruthless wizard-kings. As the Doom of Karakutas approaches, Magtone strikes a deal with the only person that can save him from the coming apocalypse – the same wizard who is about to bring civilization crashing down.

Weirdbook is published by Wildside Press, and edited by Douglas Draa. Issues are 200+ pages, and priced $12 for the print edition, and $3.99 for the digital version. Subscriptions are currently not available, but you can buy individual issues at Amazon.com and Wildside Press. We last covered Weirdbook with issue #35. The magazine’s website is here. Our December Fantasy Magazine Rack is here. See all of our recent fantasy magazine coverage here.

Future Treasures: The King of Bones and Ashes by J.D. Horn

Future Treasures: The King of Bones and Ashes by J.D. Horn

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J.D. Horn is the bestselling author of the Witching Savannah series (The Line, The Source, etc.) His newest is the tale of a young witch’s quest to uncover her family’s terrifying history. It arrives next month from 47 North, Amazon’s publishing imprint, which has jumped into genre fiction in a big way but has yet to make a significant splash. It does tend to take chances with new and emerging authors, however, which I heartily approve.

The King of Bones and Ashes is the first volume of a new series, Witches of New Orleans. Publishers Weekly says “Sparkling magic and creepy villains bolster the narrative… The terrifying conclusion will have readers looking forward to the next installment.”

The King of Bones and Ashes will be published by 47North on January 23, 2018. It is 354 pages, priced at $24.95 in hardcover, $14.95 in trade paperback, and $4.99 for the digital edition. No sample chapters online that I can find, but I’ll keep looking.

Vintage Treasures: Soldier Boy by Michael Shaara

Vintage Treasures: Soldier Boy by Michael Shaara

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Michael Shaara won the Pulitzer Prize for his 1974 Civil War novel The Killer Angels. It was a huge bestseller, selling more than 2 million copies worldwide, and became the basis for the 1993 film Gettysburg.

Most of Shaara’s legion of fans don’t know that he began his career as as a science fiction writer. His first publication was “Orphans of the Void” in the June 1952 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction. Matthew Wuertz has been reviewing the entire back catalog of Galaxy since its first issue; he described the story thusly.

Captain Steffens and his crew explore the Tyban solar system. They find the third planet populated by millions of robots. The robots are telepathic, in the likeness of their makers, who are nowhere to be found. Yet the robots continue to await the return of their makers, for their longing to serve is their primary function. This was a marvelous tale of first encounters. It plays out well, with a touch of sadness that leads to great hope.

Over the next 30 years Shaara’s short fiction appeared in genre magazines like F&SF, Astounding, Fantastic Universe, and Galaxy. In 1982 he issued a single collection gathering most of his finest short fiction, Soldier Boy, published through David Hartwell’s legendary Timescape imprint at Pocket Books.

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