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Author: John ONeill

Announcing the Winners of The Watcher at the Door: The Early Kuttner, Volume Two!

Announcing the Winners of The Watcher at the Door: The Early Kuttner, Volume Two!

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The Watcher at the Door-smallWe had a near-record number of entries in our latest contest. Not too surprising, as this time we’re giving away two copies of The Watcher at the Door: The Early Kuttner, Volume Two, the latest archival quality hardcover from Haffner Press.

This gorgeous book is a massive collection of 30 early weird fantasy tales by Henry Kuttner, and readers have been asking about if for months. We first gave you a sneak peek back in April 2015.

How did you enter? All you had to do submit the title of an imaginary weird fantasy story. The most compelling titles — as selected by a crack team of Black Gate judges — were entered into the drawing. We drew two names from that list, and the two winners will both receive a free copy of The Watcher at the Door, complements of Haffner Press and Black Gate magazine.

So let’s get right to it. The first job was to select the Top 25 entries from the numerous submissions we received over the past 9 days — no easy task, let me tell you. But after much agonizing debate (and two brief fist fights), here are the judges selections.

  1. Bob Cooper — Give Me Back My Heads!
  2. Chris Dodson — Wrath of the Mad King in the Golden Tower
  3. Kyle Crider — O, Slime That Yearneth and Singeth Out
  4. Amy Bisson — The Crystal Scimitar of Doom!
  5. George Kelley — Vampires of the Obsidian Void
  6. William White — The Lilt in Her Voice, the Grin on Her Face

    7. …

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New Treasures: The Catcher’s Trap by Ricardo Henriquez

New Treasures: The Catcher’s Trap by Ricardo Henriquez

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Inkshares is a crowdfunded publisher, with kind of an oddball business model. They publish only those books that have a successful crowdfunding campaign — i.e. those that meet a designated pre-order threshold. Inkshares says this is “democratizing publishing” by having readers select what gets published, and they do claim to edit, design, print, distribute and market any book that meets their threshold.

I can attest to at least two aspects of that claim: the book I’m holding in my hands, Ricardo Henriquez’s The Catcher’s Trap, is thoroughly professional in design and layout — which makes it two steps above most small press titles that cross my desk, anyway. They also have a nice selection of blurbs on the back, and they sent me a review copy… so they seem to be no slouches in the marketing department either. The release that accompanies the book proudly claims they’ve published 61 titles since launching in February 2014; that ain’t bad at all.

But are the books any good? Really, that’s the question. The Catcher’s Trap looks intriguing enough. I should probably try it, but I’m not gonna. You try it.

The Catcher’s Trap was published by Inkshares on November 8, 2016. It is 241 pages, priced at $13.99 in trade paperback and $4.99 for the digital version. The cover was designed by Marc Cohen. Click the images above for bigger versions.

The Top 50 Black Gate Posts in November

The Top 50 Black Gate Posts in November

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astonishing-swordsmen-and-sorcerers-of-hyperborea-smallIf there was a popular topic at Black Gate last month, it was Jeffrey Talanian’s role playing game Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea. Gabe Dybing interviewed Jeffrey for us on November 11, and Bob Byrne wrote a brief feature on the runaway success of the Kickstarter campaign to fund a second edition of the rules — and both articles leaped into the Top Ten for the month.

The number one post at Black Gate in November was our report on the contents of Rich Horton’s The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy: 2017, followed by Mark Rigney’s open letter to George R. R. Martin and the producers of Game Of Thrones. Coming in at number three was Howard Andrew Jones’ heartfelt response to the election, Seeking Solace.

Rounding out the Top Five for the month was our report on Asimov’s SF and Analog magazines switching to bimonthly publication, followed by C.S.E. Cooney’s rave review of the new Saga anthology The Starlit Wood, edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe.

Anthologies were a hot topic in November. Our third anthology feature, on Hank Davis’ Things From Outer Space, came in at number seven, and Sean McLachlan’s fascinating article on the Iraqui science fiction anthology Iraq + 100 was the ninth’s most popular for the month. Wrapping up the Top Ten was Derek Kunsken’s review of Doctor Strange.

The complete list of Top Articles for November 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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Future Treasures: Galactic Empires, edited by Neil Clarke

Future Treasures: Galactic Empires, edited by Neil Clarke

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galactic-empires-neil-clarke-small2016 was another great year for anthologies. I haven’t read them all of course — not even close — but some of my favorites so far include Things From Outer Space, edited by Hank Davis, What the #@&% Is That? by John Joseph Adams and Douglas Cohen, Bridging Infinity, from Jonathan Strahan, Women of Futures Past, edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and Drowned Worlds, also from the mighty Jonathan Strahan. Not to mention the various Best of the Year volumes, of course.

2016 is already looking pretty jammed packed with great anthologies as well. But the first must-read anthology of the year, no question, is Neil Clarke’s Galactic Empires, an ambitious (read: huge) collection of SF tales featuring far-flung confederations in the stars. The TOC is a who’s-who of virtually everyone doing important work at short length in science fiction, including Paul J. McAuley, Ann Leckie, Brandon Sanderson, Greg Egan, Aliette de Bodard, Neal Asher, Yoon Ha Lee, Tobias S. Buckell, Robert Silverberg, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Robert Reed, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Naomi Novik, Ian McDonald and many others.

Galactic Empires will be published in trade paperback and digital formats by Night Shade Books next month. Here’s the description.

From E. E. “Doc” Smith’s Lensman, to George Lucas’ Star Wars, the politics and process of Empire have been a major subject of science fiction’s galaxy-spanning fictions. The idiom of the Galactic Empire allows science fiction writers to ask (and answer) questions that are shorn of contemporary political ideologies and allegiances. This simple narrative slight of hand allows readers and writers to see questions and answers from new and different perspectives.

The stories in this book do just that. What social, political, and economic issues do the organizing structure of “empire” address? Often the size, shape, and fates of empires are determined not only by individuals, but by geography, natural forces, and technology. As the speed of travel and rates of effective communication increase, so too does the size and reach of an Imperial bureaucracy.

Sic itur ad astra — “Thus one journeys to the stars.”

Note that Gardner Dozois edited a collection with the same title for the Science Fiction Book Club back in 2008 (we covered that one here). It’s a popular title; we don’t judge.

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Romeo and Juliet with Undead, an Underworld, and a Juliet Who Kicks Butt: Bright Smoke, Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge

Romeo and Juliet with Undead, an Underworld, and a Juliet Who Kicks Butt: Bright Smoke, Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge

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bright-smoke-cold-fire-smallWhen I published her story “Apotheosis” in the final issue of Black Gate, Rosamund Hodge was a brand new writer, with only three published stories under her belt. Now she’s an acclaimed fantasy novelist, with two YA novels, Cruel Beauty and Crimson Bound to her credit, and a highly anticipated new book. Can I pick ’em, or what?

Bright Smoke, Cold Fire was released in hardcover from Balzer + Bray in September; it is the opening novel in a duology based on Romeo and Juliet (with necromancers). School Library Journal writes: “Hodge creates a world ravaged by the Ruining, a fog that killed the living and allowed the dead to walk… [with] magic, an underworld, and a Juliet who kicks butt.”

When the mysterious fog of the Ruining crept over the world, the living died and the dead rose. Only the walled city of Viyara was left untouched.

The heirs of the city’s most powerful — and warring — families, Mahyanai Romeo and Juliet Catresou, share a love deeper than duty, honor, even life itself. But the magic laid on the Juliet at birth compels her to punish the enemies of her clan — and Romeo has just killed her cousin Tybalt. Which means he must die.

Paris Catresou has always wanted to serve his family by guarding the Juliet. But when his ward tries to escape her fate, magic goes terribly wrong — killing her and leaving Paris bound to Romeo. If he wants to discover the truth of what happened, Paris must delve deep into the city, ally with his worst enemy… and perhaps turn against his own clan.

Mahyanai Runajo only wants to protect her city — but she’s the only one who believes it’s in peril. In her desperate hunt for information, she accidentally pulls Juliet from the mouth of death—and finds herself bound to the bitter, angry girl. Runajo quickly discovers Juliet might be the one person who can help her recover the secret to saving Viyara.

Both pairs will find friendship where they least expect it. Both will find that Viyara holds more secrets and dangers than anyone ever expected. And outside the walls, death is waiting…

Bright Smoke, Cold Fire was published by Balzer + Bray on September 27, 2016. It is 448 pages, priced at $17.99 in hardcover and $9.99 for the digital version. See all our coverage of the latest released from Black Gate writers here.

December 2016 Clarkesworld Now Available

December 2016 Clarkesworld Now Available

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clarkesworld-december-2016-smallIn his article “The Joy of Helping” in the latest Clarkesworld, writer and translator Ken Liu (The Wall of Storms, Invisible Planets) says some splendidly on-point things about helping others.

The truth is: It feels good to help people. Even today, much of my motivation in editing and translating stories from China is still tied up with this satisfaction of helping writers reach readers. Surely I would have written more original works and made more money without these translations — but I think I wouldn’t have been as happy.

And we don’t acknowledge and celebrate the joy of helping enough.

It’s also important to acknowledge that we like to be helped. I have been helped countless times in my career by friends, editors, readers, fellow authors—even Invisible Planets wouldn’t have been possible without the help of all the authors and many others along the way. All of us have probably had experiences where a friend’s insightful comments improved our stories… or we got onto a panel because someone more famous and accomplished thought it helpful to boost our voices. The sun feels brighter on those days, and even the writing seems to come out of the word-mines more easily.

It’s nice to be able to make someone feel that, isn’t it?

As freelancers in the uncertain publishing industry, writers are bombarded with advice on how to develop our careers and to think strategically. Sometimes it almost seems as if we’re supposed to feel foolish if our motivation for doing something is simply to help someone with no expectation of any advantage whatsoever. And if we do receive help, we are conditioned to think of it as part of some implied exchange, a favor owed that might be called in someday. Neither reaction, I submit, is necessary. Helping someone truly is its own reward.

Preach, brother Liu! It’s there’s one thing I’ve learned in 17 years publishing Black Gate, it’s that the biggest rewards always come from promoting others. Read Ken’s complete piece here.

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New Treasures: Kojiki by Keith Yatsuhashi

New Treasures: Kojiki by Keith Yatsuhashi

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I attended Keith Yatsuhashi’s reading at the World Science Fiction convention in August. He read the opening section of his debut novel Kojiki, and I found myself very intrigued. Afterwards Keith very kindly gave me his reading copy, and I brought it home to Chicago, where it quickly became a favorite here in the Black Gate offices. Angry Robot has announced that the sequel, Kokoro, will arrive early next year.

Every civilization has its myths. Only one is true.

When eighteen year old Keiko Yamada’s father dies unexpectedly, he leaves behind a one way ticket to Japan, an unintelligible death poem about powerful Japanese spirits and their gigantic, beast-like Guardians, and the cryptic words: “Go to Japan in my place. Find the Gate. My camera will show you the way.”

Alone and afraid, Keiko travels to Tokyo, determined to fulfil her father’s dying wish. There, beneath glittering neon signs, her father’s death poem comes to life. Ancient spirits spring from the shadows. Chaos envelops the city, and as Keiko flees its burning streets, her guide, the beautiful Yui Akiko, makes a stunning confession – that she, Yui, is one of a handful of spirits left behind to defend the world against the most powerful among them: a once noble spirit now insane. Keiko must decide if she will honour her father’s heritage and take her rightful place among the gods.

Kojiki was published in paperback by Angry Robot on August 2, 2016. It is 447 pages and priced at $7.99, or $4.99 for the digital version. The cover is by Thomas Walker. The sequel, Kokoro, will be published by Angry Robot on April 4, 2017

Last Chance to Win The Watcher at the Door: The Early Kuttner, Volume Two!

Last Chance to Win The Watcher at the Door: The Early Kuttner, Volume Two!

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The Watcher at the Door-smallAck! Time is running out for you to win one of the two copies of The Watcher at the Door: The Early Kuttner, Volume Two we’re giving away. And trust us, you really want this book. The latest archival quality hardcover from Haffner Press is a massive collection of 30 early weird fantasy tales by Henry Kuttner, and we’ve been awaiting this gorgeous book for a long, long time. We first gave you a sneak peek back in April 2015.

The Watcher at the Door is the second volume in a three-volume “Early Kuttner” set collecting many of Kuttner’s earliest stories, most of which have never been reprinted. The first volume, Terror in the House, was released way back in 2010.

How do you enter? Simplicity itself. Just submit the title of an imaginary weird fantasy story. The most compelling titles — as selected by a crack team of Black Gate judges — will be entered into a drawing. We’ll draw two names from that list, and the two winners will receive a free copy of The Watcher at the Door, complements of Haffner Press and Black Gate magazine.

How hard is that? One submission per person, please. Winners will be contacted by e-mail, so use a real e-mail address maybe. All submissions must be sent to john@blackgate.com, with the subject line The Watcher at the Door, or something obvious like that so I don’t randomly delete it.

All entries become the property of New Epoch Press. No purchase necessary. Must be 12 or older. Decisions of the judges (capricious as they may be) are final. Sorry, US only. Not valid where prohibited by law.

The Watcher at the Door: The Early Kuttner, Volume Two is 700 pages in high-quality hardcover format, with an introduction by Dr. Garyn G. Roberts and a foreword by Robert A. Madle. It is edited by Stephen Haffner, and was published October 28, 2016. The cover price is $45. Cover art is by Jon Arfstrom. See the complete TOC here. The book is available directly from Haffner Press.

Future Treasures: The Twenty Sided Sorceress, Volume Two: Boss Fight, by Annie Bellet

Future Treasures: The Twenty Sided Sorceress, Volume Two: Boss Fight, by Annie Bellet

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I love omnibus volumes. I did a series on them a while back, looking at inexpensive paperback omnibus (omnibi?) volumes from C.J. Cherryh, Andre Norton, Murray Leinster, James H. Schmitz, Steven Brust, Jack Vance, and others.

But omnibus novel collections aren’t just for classic writers — oh, no. Saga Press is putting the format to good use collecting Annie Belett’s bestselling fantasy series The Twenty Sided Sorceress, which originally appeared from a small press. The first volume, Level Grind, was published in October; the second, Boss Fight, arrives next month and collects three more novels: Heartache, Thicker Than Blood, and Magic to the Bone. Separated from her friends, their fates unknown, and without her magic, Jade must stop fighting on Samir’s terms or else her next battle will be her last.

Level up. Or die.

Jade Crow and her friends faced their worst enemy, her ex-boyfriend Samir, the most powerful sorcerer in the world, and they now lie defeated, and flung across the wilderness.

Samir had trained Jade to be a sorceress, to mold her in his image, until she rejected him and escaped here to Wylde. Jade must stop fighting on Samir’s terms or else her next battle will be her last. Leveled up and wiser, Jade stands a chance this time, if she follows the true calling of her power, and changes the playing field. Everything has been leading up to this… Roll for initiative!

This is the omnibus of the next three volumes in the USA Today bestselling fantasy series, Heartache; Thicker Than Blood; Magic to the Bone, collected together for the first time in print.

The Twenty Sided Sorceress, Volume Two: Boss Fight will be published by Saga Press on January 3, 2017. It is 397 pages, priced at $27.99 in hardcover and $15.99 in trade paperback.The cover is by Chris McGrath.

For the Love of Monster Comics

For the Love of Monster Comics

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A few months back I spent almost $40 on eBay to acquire two dozen Monsters on the Prowl comics — late 60s and early 70s Marvel monster titles featuring the imaginative work of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and the entire Marvel bullpen at the height of their creative powers.

It was an impulse buy for sure — not the first I’ve done on eBay, and I strongly suspect it won’t be the last — and I half-expected I’d regret it almost immediately. Or at least, as soon at the package arrived. But the opposite happened. The moment I held those beautiful old artifacts in my hands, I did feel regret. But not the way I expected.

My immediate thought was, Why didn’t I bid on a lot more of these?

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