Browsed by
Author: John ONeill

Black Gate Online Fiction: An Exclusive Excerpt from The Wall of Storms by Ken Liu

Black Gate Online Fiction: An Exclusive Excerpt from The Wall of Storms by Ken Liu

Comments 1 comment

the-wall-of-storms-banner

Black Gate is very pleased to offer our readers an exclusive excerpt from Chapter One of Ken’s Liu’s The Wall of Storms, the second novel of The Dandelion Dynasty, published in hardcover and digital formats last month by Saga Press. Here’s the description.

In the much-anticipated sequel to the “magnificent fantasy epic” (NPR) Grace of Kings, Emperor Kuni Garu is faced with the invasion of an invincible army in his kingdom and must quickly find a way to defeat the intruders. Kuni Garu, now known as Emperor Ragin, runs the archipelago kingdom of Dara, but struggles to maintain progress while serving the demands of the people and his vision. Then an unexpected invading force from the Lyucu empire in the far distant west comes to the shores of Dara — and chaos results.

But Emperor Kuni cannot go and lead his kingdom against the threat himself with his recently healed empire fraying at the seams, so he sends the only people he trusts to be Dara’s savvy and cunning hopes against the invincible invaders: his children, now grown and ready to make their mark on history.

The Grace of Kings, Ken Liu’s debut novel and the opening novel of The Dandelion Dynasty, was nominated for the Nebula Award, and won the Locus Award for Best First Novel. His short story collection The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories was called “Profound enough to hurt” by Amal El-Mohtar of NPR, and his acclaimed translation of Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2015.

…

Read More Read More

At Long Last, the World Begins to Appreciate Claire Suzanne Elizabeth Cooney

At Long Last, the World Begins to Appreciate Claire Suzanne Elizabeth Cooney

Comments 3 comments

cse-cooney-small

Claire Cooney, who writes under the name CSE Cooney, was Black Gate‘s first website editor, and we published two of her short stories, “Godmother Lizard” and “Life on the Sun,” as part of our Black Gate Online Fiction library. I was sitting next to Claire three weeks ago when she won the World Fantasy Award for her groundbreaking debut collection Bone Swans, and I watched in pleasant surprise as the crowd around us exploded in cheers. It seems that, at long last, the world is starting to appreciate what those of us in the BG community have long known: CSE Cooney is one of the genre’s most gifted writers.

Today The Westerly Sun published a fine feature on Claire, titled “World award is no fantasy for Westerly author Claire Cooney.” Here’s a snippet.

“I had no expectation of winning so I didn’t prepare any comments,” said Cooney, whose stories take readers on fantastical journeys through reimagined fairy tales and myths. “I just sat there saying ‘No way’ … until my friends started screaming.”

Cooney describes her writing as secondary world fantasy, similar in genre to the work of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Her writing features flying carpets, strange clowns and pied pipers, she said, with strong female characters and people who turn into things. “Swords and sorcery,” said the writer who has been influenced by such fairy tales as the The Pied Piper and Rumpelstilskin…

The World Fantasy Award is one of the three big awards given in her fantasy genre, and Cooney faced stiff competition in a category that included a Pulitzer Prize finalist and two career retrospectives from well-established international writers.

Read the complete article, written by Nancy Burns-Fusaro, here, and read the Nebula-nominated title story “The Bone Swans of Amandale” online here.

New Treasures: The Supernaturals by David L. Golemon

New Treasures: The Supernaturals by David L. Golemon

Comments 0 Comment

the-supernaturals-david-golemon-smallI don’t know about you lot, but here in Chicago, a blustery wind just blew through the city and temperatures have plummeted 25 degrees. Dead leaves are blowing across the streets by the thousands, and the water in the bird feeder froze overnight. Fall is well and truly here, and the only way to manage it is to sit by the window, listen to the wind blow through the trees, and curl up under a blanket with a good creepy book.

David L. Golemon (author of the Event Group Thrillers) has a new haunted house novel out in hardcover from Thomas Dunne Books that fits the bill nicely.

Built at the turn of the twentieth century by one of the richest and most powerful men in the world tucked away in the pristine Pocono Mountains, Summer Place, a retreat for the rich and famous, seems the very essence of charm and beauty, “a scene borrowed from a wondrous fairytale of gingerbread houses, bright forests, and glowing, sunny meadows.”

But behind the yellow and white trimmed exterior lurks an evil, waiting to devour the unwary…

Seven years ago, Professor Gabriel Kennedy’s investigation into paranormal activity at Summer Place ended in tragedy, and destroyed his career. Now, Kelly Delaphoy, the ambitious producer of a top-rated ghost-hunting television series, is determined to make Summer Place the centerpiece of an epic live broadcast on Halloween night. To ensure success, she needs help from the one man who has come face-to-face with the evil that dwells in Summer Place, a man still haunted by the ghosts of his own failure. Disgraced and alienated from the academic community, Kennedy wants nothing to do with the event. But Summer Place has other plans…

As Summer Place grows stronger, Kennedy, along with the paranormal ghost hunting team, The Supernaturals, sets out to confront… and if possible, destroy… the evil presence dwelling there.

The Supernaturals was published by Thomas Dunne Books on October 18, 2016. It is 383 pages, priced at $26.99 in hardcover and $12.99 for the digital edition. The cover was designed by Jerry Todd.

John DeNardo on the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Reads for November

John DeNardo on the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Reads for November

Comments 1 comment
alien-morning-rick-wilber-small dead-on-the-bones-joe-r-lansdale-small remnants-of-trust-elizabeth-bonesteel-small

How does John DeNardo pick the best books every month? “Jedi Mind Tricks,” he tells me. Fine. Keep your secrets, DeNardo. We probably wouldn’t believe the answer, anyway.

John’s picks for November include new titles from Bruce Sterling, Anne Rice, Jean Johnson, Ken MacLeod, Rachel Neumeier, and many others. Here he is on Alien Morning by Rick Wilber

When seemingly-benevolent aliens arrive in our near-future and their true nature is revealed, the fate of two civilizations depends on the members of a family who have some serious issues to resolve… This near-future first contact story adds a personal element by placing a troubled family at the center of history-changing events.

And Remnants of Trust by Elizabeth Bonesteel, the sequel to The Cold Between.

Two central corps soldiers, patrolling an empty sector of space as punishment for trying to uncover a government conspiracy, receive a distress call from a ship embroiled in battle. When they arrive, they find nearly one hundred corpses. But are they dead because of attacking raiders or due to sabotage?… Remnants of Trust is an engaging blend of military science fiction, mystery, and thriller.

See John’s complete article at Kirkus Reviews.

…

Read More Read More

Future Treasures: Apes and Angels, the Newest Volume in the Star Quest Trilogy by Ben Bova

Future Treasures: Apes and Angels, the Newest Volume in the Star Quest Trilogy by Ben Bova

Comments 0 Comment
ben-bova-new-earth-small ben-bova-death-wave-small ben-bova-apes-and-angels-small

When I was a teenager in Ottawa I attended the local SF convention, Maplecon, a marvelous con that I still miss today, without fail every year. In 1984 I was a volunteer, and I was assigned as the liaison for our Guest of Honor, author and editor Ben Bova. I picked Ben and his wife up from the airport and drove them around town, and got to know them pretty well. Ben was gracious, kind, and a marvelous conversationalist, and we talked about everything — various ways to express the laws of thermodynamics, the re-election of Ronald Reagan, his time as editor of Analog, and lots more. In fact, Ben was one of the first industry professionals I got to know personally, and he made a big impression on me.

As a writer, he’s been amazingly prolific over the past few decades, releasing 22 books in his Grand Tour SF series, which explore the solar system, as well as his Voyager series, his Sam Gunn stories, six novels in the Orion sequence, and nearly two dozen standalone novels and collections. His current project is the Star Quest Trilogy (part of the Grand Tour), which takes the series outside the solar system for the first time. New Earth (2013) sets the stage for the trilogy, which began with Death Wave (2015), and continues with Apes and Angels, arriving in hardcover from Tor Books at the end of this month.

…

Read More Read More

November 2016 Clarkesworld Now Available

November 2016 Clarkesworld Now Available

Comments 0 Comment

clarkesworld-122-smallI checked Tangent Online this morning to get their thoughts on the current issue of Clarkesworld, but their review isn’t up yet. Phooey. Fortunately, Charles Payseur at Quick Sip Reviews posted an enthusiastic review this week. Here’s his overview:

It’s another packed month at Clarkesworld with six original stories, including a rather charming novelette in translation. And it’s another month that is entirely science fiction, with a splash of science-fantasy thrown in for flavor. These are tales that show visions of the future, conflicts playing out for the soul of humanity and for the fate of planets. Many of the stories take their focus off of Earth to show what humanity is capable of, the way that it can move from place to place, leaving a trail of destruction behind it. There’s hope, though, too, and the stories also show the power that humanity can hold to create and to change and to love….

Yeah, Charles knows how to whet your appetite. I’m especially curious about that “charming novelette in translation,” which turns out to be “Western Heaven” by Chen Hongyu, translated by Andy Dudak. Here’s what he says (in part).

Aww. This is a rather adorable adventure story about a robot artist, Wu Kong, on an Earth still deeply tainted from humanity, who wants to see where humans went, the planet that they fled to in order to escape the destruction they had wrought, leaving the robots behind, abandoned. Wu Kong gathers up a small band of robots to accompany him and together they work to find where humanity went and answer the questions burning within them. What are humans like? What is the meaning of work? Why were robots created? It’s a story that moves along with a rather chipper feel, this great adventure that the robots are going on. It almost feels like an old animated film to me, fun and with robots with distinct styles and voices… An excellent read!

Here he is on “Afrofuturist 419” by Nnedi Okorafor, just because I love his one-line story description:

Well this is a very fun, funny, and creepy story about a Nigerian astronaut left in space for 14 years and finally coming home because of a viral scam letter… It’s another short work but it’s an excellent blend of audio and text, tension and mystery, horror and humor. Go read it!

Read Charles’ complete review of the issue here.

…

Read More Read More

Sentient Spaceships, Alien Derelicts, and Warring Empires: S.K. Dunstell’s Linesman Trilogy

Sentient Spaceships, Alien Derelicts, and Warring Empires: S.K. Dunstell’s Linesman Trilogy

Comments 3 comments
linesman-dunstall-small alliance-dunstall-small confluence-dunstall-small

I know a few collaborative writing teams who publish under a joint pseudonym (Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, for example, who publish the Expanse novels under the name James S. A. Corey), and I even know a few husband and wife writing teams (like Ann & Andres Aguirre, who write urban fantasy under the name A. A. Aguirre, and bestselling fantasy authors Ilona and Andrew Gordon, who write under the name Ilona Andrews). But I’d never heard of a pair of siblings writing under one name — or at least I hadn’t, until I came across Sherylyn and Karen Dunstall, who write together under the name “S.K. Dunstall.”

Their first book was Linesman, published in paperback by Ace in June of last year. My friend Sharon Shinn called it “Full of fast action, interplanetary intrigue, appealing characters, and a fascinating new take on the idea of the sentient spaceship.” My son Tim, who’s currently studying physics in college, read it in virtually one sitting, and loved it — so much so that when I gave him an advance proof of the second volume, Alliance, for Christmas last year, he happily disappeared for hours.

The third volume in what’s now being called the Linesman series, Confluence, arrives in paperback from Ace at the end of this month. Great timing! That’s my Christmas shopping for Tim done.

…

Read More Read More

New Treasures: The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2016, edited by Karen Joy Fowler and John Joseph Adams

New Treasures: The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2016, edited by Karen Joy Fowler and John Joseph Adams

Comments 0 Comment
the-best-american-science-fiction-and-fantasy-2016-smaller the-best-american-science-fiction-and-fantasy-2016-small

Last year Mariner Books added an inaugural SF and fantasy volume, The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, to their highly regarded annual anthology series, which includes Best American Short Stories, Best American Mystery Stories, Best American Science and Nature Writing, and others. John Joseph Adams is the series editor; the 2015 edition was edited by Joe Hill and was one of the stronger Best of the Year anthologies from last year. (Check out the compete TOC for that first volume here.)

This year’s volume is edited by Karen Joy Fowler. It includes fantasy tales by Sofia Samatar, Rachel Swirsky, Salman Rushdie, Maria Dahvana Headley, Sam J. Miller, and others, and science fiction by Kelly Link, Catherynne M. Valente, Dale Bailey, Charlie Jane Anders, Ted Chiang, and many others.

It was published in trade paperback in October, and includes a foreword by John Joseph Adams, and an introduction by Karen Joy Fowler. It’s the eleventh and last of the major Best of the Year anthologies to appear this year, and it brings to a close the publishing season that began with Nebula Awards Showcase 2016 back in May.

Here’s the complete Table of Contents for The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2016.

…

Read More Read More

Asimov’s SF and Analog Magazine Switch to Bi-Monthly Publication

Asimov’s SF and Analog Magazine Switch to Bi-Monthly Publication

Comments 7 comments

asimovs-science-fiction-april-1993-smallWay back in January 2009, F&SF edition Gordon Van Gelder announced that his magazine would be switching to bimonthly publication. Instead of 11 issues a year, including a special double-sized issue every October, F&SF would publish six double issues a year, in an attempt to reduce mailing costs and other overhead. At the time there were ominous rumblings and dire prophecies, but it seems to have worked out nicely for the magazine, which has been been publishing regularly every since.

Since then I’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop — meaning, when would the two remaining print SF magazines, Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact and Asimov’s Science Fiction, follow suit? And on Wednesday Locus Online broke the news that both magazines would be switching to bimonthly publication starting in January 2017.

Asimov’s editor Sheila Williams explains in a forthcoming editorial that the magazines will now publish “six 208-page double issues” per year, a 16-page increase over current double issues. She expects the change will allow her to publish more novellas and a higher percentage of original cover art. Despite the change in publication schedule, she says readers “will receive the same number of pages of fiction as in the past,” and subscribers will “receive the same number of issue months” they purchased. Publishing bimonthly will allow them “to hold the current subscription prices a bit longer.” Both periodicals are published by Dell Magazines.

Speaking as someone who enjoys the big double issues, I view this as a positive development — and anything that helps the magazines save costs is a good thing. The current double-issue size is 192 pages, so the increase to 208 pages is another welcome change. However, it is a rather historic milestone for the genre. As Jonathan Strahan puts it:

Moving to a point where we have no monthly print fiction magazines left seems like some sort of turning point, though I don’t know towards what.

Visit the Asimov’s website here, and Analog here. See our November Fantasy Magazine Rack here, and all of our recent Magazine coverage here.

Celebrate a Glorious Half Century with The Best of Star Trek: Volume 2 – Fifty Years of Star Trek

Celebrate a Glorious Half Century with The Best of Star Trek: Volume 2 – Fifty Years of Star Trek

Comments 0 Comment

50-years-of-star-trek-volume-2-smallI’ve been celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Star Trek in my own way. Meaning I’ve been giving in to impulse buys, and snatching up those commemorative photo-books and magazines when I see them. Yeah, they’re sometimes a little lacking in depth, but it doesn’t matter. I buy them mostly for the marvelously nostalgic photos, for the way they manage to make Star Trek — one of our most venerable franchises — young again.

Titan Comics has been publishing the official Star Trek magazine since 1995, and they collected collected some of the best articles from that magazine in The Best of Star Trek: Volume 1 – The Movies (June 2016). This is the second volume in that set, covering the various broadcast series. It will be available at the end of the month.

The 50-year history of Star Trek, as told by the people who were there – every cast member interviewed.

From the vaults of Star Trek Magazine, we celebrate a half-century of Star Trek in a volume packed with classic archive interviews with every lead cast member, from William Shatner to Patrick Stewart, to Chris Pine and beyond. Featuring every incarnation of world’s favorite sci-fi saga, including the stars of the original series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, and the Trek movies, familiar faces reveal the true story behind the greatest moments in the fifty-year history of Star Trek.

Celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the world’s favorite sci-fi saga, this special collection of cast interviews tells the true story behind the making of Star Trek. Join us as we revisit classic interviews with the entire casts of every Star Trek series, including William Shatner (Captain Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Spock), Patrick Stewart (Jean Luc Picard), Brent Spiner (Data), Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway), Jolene Blaylock (T’Pol), and many more. We’ll also discover how actors Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Zoe Saldana (Uhura), and the stars of the recent movies made the characters their own.

The Best of Star Trek: Volume 2 – Fifty Years of Star Trek will be published by Titan Comics on November 29, 2016. It is 176 pages in full color, priced at $19.99 for both the trade and digital editions.