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The Late April Fantasy Magazine Rack

The Late April Fantasy Magazine Rack

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Beneath Ceaseless Skies 171-rack Cemetery Dance 72-rack Clarkesworld 103-rack Fantasy Scroll Magazine 6.jpg-rack
Sword & Sorcery Magazine 39 Grimdark Magazine 3-rack Lightspeed Magazine April 2015-rack Nightmare Magazine April 2015-rack

The late April magazine rack is crowded with online and print magazines of all kinds, from horror (Cemetery Dance, Nightmare) to adventure fantasy (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Sword & Sorcery) to science fiction & fantasy (Lightspeed, Clarkesworld) and more. This month we welcome promising newcomer Grimdark Magazine, already on its third issue. Click on any of the images above to see our detailed report on each issue.

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 $7.50/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.

Our early April Fantasy Magazine Rack, covering 20 magazines, is here.

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New Treasures: Grimm Mistresses edited by Stacey Turner

New Treasures: Grimm Mistresses edited by Stacey Turner

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Grimm Mistresses-smallWhile I was at the Windy City Pulp and Paper show last week, I met a lot of Black Gate readers. Most of them had advice and suggestions of some sort or another. But I think the best piece of advice I got was to check out Ragnarok Publications, who have been producing some terrific work over the last 18 months.

Ragnarok was founded in 2013 by Joe Martin and Tim Marquitz. It was born as a result of the hugely successful Kickstarter campaign for Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters, and it released an astonishing 22 titles in its first year alone — including Django Wexler’s John Golden novels, Kenny Soward’s Gnomesaga trilogy, Seth Skorkowsky Valducan trilogy, and many others. Their books are beautiful and inexpensive, and well worth checking out. Through their Angelic Knight imprint, managed by Stacey Turner, they’ve also produced some very intriguing dark fantasy anthologies, including the new Grimm Mistresses.

Remember the Brothers Grimm? Those dark fairy tales that made you leave the light on long before Disney went and sanitized them? Well, we do! Now the MISTRESSES GRIMM take back the night, five female authors who will leave you shuddering deliciously. Get ready to leave the lights on again with four pieces of short fiction bringing the Brothers Grimm’s tales into the present. Be advised: these aren’t your children’s fairy tales!

CONTENTS
“The Night Air” by Stacey Turner
“Little Dead Red” by Mercedes M. Yardley
“Nectar” by Allison M. Dickson
“Hazing Cinderella” by C.W. LaSart
“The Leopard’s Pelt” by S.R. Cambridge

Ragnarok’s most recent release was Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries. and Rogues, edited by J.M. Martin, which we covered here. Grimm Mistresses was published by Ragnarok Publications on February 23, 2015. It is 238 pages, priced at $11.95 in paperback and $2.99 for the digital edition. The cover art is by Brittany Smith. Learn more at the Ragnarok website.

Beneath Ceaseless Skies 171 Now Available

Beneath Ceaseless Skies 171 Now Available

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Beneath Ceaseless Skies 171-smallI’ve sort of lost count of all the magazines I’m tracking for Black Gate now. It’s like two dozen or something. I dunno. It’s a lot. A lot more than I can read, anyway.

But I wish I could read every issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Scott H. Andrews’ magazine of literary adventure fantasy seems the closest in spirit to the print edition of Black Gate, and I’m certain I’d really enjoy them. Issue 171 contains two new stories by Spencer Ellsworth and Thomas M. Waldroon, a reprint from Rachael Acks, a podcast, and more.

“The Fires of Mercy” by Spencer Ellsworth
The sandstorm had blanketed the world the night before. Sand hung still on the leaves of the palm trees; sand sat on a skim atop the water; sand pillowed against rocks. Grains swept the crevices of palm trees, shone like jewels in the sun.

“Sinseerly A Friend & Yr. Obed’t” by Thomas M. Waldroon
Mr. Stutley Northup is not a magistrate. Why, he’s not even a lawyer. But if people are free to come to him with their controversies, he is just as free to offer his opinion; and if they choose to act on it, well, that’s their own lookout.

Audio Fiction Podcast: “The Fires of Mercy” by Spencer Ellsworth
The assassin, the mother, and the child fled into the desert.

From the Archives: “The Book of Autumn” by Rachael Acks
I made the truth something those duty old men couldn’t ignore.

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Vintage Bits: The 10 Greatest Dungeons and Dragons Videogames

Vintage Bits: The 10 Greatest Dungeons and Dragons Videogames

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Icewind Dale-smallIan Williams at Paste Magazine has posted a fond retrospective of the great years of D&D videogaming, correctly noting the current trend towards retro-dungeon crawls among independent developers.

Everyone’s going old school in their computer roleplaying games these days. Recent games like Grimrock 2, Pillars of Eternity, Divinity: Original Sin, and the steady stream of roguelikes hark back to the golden era of the form, when kobolds were kobolds and the gold coins flowed freely. The biggest, best chunk of those old games came, of course, from the Dungeons & Dragons bloodline.

His list includes most of the great D&D games of my youth, including (of course) Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and the brilliant Pool of Radiance. I was especially pleased to see one of my favorites, Icewind Dale, rank so highly on his list.

Icewind Dale doesn’t have the literary aspirations of its predecessors in the Black Isle catalog. It wants to let you fight waves of monsters and crack open the best parts of the old AD&D 2nd Edition system… Icewind Dale is best viewed as a system first, narrative second, type of game. You make a party from scratch, something you weren’t strictly allowed to do in Baldur’s Gate or Planescape: Torment. And they knew you were going to min-max it. There were no complicated voiceover interactions with your party members, no main character with an intense personal story. Just the cold winds of the North, a simple storyline, and the chance to play murderhobo with the greatest RPG engine the D&D games put out.

See news on the new Enhanced Edition of Icewind Dale here, and enjoy Ian’s complete article here.

Future Treasures: The Hollow Queen by Elizabeth Haydon, Book 8 of The Symphony of Ages

Future Treasures: The Hollow Queen by Elizabeth Haydon, Book 8 of The Symphony of Ages

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The Hollow Queen Elizabeth Haydon-smallThe first volume in Elizabeth Haydon’s long-running fantasy series The Symphony of Ages, Rhapsody, was published by Tor Books way back in September, 1999. It was an immediate hit; Publishers Weekly called it “One of the finest high fantasy debuts in years,” and the series quickly became a bestseller.

Over the next 15 years she’s published seven more in the series, mostly recently The Merchant Emperor last June. On May 5th The Merchant Emperor will be reprinted in paperback, and next month Tor releases the eighth installment, The Hollow Queen.

Beset on all sides by the forces of the merchant emperor Talquist, the Cymrian Alliance finds itself in desperate straits. Rhapsody herself has joined the battle, wielding the Daystar Clarion, leaving her True Name in hiding with her infant son. Ashe tries to enlist the aid of the Sea Mages. Within their Citadel of Scholarship lies the White Ivory tower, a spire that could hold the key to unraveling the full extent of Talquist’s machinations. Achmed journeys to the reportedly unassailable palace of Jierna Tal, to kill emperor Talquist–all the while knowing that even if he succeeds, it may not be enough to stop the momentum of the war.

As they struggle to untangle the web of Talquist’s treachery, the leaders of the Cymrian alliance are met with obstacles at every turn. Rhapsody soon realizes that the end of this war will come at an unimaginable price: the lives of those she holds dearest.

The Hollow Queen will be published by Tor Books on June 30, 2015. It is 415 pages, priced at $25.99 in hardcover and $12.99 for the digital edition.

Vintage Treasures: The Silken Magic Books by Elizabeth Gilligan

Vintage Treasures: The Silken Magic Books by Elizabeth Gilligan

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Magic's Silken Snare-small The Silken Shroud-small

I published Elizabeth Gilligan’s short story “Iron Joan” in Black Gate 3 (read the complete story here), and it was an immediate hit. The tale of an indomitable woman — the daughter of the High Chief of Glen Cluain, shamed by her father’s house but gifted in her mother’s secret arts — who mysteriously leaves home at seventeen to settle in a tiny village, was a powerful story that SF Reader called “A deep, well-written tale. Highly recommended.”

Elizabeth Gilligan seemed to me like a writer destined for great things, and it wasn’t long before I was proven right. He debut novel, Magic’s Silken Snare, the first volume in Silken Magic, was published by DAW in April 2003, and was widely acclaimed. Locus called it an “Opulent tale and court intrigue and dark magics… [An] excellent first novel,” and Romantic Times said “An alternate Sicily is splendidly revealed… [with] robust characterizations, multiple storylines, and clever delivery.” It was followed by the second volume, The Silken Shroud, in April 2004, and it seemed obvious that this was the beginning of a stellar career.

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See the BBC Trailer for Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

See the BBC Trailer for Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

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Susanna Clarke’s debut novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2004) won both the Hugo Award and World Fantasy Award, and became a New York Times bestseller. The BBC announced they were adapting the book as a seven-part series staring Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan, Filth) as Mr Norrell, and Bertie Carvel (Restless, Matilda) as Jonathan Strange late last year.

The series is set at the beginning of the 19th-century, in an England where public belief in magic has begun to die off. The reclusive Mr Norrell stuns the city of York when he causes the statues of York Cathedral to speak and move. With a little persuasion and help from his man of business Childermass (Enzo Cilenti), he goes to London to help the government in the war against Napoleon. It is there Norrell summons a fairy (Marc Warren) to bring Lady Pole (Alice Englert) back from the dead, a decision that has dark consequences…

The series begins broadcasting on BBC One on May 1st. It will air in Canada on Space, and in the United States on BBC America.

New Treasures: Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries. and Rogues, edited by J.M. Martin

New Treasures: Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries. and Rogues, edited by J.M. Martin

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Blackguards Tales of Assassins Mercenaries and Rogues-smallI first heard about the massive Blackguards anthology, which showcases tales of thieves, rogues and assassins, when Laura Resnick wrote a guest post for us last year, “Living Outside Society’s Rules,” talking about her short story “Friendship,” set in the world of her Silerian trilogy and taking place a few years before the first book, In Legend Born.

I was intrigued… but since then I’ve learned that Blackguards contains stories set in over two dozen fantasy worlds, from writers like Mark Lawrence, Carol Berg, Mark Smylie, Django Wexler, Peter Orullian, and many, many more. This is an unprecedented opportunity to sample some of the most popular and innovative fantasy series on the market today, all in one place. Blackguards was edited by J.M. Martin and published this week by Ragnarok Publications. If you’re at all interested in modern fantasy, this volume is an incredible bargain.

Whether by coin or by blood… YOU WILL PAY.

A fantasy anthology featuring the deadly, the worldly, and the sneaky. Blackguards consists mainly of stories in established series, and the authors range from wildly successful indie authors to New York Times bestsellers. Featuring tales set in the worlds of Michael J. Sullivan’s Riyria, David Dalglish’s Dezrel, Mark Lawrence’s The Broken Empire, Lian Hearn’s Tales of the Otori, Mark Smylie’s Sword and Barrow, Anthony Ryan’s Raven’s Shadow, Shawn Speakman’s Chronicles of Annwn, Carol Berg’s Sanctuary, James A. Moore’s Seven Forges, Django Wexler’s Shadow Campaigns, Laura Resnick’s Silerian Trilogy, Peter Orullian’s Vault of Heaven, Kenny Soward’s GnomeSaga, Paul S. Kemp’s Egil and Nix, and more! If you enjoy roguish tales of scoundrels and ne’er-do-wells, many of them set in established worlds, Blackguards is for you!

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Fantasy Scroll Magazine 6 Now Available

Fantasy Scroll Magazine 6 Now Available

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Fantasy Scroll Magazine 6-smallThe sixth issue of the online-only Fantasy Scroll Magazine is now available.

Fantasy Scroll was launched with a Kickstarter campaign on April 23, 2014. It raised enough to fund a full year (four issues); all four issues were released last year, as promised. Since then it’s been continuing nicely under its own steam. It has supported itself by selling merchandise, launching a mobile app, soliciting donations — and through a Starlight Patrol of enthusiastic backers and supporters at Patreon who help keep the magazine going.

The previous issue was cover-dated February 2015; this one is April 2015. It seems to have switched to bi-monthly publication, which is great news.

Fantasy Scroll has published original short fiction by Sarah Avery, Ken Liu, Mike Resnick, Piers Anthony, Cat Rambo, Rachel Pollack, and many others. The magazine is edited by Iulian Ionescu, Frederick Doot, and Michelle Muller. It contains all kinds of fantastic literature, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, and paranormal short-fiction.

Issue #6 includes nine short stories from Robert Reed, Ian Creasy, Beth Cato, and others, plus interviews and a handful of book and film reviews.

In his editorial, Iulian Ionescu reports that the magazine is experimenting with publishing longer stories (novelettes) for the first time.

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Future Treasures: When the Heavens Fall by Marc Turner

Future Treasures: When the Heavens Fall by Marc Turner

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When the Heavens Fall-smallThere are times when you want something light and quick to read… and then there are times when you want to sink your teeth into an epic packed with heroes, meddling gods, necromancers, empires, and darkest intrigue. If the latter appeals to you, Marc Turner’s debut fantasy When the Heavens Fall, which goes on sale in three weeks, might be just what you’re looking for.

If you pick a fight with Shroud, Lord of the Dead, you had better ensure your victory, else death will mark only the beginning of your suffering.

A book giving its wielder power over the dead has been stolen from a fellowship of mages that has kept the powerful relic dormant for centuries. The thief, a crafty, power-hungry necromancer, intends to use the Book of Lost Souls to resurrect an ancient race and challenge Shroud for dominion of the underworld. Shroud counters by sending his most formidable servants to seize the artifact at all cost.

However, the god is not the only one interested in the Book, and a host of other forces converge, drawn by the powerful magic that has been unleashed. Among them is a reluctant Guardian who is commissioned by the Emperor to find the stolen Book, a troubled prince who battles enemies both personal and political, and a young girl of great power, whose past uniquely prepares her for an encounter with Shroud. The greatest threat to each of their quests lies not in the horror of an undead army but in the risk of betrayal from those closest to them. Each of their decisions comes at a personal cost and will not only affect them, but also determine the fate of their entire empire.

The first of an epic swords & sorcery fantasy series, Marc Turner’s When the Heavens Fall features gritty characters, deadly magic, and meddlesome gods.

When the Heavens Fall is Book One of The Chronicles of the Exile, and will be published by Tor Books on May 19, 2015. It is 544 pages, priced at $27.99 in hardcover, and $14.99 for the digital edition. No word on the cover artist.