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Author: John ONeill

Howard Andrew Jones’ Pathfinder Tales: Plague of Shadows Available for Pre-order

Howard Andrew Jones’ Pathfinder Tales: Plague of Shadows Available for Pre-order

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Pathfinder Tales: Plague of Shadows, by Howard Andrew Jones. Coming February 2011Black Gate Managing Editor Howard Andrew Jones has had a busy year.

In addition to his upcoming Dabir & Asim novel The Desert of Souls, due in hardcover February 2011 from Thomas Dunne Books, Howard’s second novel Pathfinder Tales: Plague of Shadows will appear from Paizo in early 2011.

Pathfinder Tales novels are standalone novels set in the world of Golarion, home of the succesful Pathfinder role playing game.  The first two volumes are Prince of Wolves by Dave Gross (August 2010) and Winter Witch by Elaine Cunningham (November).

Here’s the book description:

The race is on to free Lord Stelan from the grip of a wasting curse, and only his old elven mercenary companion Elyana has the wisdom — and swordcraft — to solve the mystery of his tormentor and free her old friend before three days have passed and the illness takes its course. When the villain turns out to be another of their former companions, the elf sets out with a team of adventurers across the Revolution-wracked nation of Galt and the treacherous Five Kings Mountains to discover the key to Stelan’s salvation in a lost valley warped by weird magical energies and inhabited by terrible nightmare beasts. From Black Gate magazine’s fiction editor Howard Andrew Jones comes a fantastic new adventure of swords and sorcery, set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

You can pre-order copies directly from Piazo, either individually or as part of their Pathfinder Tales subscription.

Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “Destroyer” by James Enge

Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “Destroyer” by James Enge

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Morlock the Maker. Art by Chuck LukacsThe second novella in Black Gate 14 was “Destroyer” by James Enge, the sixth of his extremely popular Morlock stories to appear in our pages. Here’s what Tangent Online had to say:

Thend, his mother, Morlock and the rest of the family are fleeing some calamity from Sarkunden in the south towards a high pass in the northwest — attempting not to be seen by the insect-like Khroi and the Khroi’s enemies, the giant spiders, by staying between the territories of the two species. Thend and Morlock come upon a Khroi, trussed up and hanging from a tree — awaiting his eventual fate as a meal for the spiders — and because Thend is young and passionate about doing the right thing, [he] frees the Khroi, which will have consequences later… I’m going to search out Enge’s other stories about Morlock.

Lois Tilton at Locus Online comments:

Part of a dark fantasy series which has by now accumulated a massive weight of backstory. Fortunately, most of it has been left behind as the wizard Morlock and his companions continue their journey across a range of mountains infested with spiderfolk, dragons and the insectile warrior Khroi. It is the Khroi who capture the party, with the intention of laying their eggs in the human bodies. But their primary purpose has been the elimination of Morlock, whom they call the Destroyer; their seers have foretold that he will be the destruction of their horde, despite Morlock insisting that he has no such intention. Intention, however, isn’t everything.

And Sherwood Williams at SF Site observes:

It turns out that the Khroi have been told that Morlock would cause their destruction, which is why they must destroy him first. This causes a fascinating debate between the Khroi leader and Morlock on dreams, foretelling, and predestination, echoed by conversations among the companions. Enge builds an imaginative world with intriguing details, but never loses sight of character development. Thend, the boy who is struggling to understand his own visions, is an appealing contrast to the mysterious Morlock who talks to dragons.

“Destroyer” appears in Black Gate 14. You can read an excerpt here, and the complete Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek is available here. You can find additional reviews of the entire issue here.

Art by Chuck Lukacs for the very first Morlock story, “Turn Up This Crooked Way” (Black Gate 8).

Existence of Unpublished Stieg Larsson Novel is Confirmed

Existence of Unpublished Stieg Larsson Novel is Confirmed

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dragon-tattooCBS and The New York Times are reporting that the long-rumored fourth novel in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series does, in fact, exist.

Whether it will ever be published in another matter. The complete text has yet to surface, and the only person reportedly in possession of a copy is his longtime companion Eva Gabrielsson, who is believed to have a laptop containing the manuscript. However Gabrielsson does not control the rights to the book, which are held by Larsson’s family. CBS is reporting the Larssons have, to date, forbidden publication.

The Millennium trilogy began with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and continued in The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.  Larsson reportedly planned to write 10 volumes.

Larsson, who died of a heart attack at the age of 50, did not live to see the books published.  They have become an international phenomenon, with roughly 30 million copies sold. All were published originally in Sweden and then translated into English.

Among the disclosures today was the fact that the manuscript is believed to be the fifth book in the 10-volume series, rather than the fourth, “because he thought that was more fun to write.”

I bought these books for my mother on her birthday, only to discover she’d already read them.  That pretty much makes me the last person in North America not to have read them.  On the bright side, at least now I have copies.

Adventures Fantastic reviews James Enge’s “Destroyer”

Adventures Fantastic reviews James Enge’s “Destroyer”

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destroyer21Keith West has started a series of “Long Looks at Short Fiction” at the Adventures Fantastic blog, and he’s kicked it off with Black Gate 14:

If you’re a fan of heroic fantasy, adventure fantasy, or just plain good ol’ fashioned storytelling, and you haven’t checked out Black Gate, then you owe it to yourself to do so.  Some of the best writing being done in the fantasy field right now is published here…  John O’Neil [sic] brings the highest production and editorial values to his magazine.
What separates Black Gate from the pro markets is that the Big Three… aren’t willing to publish novellas from writers who aren’t household names (yet).

The first piece he discusses is James Enge’s Morlock tale “Destroyer:”

The story opens with Morlock leading the party between two mountain ranges.  He takes Thend with him to investigate something… a Khroi warrior trapped in a web built by the spider people.
The pace is swift, and the nonhuman characters intriguing as Morlock attempts to guide the party between Khroi and spider people without detection.  You can probably guess how successful he is in this… all the usual sardonic wit and cleverness we’ve come to expect from Morlock are on display here. Morlock has been described as a thinking man’s Conan.
Morlock uses his brain at least as much as he uses his magic or his sword.  The situation here isn’t one he can simply get out of by either magic or swordsmanship (although both are necessary)… If you’re not familiar with Morlock, this is as good a place as any to make his acquaintance.

You can read the complete commentary here.

Art by Chuck Lukacs for “Destroyer” (from Black Gate 14).

Apex Magazine 17 Arrives

Apex Magazine 17 Arrives

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apex-oct-10aThe October issue of Apex Magazine is now available.

Apex is a magazine of Dark Fiction, publishing science fiction, fantasy, horror, and “mash-ups of all three.”  Single issue price is $2.99, and they are available in ePub/PDF/LIT/PDB/ LRF/mobi/RB/prc formats, which is more formats than I knew existed. A lot more, if I’m honest about it.

They have an October Financial Goal meter right on the website, so you can see exactly how your purchase impacts the bottom line, which is fairly gratifying.  If I did that, I’d have to have a separate meter for the uncontrolled pulp purchases currently depleting the Black Gate bank account. Stupid eBay.

Original fiction this issue is from Ian Tregillis and Brenda Stokes Barron, and there’s a special reprint by Ekaterina Sedia. Poetry is by Rose Lemberg and Elizabeth McClellan.

Their September issue apparently snuck past us, but we did profile August.  So we’re not completely asleep.

Apex Magazine is edited by the lovely and tireless Catherynne M. Valente.

Come Visit Port Iris

Come Visit Port Iris

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port-isisOK, there’s gotta be a more creative headline when your name is Port Iris magazine, but that’s the best I could come up with.

Editor Casey Seda dropped us a note this week, saying:

I have not come across Black Gate until recently, but when I did, I had to subscribe to your RSS feed immediately. As an editor of my own speculative fiction magazine, I like to see the opinions of readers for other magazines. Our magazine has released its 3rd quarterly issue and is available for free in web and PDF formats.

I was intrigued enough to drop by their website. Port Iris is an extremely attractive publication, and in the Submission Guidelines Casey says he’s “specifically looking for science fiction and fantasy, but I am open to almost anything. Cross-genre is acceptable too.” Sounds like a recipe for an interesting magazine.

Issue 3 contains three short stories, “The Father of the Riverborn,” by Megan Arkenberg, “Salary Ninja,” by Aidan Doyle, and “Watching,” by Jeremy C. Shipp, as well as interviews with A.J. Hartley, Davey Beauchamp, and DJ Torch.

You can find the latest issue here. Check it out and let us know what you think.

Black Gate: Your Definitive Source for Sword & Sorcery

Black Gate: Your Definitive Source for Sword & Sorcery

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swordssorcery2So I finally had a chance to sit down this week with Swords & Dark Magic, the new anthology from Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders.

It’s well worth your time.  It has a terrific new story by James Enge, “The Singing Spear,” in which Morlock faces off against an indestructible weapon of his own design. It also includes a new Black Company tale by Glen Cook, and a fresh Elric novella from Michael Moorcock.

Additional contributors include Robert Silverberg, with a new Majipoor story, and Michael Shea with a tale of Cugel the Clever, as well as Joe Abercrombie, Garth Nix, Gene Wolfe, Steven Erikson, C.J. Cherryh, and many others.

The introduction by the editors, “Check Your Dark Lord at the Door,” is a fine retrospective of Sword & Sorcery through the decades. And the editors salute this publication with:

Black Gate magazine… has been the definitive source for sword and sorcery short-form works since its launch in 2000.

Kind words indeed. Always a pleasure to be honored by such distinguished gentlemen. And now I know what book I’ll be giving as a Christmas gift to all my relatives and in-laws. If you’re interested in a copy, better find one before I buy them all.

Mario Vargas Llosa wins Nobel Prize for Literature

Mario Vargas Llosa wins Nobel Prize for Literature

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war-of-the-end-of-the-worldPeruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa, one of the finest writers in the world — perhaps, indeed, the finest writer — was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize for Literature by the Royal Swedish Academy yesterday.

Vargas Llosa wrote two of the best novels I’ve ever read: Time of the Hero, based on his experiences at a Peruvian military academy — which caused such an uproar that a thousand copies were publicly burned by military authorities — and The War of the End of the World, which he’s called his finest book. This historical novel of End-of-the-19th-Century Brazil reads like epic fantasy, chronicling the apocalyptic fate of the small town of Canudos, in the grip of a visionary prophet and home to the country’s outcasts — prostitutes, bandits, and beggars — and a place where money, taxation, and marriage do not exist. Until the Brazilian government deems it must be destroyed at any cost.

In total he’s written over 30 novels and plays, including The Green House, Conversation in the Cathedral, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, and In Praise of the Stepmother.

Vargas Llosa ran for President of Peru in 1990, but lost to Alberto Fujimori, who was later convicted of bribery, embezzlement, and human rights violations and sentenced to 25 years in prison. In 1976 Vargas Llosa famously punched his former friend Gabriel García Márquez (author of One Hundred Years of Solitude and a 1982 Nobel Prize winner himself) in Mexico City, and the two have reportedly not spoken in decades.

The Nobel Prize for Literature is regarded as the highest award a writer can receive. Previous winners have included Guenter Grass, Toni Morrison, William Golding, Saul Bellow, Samuel Beckett, Jean-Paul Sartre, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, Winston Churchill, William Faulkner, and George Bernard Shaw.

E-Books That Cost More Than Hardcovers?

E-Books That Cost More Than Hardcovers?

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fall-of-giantsThe New York Times is reporting that two recent bestsellers — Fall of Giants by Ken Follett, and Don’t Blink by James Patterson and Howard Roughan — are priced higher in their e-book versions than in print by Amazon.com.

As of press time, Fall of Giants, published by Dutton on Sept 28, is $19.99 for the Kindle edition, and just $19.39 for the physical book (all 1,008 pages).   Don’t Blink is $14.99 for the e-book, or just $14 for the hardcover.

As you can imagine, this has ignited something of a firestorm in Amazon’s Customer Reviews section, resulting in both novels taking a critical drubbing.

Fall of Giants has 63 five-star reviews versus over 200 one-star reviews, with comments ranging from:

Refuse to pay this much for an ebook

and

Let’s boycott the gougers

…

Read More Read More

Heroic Fantasy Quarterly 6 Arrives

Heroic Fantasy Quarterly 6 Arrives

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hfq-bannerThe sixth issue of online fiction zine Heroic Fantasy Quarterly appeared September 30.  What are you still doing here? Jump over to HFQ and check it out!

Contents this issue include the short stories “The Sea Wasp” by Robert Rhodes and “Heart of Man” by David Pilling, as well as poems from Charles Saplak and Shennandoah Diaz.

There’s also an editorial, which includes this amusing update on our pal Adrian Simmons:

After stumbling upon a rare opportunity to level-up, Adrian Simmons will be taking off the next two quarters at HFQ in order take a Numerical Analysis of Data course, as well as a prep course for the Fundamentals of Engineering test. Thus begins a six-month process akin to the development of the classic AD&D bard. If he passes, he looks forward to the ability to charm monsters.

Looking forward to the details at the World Fantasy Convention, Adrian. Bring the harp.

Past issues of HFQ have included contributions from Black Gate stalwarts such as Contributing Editor Bill Ward, Vaughn Heppner (our man!) and Euan Harvey,  as well as Matthew Wuertz, James Lecky, Jeff Crook, and many others. You can find the treasures of the past at their hearty Archives.

Heroic Fantasy Quarterly is edited by the mighty crew of Adrian Simmons, David Farney, William Ledbetter, and James Lecky. Art this issue is by Mariusz Gandzel.