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Future Treasures: The Girl From Rawblood by Catriona Ward

Future Treasures: The Girl From Rawblood by Catriona Ward

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Catriona Ward’s debut The Girl From Rawblood won the 2016 August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel — an impressive accomplishment for a first novel. Critics have raved over both its unabashed gothic horror sensibilities, and its originality… no easy feat!

Comic artist/writer Mike Mignola calls it “Brilliant… the old-school gothic novel I have been waiting for… I have never read anything like it and that’s saying something.” Kelly Link says it’s “A story to satisfy the most gothic of hearts… Sentence by sentence, Catriona Ward made herself one of my very favorite writers.” And Sarah Pinborough calls it “Terrifying… a dazzlingly brilliant Gothic masterpiece.” With praise like that, I might just have to clear an entire weekend for this one.

The Girl from Rawblood will be published by Sourcebooks Landmark on March 7, 2017. It is 368 pages, priced at $15.99 in paperback and $9.99 for the digital edition.

Some Historical Novels for Readers and Writers of Fantasy and Science Fiction

Some Historical Novels for Readers and Writers of Fantasy and Science Fiction

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Homer The Iliad Robert Fagles-smallWhen I was an undergraduate at the University of Houston, I minored in history. My professor of the history of the Old South explained the difference between an antiquarian and a historian thus: An antiquarian will know lots of facts and figures and data; a historian will interpret the information to seek what it means. For this reason, I have always considered historical fiction inextricably linked to the work of historians. As historians are inextricably linked to the work of fantasists, the transitive property holds that historical fiction is an important part of the world of fantasy fiction. The past is a ripe field for the imagination, and full of stories.

It’s actually very difficult to separate the historical fiction from what is generally considered the fundament of realist fiction, or whatever fiction mode it takes as its fundament. The widely-acknowledged first work of what we call the modern novel described as a novel, Don Quixote, was about a character who read to much historical fiction, hearkening back to a different time. The character of Don Quixote, himself, became so enamored of the past that he invented his life into a historical re-enactment. He was perhaps the original member of the society of creative anachronism.

Even such Ur-texts as The Illiad, The Odessey, and The Epic of Gilgamesh seem to be acts of historical invention in their own time. Telling the story of “where we came from” is one of the fundamental stories that drives narrative forms, because it seems to speak to where we ought to go, and who we ought to be. The past tense is a standard mode. Nearly all fiction is driven by a sense of the past, hopefully one that bridges to a future.

Our relationship to history is a fraught one. We carry our preconceived notions of reality, as readers and writers, inside of our judgment of books and characters. History doesn’t have to be plausible, but fiction does. To truly study history, we almost have to abandon those ideas, and embrace ways of thinking that are not natural to us. One of the limitations of historical fictions versus non-realist work is that we don’t really approach the characters as intellectual equals, when we should. When the villagers in The Scarlet Letter demand the A upon Hester Prynne, we are pre-made as modern individuals to see her as the noble martyr, and them as morally repugnant hypocrites, without even understanding the sense of helplessness against a harsh universe that drove their fear of such misbehaviors, even into the horrors that they committed. We simply don’t empathize with the villagers. But, to bring to life, and to comprehend, history and where we came from, we must challenge ourselves to take people seriously, even when they are on the wrong side of our version of history.

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Dark Dreams in Red Dirt

Dark Dreams in Red Dirt

Chicken Fried Cthulhu

It started with Arkham House, of course. The original Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos anthology strove to collect, and maybe even codify, the various stories written by Lovecraft’s contemporaries during their heyday; Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, Frank Belknap Long, Robert Bloch, August Derleth, and others. That was back in 1969, right in the middle of the epic fantasy and sword and sorcery boom. Other anthologies of a similar nature followed, attempting to trace antecedents and well as descendants.

When the horror boom swept in during the 1980s, authors like Ramsey Campbell and Robert Bloch were releasing collections of nothing but their mythos stories. As the popularity and notoriety of Lovecraft’s works increased, smaller publishing efforts like Chaosium’s early collections themed around a particular Great Old One — The Azathoth Cycle, say — sold briskly.

Then things got a little nutty. Sherlock Holmes vs Cthulhu. Hardboiled Cthulhu, Frontier Cthulhu, High Seas Cthulhu, Cthulhu in Space, Cthulhu in the Future, and even erotic Cthulhu Mythos fiction (you’re on your own, there, pardner). There’s a List Challenge you can take, if you are so inclined, to see how many of these books you own or have read. I’d be very surprised if you have read them all. I’m into this stuff, and there’s a bunch I haven’t even heard of.

So, with all that being a given, why on Earth are we trying to publish Chicken Fried Cthulhu? What’s so special about the Southwest, anyway? It’s a great question. Let me give you the short answer: Joe R. Lansdale.

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New Treasures: Prophets of the Ghost Ants by Clark Thomas Carlton

New Treasures: Prophets of the Ghost Ants by Clark Thomas Carlton

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Clark Thomas Carlton is the author of precisely one previous book, the novelization of the John Travolta/Nicolas Cage film Face/Off, which was published 20 years ago. His newest novel is completely different, a science fantasy set a billion years in the future, which Carlton says was “inspired during a trip to the Yucatan when I witnessed a battle for a Spanish peanut by two different tribes of ants.” It’s perhaps the most fascinating premise of any novel I’ve seen so far this year. It was published as a 598-page mass market paperback by Harper Voyager last month. Annalee Newitz, reviewing the self-published paperback edition in 2011 at io9, wrote:

I’m fascinated by the worldbuilding in Clark T. Carlton’s novel Prophets of the Ghost Ants, which Carlton says “takes place a billion years in the future when the human race has been reduced to the size of rice grains and has intertwined with the insect world in order survive, essentially becoming the parasites of ants…” Journey into a strange future of insect battalions and a power-mad aristocracy that’s more antlike than human.

Prophets of the Ghost Ants is described as Book One of the Antasy Series (although it first appeared six years ago, and there’s been no sign of a second one, so take that with a grain of salt). It was published by Warner Aspect on January 24, 2017. It is 598 pages, priced at $7.99 in paperback and $3.99 for the digital version. The cover artist is not credited. Read the prologue and the first three chapters at WattPad.

Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Pellucidar Saga: Tanar of Pellucidar

Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Pellucidar Saga: Tanar of Pellucidar

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tanar-of-pellucidar-original-printing-coverA long time has passed, both on the surface of the Earth’s sphere and within it. On the surface, it’s been almost fifteen years since Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote the second of his inner world adventures, Pellucidar. During this time, ERB penned another ten Tarzan novels, a couple more Martian ones, and a few of his finest standalone tales. Burroughs incorporated himself and set up the offices of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. in a part of the San Fernando Valley soon to be named Tarzana. It seemed unlikely he would return to writing about Pellucidar after almost a decade and a half … but then he hatched a plan to give the Tarzan series a boost using the fuel of the Earth’s Core.

Our Saga: Beneath our feet lies a realm beyond the most vivid daydreams of the fantastic … Pellucidar. A subterranean world formed along the concave curve inside the earth’s crust, surrounding an eternally stationary sun that eliminates the concept of time. A land of savage humanoids, fierce beasts, and reptilian overlords, Pellucidar is the weird stage for adventurers from the topside layer — including a certain Lord Greystoke. The series consists of six novels, one which crosses over with the Tarzan series, plus a volume of linked novellas, published between 1914 and 1963.

Today’s Installment: Tanar of Pellucidar (1929)

Previous Installments: At the Earth’s Core (1914), Pellucidar (1915)

The Backstory

The gap between Pellucidar and Tanar of Pellucidar is fourteen years, the longest hiatus for any of ERB’s major series. Despite numerous pleas from readers, Burroughs apparently had no intention to explore Pellucidar further. But at the end of the 1920s, he devised a plan to jolt life back into the Tarzan books by sending the Lord of the Apes somewhere stranger than the usual lost jungle cities. He already had that “somewhere stranger” waiting to be used: Pellucidar was the perfect Tarzan destination vacation!

But first, Pellucidar needed a bit of a dusting-off to set it up for Lord Greystoke’s arrival, as well as to remind the reading public that the setting existed. Burroughs put into action a two-book plan, starting with a new standalone Pellucidar novel to lure readers into the upcoming Tarzan adventure.

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In 500 Words or Less: The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie

In 500 Words or Less: The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie

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The Heroes Joe Abercrombie-smallThe Heroes
By Joe Abercrombie
Orbit (592 pages, $11.46 paperback, October 2011)

(This one is a little above 500 words because of an excerpt. Just roll with it.)

The last time I discussed Joe Abercrombie in this column, my disappointment in Best Served Cold earned a few comments from the community. (Side note: I love getting comments, so keep them coming.) You might be happy to learn that, as promised, I gave the next First Law book a chance. And I loved it.

The Heroes is everything that I appreciate from Abercrombie, including the bits that were missing from Best Served Cold. It has the same sort of darkness, openly focusing on the idea that there’s no such thing as a hero in any conflict, balanced with the rich humor that originally hooked me on Abercrombie’s work. The entire story is basically an epic battle staged over a series of days, but the action is never boring, and always does something to advance the story. What’s really interesting is several chapters where Abercrombie starts the POV on a character on one side of the conflict, who then dies at the hands of another character who takes over the POV, who then dies … and so on. Some of these characters are newly-introduced – but we’re made to care about them with a Tom Clancy-level of talent – and then suddenly a character we’re familiar with will appear, which doesn’t exactly bode well once you figure out what Abercrombie is doing.

One of my main issues with Best Served Cold was connected to characters – not an issue here. Caul Shivers, essentially a cardboard cut-out of another character previously, seems to have changed again, but this time it works. In a story where almost every character is a soldier, each one is distinct, which is not an easy task (I’ve tried). What’s especially delightful is the return of characters from the First Law trilogy, particularly mad wizard Bayaz, who continues to manipulate events; when a character doesn’t know him challenges his authority, I actually held my breath, waiting for Bayaz’s wrath. But the show-stealer for me was Bremer dan Gorst, who we last saw as the opponent of Jezal dan Luthar and later his protector when Jezal is crowned king. I’ve said before that Inquisitor Glokta from the First Law trilogy is possibly the most amusing character I’ve ever read … but damn if Gorst doesn’t come close. His criticisms of the people around him are exactly what you wish you could say to the worst people in your life, made funnier by the hopelessly pathetic existence that Gorst is trapped in.

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The Best of a Master Fantasist: The Zoran Zivkovic Collection

The Best of a Master Fantasist: The Zoran Zivkovic Collection

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Impossible Stories-small Impossible Stories II-small The Papyrus Trilogy-small The Five Wonders of the Danube-small

Serbian master fantasist Zoran Zivkovic has an enviable international reputation. His novels include The Writer (1998), Impossible Encounters (2000), and The Ghostwriter (2009), and his mosaic novel The Library won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novella in 2003.

But his appearances in English here in the US has been spotty. Which is one of the reasons I was so delighted to see Cadmus Press publish The Zoran Zivkovic Collection, four gorgeous volumes of his best work, translated into English:

Impossible Stories I — 422 pages, $34, November 10, 2016 (Includes “Time Gifts,” “Impossible Encounters,” “Seven Touches of Music,” “The Library,” and “Steps through the Mist”)
Impossible Stories II — 428 pages, $34, Dec 10, 2016 (Contains the collections Four Stories Till the End, Twelve Collections, The Bridge, Amarcord, and Miss Tamara, the Reade)
The Papyrus Trilogy — 608 pages, $41, August 1, 2016 (The cases of Dejan Lucik. Includes three novels: The Last Book, The Grand Manuscript, and The Compendium of the Dead)
The Five Wonders of the Danube — 198 pages, $26, August 1, 2016

All four are hardcovers featuring striking cover art by Japanese artist Youchan Ito. On his website the author calls them “the first four volumes of The Zoran Živković Collection,” which implies there will be more. The publisher claims all four volumes “will be available in hardcover, trade paperback, and electronic editions,” but for now the hardcover editions are the only ones I can find.

Goth Chick News: A Fan Girl Meltdown Over Amazon’s Good Omens

Goth Chick News: A Fan Girl Meltdown Over Amazon’s Good Omens

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good-omens-smallI can say with certainty that I almost never get worked up over film adaptations of books, with good reason; they rarely live up to their source material.

But today I make an exception.

I might actually squee… Well probably not, but still.

Amazon Studios recently announced a six-part adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s novel Good Omens which will debut in 2018.

Insert small squee here.

I first picked up the book Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch in an airport bookstore in 2006. I then proceeded to laugh out loud on my flight from San Jose to Chicago, and laughing out loud at a book is something I haven’t done since my first reading of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

Later I picked up of the audio version which I listened to in the car and nearly drove off the road. Finally, in January of 2015 I acquired the BBC Radio 4 dramatization, performed with a full cast and fell in love all over again.

There is no better cure for a bad day then listening to a few chapters of Good Omens.

But what is just so darn amusing about the story?

For me it has all the elements — demons, angels, witches, the Antichrist — all wrapped in a story that boldly showcases the absurdity of it all in the most biting and British of ways.

The book is set “today” but the show will be set in 2018 and in both, the world is on the brink of an apocalypse. But follies ensue when Aziraphale, a somewhat fussy angel, and Crowley, a demon, aren’t all that enthusiastic about the end of the world, having grown quite comfortable with their lives on earth. Also, they may have misplaced the Antichrist. And he may just be an ordinary boy who wants to stay in his small town with his gang of friends.

I’m snickering just typing that.

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New Treasures: Universal Harvester by John Darnielle

New Treasures: Universal Harvester by John Darnielle

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Universal Harvester

It’s great to be plugged into the industry, so I can hear what editors and publicists think are going to be the big books each season. And it’s incredibly helpful to be involved with a network of bloggers and reviewers who give me their take on the same thing.

But nothing beats hearing from readers — and what I’m hearing from readers is that John Darnielle’s modern horror novel Universal Harvester is the book that’s currently keeping them up at night. It’s available now in hardcover Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Jeremy works at the Video Hut in Nevada, Iowa. It’s a small town in the center of the state ― the first a in Nevada pronounced ay. This is the late 1990s, and even if the Hollywood Video in Ames poses an existential threat to Video Hut, there are still regular customers, a rush in the late afternoon. It’s good enough for Jeremy: it’s a job, quiet and predictable, and it gets him out of the house, where he lives with his dad and where they both try to avoid missing Mom, who died six years ago in a car wreck.

But when a local schoolteacher comes in to return her copy of Targets ― an old movie, starring Boris Karloff, one Jeremy himself had ordered for the store ― she has an odd complaint: “There’s something on it,” she says, but doesn’t elaborate. Two days later, a different customer returns a different tape, a new release, and says it’s not defective, exactly, but altered: “There’s another movie on this tape.”

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SFWA Announces the 2016 Nebula Award Nominations

SFWA Announces the 2016 Nebula Award Nominations

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The-Obelisk-Gate-smallerThe Nebulas are here! The Nebulas are here!

Ahem. Excuse me if I get a little giddy. The Nebula Award is one of the most prestigious awards in our field. I was asked to present the award for Best Novelette at the 2015 Nebulas in Chicago, and last year the Awards were even more exciting, as several Black Gate bloggers and authors — including Amal El-Mohtar, Lawrence M. Schoen, and our website editor C.S.E. Cooney — were nominated for major awards.

So it’s always exciting when the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) announces the nominees — and this year is no exception. This year’s nominees are (links will take you to our previous coverage):

Novel

All the Birds in the Sky, Charlie Jane Anders (Tor; Titan)
Borderline, Mishell Baker (Saga)
The Obelisk Gate, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)
Ninefox Gambit,Yoon Ha Lee (Solaris)
Everfair, Nisi Shawl (Tor)

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