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Here They Are — The Brand New 1957 Titles from Gnome Press

Here They Are — The Brand New 1957 Titles from Gnome Press

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Gnome Press 1957 brand new titles announcement-small

For tonight, I thought I’d post a rare bit of Robert E. Howard Conan ephemera I’ve been meaning to post for awhile, but hadn’t gotten around to yet. This is the front page of the 1957 Gnome Press catalog — the catalog is four pages long, printed on an 11″ x 17″ sheet of paper folded in half (click the image above for a legible version).

Among other books, it advertises “The Fabulous Conan Series,” stating

CONAN, the very-human splendid barbarian, who found high adventure and fought both men or demon in his climb to kingship in the magical pre-dawn lands of Hyboria.

And then followed by a quote on the Conan stories from a professor in the History Department at SMU.

Inside was a one-sided sheet offering their Christmas Discount Offer, 10 books for $12, which I’ll post below. I’d gladly pay that!

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Future Treasures: The Traitor God by Cameron Johnston

Future Treasures: The Traitor God by Cameron Johnston

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The Traitor God-smallCameron Johnston has published short fiction in The Lovecraft eZine, A Fistful of Horrors: Tales of Terror from the Old West (2012), Up and Coming: Stories by the 2016 Campbell-Eligible Authors (2016), and other fine places.

His debut novel is an epic fantasy featuring gods, daemons, and very dark sorcery. Gavin G Smith (Age of Scorpio) calls it “one part street-level procedural and two parts urban magic apocalypse,” and Neil Williamson (The Moon King) says, “The Traitor God grabs you and doesn’t let go. Facing Gods, monsters, and a magic elite that wants him dead, Edrin Walker’s return to Setharis is a noirish romp packed with action and laced with black humour.” It arrives in trade paperback from Angry Robot next month.

A city threatened by unimaginable horrors must trust their most hated outcast, or lose everything, in this crushing epic fantasy debut.

After ten years on the run, dodging daemons and debt, reviled magician Edrin Walker returns home to avenge the brutal murder of his friend. Lynas had uncovered a terrible secret, something that threatened to devour the entire city. He tried to warn the Arcanum, the sorcerers who rule the city.

He failed. Lynas was skinned alive and Walker felt every cut. Now nothing will stop him from finding the murderer. Magi, mortals, daemons, and even the gods – Walker will burn them all if he has to.

After all, it wouldn’t be the first time he’s killed a god…

The Traitor God will be published by Angry Robot on June 5, 2018. It is 432 pages, priced at $12.99 in trade paperback and $9.99 for the digital edition. The cover is by Jan Weßbecher.

See all our recent Future Treasures here.

To Roam the Unreadable Tome: The Night Land Straight Up

To Roam the Unreadable Tome: The Night Land Straight Up

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The Night Land Sphere

Anytime that you read a Black Gate article, you do so at your peril. We all know this. How much time and money have you spent tracking down obscure books that you’ve read about here, and how many irreplaceable hours have you spent reading them? Yeah. Me too.

My most recent bout of this fever I blame squarely on Nick Ozment, who recently blew a loud horn on behalf of William Hope Hodgson’s 1912 weird classic The Night Land. Now I’ve had a copy of this book on my shelf for thirty five years and never once come close to reading it. (Wife and kids, working for a living, eating and sleeping, reading a zillion other books, watching Lost and Breaking Bad — you know how it goes, Hodgson, old boy; it was nothing personal.) I never felt any guilt over neglecting this masterpiece; after all, in his article, Nick alluded to the book’s virtual unreadability in its original form (Mr. O was using his piece to boost James Stoddard’s 2010 “translation” of the book into a more modern, accessible idiom.)

Well, to tell me that a book is “difficult” or “impenetrable” or “practically unreadable” (all words that featured prominently in Nick’s article) is like waving a red flag at a bull. My reading fate for the next three weeks was decided at that moment.

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New Treasures: Medusa Uploaded by Emily Devenport

New Treasures: Medusa Uploaded by Emily Devenport

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Medusa Uploaded-smallEmily Devenport has written six novels under her own name, including Larissa (1993), Eggheads (1996), and The Kronos Condition (1997).

Under the name Maggy Thomas, she was a finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award for Best Novel, for Broken Time (2000). She’s also produced two novels set on the Belarus planet under the pseudonym Lee Hogan.

But it’s been fifteen years since she’s published a novel, so anticipation is high for her new book Medusa Uploaded. Most of the major genre sites — including io9, The Verge, and Kirkus — have selected it as one of the most interesting books of the month. It arrived in trade paperback from Tor last week.

My name is Oichi Angelis, and I am a worm.

They see me every day. They consider me harmless. And that’s the trick, isn’t it?

A generation starship can hide many secrets. When an Executive clan suspects Oichi of insurgency and discreetly shoves her out an airlock, one of those secrets finds and rescues her.

Officially dead, Oichi begins to rebalance power one assassination at a time and uncovers the shocking truth behind the generation starship and the Executive clans.

Medusa Uploaded was published by Tor Books on May 1, 2018. It is 317 pages, priced at $16.99 in trade paperback, and $9.99 for the digital edition. The cover is by Sam Weber.

See all of our recent New Treasures here.

A Tale of Three Covers: Nightflyers by George R.R. Martin

A Tale of Three Covers: Nightflyers by George R.R. Martin

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Nightflyers 1987-small Nightflyers 1989-small Nightflyers and Other Stories-small

George R.R. Martin may be the most popular genre writer on the planet. In terms of global book sales his only living rivals are J.K. Rowling and Stephen King.

So it’s not surprising that much of his back catalog is returning to print, including his 1985 short story collection Nightflyers. Nightflyers contains six stories, including the Hugo-award winning novella “A Song for Lya,” but by far the most famous tale within is the title story, a science fiction/horror classic which won the Analog and Locus Awards in 1981, and was nominated for a Hugo for Best Novella.

Nightflyers was originally published by Bluejay in 1985, and reprinted in mass market paperback in February 1987 by Tor with a cover by James Warhola (above left). It was reprinted two years later with a new cover to tie-in with the 1987 movie version (above middle; cover artist unknown). The new edition, with a vibrantly colorful cover from an uncredited artist (above right), is the first over over three decades. It will be published by Tor at the end of the month, in advance of the new series debuting on Syfy later this year.

“Nightflyers” was one of the first major adventures set in Martin’s “Thousand Worlds” universe, home to much of his early short fiction. Here’s my synopsis from my 2012 Vintage Treasures article.

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Vintage Treasures: The Shining Falcon by Josepha Sherman

Vintage Treasures: The Shining Falcon by Josepha Sherman

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The Shining Falcon-small The Shining Falcon-back-small

Josepha Sherman’s first short story, “The Shrouded Sorceress,” was published in Space & Time in 1981; her first novel was the YA title The Secret of the Unicorn Queen in 1988. She passed away in 2012, leaving behind a rich legacy of written work: 10 anthologies, including In Celebration of Lammas Night (Baen, 1996) and Urban Nightmares (Baen, 1997; with Keith R. A. DeCandido), and over two dozen novels, including media tie-in books for Bard’s Tale, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek, Mage Knight, Highlander, and Xena: Warrior Princess.

But her most acclaimed novel was also her first book for adults, The Shining Falcon. It won the Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel of the Year, and was widely praised when it was first released. Esther Friesner called it “A gloriously rich tapestry of pageant, adventure and magic,” and Morgan Llywelyn said, “A world based on Slavic history and mythology, a world both exotc and darkly familiar… darkly brilliant and shimmering with magic.” Library Journal said:

A shape-changing prince, a magic-fearing noblewoman, a jealous princess, and an unscrupulous courtier find their destinies inextricably linked by the forces of love, hate, and magic. Drawing heavily on Slavic mythology for her first adult fantasy, Sherman creates a richly detailed novel with all the charm and readability of a fairy tale. Highly recommended.

Sherman’s other standalone novels include A Strange and Ancient Name (1993), King’s Son, Magic’s Son (1994), and Son of Darkness (1998). The Shining Falcon was published by Avon Books in November 1989. It is 343 pages, priced at $3.95. The cover was by Kinuko Craft. It has never been reprinted in the US. Copies generally aren’t hard to find; I paid $2 for mine at Half Price Books last month.

DMR Books Brings Pulp Sword & Sorcery Back Into Print

DMR Books Brings Pulp Sword & Sorcery Back Into Print

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The Sapphire Goddess The Fantasies of Nictzin Dyalhis-small The Thief of Forthe and Other Stories by Clifford Ball-small

Last month I rented a booth at the Windy City Pulp and Paper show here in Chicago — my favorite local convention — and piled it high with brand new hardcovers and trade paperbacks I was giving away. I had 31 boxes of leftover review copies, duplicates from my collection, and hundreds of rare advance proofs to get out of my basement, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Bob Byrne and Steven Silver made long drives to the con to help staff the booth, and we were looking forward to handing out books to grateful attendees.

Reality was a little bit different. Most folks passed by our booth with barely a glance. If Bob and Steve and I hadn’t been tirelessly peddling books, handing out free copies as people passed by, and carting books by the dozens to the freebie pile at registration every few hours, we’d probably still be there. This was an audience more interested in pulps and vintage paperbacks than brand new science fiction and fantasy, apparently.

It’s not true that there was no interest in our booth. After eight long hours unsuccessfully giving away books on Friday, Dave Ritzlin from DMR Books joined us on Saturday, and we gladly made space for him in the booth. Once we did interest picked up immediately, as folks zeroed in on his attractive selection — and especially his new releases, The Sapphire Goddess: The Fantasies of Nictzin Dyalhis and The Thief of Forthe and Other Stories by Clifford Ball.

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Future Treasures: The Outsider by Stephen King

Future Treasures: The Outsider by Stephen King

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Stephen King The Outsider-small Stephen King The Outsider-back-small

Sometimes it seems I need a whole team just to keep up with new books from Stephen King. The man has produced 54 novels over the past 40 years, and more short stories and scripts than I can count. But for all of that, he remains a potent force in the genre, refusing to sit still or repeat himself. His latest is a supernatural thriller that sounds like a police procedural. It arrives from in hardcover from Scribner this month.

An unspeakable crime. A confounding investigation. At a time when the King brand has never been stronger, he has delivered one of his most unsettling and compulsively readable stories.

An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens. He is Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon add DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.

As the investigation expands and horrifying answers begin to emerge, King’s propulsive story kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face? When the answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen King can.

The Outsider will be published by Scribner on May 22, 2018. It is 576 pages, priced at $30 in hardcover and $14.99 for the digital edition. Read a brief excerpt at Stephen King’s website.

In 500 Words or Less: The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

In 500 Words or Less: The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

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The City of Brass-smallThe City of Brass
By S.A. Chakraborty
HarperCollins (544 pages, $16.99 paperback, $12.99 eBook, November 2017)

There are creatures and elements of the supernatural that appear in popular culture from time to time, earning a reaction of “ooh, look, it’s a ___________!” (At least from me; I don’t know about other people.) When I read the premise for City of Brass and saw that it focused on djinn and demons, I was intrigued right away – I mean, genies are cool.

The best part about Chakraborty’s take on djinn, ifrit and other associated beings is that they aren’t sensationalized or exoticized like we see on shows like Supernatural or Buffy. Between her personal background, a significant writing talent and what I can only imagine was a lot of research, Chakraborty creates a world that’s nuanced and detailed. It has exactly the vivid freshness we continue to need in the fantasy genre, as a balance for the variations on the same Eurocentric worldviews that are still widely common. When I teach my students about promoting diversity in speculative fiction, City of Brass will be one of the examples I hold up.

But the novel is much more than its world – at the end of the day, my interest is always characters. Our two main protagonists, Cairo street urchin Nahri and immortal warrior Dara, are great counterparts; they’re equally passionate and protective, but in different ways, and both are seeking to find their place in the world. I’ll admit that I groaned a bit at the first signs of romance between them (it begins early enough in the novel that I’m not really spoiling anything) but the way that this romance develops and progresses later doesn’t follow a typical narrative course, and so it won me over. Meanwhile, protagonist Alizayd’s journey is just as compelling, as he navigates loyalty to his family and his belief in what’s right, amid the cultural politics of the daeva.

That said, there’s so much built into City of Brass that I’d periodically lose track of certain details. For example, it’s mentioned early that Nahri aspires to escape Cairo and attend medical school; about a third of the novel later, when she’s working as a healer under very different circumstances and laments that old aspiration, I had to remind myself “Right, this is what she always wanted” because of how much had happened in between.

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Birthday Reviews: Shaenon K. Garrity’s “To Whatever”

Birthday Reviews: Shaenon K. Garrity’s “To Whatever”

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The Cackle of Cthulhu-small
Cover by Dave Seeley

Shaenon K. Garrity was born on May 4, 1978.

Garrity is best known for creating the on-line comic Narbonic in 2000. She has also worked as an editor for Viz Media and has had a hand in numerous cartoons, comics, and manga. Garrity’s first prose short story “Prison Knife Fight” appeared in Machine of Death in 2010, and she has published additional short fiction over the years. In 2005 she received the Outstanding Writers Award from the Web Cartoonist’s Choice Awards. The same year she was named co-Lulu of the Year by the friends of Lulu.

Her story “To Whatever” originally appeared on episode #335 of The Drabblecast, edited by Norm Sherman, on August 17, 2014. It received its first print appearance in Alex Shvartsman’s collection The Cackle of Cthulhu, published by Baen Books in 2018.

The stories of the Cthulhu mythos are generally designed to touch on the horror of the unknown. Although this concept plays into Garrity’s epistolary story “To Whatever,” she also takes a look at the other side of the coin. Ethan is aware that there is something strange living in the walls of his apartment, but rather than allowing it to scare him away or drive him crazy, as so often happens in stories of the Cthulhu cycle, he befriends the creature, feeding it, playing games with it, and watching television with it, although he never looks at it.

Ethan’s roommate, however, becomes jealous when Ethan starts spending time with Willem, a new tenant in the building. Although Willem does begin to exhibit the signs of going through a more traditional Lovecraftian response to the proximity of an ancient one, because the story is told from Ethan’s point of view, the horror is sublimated.

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