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Author: John ONeill

io9 on the Must-Read Science Fiction and Fantasy Books for March

io9 on the Must-Read Science Fiction and Fantasy Books for March

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Standard Hollywood Depravity Adam Christopher-small Infinity Engine Neal Asher-small Dear Sweet Filthy World Caitlin R. Kiernan-small

Well, here it is, the last day of March. And those promises I made to myself that I’d sample all the terrific recommendations for the month that’ve already stacked up — like Andrew Liptak’s 23 Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels to Read this March, and John DeNardo’s 11 Can’t-Miss SF and Fantasy Books in March? Yeah. Pretty much a total failure.

What to do? Try with one more list, of course! Hope springs eternal, and March still has a few hour left.

Over at io9, Cheryl Eddy has compiled a list of 19 new March releases, including books by Alex Bledsoe, Seanan McGuire, Ada Palmer, Paul Cornell, Tim Lebbon, Cassandra Rose Clarke, Ian McDonald, and many others. Let’s dig in and see what catches my eye (and also, is short. ‘Cause the clock is ticking.)

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Keith West on the Ballantine Best of Series and Why We Need it More Than Ever

Keith West on the Ballantine Best of Series and Why We Need it More Than Ever

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The Best of Leigh Brackett 1977-smll

Over at Adventures Fantastic, the distinguished Keith West visits a topic near and dear to our hearts: the Ballantine Best of series, perhaps the most important line of paperback collections the genre has ever seen. The 21 volumes of the Ballantine Best of series introduced thousands of readers to the best short fiction by the greatest SF and fantasy writers of the 20th Century — and more than a few writers who have now been forgotten. Here’s Keith:

I’ve already written about how the Leigh Brackett volume I bought through the [Science Fiction Book Club] was a game changer for me. The authors I first encountered through the SFBC editions were Pohl (the first I bought through the club), Kornbluth, Hamilton, Brown, del Rey, Campbell, plus Brackett, but the one that really blew my mind was Kuttner. His was the second Best of I bought through the club. Something about Kuttner’s wit and cynicism, plus his imagination captured me and has never really let me go…

So why did I say we need the Ballantine series more than ever? Because of the way it captured the literary history of the field. There’s no one today who writes like Cordwainer Smith. Or Stanley G. Weinbaum. Or Eric Frank Russell. These writers were the trail blazers and pioneers of the genre, folks for whom an entertaining story wasn’t just a good thing. It was how they made a living.

James McGlothlin has been reviewing the series for us, one book at a time. Our previous coverage includes the following 16 volumes (listed in order of publication).

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March 2017 Lightspeed Magazine Now Available

March 2017 Lightspeed Magazine Now Available

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Lightspeed March 2017-smallI don’t get to read Lightspeed magazine as often as I like, but the March issue looks like a good place to play catch up. Here’s Charles Payseur at Quick Sip Reviews on “The Worldless” by up-and-coming author Indrapramit Das.

This is a lovely and complex story that unfolds in a port, in a place between places, where gravity isn’t quite high enough and Dunyshar, those without a world, live and work and die and dream of something more. The story focuses on two people, NuTay and their offspring Satlyt, as they scrape a life together. And I love the way that the story evokes place and the feeling of being detached from place. Orphaned in some important way. Without a culture because culture is associated with planets and not with ports, the place that ships are only ever moving through. It’s obvious from the story that some not-great-s#!t is happening and I like that this is revealed slowly, revealed with all the terrible weight of it… An amazing read!

Read Charles’ complete review of the March issue here.

This month’s Lightspeed offers original fantasy by Marta Randall and Greg Kurzawa, and fantasy reprints by Eileen Gunn and Caitlín R. Kiernan. It also has original science fiction by Indrapramit Das and Adam-Troy Castro, plus SF reprints by Rachel Swirsky and Julian Mortimer Smith. The non-fiction includes an editorial from John Joseph Adams, author spotlights, TV reviews by Joseph Allen Hill, Book Reviews by Amal El-Mohtar, and a feature interview with Nnedi Okorafor.

The exclusive content in the ebook version this month includes an exclusive reprint of Holly Phillips’ novella “Proving the Rule,” and an excerpt from Taiyo Fujii’s novel Orbital Cloud.

The cover this month is by Reiko Murakami, illustrating Indrapramit Das’s story, “The Worldless.” Here’s the complete contents for the March issue.

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Dark Cults, Elder Beings, and a Deadly Extraterrestrial Fungus: Agents of Dreamland by Caitlin R. Kiernan

Dark Cults, Elder Beings, and a Deadly Extraterrestrial Fungus: Agents of Dreamland by Caitlin R. Kiernan

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Agents of Dreamland-small Agents of Dreamland-back-small

In her new column for the New York Times, N.K. Jemisin turns the spotlight on four recent SF and fantasy releases, including a new Tor.com novella from Caitlin R. Kiernan.

CaitlÍn R. Kiernan has long been hailed as one of the pre-eminent authors of weird fiction, and her new novella, Agents of Dreamland (Tom Doherty, paper, $11.99), shows why. In this recursive, Lovecraft-inflected police procedural, two agents of the shadowy government group Y pursue the cult leader Drew Standish, whose activities seem to herald a Jonestown-like mass murder. But far more important than whether the killing can be stopped is whether it’s already too late, since the manhunt coincides with the appearance of a deadly extraterrestrial fungus. The clock is ticking, the Elder Beings have been invoked and possible futures have begun to solidify in ways that spell the end of humanity….

Kiernan’s writing — starkly visual, tongue in cheek and disturbingly visceral — carries the day as the story churns toward its uneasy conclusion. And since the door is left open for future stories (and other futures) featuring Immacolata and the Signalman, let’s hope Kiernan will delve further into their adventures.

Jemisin also looks at the seventh volume of Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples ongoing SF comic Saga, the anthology The Djinn Falls in Love and Other Stories, edited by Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin, and Kim Stanley Robinson’s novel New York 2140. Read the entire article here.

New Treasures: The Immortal Empire Series by Kate Locke

New Treasures: The Immortal Empire Series by Kate Locke

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God Save the Queen The Queen is Dead Kate Locke-small Long Live the Queen Kate Locke-small

A few weeks ago I bought God Save the Queen, the first book in Kate Locke’s Immortal Empire series, heartily intrigued by the back cover text.

Queen Victoria rules with an immortal fist.

The undead matriarch presides over a Britain where the Aristocracy is made up of werewolves and vampires, where goblins live underground and mothers know better than to let their children out after dark.

Xandra Vardan is a member of the elite Royal Guard, and it is her duty to protect the Aristocracy. But when her sister goes missing, Xandra will set out on a path that undermines everything she believes in and will uncover a conspiracy that threatens to topple the entire empire.

The first in a fantasy series where vampires, werewolves, and goblins rule London.

God Save the Queen was published in mass market paperback by Orbit on January 31, 2017. I was surprised to find that the next two in the series, The Queen is Dead and Long Live the Queen, were released in rapid succession on February 28 and March 28. A little digging, however, and it all makes sense. The books were originally released in hardcover in 2012/2013; this is a re-release with a fresh design and new covers.

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John DeNardo on 11 Can’t-Miss SF and Fantasy Books in March

John DeNardo on 11 Can’t-Miss SF and Fantasy Books in March

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New York 2140 Kim Stanley Robinson-small Hunger Makes the Wolf by Alex Wells-small The Man with the Speckled Eyes Lafferty

The tireless John DeNardo is back with another list, this time looking at the Can’t-Miss SF and Fantasy titles in March (and he should know). Here’s a few of his recommendations.

New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson:

In the not-too-distant future, New York City’s streets are submerged underwater due to climate change, making every street a canal, every building an island unto itself. Intrigue abounds in the Met Life tower, now converted into a co-op, and the target of a buyout from a shadowy corporation desperate enough to sabotage the building’s infrastructure… Robinson weaves a tapestry of interconnected personal narratives that is captivating for its portrayal of humankind.

New York 2140 was published by Orbit on March 14, 2017. It is 624 pages, priced at $28 in hardcover and $14.99 for the digital edition.

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Future Treasures: Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

Future Treasures: Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

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Red Sister by Mark Lawrence-smallI don’t make time much time for epic fantasy these days. It’s not that I’m not tempted, it’s just that epic fantasy is such a huge time investment, and I’d rather spend that time sampling a variety of standalone titles from up and coming authors.

But I make an exception for Mark Lawrence, whom I consider one of the finest craftsmen working in the field of modern fantasy. He is the international bestselling author of the Broken Empire and the Red Queen’s War trilogies, and his latest, Red Sister, kicks off a brand new series about a secretive order of holy warriors. It arrives in hardcover from Ace next month.

At the Convent of Sweet Mercy, young girls are raised to be killers. In some few children the old bloods show, gifting rare talents that can be honed to deadly or mystic effect. But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don’t truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls.

A bloodstained child of nine falsely accused of murder, guilty of worse, Nona is stolen from the shadow of the noose. It takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist, but under Abbess Glass’s care there is much more to learn than the arts of death. Among her class Nona finds a new family — and new enemies.

Despite the security and isolation of the convent, Nona’s secret and violent past finds her out, drawing with it the tangled politics of a crumbling empire. Her arrival sparks old feuds to life, igniting vicious struggles within the church and even drawing the eye of the emperor himself.

Beneath a dying sun, Nona Grey must master her inner demons, then loose them on those who stand in her way.

Red Sister, the first volume of Book of the Ancestor, will be published by Ace on April 4, 2017. It is 480 pages, priced at $27.99 in hardcover and $12.99 in digital formats. The cover is by Bastien Lecouff Deharme. Read the prologue here, and read Mark’s last blog post for us here.

The Digest Enthusiast #5 Now Available

The Digest Enthusiast #5 Now Available

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The Digest Enthusiast January 2017-small The Digest Enthusiast January 2017-back-small

Unplug the phone and cancel my Netflix subscription. The Digest Enthusiast #5 is finally in the house.

Okay, maybe it seems strange to some of you that there’s a magazine out there devoted to collectors of vintage digest magazines. (But it can’t have escaped you that a healthy percentage of Black Gate‘s contributors are obsessive digest magazine collectors, right? Right?) Though I think the thing that might really surprise you is just how fascinating this magazine is to anyone with an interest in 20th Century genre fiction.

Last issue my favorite feature was Steve Carper’s affectionate and detailed look at The Galaxy Science Fiction Novels, and so this time I turned with high anticipation to his 20-page survey of Ellery Queen Selects, a line of 10 novels and collections published between 1947-1950, including work by Dashiell Hammett, John Dickson Carr, O. Henry, and others. And I was not disappointed — it’s a lively behind-the-scenes look at an interesting chunk of literary history. But the article that really grabbed my attention was Peter Enfantino’s insightful issue-by-issue examination of Robert A.W. Lowndes’ Magazine of Horror, one of the most collectible pulp horror periodicals of the 20th Century.

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What Lies Beyond The Yawning Portal? Some of the Best Adventures in Gaming

What Lies Beyond The Yawning Portal? Some of the Best Adventures in Gaming

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Tales From the Yawning Portal-smallNow here’s a splendid idea, long overdue. Next month Wizards of the Coast is releasing an anthology of some of the finest D&D adventures ever created — including Gygax’s masterpiece Against the Giants, and the insidious and infamous Tomb of Horrors — under one cover, all updated for use with the Fifth Edition of the rules. There’s a lot of excitement building for this book, and rightly so… it’s a great way for modern players to experience some of the classic dungeon crawls that transformed early players into life-long gamers a generation ago.

Dread tales told in the dead of night!

When the shadows grow long in Waterdeep and the fireplace in the taproom of the Yawning Portal dims to a deep crimson glow, adventurers from across the Forgotten Realms, and even from other worlds, spin tales and spread rumors of dark dungeons and lost treasures. Some of the yarns overheard by Durnan, the barkeep of the Yawning Portal, are inspired by places and events in far-flung lands from across the D&D multiverse, and these tales have been collected into a single volume.

Within this tome are seven of the most compelling dungeons from the 40+ year history of Dungeons & Dragons. Some are classics that have hosted an untold number of adventurers, while others are some of the most popular adventures ever printed. The seeds of these stories now rest in your hands. D&D’s most storied dungeons are now part of your modern repertoire of adventures. Enjoy, and remember to keep a few spare character sheets handy.

For use with the fifth edition Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master’s Guide, this book provides fans with adventures, magic items and deadly monsters, all of which have been updated to the fifth edition rules. Explore seven deadly dungeons in this adventure supplement for the world’s greatest roleplaying game.

Tales from the Yawning Portal will be released in hardcover on April 4. It includes the following seven adventures.

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The Top 50 Black Gate Posts in February

The Top 50 Black Gate Posts in February

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2000AD Free Comic Day-smallBack in December, Derek Kunsken’s enthusiastic review of Star Wars: Rogue One, “I Am One With the Force and the Force Is With Me,” shot up to #2 on our monthly traffic chart. Last month he claimed the #1 slot, and he didn’t need a blockbuster film to make it happen — he did it the old fashioned way, with a book review. The book in question was Thrill-Power Overload: A History of the British Comic 2000 AD, a detailed history of the legendary comic that launched Judge Dredd, Alan Moore’s D.R. and Quinch, Sláine, Rogue Trooper, Strontium Dog and countless others. Check it out.

Number 2 on the list for February was Mark Finn’s report on the Kickstarter for the first Skelos Press anthology, Chicken Fried Cthulhu, followed by Violette Malan’s survey of My Top Five Sword-Fight Movies, our obituary for GDW founder Loren Wiseman, and Andrew Zimmerman Jones’ interview with Paizo mastermind and Creative Director of their new Starfinder RPG, James L. Sutter.

Howard Andrew Jones’ review of one of his favorite recent games, the solitaire-suitable WWII simulation Heroes of Normandy, came in at #6 for February. At #7 was our report on the new Literary Wonder & Adventure Podcast from Robert Zoltan and his talking raven — featuring a lengthy interview with Black Gate‘s own Ryan Harvey on one of his favorite topics, Edgar Rice Burroughs. And close on its heels was our announcement of the 2017 Nebula Award Nominations.

Rounding out the Top Ten were Steven Brust’s summary of Five Roger Zelazny Books that Changed His Life, and Fletcher Vredenburgh’s January Short Story Roundup.

The complete list of Top Articles for February follows. Below that, I’ve also broken out the most popular overall articles, online fiction, and blog categories for the month.

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