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Author: John ONeill

James Davis Nicoll on Five Thrilling SF Stories About Patrolling Space

James Davis Nicoll on Five Thrilling SF Stories About Patrolling Space

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Crashing Suns (Ace, 1965), A Matter of Oaths (Questar, 1990), and The Prefect (Ace Books, 2009).
Covers by Ed Valigursky, Martin Andrews, and Chris Moore

What’s better than thrilling stories of patrolling space?? (No need to email an answer; it’s a rhetorical question. And the answer is “nuthin'”).

Mind you, I’d be hard pressed to cite actual examples. Star Trek books maybe? EC Comics Weird Science, naturally. After that, I got nothing.

Fortunately James Nicoll reads a lot more than I do. Over at Tor.com he’s posted a fun little article titled Five Thrilling SF Stories About Patrolling Space, which includes classics like Edmond Hamilton’s Crashing Suns, but also more modern titles I was totally ignorant of. Here’s his take on Helen S. Wright’s sole SF novel A Matter of Oaths:

There are but three powers of note — the Old Empire and the New Empire, both ruled by their respective immortal emperors, as well as the Guild of Webbers that supplies both sides with starship crews — but the simmering conflict between empires, not to mention basic human cussedness, means an endless need for the services of patrolships like Bhattya to deal with raiders and the like. Being short-staffed, Bhattya’s Commander Rallya grudgingly hires Rafe. Rafe’s service record and qualifications are exemplary… enough so that Rallya is forced to overlook the alarming fact that Rafe was previously mind-wiped for reasons unrecorded. It is only once Rafe is a member of the crew that Rallya belatedly becomes aware of a fact that would have been nice to know before Rafe came on board: someone appears to want Rafe dead and to achieve this goal, they are quite willing to sacrifice everyone in Rafe’s vicinity. Including the crew of the Bhattya.

That definitely sounds like something I shouldn’t have overlooked three decades ago. Here’s the back covers for all three books above.

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Future Treasures: Stormbreak, Book 3 of the Seafire Trilogy by Natalie C. Parker (Author)

Future Treasures: Stormbreak, Book 3 of the Seafire Trilogy by Natalie C. Parker (Author)

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The Seafire trilogy (Razorbill, 2018-21). Covers by Billelis and Cliff Nielsen

You know the rule about trilogies at Black Gate. Every time one wraps up, we bake a cake. Stormbreak, the third novel in Natalie C. Parker’s Seafire series, arrives early next month from Razorbill, and the interns are already warming up the oven.

What’s Seafire all about? Pirates!! Girl pirates of the far future, actually, which is intensely cool. My favorite notice comes from Feliza Casano over at Tor.com, who enthusiastically reviewed the first volume:

Caledonia Styx’s ship, the Mors Navis, is one of the only ships that still sails free from the rule of bloodthirsty warlord Aric Athair and his army of Bullets, who brutalize the coastal settlements… it was a Bullet boy claiming to seek a place on the Mors Navis who talked Caledonia into revealing the Mors Navis’s location, resulting in the death of every person in the crew save Caledonia and her best friend, Pisces, who were ashore on a supply run.

Four years later, Caledonia and Pisces have rebuilt the Mors Navis and recruited a new crew entirely made up of women and girls who have lost their own families and homes to Athair’s raids. The women of the Mors Navis are determined to chip away at Athair’s empire, even if that means taking his navy down ship by ship. But when Pisces brings aboard a runaway Bullet who says he wants to defect, the secret Caledonia’s been keeping for four years threatens to come to light…

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A Mutant Godling on a Ruined Earth: The Eyes Trilogy by Stuart Gordon

A Mutant Godling on a Ruined Earth: The Eyes Trilogy by Stuart Gordon

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The Eyes Trilogy by Stuart Gordon (DAW, 1973-75). Covers by Tim Kirk, Peter Manesis, and Michael Whelan

DAW Books is one of the most prestigious and successful science fiction imprints in the industry, regularly publishing top-selling authors and titles. Fifty years ago…. well, it wasn’t any of those things. Donald A. Wollheim built his scrappy publishing powerhouse the old fashioned way: by buying the best books he could find on a shoestring budget, slapping whatever cover art he could find on the cover, and moving on rapidly to the next book.

Wollheim gave a lot of brand new authors (and forgotten authors, and washed up authors) a chance — and in many cases, multiple chances. Many, like C.J, Cherryh, John Brunner, Tanith Lee, Mercedes Lackey, and Melanie Rawn, grew with the imprint and gradually became big names. And a great many…. didn’t.

Stuart Gordon is in the latter category. He published a trilogy of science fiction paperbacks in the early 70s, then promptly abandoned SF, moving on to biker books like The Bike from Hell and The Devil’s Rider (both written as Alex R. Stuart). But I used to see One Eye, Two Eyes, and Three Eyes on the shelves when I was a wee lad exploring the science fiction racks for the first time, and they always fascinated me.

Part of it was the subject matter: a strangely powerful mutant roaming a blasted post-apocalyptic landscape and…. I dunno? Carrying unconscious women around? I was never clear on the concept, actually. But hey, mutants and blasted mountain peaks! That’s all it took to fascinate me in those days. My needs were simple.

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The Secret World of Greg Ketter

The Secret World of Greg Ketter

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Hit or Myth by Robert Asprin (Starblaze, 1983). Cover by Phil Foglio

Greg Ketter, owner of Dreamhaven Books in Minneapolis, is one of the best booksellers in the business, and he’s sold me many fine volumes over the years. Greg doesn’t talk about it much, but he’s also friends with many of the most famous writers and artists in the field. This being a creative industry, Greg’s friendships reveal themselves in entertaining ways. In fact, Greg has been Tuckerized more than anyone else I know, and in some surprising ways.

I’ve been enjoying Greg’s tales of Tuckerization on Facebook. What is “Tuckerization?” Here, I’ll let Greg explain it.

Wilson “Bob” Tucker was an early SF fan who also went pro, writing mystery and science fiction stories alike. His first book, mystery novel The Chinese Doll, contained the names of many of his friends as characters. Thus you had been “Tuckerized.” The practice continues today sometimes with people paying great sums of money (usually for charities) to be included as characters in books. The most popular seems to be getting killed off in whatever silly/gruesome/disgusting/crazy way the author can dream up.

Greg’s namesake has appeared in George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones, Nick Pollata’s Satellite Night Fever, Joe Domenici’s Bringing Back the Dead, and many more. But my favorite story is the time he appeared on the cover of Hit or Myth, the fourth book in Robert Asprin’s popular and long running Myth Adventures series:

I was staying with Phil Foglio for a while when he said he needed a model for the new Robert Asprin Myth book. Sure, why not. So, I became a demon for Hit or Myth. Notice those ripped abs (actually, back then I was a bit closer to that than I am now. Everything has dropped down a ways since then). I helped with some of the atrocious puns scattered about the cover and Phil named the place “K’tier Abu’s Djin Mill” as a nod to his old buddy.

I leave it as an exercise to the reader to spot all those visual puns Greg mentions. Just about every one of my friends in Ottawa back in the day read Asprin’s Myth Adventures series, and the books were scattered around our house when I was in University. It’s quite the kick to discover that’s I’ve secretly known the cover model for the demon Aahz all these years. Small world.

New Treasures: The Eleventh Gate by Nancy Kress

New Treasures: The Eleventh Gate by Nancy Kress

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Now here’s an attractive combo: a brand new space opera novel by multiple award-winner Nancy Kress, wrapped up in a gorgeous vision of deep space adventure by Bob Eggleton. You know this book would look damn handsome on your shelf.

I’m not sure how this one managed to slip past me when it was first released in May of last year. (I was probably hiding in my basement from the pandemic.) What’s it all about? Russell Letson at Locus Online fills us in:

The Eleventh Gate… combines elements of space opera with quasi-dystopian political conflict and intrigue among a collection of extrasolar colonies. A century and a half earlier, the discovery of a set of mysterious interstellar gates allowed waves of emigrants to escape an Earth ravaged by ecological collapse and global war: ten gates, eight surprisingly habitable worlds, and three very different sets of refugee-settlers.

Now the Eight Worlds are occupied by their descendants… these societies have gotten along mostly peacefully until the discovery of an eleventh gate sets off a land-rush rivalry that lurches into warfare.

Publisher’s Weekly reviewed the book warmly; here’s an excerpt.

Warring families and philosophies drive this complex science fiction thriller… Refugees from a dying Earth escape via a mysterious stargate leading to the Eight Worlds system. They divide these worlds between three political factions: the totalitarian Peregoy Corporation, the Landry Libertarian Alliance, and the planet Polyglot, a “patchwork of individual nations” and economies. Then a new stargate appears, sparking a race to claim it and whatever world waits on the other side. Ambitious Tara Landry, heir to the Landry Alliance, hatches a hare-brained scheme to prevent the reignited tensions between factions from breaking into war. But when Tara’s plan goes awry, war becomes inevitable… This swift, political story proves a rip-roaring diversion.

The Eleventh Gate was published by Baen Books on May 5, 2020. It is 352 pages, priced at $15.99 in trade paperback and $8.99 in digital formats. The cover is by Bob Eggleton. Read a generous excerpt at the Baen website.

See all our recent new Treasures here.

Alien Warfare, Gunwrights, and Cyborg Hobos: January/February Print SF Magazines

Alien Warfare, Gunwrights, and Cyborg Hobos: January/February Print SF Magazines

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I haven’t had time to jump into my plaguemobile and navigate all the pandemic roadblocks and decontamination checkpoints to get to Barnes & Noble to pick up the latest print magazines. But according to what I’ve read online, I don’t have any choice… looks like these are can’t-miss issues. Here’s what Michelle Ristuccia at Tangent Online said about the latest issue of Asimov’s SF.

American combat veteran Sylvia Aldstatt is the only person on Earth who can search dead criminal Dimitrios’ memories for crucial intel in “A Rocket for Dimitrios” by Ray Nayler. Racing against the ticking clock of decomposing neural pathways, Sylvia Aldstatt investigates Dimitrios’ claim of a second crashed extraterrestrial ship… Nayler brings readers an adventure that’s as immersive as it is thought-provoking. “A Rocket for Dimitrios,” stands alone as an engaging and accessible novella for all genre readers, but spy novel enthusiasts will recognize the nod to Eric Ambler’s classic 1967 novel, A Coffin for Dimitrios. Readers who want more of Nayler’s fascinating alternative history SF can find Sylvia Aldstatt in “The Disintegration Loops,” published first in Asimov’s Nov/Dec 2019 issue and also now available on Ray Nayler’s website…

Suzanne Palmer brings readers a delightfully comedic who-done-it set on a menagerie of a space station in “Table Etiquette for Diplomatic Personnel, in Seventeen Scenes.” Through Palmer’s strategic humor, readers soon identify the obnoxious Joxto as the main antagonists of newly appointed Station Commander Niagara, though she has yet to meet the infamous aliens herself. She’ll get her chance soon enough… Palmer brings her station and the larger universe to life through the POV’s of several station inhabitants, painting readers a vivid picture through casually dropped space lore, a melting pot of clashing cultures, and truly alien extraterrestrials who resemble sea cucumbers, birds, and overly curious pumas. Running jokes and excellent comedic timing provide an enthralling mix of slap stick and sitcom drama…

The moment after Lieutenant Balázs’ starship bridge is breached and most of its bridge crew incapacitated, “Hunches” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch begins. Reeling from the unexpected attack, Balázs soon realizes he is the only crew member left conscious on the bridge.. Rusch brings us an action-packed story of split-second decisions and willing sacrifice, of heroic acts performed in the absence of sufficient information but with the help of a little luck and a lot of perseverance…

Here’s all the details.

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Vintage Treasures: Fairyland by Paul J. McAuley

Vintage Treasures: Fairyland by Paul J. McAuley

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Fairyland by Paul J. McAuley. Cover by Bruce Jensen

Paul J. McAuley was one of our earliest contributors, with a book review column in the very first issue of Black Gate magazine. His writing career was taking off at the same time — his debut novel Four Hundred Billion Stars won the Philip K. Dick Award in 1988, and Kirkus Reviews raved about his 1995 novel Red Dust, calling it “An extraordinary saga… Superb.”

But his breakout book was Fairyland, an early nanotech novel set in a ruined Europe where bioengineered dolls are used as disposable slaves. It won both the Arthur C. Clarke Award and John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best SF Novel, and was eventually reissued as part of Gollancz’s SF Masterworks series. In his SF Site review Matthew Cheney wrote:

Fairyland was first published in 1995; it dazzles still. Though some of the props of its future have been churned into clichés by many subsequent novels and movies, few of those props have gathered dust in the intervening years… even more remarkable is that, at least for its first two thirds, the novel succeeds as much on the strengths of its structure, characters, and themes as it does on its whizz-bangs and gosh-wows…

The basic plot is a simple thriller-quest: a man goes in search of a woman who bewitched him with something he considers love (though it might be the residual effect of being sprayed with nanobots)… Along the way, McAuley gives us a vision of EuroDisney that is as disturbing as the visions of its American counterparts in Stanley Elkin’s The Magic Kingdom and Carl Hiaasen’s Native Tongue. The chapters set here are among the most compelling and vivid in the book, a posthuman primordial ooze fueled by excesses of capital and biology in the ruins of a labyrinth built by corporate “Imagineers”….

It is a story propelled at its best moments by ideas, and yet it doesn’t neglect to present characters who are, more often than not, individual and unpredictable, and so it helps break down the supposed barriers between the novel of ideas and the novel of psychology in the same way that it breaks down the more intractable barriers between hard science fiction and high fantasy.

Fairyland was published in the UK by Gollancz in 1995, and reprinted in mass market paperback in the US by Avon in July 1997. The Avon paperback is 420 pages, priced at $5.99. The cover is by Bruce Jensen.

See all our recent Vintage Treasures here.

A Near-Perfect Blend of Detective Story and Military SF: The Planetside Trilogy by Michael Mammay

A Near-Perfect Blend of Detective Story and Military SF: The Planetside Trilogy by Michael Mammay

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The Planetside Trilogy by Michael Mammy. Covers by Sébastien Hue

I discovered Michael Mammay’s debut novel Planetside, the opening novel in a new military SF trilogy, while browsing a list of the most interesting new sci-fi of July 2018 at io9. They summed it up as:

A semi-retired war hero takes on a mission at the behest of an old friend, searching for an important officer’s MIA son. But what seems like a simple search-and-rescue gig soon gets a lot more complicated when he arrives on the far side of the galaxy and discovers a strange, ravaged planet teeming with secrets.

When volume #2, Spaceside, arrived a year later, Jeff Somers at The Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog included it in his Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Books of August 2019, saying:

Last year, Michael Mammay’s Planetside delivered a near-perfect blend of detective story and military sci-fi. The sequel finds Colonel Carl Butler returning from his assignment in that book with a split reputation — part hero, part outcast. He’s once again forced into retirement, but this time he at least gets a cushy corporate job that capitalizes on his military reputation. When he’s asked by his bosses to investigate a devastating hack of a competitor’s computer systems — a hack no one will take responsibility for — Butler finds himself caught in a dangerous web that has him doubting his own mind even as he suspects he’s onto something much bigger than simple corporate espionage.

After all that you can understand why I kept my eye out for the third book. Colonyside arrived right on time on December 29, 2020, to warm reviews. In a starred review Library Journal said it’s “Highly recommended for readers who like their heroes cynical, their mystery twisted, and their sf thought-provoking.” That’s all the endorsement I need. All three books were published as paperback originals by Harper Voyager, with covers by Sebastien Hue. Here’s the complete details.

Planetside (370 pages, $7.99 paperback/$6.99 digital, July 31, 2018)
Spaceside (368 pages, $7.99 paperback/$5.99 digital, August 27, 2019)
Colonyside (384 pages, $7.99 paperback/$5.99 digital, December 29, 2020)

See all our coverage of the best SF and fantasy series old and new here.

Evil Space Plants, Lecherous Dragons, and the Mysteries of the Vampire: Weird Tales 364 Arrives

Evil Space Plants, Lecherous Dragons, and the Mysteries of the Vampire: Weird Tales 364 Arrives

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Weird Tales #364. Cover by Lynne Hansen

What’s this? Can it be? Two issues of Weird Tales magazine published in a single year? That hasn’t happened since (hastily checks notes) 2012!

There are other changes afoot as well, not just this insanely overambitious publication schedule. Marvin Kaye, who took over as editor in 2012 with issue 360 and managed just four issue in the last nine years, is no longer on the masthead. Replacing him as editor is Jonathan Maberry, who was Editorial Director of issue 363, which I wrote about last January.

But enough editorial gossip — what about the issue itself? It is real? Who’s in it? Who painted that awesome cover?

It is in fact real — at least digitally. Weird Tales #364 was published in digital formats on December 21, with print issues “available soon.” It’s crammed with tales of “Evil space plants, lecherous dragons and the mysteries of the vampire” by a stellar line up of writers, including Seanan McGuire, Marguerite Reed, Joe R. Lansdale, Gregory Frost, Tim Waggoner, and many more. And that entirely awesome and weird bird-lady cover? It’s by Lynne Hansen.

Here’s the complete Table of Contents.

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New Treasures: Best New Horror 30, edited by Stephen Jones

New Treasures: Best New Horror 30, edited by Stephen Jones

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Best New Horror 30 (PS Publishing, November 2020). Cover by Warren Kremer

Gardner Dozois edited 35 volumes of The Year’s Best Science Fiction between 1984 and 2018, an extraordinary achievement that I didn’t expect to be equaled any time soon. But closing fast on his heels is Stephen Jones, who just released volume 30 of his Best New Horror series in November.

Publishing delays have accumulated for Best New Horror over the years; as result this volume collects tales from 2018. But that blemish aside, it’s a fine anthology with top notch horror from Ramsey Campbell, Michael Marshal Smith, Alison Littlewood, Graham Masterton, Damien Angelica Walters, two stories from Peter Bell, and lots more — all packaged under a delightfully retro cover by Warren Kremer. Black Gate blogger Mario Guslandi offers up an in-depth review at Ginger Nuts of Horror; here’s a sample.

First of all I’d like to mention the two stories by Peter Bell, a fantastic author of ghostly tales, whose body of work has appeared so far only in books from small, indie imprints… “The House” is an eerie piece of fiction about three gentlemen following the traces of an elusive, ambiguous ghost story writer, and “ The Virgin Mary Well” is a dark, atmospheric story where ancient, unholy secrets about a mysterious well are unearthed and brought back to the present…

“The Deep Sea Swell” by John Langan is a tense, thrilling story where the ghost of a past sea tragedy gets loose during a storm, while “ Holiday Reading” by Rosalie Parker is a delightful tale suspended between literature and reality. In the creepy “The Smiling Man, by Simon Kurt Unsworth, violating the grave of a disreputable character brings about serious disturbances in a quiet small village…

Mark Samuels provides “Posterity”, an Aickmanesque story (not a simple coincidence…) describing the uncanny experience of a literary researcher exploring the legacy of a deceased writer whose initials are R.A. In Thana Niveau’s truly outstanding “ Octoberland” nostalgia and childhood horrors blend to create an insightful, unforgettable mix.

Here’s the complete Table of Contents.

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