John ONeill – Page 438

The Rise of the Short Story: The New York Times on the New Era of Short Fiction

Saturday, February 16, 2013 John ONeill Comments 2 comments

Interesting post on the success of short stories in the digital marketplace at today’s New York Times:

The Internet may be disrupting much of the book industry, but for short-story writers it has been a good thing. Story collections, an often underappreciated literary cousin of novels, are experiencing a resurgence, driven by a proliferation of digital options that offer not only new creative opportunities but exposure and revenue as well.

Already, 2013 has yielded an unusually rich crop of short-story collections, including George Saunders’s Tenth of December, which arrived in January with a media splash normally reserved for Hollywood movies and moved quickly onto the best-seller lists…

“It is the culmination of a trend we have seen building for five years,” said Cal Morgan, the editorial director of Harper Perennial Originals, who until last year ran a blog called Fifty-Two Stories, devoted to short fiction. “The Internet has made people a lot more open to reading story forms that are different from the novel, and you see a generation of writers very engaged in experimentation.”

The article was written by Leslie Kaufman; the complete text is here.

Renovating Tegel Manor

Friday, February 15, 2013 John ONeill Comments 6 comments

While I was assembling my Judges Guild article on Tuesday, I stumbled on an odd reference to a revised version of one of their earliest (and most famous) products: Tegel Manor. I’d never seen a copy however, and was pretty sure it didn’t exist, so I set it aside to investigate later.

What makes Tegel Manor so famous? I don’t think I could articulate its wonders as well as the talented James Maliszewski, author of the Grognardia blog; here he is:

Tegel Manor is without a doubt one of Bob Bledsaw’s masterpieces. Describing a sprawling 240-room haunted castle, the module is a textbook example of a funhouse dungeon, utterly lacking in anything resembling an ecology and filled with many encounters for which the adjective “whimsical” is charitable at best. The contents and/or inhabitants of each room are random — in some cases literally — meaning that, here you might find nothing more threatening than some giant beetles but next door you might find a Type III demon polymorphed as a kindly old beggar…

With its random encounter charts containing 100 members of the cursed and unfortunately named Rump family (all of whose names start with the letter R) and its goofy encounters (“Four Zombies … bowing to a Giant White Rat … in a pink cape and red plumed hat”), it certainly seems that way. It’s one thing to sidestep naturalism, but Tegel Manor goes above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to “gonzo.”

But the map is a thing of beauty. Nothing — and I mean nothing — has ever beaten it… It’s filled with winding passages, secret doors, mazes, empty rooms, weird features, and more.

James’s complete review is here. Tegel Manor was originally released in 1977, and revised and expanded in later editions. A little digging revealed that Necromancer Games had contracted to do an updated version for the Old School Renaissance market — and even produced the cover at right — but Judges Guild withdrew the rights before it saw the light of day. But that’s a story that deserves a post of its own.

Tangent Online on “Life on the Sun”: “This One Captured a Piece of my Soul. Brilliant.”

Thursday, February 14, 2013 John ONeill Comments 1 comment

Louis West at Tangent Online reviews C.S.E. Cooney’s original fantasy novelette, published here on Sunday, February 10th:

C.S.E. Cooney’s “Life on the Sun” is bold and powerful… While the previous story in this series, “Godmother Lizard,” entranced me, this one captured a piece of my soul. Brilliant.

Kantu, warrior of the Bird People, seeks to rid her desert city, Rok Moris, of the occupiers from the Empire of the Open Palm. When Fa Izikban Azur and his Army of Childless Men march upon Rok Moris, Kantu and her people rise up. But the Fa did not come to liberate, but to reclaim those who belonged to him — Kantu, his daughter, and the Rokka Mama, mother to the Bird People and the Fa’s favorite wife, even after she had killed him…

I don’t know how Cooney weaves so many rich story arcs into a single novelette tapestry. But, on a scale of 1 to 10, I rank this one as a twelve.

“Life on the Sun” is the sequel to C.S.E.’s “Godmother Lizard,” which Tangent Online called “a delightful fantasy tale about an orphan girl… The dialog has a pleasantly oblique edge to it which entranced me from the beginning.” We published “Godmother Lizard” right here on November 11th.

Read Louis West’s review at Tangent Online, and read “Life on the Sun” completely free here.

The complete catalog of Black Gate Online Fiction, including stories by Vaughn Heppner, E.E. Knight, Jason E. Thummel, Gregory Bierly, Mark Rigney, Judith Berman, Howard Andrew Jones, Dave Gross, Harry Connolly, and others, is here.

Did Entertainment Weekly Reveal that Benedict Cumberbatch is Playing Khan?

Wednesday, February 13, 2013 John ONeill Comments 6 comments

In a sharp-eyed bit of investigative reporting, Tor.com has reproduced screenshots from the Entertainment Weekly Back Issues store that name the villain in the upcoming J.J. Abrams film Star Trek Into Darkness as Khan.

As we reported back in December, speculation has been rampant around just whom Benedict Cumberbatch will be playing in the new film. IMDB originally listed his character as Gary Mitchell, the Enterprise officer who becomes an all-powerful psychic loonie in one of the show’s earliest and best episodes, “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” Rumors that he was playing Khan, the genetically-engineered supervillain originally portrayed by Ricardo Montalban in the episode “Space Seed” and the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, eventually led the otherwise tight-lipped Cumberbatch to deny it.

As shown by Tor.com however, screen captures for the February 15 cover-dated issue of Entertainment Weekly allow you to select one of two covers, the “Spock & Kirk” cover, or the “Kirk & Khan” version.

EW hastily deleted the notations, and the latest version of the page gives no such identifiers.

In its current cast list, IMBD now lists Cumberbatch as playing “Khan (rumored),” and Alice Eve as playing Dr. Carol Marcus, Kirk’s ex-flame and baby mama from Star Trek II.

The latest Super Bowl TV trailer for the film has been posted on YouTube. Star Trek Into Darkness is directed by J. J. Abrams, and is set for release on May 17, 2013. As we reported in January, Abrams was also selected as the director for the next Star Wars film.

Meanwhile, there’s no truth to the rumor floating in fan circles that J.J. Abrams will also be tapped as the new pope.

New Treasures: Wilderlands of High Fantasy

Wednesday, February 13, 2013 John ONeill Comments 14 comments

In the very early days of adventure gaming, there were two companies you could count on: TSR, creator of Dungeons and Dragons, and Judges Guild.

Judges Guild was admittedly second tier. While TSR was constantly innovating, with full color cover art and high production values, Judges Guild saw no reason to deviate from the look they established in 1976: rudimentary layout and typesetting, and two-color covers that looked torn from a coloring book.

But they were prolific. My weekly pilgrimages to the gaming store in 1979 rarely yielded a new TSR release — they were few and far between — but Judges Guild never let me down, and I went home satisfied with many a JG product tucked under my arm. At their peak in the early 80s, they employed 42 people and had over 250 products in print, an astounding output.

Judges Guild was founded by Bob Bledsaw and Bill Owen; their first major product (and claim to fame) was the City State of the Invincible Overlord. The ambitious setting for the City State — a massive 18 maps covering nine continents drawn from Bledsaw’s home campaign, ultimately used as the locale for numerous adventure modules — became their next major release: The Wilderlands of High Fantasy, the first licensed D&D product and the first true campaign setting for the game.

Wilderlands was different in other ways, too. Perhaps most importantly it had a true sandbox feel, rather than the tightly-focused adventures of Gygax and Co, in which players were expected to follow a linear path. It encouraged a wide-open style of gaming, focused on exploring vast and wondrous forests and rugged landscapes, rather than dungeon crawls.

…

Star Soldiers and Other Free Kindle Books at Amazon.com

Tuesday, February 12, 2013 John ONeill Comments 7 comments

One of the nice things about my Kindle is the occasional free e-book or two. Sure, you have to hunt for them, and they’re rarely available for long, but that’s all part of the fun. For book lovers it’s much like the thrill of Black Friday sales, without having to get off the couch. Or stampeding over some guy from Hoffman Estates to get to that David Weber novel.

As part of our continuing efforts to bring you great reading without getting off your couch, we’re proud to present you a list of free Kindle titles from Baen Books, including Star Soldiers, an omnibus volume of two classic novels from SFWA Grand Master Andre Norton: Star Guard (1955) and Star Rangers (1953).

Star Soldiers, Andre Norton
Time Traders, Andre Norton
Northworld Trilogy, David Drake
The Tank Lords, David Drake
Seas of Venus, David Drake
The Sea Hag, David Drake
Starliner, David Drake
With the Lightnings, David Drake
A Desert Called Peace, Tom Kratman
On Basilisk Station, David Weber
The Honor of the Queen, David Weber

All are available from Amazon.com.

Just like Black Friday sales, free Kindle books tend to vanish quickly. So if you’re interested, we suggest you act fast.

Thanks to the hard-working John DeNardo at SF Signal for the tip!

The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett on Sale Tomorrow

Monday, February 11, 2013 John ONeill Comments 3 comments

I heard a surprising amount of advance praise for Peter V. Brett’s first novel, The Warded Man. Contributors to Black Gate — and trust me, there’s no more discerning or harder-working readers out there — were abuzz about it long before it arrived in the US in 2009.

His second novel, The Desert Spear (March 2010), became an international bestseller — a feat George R.R. Martin accomplished only with his seventh. Anticipation for Peter’s third novel has been extremely high, and it finally arrives in bookstores tomorrow.

On the night of the new moon, the demons rise in force, seeking the deaths of two men, both of whom have the potential to become the fabled Deliverer, the man prophesied to reunite the scattered remnants of humanity in a final push to destroy the demon corelings once and for all.

Arlen Bales was once an ordinary man, but now he has become something more — the Warded Man, tattooed with eldritch wards so powerful they make him a match for any demon… Ahmann Jardir has forged the warlike desert tribes of Krasia into a demon-killing army and proclaimed himself Shar’Dama Ka, the Deliverer.

Once Arlen and Jardir were as close as brothers. Now they are the bitterest of rivals. As humanity’s enemies rise, the only two men capable of defeating them are divided against each other by the most deadly demons of all — those lurking in the human heart.

I brought home an early copy on Saturday, and it’s already been read once in the last 24 hours. When you have a family of fantasy fans, the most popular titles tend to vanish. I need to get the details down while I can still lay hands on it.

The Daylight War, Book Three of The Demon Cycle, will be released by Del Rey on February 12, 2013. It is 641 pages in hardcover, priced at $28 ($12.99 for the digital edition). Two more novels remain in the five-book series: The Skull Throne and The Core.

Vintage Treasures: Vampire, Edited by Peter Haining

Monday, February 11, 2013 John ONeill Comments 2 comments

I’m a fan of modern horror and dark fantasy — especially writers like Laird Barron, Dan Simmons, and Stephen King.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t also enjoy classic horror, particularly when it comes in the form of creepy and fun short stories. So when I discovered this little gem at the Starfarer’s Despatch booth — run by two of my favorite booksellers, Rich Warren and Arin Komins — at Capricon this weekend, I snatched it up immediately.

The text on the back reminded me of the monster movies I adored in my youth:

The Blood is the Life…

The distant howl of a wolf in the night… A faint but persistent tapping at your window-pane… An empty tomb… A solitary figure swathed in black, his face the colour of death but for his lips which are a deep scarlet …

Beware — for the Undead have risen from their graves. And they must feed …

Yeah, that brings me right back to 1975, when paradise was an issue of Tomb of Dracula and a ticket to the Saturday double feature of Frankenstein Conquers the World and Destroy All Monsters.

The contents look just as enticing — including stories by Bram Stoker, Richard Matheson, Edith Wharton, Robert E. Howard, Robert Bloch, and Ray Bradbury. Most of the stories read like 1960s-era Creature Features too, including Curt Siodmak’s “Experiment With Evil,” in which the intrepid Professor Windford responds to an urgent summons from Count Norlasky in the remote Austrian Alps. Long ago a curse was laid on the Count’s ancestral home, and for most of his life he’s battled demons, werewolves, and vampires in an attempt to reclaim it. But one opponent has vexed him more than any other, and now he’s fallen victim to a soul-sucking thing.

…

Black Gate Online Fiction: “Life on the Sun” by C.S.E. Cooney

Sunday, February 10, 2013 John ONeill Comments 7 comments

In the hottest driest month of the year, to the hottest driest city in the Empire of the Open Palm, a long and endless winter night had come… as the Army of Childless Men marched upon the desert city of Rok Moris, home of the Bird People.

They made a final graceless descent over the barren mounds of Paupers’ Grave, at the southernmost edge of the city. Beneath the mounds of Paupers’ Grave, the secret burrows of long bygone builders spiraled down and down into the cliff rock. The labyrinth, the mazepaths, the Catacombs. Where, in secret, the Bird People dwelled.

Kantu dropped from the glider with a wrenched groan. Mikiel tumbled after but regained her balance in an instant, shifting her feet lightly until once again her sandals settled like petals on the dirt. Mikiel shrugged the contraption off her shoulders and folded it back into her pack. She stroked the patchworks and ribbing, murmuring sweet thank yous.

“Good old thing,” she said. “Clever wings, clever threads, clever souls.”

“The rest of us get rugs,” Kantu said sourly. “Rugs are good enough. They do the job. Only you would think of wings.”

“And you call yourself Bird People.”

C.S.E. Cooney’s fiction has been reprinted in Rich Horton’s Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy (2011 and 2012 editions). Her poems and short stories have appeared in Clockwork Phoenix 3, Apex, Subterranean, Strange Horizons, Podcastle, Pseudopod, Ideomancer, Goblin Fruit, and Mythic Delirium. Her collection, How to Flirt in Faerieland and Other Wild Rhymes, was released by Papaveria Press in May and her fairytale-with-teeth novella, Jack o’ the Hills, was published by Papaveria in January. She was the recipient of the Rhysling Award in 2011 for “The Sea King’s Second Bride.”

“Life on the Sun” is a complete 10,000-word novelette of adventure fantasy offered at no cost. It is the sequel to “Godmother Lizard,” which appeared here on Sunday, November 11th, 2012, and which Louis West at Tangent Online said, “entranced me from the beginning… I highly recommend it.”

Read the complete story here.

New Treasures: Dream Castles: The Early Jack Vance, Volume Two

Sunday, February 10, 2013 John ONeill Comments 19 comments

I spent this past weekend at Capricon 33, a local Chicago science fiction convention. The panels and readings were excellent, and perhaps the highlight was a Saturday night panel titled “Judging a Book by Page 119.” Steven Silver, Rich Horton, Kelly Strait, and Helen Montgomery read page 119 of some of their favorite novels, and the audience was left to guess the book. Someone in the back row correctly identified Poul Anderson’s The High Crusade, and I was pretty close with Robert Holdstock’s Mythago Wood trilogy (although I got the exact book wrong), but the panelists managed to stump us on Iain M. Banks Consider Phlebas, Patrick Rothfuss’s The Name of the Wind, Saladin Ahmed’s The Throne of the Crescent Moon, Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear, The Little Country by Charles de Lint, and many others.

I can’t spend more than an hour or two at a good convention without realizing I’m not reading enough good books. I scurried to the Dealer’s room first chance I got and spent a few bucks in an attempt to rectify the situation. I found plenty of great treasures, but the real gem of the lot was the sole copy of the out-of-print Dream Castles: The Early Jack Vance, Volume Two, which I stumbled on at Larry Smith’s table.

I’ve been looking for a copy of Dream Castles for nearly a year — ever since I bought the first volume, Hard Luck Diggings. Both were published by Subterranean Press, and both gather early pulp fiction from one of the greatest 20th Century science fiction and fantasy writers.

Dream Castles collects short stories and novellas from Astounding Science Fiction (“I’ll Build Your Dream Castle,” Sept. 1947), Marvel Science Stories (“Golden Girl,” May 1951), and many other pulps — including Fantastic Science Fiction Fantasy, Space Science Fiction, and Orbit Science Fiction. The short novel, “Son of the Tree,” originally appeared in the June 1951 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories.

…

Black Gate

Adventures in Fantasy Literature

Browsed by
Author: John ONeill