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Author: John ONeill

Future Treasures: The Desert and the Blade by S.M. Stirling

Future Treasures: The Desert and the Blade by S.M. Stirling

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The Desert and the Blade-smallI didn’t really appreciate the ambition and complexity of S.M. Stirling’s massive saga of The Change, until Edward Carmien did a 15-part examination of the series here at Black Gate (check out the first installment here). This year sees two new releases in this epic fantasy series: The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth, a big anthology set in Stirling’s universe, with stories by Victor Milán, Walter Jon Williams, Harry Turtledove, Jane Lindskold, Emily Mah Tippetts, and many others (see Ed’s review here), and The Desert and the Blade, the sixteenth novel in the series. Continuing the quest that began in The Golden Princess, two future rulers of a world without technology risk their lives seeking a fabled blade…

Reiko, Empress of Japan, has allied herself with Princess Órlaith, heir to the High Kingdom of Montival, to find the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, the Grass-Cutting Sword, a legendary treasure of an ancient dynasty that confers valor and victory to its bearer. Órlaith understands all too well the power it signifies. Her own inherited blade, the Sword of the Lady, was both a burden and a danger to her father, Rudi Mackenzie, as it failed to save the king from being assassinated.

But the fabled sword lies deep with the Valley of Death, and the search will be far from easy. And war is building, in Montival and far beyond.

As Órlaith and Reiko encounter danger and wonder, Órlaith’s mother, Queen Matildha, believes her daughter’s alliance and quest has endangered the entire realm. There are factions both within and without Montival whose loyalty died with the king, and whispers of treachery and war grow ever louder.

And the Malevolence that underlies the enemy will bend all its forces to destroy them.

The Desert and the Blade will be published by Roc on September 1, 2015. It is 612 pages, priced at $27.95 in hardcover and $13.99 for the digital edition. The cover is by Larry Rostant.

New Treasures: Age of X by Richelle Mead

New Treasures: Age of X by Richelle Mead

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Gameboard of the Gods Age of X-small The Immortal Crown-small

No matter how closely I keep tabs on this industry, nothing beats a visit to a well-stocked bookstore to really get up-to-date on the latest. In my last trip, I picked up the first volume in a new science fantasy series by Richelle Mead, author of the bestselling Vampire Academy books: Gameboard of the Gods. The sequel, The Immortal Crown, has just been released in paperback and the series — featuring supersoldiers, supernatural mysteries, mysterious murders, and ancient gods — looks like a lot of fun.

The truth is, when you banish the gods from the world, they eventually come back — with a vengeance.

In the near future, Justin March lives in exile from the Republic of United North America. After failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims, Justin is surprised when he is sent back with a peculiar assignment — to solve a string of ritualistic murders steeped in seemingly unexplainable phenomena. Justin’s return comes with an even bigger shock: His new partner and bodyguard, Mae Koskinen, is a prætorian, one of the Republic’s technologically enhanced supersoldiers. Mae’s inexplicable beauty and aristocratic upbringing attract Justin’s curiosity and desire, but her true nature holds more danger than anyone realizes. As their investigation unfolds, Justin and Mae find themselves in the crosshairs of mysterious enemies. Powers greater than they can imagine have started to assemble in the shadows, preparing to reclaim a world that has renounced religion and where humans are merely gamepieces on their board.

Gameboard of the Gods: Age of X was published in hardcover by Dutton on June 4, 2013, and in mass market paperback by Signet on June 3, 2014. The sequel, The Immortal Crown, was published in hardcover on May 29, 2014, and in paperback on June 2, 2015.

Clarkesworld 107 Now on Sale

Clarkesworld 107 Now on Sale

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Clarkesworld 107-smallMark Cole’s article in the latest issue of Clarkesworld is on a topic near and dear to us old-time SF fans: the influence (for good and ill) of the legendary John W. Campbell.

In September of 1959, Jason Howley walked into the Golden Casino in Reno, Nevada, carrying a small, black, plastic box. Within a matter of minutes, he’d won over three hundred thousand dollars. When the device was opened up by investigators, they found nothing in it but a plastic lens, two silver contacts, white paint, and a series of diagrams drawn in black ink.

Regular readers of Astounding Science Fiction recognized it immediately when they read “David Gordon” (Randall Garrett)’s story, “…Or Your Money Back” : it was a version of the Hieronymus Machine, a “psionic amplifier” promoted by Astounding’s editor, John W. Campbell…

One thing more than anything else ushered psychic powers into the mainstream of SF: the influence of one of the genre’s greatest editors, in the pages of one of the most distinguished SF magazines of the Golden Age.

The influence of John W. Campbell and his work in Astounding.

Read Cole’s article “Fans Are Slans”: A Study in Campbellian Influence for the complete story.

Issue #107 of Clarkesworld has six stories — four new, and two reprints — from Martin L. Shoemaker, J.B. Park, Han Song, Emily Devenport, Peter M. Ball, and Neal Asher

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Dear Puppies: Your Taste Sucks

Dear Puppies: Your Taste Sucks

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Hugo Award Black GateThe winners of the 2015 Hugo Awards were announced Saturday evening at Sasquan, the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention in Spokane, Washington. As we’ve discussed here several times, the Hugo ballot was largely hijacked by the Rabid Puppies slate (and to a much lesser extent, by the Sad Puppies slate), which dictated roughly 70% of the final ballot.

The results are now in, and they mark a stinging repudiation of both the Rabid Puppies and Sad Puppies. Not a single Puppy-nominated work of fiction or non-fiction won, and the majority of Puppy-nominated works placed below “No Award.” In both of the short fiction categories in which the Puppies locked out all other nominees, the Hugo went to “No Award.” The complete list of winners follows.

Best Novel – The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu (Tor Books)
Best Novella – No Award
Best Novelette – “The Day the World Turned Upside Down” by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (Lightspeed, April 2014)
Best Short Story – No Award
Best Related Work – No Award
Best Graphic Story – Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal (Marvel Comics)
Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) – Guardians of the Galaxy
Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) – Orphan Black: “By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried”

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Vintage Treasures: Flamesong by M.A.R. Barker

Vintage Treasures: Flamesong by M.A.R. Barker

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Flamesong back-small Flamesong spine-small Flamesong-small

In my last Vintage Treasures article, I talked about M.A.R. Barker’s first novel The Man of Gold, the first of five fantasy novels set in the famed world of Tékumel, one of the most celebrated fantasy settings ever created.

Barker followed The Man of Gold a year later with an even more ambitious sequel, Flamesong. Flamesong was highly acclaimed… but only by those few who read it. It’s a tough find today; unlike the first book, which was reprinted by DAW, had a British edition, and is currently in print in both trade paperback and digital formats, Flamesong vanished shortly after it appeared. It has never been reprinted, and is highly sought today by Tékumel fans.

Click on the image at left to read the back cover text (or any of the images above for bigger versions.)

Flamesong was published by DAW Books in September 1985. It is 412 pages, priced at $3.50. The wraparound cover is by Richard Hescox. It is currently out of print, and there is no digital edition.

Future Treasures: Dragon Heart by Cecelia Holland

Future Treasures: Dragon Heart by Cecelia Holland

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Dragon Heart Cecelia Holland-smallCecelia Holland has written over thirty novels, ranging from historical fiction to science fiction to historical fantasy. Her novels include the space opera Floating Worlds, the Viking saga trilogy The Soul Thief, Byzantine Empire tale Varanger, and The King’s Witch. Her latest is a tale of new-born empires, ancient kingdoms, deadly court intrigue…. and a mysterious dragon of the sea.

Where the Cape of the Winds juts into the endless sea, there is Castle Ocean, and therein dwells the royal family that has ruled it from time immemorial. But there is an Empire growing in the east, and its forces have reached the castle. King Reymarro is dead in battle, and by the new treaty, Queen Marioza must marry one of the Emperor’s brothers. She loathes the idea, and has already killed the first brother, but a second arrives, escorted by more soldiers. While Marioza delays, her youngest son, Jeon, goes on a journey in search of his mute twin, Tirza, who needs to be present for the wedding.

As Jeon and Tirza return by sea, their ship is attacked by a shocking and powerful dragon, red as blood and big as the ship. Thrown into the water, Tirza clings to the dragon, and after an underwater journey, finds herself alone with the creature in an inland sea pool. Surprisingly, she is able to talk to the beast, and understand it.

So begins a saga of violence, destruction, and death, of love and monsters, human and otherwise.

Dragon Heart will be published by Tor Books on September 1, 2015. It is 286 pages, priced at $25.99 in hardcover and $12.99 for the digital edition. The cover is by Lucas Graciano.

New Treasures: Pathfinder Tales: Liar’s Island by Tim Pratt

New Treasures: Pathfinder Tales: Liar’s Island by Tim Pratt

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Pathfinder Tales Liar's Island-smallTim Pratt, who also writes the Marla Mason fantasy series under the name T A Pratt, is one of the most popular authors in the Pathfinder Tales stable. His previous Pathfinder books include Reign of Stars and City of the Fallen Sky, and his last tale of Rodrick the thief, Liar’s Blade, was called “Fafhrd-and-Grey-Mouser-style sword and sorcery adventure” by SF Signal. His latest, Liar’s Island, on sale next week from Tor, sees Rodrick and his magical sword Hrym called to the court of the exotic southern island, Jalmeray, where they become pawns in a dangerous game of political intrigue… and the only way to escape is to find a legendary artifact.

A Thief and His Sword

Rodrick is a con man as charming as he is cunning. Hrym is a talking sword of magical ice, with the soul and spells of an ancient dragon. Together, the two travel the world, parting the gullible from their gold and freezing their enemies in their tracks. But when the two get summoned to the mysterious island of Jalmeray by a king with genies and elementals at his command, they’ll need all their wits and charm if they’re going to escape with the greatest prize of all — their lives.

From Hugo Award winner Tim Pratt comes a tale of magic, assassination, monsters, and cheerful larceny, in Pathfinder Tales: Liar’s Island, set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Our most recent Pathfinder coverage includes Howard Andrew Jones’ upcoming Beyond the Pool of Stars, Dave Gross’ Lord of Runes, and The Emerald Spire Superdungeon.

Pathfinder Tales: Liar’s Island will be published by Tor Books on August 25, 2015. It is 295 pages, priced at $14.99 in trade paperback and $9.99 for the digital version. The cover is by Michael Ivan.

August 2015 Lightspeed Magazine Now on Sale

August 2015 Lightspeed Magazine Now on Sale

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Lightspeed August 2015-smallThis month Lightspeed has original fantasy from Sam J. Miller and Genevieve Valentine, and fantasy reprints by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Ursula Pflug, plus science fiction by Chen Qiufan, Sarah Pinsker, Vandana Singh and Vylar Kaftan. Plus their usual assortment of author and artist spotlights, book reviews, and a feature interview with author Kazuo Ishiguro (The Remains of the Day, The Buried Giant).

Here’s the complete fiction contents of the August issue.

Fantasy

“To See Pedro Infante” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (from Love and Other Poisons, 2014)
“Given the Advantage of the Blade” by Genevieve Valentine
“Python” by Ursula Pflug (from Album Zutique, No. 1, 2003)
“Ghosts of Home” by Sam J. Miller (available on 8/25)

Science Fiction

“The Smog Society” by Chen Qiufan. Translated by Ken Liu.
“Life-pod” by Vandana Singh (from Foundation, #100 Summer 2007)
“And We Were Left Darkling” by Sarah Pinsker
“Civilization” by Vylar Kaftan (from Glorifying Terrorism, February 2007; available on 8/25)

Readers of the eBook version also get a reprint of the novella “Equinoctial” by John Varley, along with excerpts from the recent novels Zero World by Jason M. Hough and Finches of Mars by Brian W. Aldiss.

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The mid-August Fantasy Magazine Rack

The mid-August Fantasy Magazine Rack

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Beneath-Ceaseles-Skies-178-rack Beneath-Ceaseless-Skies-179-rack The-Dark-Issue-9-rack Swords-and-Sorcery-Magazine-July-2015-rack
Outposts-of-Beyond-July-2015-rack Science Fiction Classics 10-rack The-Digest-Enthusiast-2-rack The-Night-of-the-Salamander-rack

We’ve added no less than three magazines to our coverage in August, and a fine mix of new titles it is: Tyree Campbell’s space opera/magic opera Outposts of Beyond, pulp reprint zine Science Fiction Classics, and the splendid Digest Enthusiast, devoted to vintage and contemporary genre digest magazines. That brings the number of magazines we cover regularly up to 30, which should be more than enough to keep you busy.

Check out all the details on the magazines above by clicking on the each of the images. Our early August 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 $12.95/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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Vintage Treasures: The Man of Gold by M.A.R. Barker

Vintage Treasures: The Man of Gold by M.A.R. Barker

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The Man of Gold-smallI remember exactly where I was when I learned M.A.R. Barker had died. I was at the games auction at Gary Con IV on Saturday, March 24th, 2012, when Luke Gygax solemnly paid tribute to the industry giants we’d lost that last year — and he announced that M.A.R. Barker, the brilliant creator of the world of Tékumel, had passed away at the age of 82. When I got home that night, the first thing I did was write an obituary for Black Gate, honoring the man who’d done so much for the hobby.

Tékumel was a unique creation in fantasy gaming. It was home to one of the earliest RPGs ever written, Empire of the Petal Throne, published by TSR in 1975, and later a series of well-received fantasy novels by Barker, beginning with The Man of Gold, published by DAW with a marvelous cover by Michael Whelan in 1984.

Tékumel is a distant world populated by both humans and aliens, who have built a vast and intricate civilization over thousands of years. Ruled by the upper clans of the land, the planet’s culture is based upon the teachings of gods and demons, upon the ways and wiles of alien races, and upon the layered traditions of monarchs ancient and current. Tékumel is an exquisitely detailed world where surprise and adventure are as natural as night and day.

The Man of Gold is the first novel based on the Tékumel: Empire of the Petal Throne RPG. Follow the quest of Harsan, acolyte of the temple of Thumis, as he ventures forth to seek a forgotten empire’s super weapon known only as the Man of Gold.

Tékumel has been revisited many times by talented game creators over the decades, and is now the setting for multiple game systems.

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