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Author: John ONeill

Alan Moore’s Jerusalem Arrives Next Week

Alan Moore’s Jerusalem Arrives Next Week

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Alan Moore is one of the most celebrated writers of the last 30 years. His most famous work — including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, From Hell, Batman: The Killing Joke, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen — is arguably the canonical literature of modern comics. And let’s face it, whether you’re a comics reader or not, the most valuable media properties on the planet today (Batman, Iron Man, Superman, X-Men, Spider-Man, Captain America, and Deadpool, just to name a handful) all trace their first seminal steps into the world of adult literature directly to the early comics of Alan Moore.

Jerusalem is — by far — Moore’s most ambitious work. Among comics fans it has acquired an almost legendary status, as Moore has been working on it — and dropping cryptic hints about it — for roughly a decade. In his 2012 review of Moore’s first novel, Voice of the Fire, Matthew David Surridge summarized some of the anticipation surrounding Jerusalem.

How do you follow a book like this? Moore’s currently working on his second novel, Jerusalem. It’s scheduled for publication in autumn of 2013; reports suggest it’ll be 750,000 words long (about the length of two volumes of A Song of Ice and Fire put together), be set entirely in an area of a few city blocks in Moore’s home of Northampton, and, according to Moore, disprove the existence of death. It’ll be concerned with time, different chapters set in different eras; like Voice of the Fire, it seems. What transformations will we see in it? How different will it be? Voice of the Fire‘s a strong book that, in its ellipses, promises more. Now that we shall have. What spirits shall we see? What work shall it accomplish?

At 1280 pages, one thing’s for certain: Jerusalem certainly delivers more. What’s it about, then? Well, that’s sort of hard to describe.

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Is Robert Reed the New Century’s Most Compelling SF Voice?

Is Robert Reed the New Century’s Most Compelling SF Voice?

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The Memory of Sky wraparound cover

Last month I finally got around to picking up a copy of Robert Reed’s massive collection The Greatship (which I talked about here.) It collects 11 tales — plus a bunch of new connecting material — in his Greatship saga, set on a vast spaceship relic that is larger than worlds, and which contains thousands of alien species.

I’m glad I had the chance to familiarize myself with the Greatship tales, as that came in handy last month at Worldcon in Kansas City. I attended the Asimov’s SF group reading, hosted by editor Sheila Williams, and found it an insightful and entertaining hour, as writers James Patrick Kelly, Connie Willis, Steve Rasnic Tem, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Robert Reed all read from recent or upcoming tales published in the magazine. Robert Reed, whom Sheila calls the writer with the most stories in Asimov’s (“by quite a bit”), read from an unpublished Greatships novella coming in the magazine next year, and it was totally captivating. It certainly helped pique my interest in the series, and it was pretty high to begin with.

[As the panel got started James Patrick Kelly exhorted the audience to “check out the new website — it’s so much better than the old one!” Sheila, with an uncomfortable glance at me, said she didn’t feel right disparaging the old website, “since the person who designed it is sitting in the audience.” I helped Sheila launch the Asimov’s website at SF Site roughly two decades ago, and in fact it was Rodger Turner who did most of the heavy lifting, so it certainly was no insult to me that they’d finally upgraded to a much superior design. I don’t usually like to interrupt panels, but this time I was happy to shout out “Disparage away!”]

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Vintage Treasures: The Best Science Fiction of the Year #3, edited by Terry Carr

Vintage Treasures: The Best Science Fiction of the Year #3, edited by Terry Carr

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The Best Science Fiction of the Year 3 Terry Carr-small The Best Science Fiction of the Year 3 Terry Carr back-small

How did Terry Carr’s Best Science Fiction of the Year paperback anthology series last an incredible sixteen years, from 1972 until his death in 1987?

It’s not that hard to figure out. When early volumes were as amazing as #3, released in July 1974, it didn’t take long for these books to establish a stellar reputation — and a staunchly loyal readership.

How incredible was The Best Science Fiction of the Year #3?

It contains some of the finest science fiction stories of all time, packed into one slender volume. Like “The Women Men Don’t See” by James Tiptree, Jr… perhaps her most famous story, and that’s saying something. And Vonda N. McIntyre’s Nebula Award-winning “Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand,” which became the basis of her 1978 novel Dreamsnake (which swept the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards the following year.) And Harlan Ellison’s classic “The Deathbird,” the Hugo and Locus Award-winning title story of his celebrated 1975 collection Deathbird Stories. Plus Gene Wolfe’s famous “The Death of Dr. Island,” winner of the Locus and Nebula awards for Best Novella.

And an unassuming little story by a young writer named Ursula K. Le Guin, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” which won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story, and is considered by many (me included) to be one of the finest short stories ever written. And lots more — including a Jack Vance novella, plus stories by Philip José Farmer, Alfred Bester, R. A. Lafferty, Robert Silverberg, and F. M. Busby. All for $1.50!

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Beneath Ceaseless Skies 207 Now Available

Beneath Ceaseless Skies 207 Now Available

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Beneath Ceaseless Skies 207-smallBlack Gate is up against Beneath Ceaseless Skies for a World Fantasy Award this year, and I don’t mind telling you, that’s some stiff competition. BCS has been publishing since October 2008 — nearly 8 years — hitting its bimonthly schedule without missing a beat. Speaking as someone who managed one issue a year, that’s pretty impressive. It’s become one of the top markets for Adventure Fantasy, and has published stories by Aliette de Bodard, Gemma Files, Catherynne M. Valente, Fran Wilde, Kameron Hurley, E. Catherine Tobler, Tina Connolly, Sarah Pinsker, Cat Rambo, Yoon Ha Lee, K.J. Parker, Rachel Swirsky, Bruce McAllister, Saladin Ahmed, Carrie Vaughn, and many others.

Of particular note to Black Gate readers, they’ve also published a fair number of BG authors, including Derek Künsken, Rosamund Hodge, Richard Parks, Brian Dolton, and Chris Willrich.

If you haven’t made the time to check it out, it’s not too late. Issue #207 of Beneath Ceaseless Skies is now available, completely free on their website. It is dated September 1 and features fiction by Marie Brennan and Thomas M. Waldroon, a podcast by Marie Brennan, a Audio Vault podcast by Marie Brennan, and a Novel Excerpt by James Morrow. Here’s the complete Table of Contents.

“To Rise No More” by Marie Brennan
Ada shook her head, staring once more at the Thames. “I do not think what I had in mind will work. The size of the wing, if it is to be large enough to lift me—my body cannot possibly generate enough force to move it. Not with the speed required.” Especially not when she kept growing. Every inch meant more weight for the wings to lift, without a commensurate gain in strength.

“George & Frank Tarr, Boy Avencherers, in ‘Beeyon the Shours We Knowe!!!!’” by Thomas M. Waldroon
Where’s it all come from? George wondered. Where you think it comes from? Frank scoffed. It’s fields and roads and house lots. It’s America, running westwards to somewhere else, anywhere else, someplace maybe better, like Great-Grandpaps did, and like Papa did, and just like we’re doing.

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New Treasures: Warren the 13th and The All-Seeing Eye by Tania Del Rio and Will Staehle

New Treasures: Warren the 13th and The All-Seeing Eye by Tania Del Rio and Will Staehle

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Looking over Will Staehle’s art for the book Warren the 13th and The All-Seeing Eye, I’ve never been closer to believing Lewis Carroll’s adage that all good books must be illustrated.

12 year-old Warren is the sole surviving heir to a grand (but rapidly decaying) old hotel. When a strange bandaged guest arrives, Warren’s deliciously self-absorbed Aunt Annaconda soon becomes convinced that he’s after the All-Seeing Eye, a magnificent treasure that family legend says is hidden someone on the property. The result is a madcap treasure hunt and Warren, determined to find his rightful inheritance first, soon joins the search. But first he’ll have to contend with strange monsters, sinister witches, bizarre mazes and secret codes, and a long-forgotten riddle.

This 224-page book is heavily illustrated, with art on virtually every page. The New York Times Book Review calls it “an engaging mystery… with a few nice twists and surprises along the way,” and Publishers Weekly says it’s “stylish, exciting, funny, and just slightly macabre.” That’s good to know, but I can make up my mind on Staehle’s artwork right now — and I think it’s fantastic.

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Future Treasures: Everfair by Nisi Shawl

Future Treasures: Everfair by Nisi Shawl

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Everfair-smallNisi Shawl has been writing short stories for over two decades, and her long awaited first novel, an historical fantasy steampunk tale set in the Belgian Congo, will be released this week. It explores one of the darkest periods in human history — King Leopold’s African holocaust — and imagines what might have been if the native peoples of the Congo had developed steam technology of their own. It’s a fascinating premise, and Everfair is one of the most intriguing literary offerings of the fall.

Everfair is a wonderful Neo-Victorian alternate history novel that explores the question of what might have come of Belgium’s disastrous colonization of the Congo if the native populations had learned about steam technology a bit earlier. Fabian Socialists from Great Britian join forces with African-American missionaries to purchase land from the Belgian Congo’s “owner,” King Leopold II. This land, named Everfair, is set aside as a safe haven, an imaginary Utopia for native populations of the Congo as well as escaped slaves returning from America and other places where African natives were being mistreated.

Nisi Shawl’s speculative masterpiece manages to turn one of the worst human rights disasters on record into a marvelous and exciting exploration of the possibilities inherent in a turn of history. Everfair is told from a multiplicity of voices: Africans, Europeans, East Asians, and African Americans in complex relationships with one another, in a compelling range of voices that have historically been silenced. Everfair is not only a beautiful book but an educational and inspiring one that will give the reader new insight into an often ignored period of history.

Everfair will be published by Tor Books on September 6, 2016. It is 384 pages, priced at $26.99 in hardcover and $12.99 for the digital edition. The cover is by Victo Ngai.

Read a sample chapter at Tor.com.

The Life of a Reprint Anthologist: Paula Guran’s Research Stack for the Upcoming Swords Against Darkness

The Life of a Reprint Anthologist: Paula Guran’s Research Stack for the Upcoming Swords Against Darkness

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Paula Guran's sword and sorcery research

Paula Guran has my dream job. She’s currently deep into the research phase for her upcoming Swords Against Darkness (named, she says, partly in tribute to Andrew J. Offutt’s classic line of 70s Zebra anthologies). And last week she posted this pic of her current reading stack, saying:

Life of a Reprint Anthologist: This is not even HALF the research sources for Swords Against Darkness (a sword & sorcery anthology for next year).

Check out those gorgeous Black Gate magazines in the second stack!

I think Paula is the perfect editor to tackle this job. She has excellent taste, and she’s already proven — in numerous excellent recent anthologies such as Weird Detectives, New Cthulhu 2, and The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2016 — that she brings a fresh eye to fantasy.

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Gods, Monsters and Mayhem: The Pantheon Novels of James Lovegrove

Gods, Monsters and Mayhem: The Pantheon Novels of James Lovegrove

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Age of Shiva James Lovegrove-small Age of Heroes James Lovegrove-small

One of my all-time favorite fantasy novels is Roger Zelazny’s Hugo-winning Lord of Light, a richly original science fantasy of one man’s attempt to stop an elitist cabal from setting themselves up as gods on a newly colonized world, using the gods of the Hindu pantheon as a template. James Lovegrove’s 8-volume Pantheon series is, if anything, even more ambitious than that groundbreaking work, as each volume uses a different pantheon of gods to spin a standalone tale of mythological mayhem.

The series began with The Age of Ra in 2009, and continued in six additional novels and one collection, Godpunk. The most recent, Age of Shiva, which borrows from god of the Hindu Pantheon, arrived in 2014, and the next volume, Age of Heroes, which features the Gods of Greece, arrives in paperback next week.

For anyone looking for their next big SF adventure series, the Pantheon novels make a fine candidate. Here’s the complete list of titles.

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August 2016 Apex Magazine Now Available

August 2016 Apex Magazine Now Available

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Apex August 2016-smallI’m long overdue to check in on Apex magazine — I haven’t covered an issue since April. The September issue is due in just a few days, but I love Marcela Bolívar’s August cover so much I’m not going to wait for it.

Jason Sizemore gives us the complete scoop on the contents in his editorial.

Welcome to issue 87 – the issue where we break your heart…

“The Gentleman of Chaos” by A. Merc Rustad is a dark fantasy that shows the rewards of a well-disciplined long game. “I Remember Your Face” by E.K. Wagner is a heartbreaking post-apocalyptic tale of revenge, loss, and sacrifice. “Fall to Her” by flash fiction master Alexis A. Hunter takes us on a journey of unforgettable grief in a thousand words.

Our reprints this month are “Paskutinis Iliuzija (The Last Illusion)” by Damien Angelica Walters and an excerpt from Stay Crazy (Apex Publications, 2016) by Erica L. Satifka. Poetry editor Bianca Spriggs has an impressive lineup of poems for us: “Not Like This” by Mary Soon Lee, “This Earth” by Frank Tota, “The Labyrinth Keeper” by Anton Rose, and “Perplexities” by Peter Venable…

Rounding out our content are interviews with A. Merc Rustad and cover artist Marcela Bolívar and the latest incarnation of A.C. Wise’s short fiction review series “Words for Thoughts.” Be sure to check out the podcast version of “A Gentleman of Chaos” by A. Merc Rustad as read by Mahvesh Murad.

Here’s the complete TOC, with links to all the free content.

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Magic, Intrigue, Adventure, and a Bit of Piracy: The Shades of Magic Trilogy by V. E. Schwab

Magic, Intrigue, Adventure, and a Bit of Piracy: The Shades of Magic Trilogy by V. E. Schwab

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The second book in V. E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic trilogy, A Gathering of Shadows, made her a New York Times bestselling author. It has become one of the most acclaimed and popular fantasy series in recent memory. Booklist says it’s “Full of magic, intrigue, adventure, deception, a bit of piracy,” and NPR called it “Compulsively readable.” The Wall Street Journal labeled it “a multiple split-screen adventure, with an engaging hero/heroine pair,” and Steven Brust says “is as twisty-turny, dark, and gorgeous as the (multiple) Londons it winds through — I loved it!”

When the second volume was released earlier this year, I called it the “concluding volume” in a 2-book series. Whoops. That’s the publishing biz for you. I hope I don’t get in trouble soon for calling it a trilogy.

The series follows the adventures of Kell, a magician, ambassador, and smuggler who travels between parallel Londons, carrying royal correspondence. When a thief named Delilah Bard robs him, and then saves him from a nasty fate, the two find themselves on the run, jumping between worlds. In A Gathering of Shadows, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events… as strange things begin to emerge from Black London, the place of which no one speaks.

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