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Author: John ONeill

Future Treasures: Stories of the Strange and Sinister by Frank Baker

Future Treasures: Stories of the Strange and Sinister by Frank Baker

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Stories of the Strange and Sinister-small Stories of the Strange and Sinister-back-small

Stories of the Strange and Sinister first-smallI first discovered Valancourt’s marvelous 20th Century Classics line when I stumbled on their booth at the 2014 World Fantasy convention in Washington D.C.. I was so impressed, in fact, that I wrote up a lengthy survey of their back catalog as soon as I got home.

Valancourt has been bringing neglected horror and thriller classics back into print in handsome new editions for years now. Their latest subject is Frank Baker, whose first novel, The Twisted Tree, was published in 1935. He published an odd little book titled The Birds in 1936… it sold only about 300 copies, and Baker labeled it “a failure.” It likely would be utterly forgotten today, if Alfred Hitchcock had not turned it into a hit with his 1963 horror film of the same name.

Perhaps Baker’s most successful work was Miss Hargreaves (1940), a comic fantasy in which two young people invent a story about an elderly woman, only to find that their imagination has brought her to life. He published more than a dozen others, including Mr. Allenby Loses the Way (1945), Embers (1947), My Friend the Enemy (1948) and Talk of the Devil (1956), before his death in 1983.

Stories of the Strange and Sinister is his only collection. It was first published in 1983 (see cover at right), and has long been out of print.

The new edition will be published by Valancourt on March 15, 2016. It is 184 pages, priced at $16.99 in trade paperback and $7.99 for the digital version. See more details at the Valancourt website.

See all of our coverage of the best in upcoming fantasy here.

The Goblin King, New York Sorcery, and Demon Pirates: The New and Upcoming Fantasies of Tor.com

The Goblin King, New York Sorcery, and Demon Pirates: The New and Upcoming Fantasies of Tor.com

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Lustlocked-small The Ballad of Black Tom-small The Devil You Know-small Pieces of Hate-small

I’ve been very much enjoying Tor.com‘s new line of novellas, which has produced a number of clear winners already. We’ve covered the first dozen or so, but they haven’t been resting in the past few weeks and months — far from it. When I checked this morning, I discovered more than a dozen new titles scheduled for the rest of this year, from authors such as Mary Robinette Kowal, Andy Remic, Tim Lebbon, Seanan McGuire, Michael R. Underwood, Matt Wallace, K. J. Parker, and many others.

It’s time to play catch-up. So here’s a detailed look at the next eight volumes on their schedule, including covers and (where available) links to cover reveals, sample chapters, and audio excerpts. It’s a smorgasbord of future fantasy from one of the best publishers in the business. Check it out.

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New Treasures: Clarkesworld: Year Eight, edited by Neil Clarke and Sean Wallace

New Treasures: Clarkesworld: Year Eight, edited by Neil Clarke and Sean Wallace

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If you’re like me, you don’t have time to read every issue of Clarkesworld — even though you probably should. It is a three-time winner of the Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine, and in 2013 it received more Hugo nominations for short fiction than all the leading print magazines combined. Wouldn’t it be great if every year editors Neil Clarke and Sean Wallace gathered all the fiction in Clarkesworld into one big volume, so you could catch up on everything you missed at the end of the year?

Well, actually, they do. Every year Neil and Sean assemble every story from the previous year into a single generous volume, and this year is the biggest yet: 448 pages, collecting all 38 stories published in 2015, from authors like Michael Swanwick, Robert Reed, Sean Williams, N. K. Jemisin, James Patrick Kelly, Dale Bailey, Naomi Kritzer, Maggie Clark, E. Catherine Tobler, Ken Liu, Matthew Kressel and many others. The book also serves as a fund-raiser for the magazine (which is available free), and every purchase helps support the magazine.

It’s a marvelous bargain, and it helps support one of the finest publications in the industry. What more could you ask for?

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Knights of the Dinner Table 227 Now on Sale

Knights of the Dinner Table 227 Now on Sale

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Knights of the Dinner Table 227-smallKnights of the Dinner Table follows the misadventures of a group of misfit gamers from Muncie, Indiana. It is written and drawn by my friend Jolly R. Blackburn, with editorial assistance by his talented wife Barbara. Black Gate readers may remember the KoDT spin-off The Java Joint, which appeared in the back of every issue of BG (and was eventually collected in a single volume in 2012).

KoDT started off in the back of the gaming magazine Shadis, and in short order it became one of the most popular comics in the industry, appearing as a regular feature in Dragon, Kevin Siembieda’s Rifter magazine, and other places. Since 1996 it has appeared as a standalone magazine; it has been published by Kenzer & Company since the fourth issue.

KoDT magazine is published monthly. The core of the publication is the comic strip, but the issues are huge — 64 pages — and rounded out with news, reviews, features, and a variety of entertaining gaming columns. It is, hands down, the best way to stay informed on the adventure gaming hobby each month.

The cover of KoDT 227 is a special treat for old-school video game players. Here’s Jolly:

We’re very excited about this month’s cover — not only is it a parody of the classic 80’s arcade game, Q*bert but it was drawn by Jeff Lee — one of the original co-designers of the game and the man who did the original Q*bert game graphics

Here’s the complete Table of Contents.

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Vintage Treasures: Worlds Imagined: 14 Short Science Fiction Novels, Compiled by Robert Silverberg and Martin H. Greenberg

Vintage Treasures: Worlds Imagined: 14 Short Science Fiction Novels, Compiled by Robert Silverberg and Martin H. Greenberg

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Worlds Imagined Robert Silverberg-smallI bought a fine anthology of science fiction novellas on eBay last week for 5 cents. With $3.99 shipping, that brought the whole thing to $4.04 — about 28 cents per novella. Pretty sweet deal.

The anthology is Worlds Imagined, published by Avenel in April 1989, and edited by Robert Silverberg and Martin H. Greenberg. Excuse me, ‘Compiled by,” not edited by. I guess Silverberg and Greenberg didn’t feel comfortable with the title of editors, for merely selecting the fiction. That’s editorial integrity for you.

One of the things I love about this book is the editors’ (erm, compilers’) impassioned defense of the novella in their intro. I read it years ago, and much of it stayed with me. Here it is, in part.

The short novel — or “novella,” as some prefer to call it — is one of the richest and most rewarding of literary forms. Spanning twenty to thirty thousand words, usually, it allows for more extended development of theme and character than does the short story, without making the elaborate structural demands of the full-length book… Some of the greatest works in modern literature fall into the class of novellas. Consider Mann’s “Death in Venice,” Joyce’s “The Dead,” Melville’s “Billy Budd,” and Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” — or Faulkner’s “The Bear,” Tolstoi’s “The Death of Ivan Ilych,” Carson McCuller’s “Ballad of the Sad Cafe”…

Since a prime task of the science fiction writer is to create carefully detailed worlds of the imagination, room for invention is a necessity. The short story can give only a single vivid glimpse of the invented world; the full-length novel frequently becomes so enmeshed in the obligations of plot and counterplot that the background recedes to a secondary position. But the short novel, leisurely without being discursive, is ideal for the sort of world-creation that is science fiction’s specialty. and since the days of H.G. Wells and his classic novella “The Time Machine” it has exerted a powerful attraction for science fiction writers.

Preach, brothers!

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Future Treasures: An Unattractive Vampire by Jim McDoniel

Future Treasures: An Unattractive Vampire by Jim McDoniel

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An Unattractive Vampire-smallAre you a reader who yearns for a return to the days where vampires were monsters, instead of hunky leading men? Then have I got a book for you.

Jim McDoniel’s debut novel An Unattractive Vampire, a darkly comic urban fantasy of ancient horrors in suburban cities, is tailor-made for those sick of vampires that sparkle. It’s one of the first releases from new publishing house Sword & Laser, and will be available later this month.

After three centuries trapped underground, thousand-year-old Yulric Bile ― also known as the Curséd One, the Devil’s Apprentice, He Who Worships the Slumbering Horrors ― awakens only to find that no one believes he is a vampire. Apparently he’s just too ugly ― modern vampires, he soon discovers, are pretty, weak, and, most disturbing of all, good. Determined to reestablish his bloodstained reign, Yulric sets out to correct this disgusting turn of events or, at the very least, murder the person responsible.

With the help of pert vampire-wannabe Amanda; Simon, the eight-year-old reincarnation of his greatest foe; and a cadre of ancient and ugly horrors, Yulric prepares to battle the glamorous undead. But who will win the right to determine, once and for all, what it truly means to be a vampire?

An Unattractive Vampire will be published by Sword & Laser on March 15, 2016. It is 307 pages, priced at $13.99 in trade paperback and $8.99 for the digital version. The cover is designed by David Drummond.

See all of our coverage of the best in upcoming fantasy here.

Telepathy Machines and Strange Alien Games: Rich Horton on King of the Fourth Planet/Cosmic Checkmate

Telepathy Machines and Strange Alien Games: Rich Horton on King of the Fourth Planet/Cosmic Checkmate

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Last June, in the comments section of an article on a 1959 Ace Double by Andre Norton and Jerry Sohl, Joe H, asked:

I think this is the only “classic” Ace Double I own… King of the Fourth Planet/Cosmic Checkmate by Robert Moore Williams/Charles V. De Vet & Katherine MacLean. Any chance it might make your list someday?

It sometimes takes us a while, but we always do right by our readers!

I’ve never read this one. But Rich Horton has, of course, and he reviewed it around a decade ago. King of the Fourth Planet, a tale of Martians and telepathy machines, didn’t appeal to him, but he found Cosmic Checkmate (later expanded and republished under the title Second Game), a tale of space exploration and alien games, much more intriguing. Here’s his review.

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The March Magazine Rack

The March Magazine Rack

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I was very pleased to see Goblin Fruit, the online magazine of poetry of the fantastical, return after a one-year hiatus (does one year even count as a hiatus? If that’s true, Black Gate took a hiatus after virtually every issue!) March looks like it has plenty other good surprises in store for short fiction fans — stay tuned. For our vintage magazine readers, Rich Horton took a look at the June and July 1960 issues of Amazing Science Fiction Stories, containing James Blish’s complete novel …And All the Stars a Stage. And Matthew Wuertz continued his issue-by-issue re-read of Galaxy with March 1953.

Check out all the details on the magazines above by clicking on the each of the images. Our February Fantasy Magazine Rack is here.

As we’ve mentioned before, all of these magazines are completely dependent on fans and readers to keep them alive. Many are marginal operations for whom a handful of subscriptions may mean the difference between life and death. Why not check one or two out, and try a sample issue? There are magazines here for every budget, from completely free to $35/issue. If you find something intriguing, I hope you’ll consider taking a chance on a subscription. I think you’ll find it’s money very well spent.

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Congratulations to Black Gate‘s Nominees for the REH Foundation Awards

Congratulations to Black Gate‘s Nominees for the REH Foundation Awards

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The Robert E. Howard Foundation

On Wednesday the Robert E. Howard Foundation announced the nominees for this year’s REH Foundation Awards, honoring the top contributions in Howard scholarship and in the promotion of Howard’s life and works. We were delighted and honored to see Black Gate bloggers nominated in several major categories, including Barbara Barrett, Bob Byrne, Howard Andrew Jones, and Bill Ward:

The Cimmerian — Outstanding Achievement, Essay (Online)

BARRETT, BARBARA – “Hester Jane Ervin Howard and Tuberculosis (3 parts)” REH: Two Gun Raconteur Blog (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

The Stygian — Outstanding Achievement, Website

BLACK GATE (John O’Neill)

The Black River — Special Achievement

BYRNE, BOB – For organizing the “Discovering REH” blog post series at Black Gate

JONES, HOWARD ANDREW and BILL WARD – For their “Re-Reading Conan” series at howardandrewjones.com

Only REH Foundation members can vote for the nominees. If you’re interested in learning more about the foundation (and voting), you can sign up for a free memberships at the REHF website here.

Thanks to the REH Foundation for the many honors. And congratulations to all the nominees!

New Treasures: The ‘Mancer Series by Ferrett Steinmetz

New Treasures: The ‘Mancer Series by Ferrett Steinmetz

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Flex Ferrett Steinmetz-small The Flux Ferrett Steinmetz-small Fix Ferrett Steinmetz-small

I bought Ferrett Steinmetz’s The Flux during my last trip to Barnes & Noble, partly because it’s an Angry Robot novel, and Angry Robot is doing great stuff. But also because of its intriguing premise: a world where if you love something enough, your obsession will punch a hole in reality, creating unique magics and potentially giving you powerful abilities.

Turns out The Flux is the second novel in a loose trilogy which has been getting a lot of attention. The first one, Flex, was published last year, and the third, Fix, arrives this September. Joel Cunningham at Barnes & Noble.com has praise for the entire series.

We’d probably love Ferrett Steinmetz’ Flex trilogy for the premise alone — it’s a gritty, hilarious contemporary fantasy series about magic users in a world where your obsessions can can bore a hole through the fabric of spacetime and give you the ability to manipulate reality at will. But it’s all the extra bits (characters you will ache for, twisty plots, the baddest baddies, killer action sequences) that put it over the top, and onto our list of 2015’s best reads.

I suppose I should be annoyed that now I have to track down a copy of Flex, and wait for Fix to complete the story. But when a series sounds this promising, I’m more than happy to gobble up additional volumes.

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