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Future Treasures: The Cold Eye, Book Two of The Devil’s West, by Laura Anne Gilman

Future Treasures: The Cold Eye, Book Two of The Devil’s West, by Laura Anne Gilman

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I love weird westerns. But the sub-genre has fallen on hardsrcabble times recently, which means you have to be something of a risk-taker to write one. And to launch a series? You’d need to be a daredevil.

Laura Anne Gilman is a daredevil, and she proved it earlier this year with the first novel in her new weird western series, Silver on the Road. In his NPR review, Jason Sheehan said:

[Gilman has] chosen a fertile place to begin her new series (the broad plains, red rock and looming mountains of the American West), and amped up the oddity of it all by planting the Devil there as a card dealer, fancy-pants and owner of a saloon in a town called Flood.

And the Devil, he runs the Territory. Owns it in a way. Wards it against things meaner than he is, because Gilman’s Devil isn’t exactly the church-y version. He’s dapper in a fine suit and starched shirt. He’s power incarnate — a man (no horns, no forked tail, just a hint of brimstone now and then) who gets things done…

Lost in the middle of the story, you’ll feel somehow that you’ve always known the Devil wore a suit and ran a gambling house back in six-gun times, that he once sent a sixteen year old girl out into the world to fight monsters for him.

Silver on the Road became a Locus hardcover bestseller, and a Publishers Weekly Top Ten Pick for Fall 2015 in their SF, Fantasy, & Horror category. The second novel, The Cold Eye, arrives in hardcover next month from Saga Press. Here’s the description.

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Ian Tregillis and The Alchemy Wars Trilogy

Ian Tregillis and The Alchemy Wars Trilogy

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the-liberation-ian-tregillis-smallAs John O’Neill wrote in November, the last book in Ian Tregillis’ new trilogy comes out this month. I’m a big fan of Tregillis, and was fortunate enough to read The Liberation in manuscript. It was a blast, and you should buy it it. Seriously. Go buy the trilogy, and if you already have the first two, go buy the third.

Alright. Now that you’ve done that, Ian and I kicked back last week and talked about his trilogy. Here’s what he had to say:

Howard: You’re on an elevator with your new book when Ringo Starr enters, sees the cover and says how fab it looks. He wants to know what the book’s about – what do you tell him?

Ian: OK. First of all, I’d probably be hard pressed not to lose my composure the moment he stepped into the elevator. I mean, there I’d be sharing an elevator with A BEATLE. I discovered their albums at just the right age, and I swear I listened to that music practically nonstop during high school. So keeping it cool would be a challenge, *especially* if Ringo asked about the book.

But assuming I could recover my composure enough to speak coherently without babbling, and assuming he wanted the long version, I’d tell him it’s an adventure story about a clockpunk Terminator apocalypse in a world where the industrial revolution never happened, disguised as a story about slave rebellion and Free Will.

If he wanted the short version, I’d tell him it’s basically Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots but with more swearing and stabbing.

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Announcing the Winners of The Watcher at the Door: The Early Kuttner, Volume Two!

Announcing the Winners of The Watcher at the Door: The Early Kuttner, Volume Two!

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The Watcher at the Door-smallWe had a near-record number of entries in our latest contest. Not too surprising, as this time we’re giving away two copies of The Watcher at the Door: The Early Kuttner, Volume Two, the latest archival quality hardcover from Haffner Press.

This gorgeous book is a massive collection of 30 early weird fantasy tales by Henry Kuttner, and readers have been asking about if for months. We first gave you a sneak peek back in April 2015.

How did you enter? All you had to do submit the title of an imaginary weird fantasy story. The most compelling titles — as selected by a crack team of Black Gate judges — were entered into the drawing. We drew two names from that list, and the two winners will both receive a free copy of The Watcher at the Door, complements of Haffner Press and Black Gate magazine.

So let’s get right to it. The first job was to select the Top 25 entries from the numerous submissions we received over the past 9 days — no easy task, let me tell you. But after much agonizing debate (and two brief fist fights), here are the judges selections.

  1. Bob Cooper — Give Me Back My Heads!
  2. Chris Dodson — Wrath of the Mad King in the Golden Tower
  3. Kyle Crider — O, Slime That Yearneth and Singeth Out
  4. Amy Bisson — The Crystal Scimitar of Doom!
  5. George Kelley — Vampires of the Obsidian Void
  6. William White — The Lilt in Her Voice, the Grin on Her Face

    7. …

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New Treasures: The Catcher’s Trap by Ricardo Henriquez

New Treasures: The Catcher’s Trap by Ricardo Henriquez

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Inkshares is a crowdfunded publisher, with kind of an oddball business model. They publish only those books that have a successful crowdfunding campaign — i.e. those that meet a designated pre-order threshold. Inkshares says this is “democratizing publishing” by having readers select what gets published, and they do claim to edit, design, print, distribute and market any book that meets their threshold.

I can attest to at least two aspects of that claim: the book I’m holding in my hands, Ricardo Henriquez’s The Catcher’s Trap, is thoroughly professional in design and layout — which makes it two steps above most small press titles that cross my desk, anyway. They also have a nice selection of blurbs on the back, and they sent me a review copy… so they seem to be no slouches in the marketing department either. The release that accompanies the book proudly claims they’ve published 61 titles since launching in February 2014; that ain’t bad at all.

But are the books any good? Really, that’s the question. The Catcher’s Trap looks intriguing enough. I should probably try it, but I’m not gonna. You try it.

The Catcher’s Trap was published by Inkshares on November 8, 2016. It is 241 pages, priced at $13.99 in trade paperback and $4.99 for the digital version. The cover was designed by Marc Cohen. Click the images above for bigger versions.

Future Treasures: Galactic Empires, edited by Neil Clarke

Future Treasures: Galactic Empires, edited by Neil Clarke

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galactic-empires-neil-clarke-small2016 was another great year for anthologies. I haven’t read them all of course — not even close — but some of my favorites so far include Things From Outer Space, edited by Hank Davis, What the #@&% Is That? by John Joseph Adams and Douglas Cohen, Bridging Infinity, from Jonathan Strahan, Women of Futures Past, edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and Drowned Worlds, also from the mighty Jonathan Strahan. Not to mention the various Best of the Year volumes, of course.

2016 is already looking pretty jammed packed with great anthologies as well. But the first must-read anthology of the year, no question, is Neil Clarke’s Galactic Empires, an ambitious (read: huge) collection of SF tales featuring far-flung confederations in the stars. The TOC is a who’s-who of virtually everyone doing important work at short length in science fiction, including Paul J. McAuley, Ann Leckie, Brandon Sanderson, Greg Egan, Aliette de Bodard, Neal Asher, Yoon Ha Lee, Tobias S. Buckell, Robert Silverberg, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Robert Reed, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Naomi Novik, Ian McDonald and many others.

Galactic Empires will be published in trade paperback and digital formats by Night Shade Books next month. Here’s the description.

From E. E. “Doc” Smith’s Lensman, to George Lucas’ Star Wars, the politics and process of Empire have been a major subject of science fiction’s galaxy-spanning fictions. The idiom of the Galactic Empire allows science fiction writers to ask (and answer) questions that are shorn of contemporary political ideologies and allegiances. This simple narrative slight of hand allows readers and writers to see questions and answers from new and different perspectives.

The stories in this book do just that. What social, political, and economic issues do the organizing structure of “empire” address? Often the size, shape, and fates of empires are determined not only by individuals, but by geography, natural forces, and technology. As the speed of travel and rates of effective communication increase, so too does the size and reach of an Imperial bureaucracy.

Sic itur ad astra — “Thus one journeys to the stars.”

Note that Gardner Dozois edited a collection with the same title for the Science Fiction Book Club back in 2008 (we covered that one here). It’s a popular title; we don’t judge.

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Romeo and Juliet with Undead, an Underworld, and a Juliet Who Kicks Butt: Bright Smoke, Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge

Romeo and Juliet with Undead, an Underworld, and a Juliet Who Kicks Butt: Bright Smoke, Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge

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bright-smoke-cold-fire-smallWhen I published her story “Apotheosis” in the final issue of Black Gate, Rosamund Hodge was a brand new writer, with only three published stories under her belt. Now she’s an acclaimed fantasy novelist, with two YA novels, Cruel Beauty and Crimson Bound to her credit, and a highly anticipated new book. Can I pick ’em, or what?

Bright Smoke, Cold Fire was released in hardcover from Balzer + Bray in September; it is the opening novel in a duology based on Romeo and Juliet (with necromancers). School Library Journal writes: “Hodge creates a world ravaged by the Ruining, a fog that killed the living and allowed the dead to walk… [with] magic, an underworld, and a Juliet who kicks butt.”

When the mysterious fog of the Ruining crept over the world, the living died and the dead rose. Only the walled city of Viyara was left untouched.

The heirs of the city’s most powerful — and warring — families, Mahyanai Romeo and Juliet Catresou, share a love deeper than duty, honor, even life itself. But the magic laid on the Juliet at birth compels her to punish the enemies of her clan — and Romeo has just killed her cousin Tybalt. Which means he must die.

Paris Catresou has always wanted to serve his family by guarding the Juliet. But when his ward tries to escape her fate, magic goes terribly wrong — killing her and leaving Paris bound to Romeo. If he wants to discover the truth of what happened, Paris must delve deep into the city, ally with his worst enemy… and perhaps turn against his own clan.

Mahyanai Runajo only wants to protect her city — but she’s the only one who believes it’s in peril. In her desperate hunt for information, she accidentally pulls Juliet from the mouth of death—and finds herself bound to the bitter, angry girl. Runajo quickly discovers Juliet might be the one person who can help her recover the secret to saving Viyara.

Both pairs will find friendship where they least expect it. Both will find that Viyara holds more secrets and dangers than anyone ever expected. And outside the walls, death is waiting…

Bright Smoke, Cold Fire was published by Balzer + Bray on September 27, 2016. It is 448 pages, priced at $17.99 in hardcover and $9.99 for the digital version. See all our coverage of the latest released from Black Gate writers here.

In 500 Words or Less: The King in Darkness by Evan May

In 500 Words or Less: The King in Darkness by Evan May

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the-king-in-darkness-by-evan-may-smallThe King in Darkness
By Evan May
Renaissance Press (267 pages, $14.99 trade paperback/$2.99 digital, July 21 2015)

I haven’t had much luck with writing by Canadian authors set in Canadian cities, regardless of genre — which isn’t to say that those sorts of novels aren’t generally good. I’ve just had bad luck, I think, which started with the Canadian literature I was forced to read in university, and led me until recently to avoid speculative fiction set in, say, Toronto or Vancouver.

Clearly I’ve been missing out, though; a while back I read the first of Linda Poitevin’s Grigori Legacy novels and loved it, and now I’ve hit gold with a second spec fic novel set in a Canadian city: The King in Darkness, the debut novel from Evan May, which takes place in our mutual home of Ottawa.

I’ve considered and abandoned the idea of writing a story set in Canada’s capital several times, always worried about the political essence of Ottawa creeping into the work. May manages to write a novel that uses the physical setting of Ottawa in interesting ways — including the grounds around Parliament and the University of Ottawa — while avoiding any of the baggage that our fair city might bring to the narrative. For an Ottawa resident, recognizing locations is like a video game’s Easter eggs; if you know nothing about Ottawa, you don’t lose anything, either, thanks to May’s clear descriptions.

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New Treasures: Kojiki by Keith Yatsuhashi

New Treasures: Kojiki by Keith Yatsuhashi

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I attended Keith Yatsuhashi’s reading at the World Science Fiction convention in August. He read the opening section of his debut novel Kojiki, and I found myself very intrigued. Afterwards Keith very kindly gave me his reading copy, and I brought it home to Chicago, where it quickly became a favorite here in the Black Gate offices. Angry Robot has announced that the sequel, Kokoro, will arrive early next year.

Every civilization has its myths. Only one is true.

When eighteen year old Keiko Yamada’s father dies unexpectedly, he leaves behind a one way ticket to Japan, an unintelligible death poem about powerful Japanese spirits and their gigantic, beast-like Guardians, and the cryptic words: “Go to Japan in my place. Find the Gate. My camera will show you the way.”

Alone and afraid, Keiko travels to Tokyo, determined to fulfil her father’s dying wish. There, beneath glittering neon signs, her father’s death poem comes to life. Ancient spirits spring from the shadows. Chaos envelops the city, and as Keiko flees its burning streets, her guide, the beautiful Yui Akiko, makes a stunning confession – that she, Yui, is one of a handful of spirits left behind to defend the world against the most powerful among them: a once noble spirit now insane. Keiko must decide if she will honour her father’s heritage and take her rightful place among the gods.

Kojiki was published in paperback by Angry Robot on August 2, 2016. It is 447 pages and priced at $7.99, or $4.99 for the digital version. The cover is by Thomas Walker. The sequel, Kokoro, will be published by Angry Robot on April 4, 2017

Future Treasures: The Twenty Sided Sorceress, Volume Two: Boss Fight, by Annie Bellet

Future Treasures: The Twenty Sided Sorceress, Volume Two: Boss Fight, by Annie Bellet

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I love omnibus volumes. I did a series on them a while back, looking at inexpensive paperback omnibus (omnibi?) volumes from C.J. Cherryh, Andre Norton, Murray Leinster, James H. Schmitz, Steven Brust, Jack Vance, and others.

But omnibus novel collections aren’t just for classic writers — oh, no. Saga Press is putting the format to good use collecting Annie Belett’s bestselling fantasy series The Twenty Sided Sorceress, which originally appeared from a small press. The first volume, Level Grind, was published in October; the second, Boss Fight, arrives next month and collects three more novels: Heartache, Thicker Than Blood, and Magic to the Bone. Separated from her friends, their fates unknown, and without her magic, Jade must stop fighting on Samir’s terms or else her next battle will be her last.

Level up. Or die.

Jade Crow and her friends faced their worst enemy, her ex-boyfriend Samir, the most powerful sorcerer in the world, and they now lie defeated, and flung across the wilderness.

Samir had trained Jade to be a sorceress, to mold her in his image, until she rejected him and escaped here to Wylde. Jade must stop fighting on Samir’s terms or else her next battle will be her last. Leveled up and wiser, Jade stands a chance this time, if she follows the true calling of her power, and changes the playing field. Everything has been leading up to this… Roll for initiative!

This is the omnibus of the next three volumes in the USA Today bestselling fantasy series, Heartache; Thicker Than Blood; Magic to the Bone, collected together for the first time in print.

The Twenty Sided Sorceress, Volume Two: Boss Fight will be published by Saga Press on January 3, 2017. It is 397 pages, priced at $27.99 in hardcover and $15.99 in trade paperback.The cover is by Chris McGrath.

Last of a Series… For Now: The Sea of Time by P.C. Hodgell

Last of a Series… For Now: The Sea of Time by P.C. Hodgell

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Baen finally does right by Jame and Hodgell

Earlier this year I promised myself I would finally finish all the volumes in P.C. Hodgell’s Kencyrath series so far. I did that yesterday, with my completion of The Sea of Time (2014). I’m really enjoying the series and book 7 is a blast. Regular readers will be shocked to read my one complaint: it’s too short. Before I explain that, let me fill you in on the book and tell you all about its good points.

First, one more time, the setup:

Thirty thousand years ago, Perimal Darkling began to devour the series of parallel universes called the Chain of Creation. To fight against it, the Three-Faced God forged three separate races into one: feline-like Arrin-Ken to serve as judges; heavily-muscled Kendar to serve as soldiers and craftsmen; fine-featured humanoid Highborn to rule them. For 27,000 years, the Kencyrath fought a losing battle, one universe after another falling to the darkness. Three thousand years ago, the High Lord Gerridon, fearful of death, betrayed his people to Perimal Darkling in exchange for immortality. Fleeing yet again, the Kencyrath landed on the world of Rathilien. Since then, they haven’t heard from their god and Perimal Darkling has seemed satisfied to lurk at the edges of their new home. Monotheists trapped on an alien world with many gods, the Kencyrath have had to struggle to make a life on Rathilien.

Now, the power of the Three-Faced God seems to be reappearing. The Kencyrath believe that only the Tyr-ridan, three Highborn reflecting the three aspects of their god — destroyer, preserver, and creator — will be able to defeat Perimal Darkling. Jame, raised in the heart of Perimal Darkling, is fated to be the Regonereth: That-Which-Destroys.

At the end of the previous book, Honor’s Paradox, series heroine, Jame, had survived all the tests and trials thrown at her by the curriculum and her enemies at the Kencyrath military academy, and was promoted to second year cadet.  The Sea of Time opens with Jame arriving at the Southern Host. The Host is the main force of Kencyrath soldiers, hired out to the wealthy city of Kothifir.

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