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New Treasures: The Monstrumologist Series by Rick Yancey

New Treasures: The Monstrumologist Series by Rick Yancey

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The Monstrumologist-small The Curse of the Wendigo-small The Isle of Blood-small The Final Descent-small

If you recognize the name Rick Yancey, it’s probably because of his bestselling 5th Wave trilogy, the first volume of which was turned into a movie late last year.

But he’s also the author of the four-volume Monstrumologist series, featuring the orphan Will Henry and his master Doctor Warthrop, monster hunters in the Industrial Age of Nineteenth Century New England. Booklist said the first volume, The Monstrumologist, “might just be the best horror novel of the year,” and VOYA called it “gothic horror at its finest and most disturbing.” The books were first published in hardcover by Simon & Schuster in 2009-2013, but now Saga Press has brought the entire series back into print in mass market paperback.

The first book opens as a grave robber brings Will and Dr. Warthrop the body of a young girl, entwined with the corpse of the thing that was eating her. Anthropophagi are supposed to be extinct in North American… and if they’re not stopped, they could consume the world.

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Future Treasures: Good Girls by Glen Hirshberg

Future Treasures: Good Girls by Glen Hirshberg

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Good Girls Glen Hirshberg-smallMotherless Child, the opening novel is what was to become the Motherless Child trilogy, was met with a flood of praise when it first appeared in 2014. The Los Angles Review of Books labeled it “One of the best books of the year,” and Elizabeth Hand called it “A subversive, thrilling novel that subverts everything we’ve come to expect from tales that traffic in the undead.” And The Washington Post said, “The final standoff will leave readers breathless.” Now the creepy vampire saga continues in the sequel, Good Girls, on sale next week from Tor Books.

Reeling from the violent death of her daughter and a confrontation with the Whistler — the monster who wrecked her life — Jess has fled the South for a tiny college town in New Hampshire. There she huddles in a fire-blackened house with her crippled lover, her infant grandson, and the creature that was once her daughter’s best friend and may or may not be a threat.

Rebecca, a college student orphaned in childhood, cares for Jess’s grandson, and finds in Jess’s house the promise of a family she has never known, but also a terrifying secret.

Meanwhile, unhinged and unmoored, the Whistler watches from the rooftops and awaits his moment.

And deep in the Mississippi Delta, the evil that spawned him stirs…

Good Girls will be published by Tor Books on February 23, 2016. It is 349 pages, priced at $26.99 in hardcover and $7.99 for the digital edition. The cover is by Alejandro Colucci.

See all our coverage in the best in upcoming fantasy here.

New Treasures: Black Arts by Andrew Prentice and Jonathan Weil

New Treasures: Black Arts by Andrew Prentice and Jonathan Weil

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Black Arts Andrew Prentice-smallOne thing about being part of the Black Gate community… you never lack for great book recs. This morning I was at Peadar Ó Guilín’s blog, Frozen Stories, and stumbled on this brief review.

I very much enjoyed Prentice and Weil’s Black Arts. It’s a YA fantasy about a thief in Elizabethan London. I know, I know, you think you’ve seen this movie before. But this has a delightful creepyness about it — just read the prologue in the Amazon free sample chapters. I also like how when the main character messes up, the consequences are often very severe. It brings out the peril, I find, oh yes.

The gorgeous cover on the UK edition (at right) didn’t hurt either. Black Arts is the opening volume of The Books of Pandemonium. Here’s the description.

Devils in the stones. All around us…

London, 1592 – a teeming warren of thieves and cut-throats. But when scrunty Jack the nipper cuts the wrong purse, he stumbles into a more dangerous London than he has ever imagined — a city where magic is real and deadly.

Moving through a shadow world of criminals and fanatics, spies and magicians, Jack is set on a path of revenge. But he is starting to see London for what it truly is.

A city of devils.

Black Arts was published by David Fickling Books on March 1, 2012 in the UK. It is 496 pages in hardcover. The Fickling paperback edition will be released in the UK on May 5 2016, priced at £7.99. US readers can also order the earlier edition (with a different cover) through most online sellers.

Prime Announces Table of Contents for The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Novellas 2016, edited by Paula Guran

Prime Announces Table of Contents for The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Novellas 2016, edited by Paula Guran

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The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Novellas 2016-smallMy favorite book last year was The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Novellas 2015, edited by Paula Guran. Packed full of the best and most ambitious short SF and fantasy of the year, it was also a terrific bargain, collecting novellas by Patrick Rothfuss, Nancy Kress, Genevieve Valentine, K. J. Parker, James S. A. Corey, and others — including several that had been previously published only in expensive limited edition formats.

Prime and Paula Guran have announced the line-up for this year’s volume, and it looks even better, with widely acclaimed tales by Usman Malik, C.S.E. Cooney, Aliette de Bodard, Nnedi Okorafor, K. J. Parker, and many others — including two standalone Tor.com releases, Binti and The Last Witness, that would cost you more than the price of this book alone. Here’s the complete list:

“The Citadel of Weeping Pearls” by Aliette de Bodard (Asimov’s SF, Oct/Nov 2015)
“The Bone Swans of Amandale” by C.S.E. Cooney (Bone Swans, Mythic Delirium Books)
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (Tor.com)
The Last Witness by K. J. Parker (Tor.com)
“Johnny Rev” by Rachel Pollack (F&SF, July/Aug 2015)
“Inhuman Garbage,” Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Asimov’s, March 2015)
“Gypsy,” Carter Scholz (F&SF, Nov/Dec 2015)
“The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn,” Usman Malik (Tor.com)
“What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear” by Bao Shu, translated by Ken Liu (F&SF, Mar/Apr 2015)

The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Novellas 2016 will be published by Prime Books on August 2, 2016. It is 528 pages, priced at $19.95 in trade paperback and $6.99 for the digital version. The cover is by Julie Dillon.

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Future Treasures: The Ever-Expanding Universe Trilogy by Martin Leicht and Isla Neal

Future Treasures: The Ever-Expanding Universe Trilogy by Martin Leicht and Isla Neal

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Mothership-small A Stranger Thing-small The World Forgot-small

There isn’t a lot of zany comedy in science fiction and fantasy… and with the loss of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, it sometimes seems there’s a distinct lack of comedy, period. Maybe that’s why I was so intrigued by the Ever-Expanding Universe trilogy from the writing team of Martin Leicht and Isla Neal, which follows the misadventures of pregnant teen Elvie Nara, who discovers her baby is a pawn in the convoluted schemes of the alien Almiri as they attempt to repopulate their species. Comedy is a rare thing in SF, and comedy about motherhood (especially one that opens with the main character shipped off to a School for Expecting Teen Mothers) is doubly so.

Publishers Weekly praised the opening volume, Mothership, for its “fast-paced action, laugh-out-loud moments, and memorable characters… a whole lot of fun.” It was published last month by Saga Press, and the next two volumes follow in short order in February and March.

Mothership (336 pages, January 26, 2016)
A Stranger Thing (304 pages, February 23, 2016)
The World Forgot (288 pages, March 29, 2016)

All three books are mass market paperbacks, priced at $7.99 in paperback and $6.99 for the digital versions. Get more details and read an excerpt at the Saga Press website.

Beautiful Galactic Women, Hive Dwellings, and Robot Goons: Rich Horton on Our Man in Space/Ultimatum in 2050 A.D.

Beautiful Galactic Women, Hive Dwellings, and Robot Goons: Rich Horton on Our Man in Space/Ultimatum in 2050 A.D.

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Our Man in Space-small Ultimatum in 2050 AD-small

Rich Horton continues his exploration of the Ace Double line at his website Strange at Ecbatan. His recently reviewed a pair of largely forgotten novels, Our Man in Space by Bruce Ronald, and Ultimatum in 2050 A.D. by Jack Sharkey, originally published in 1965 as Ace Double #M-117. In his opening comments, Rich highlights one of the more appealing aspects of later Ace Doubles — they remain inexpensive and easy to find.

Most of the previous Ace Double reviews I’ve done feature books I’ve chosen because I had at least some interest in one of the writers. This one was a lot more random — basically, it was inexpensive and it was available at a dealer’s table at a recent convention… I had never heard of Bruce Ronald, and while I know Jack Sharkey’s name well, from any number of stories in early 60s magazines, he’s never been a particular favorite of mine… Sharkey wrote four short novels, three of them (including Ultimatum in 2050 A. D.) serialized in Cele Goldsmith’s magazines, Amazing/Fantastic.

Our Man in Space is a very minor work of SF, but for much of its length it’s amusing enough… It’s about an actor, Bill Brown, who is hired as a spy for Earth, because of his acting skill and his resemblance to an Earth diplomat, Harry Gordon, who has been killed. Brown’s job is to impersonate Gordon, and to travel to Troll, where Harry Gordon has been hired by the officials of Troll to find out when overpopulation pressures will cause Earth to explode…

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New Treasures: Exordium of Tears by Andrew P. Weston

New Treasures: Exordium of Tears by Andrew P. Weston

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Exordium of Tears-smallAndrew P. Weston is the author of Hell Bound, which Joe Bonadonna called “an epic and fast-paced adventure. Part Gothic, 19th century-style mystery, part sword and sorcery,” and The IX, which Fletcher Vredenburgh described as “about taking on endless waves of mindless energy-vampires with guns, mini-singularity bombs, and a host of other assorted death-dealing apparatuses. The IX is a whole bunch of fun… [it] has taken me back to some of the books I enjoyed in my youth.”

Now Weston has released the long-anticipated sequel to The IX, Exordium of Tears. It was published by Perseid Press this week.

Fight or Die…

Victorious in a star-flung battle against the inhuman Horde, Earth’s fabled 9th Legion of Rome; the U.S. 5th Company’s 2nd Mounted Rifles; and a Special Forces anti-terrorist team settle on Arden, their adopted planet, to raise families and live in peace.

But soon, state secrets are revealed: The greatest of the inhuman Horde didn’t join the battle, but yet lurk among Arden’s outer colonies, posing a grave threat.

Humanity’s Ardenese defenders send a flotilla of ships to far Exordium, the world where the Horde outbreak began, with orders to reclaim the outer colonies… Exordium… where the Horde awaits… where the cream of Arden’s fighting force must engage this adversary of unrivaled power…

As worlds are sundered, suns destroyed, and star systems obliterated, a universal conflict proves again that…

Death is only the beginning of the adventure.

Exordium of Tears was published by Perseid Press on February 14, 2016. It is 306 pages, priced at $9.98 in digital format at Amazon.com.

Future Treasures: Black City Saint by Richard A. Knaak

Future Treasures: Black City Saint by Richard A. Knaak

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Black City Saint-smallBlending genres seems to be all the rage these days… but nobody does it like Richard A. Knaak. His latest is a historical urban fantasy gangster horror novel, which combines action, mystery and even romance — quite a trick. Brian Staveley, author of The Emperor’s Blades, says “Black City Saint is jam-packed with awesome – cursed Roman emperors, incorporeal dragons, paranormal detectives, a shapeshifter from the Feirie realm trapped inside a dog’s body, and one very tormented unsaintly Christian saint — all set in prohibition-era Chicago… a brilliant mash-up of Ghostbusters, The Da Vinci Code, and the ancient story of St. George and the Dragon.”

For more than sixteen hundred years, Nick Medea has followed and guarded the Gate that keeps the mortal realm and that of Feirie separate, seeking in vain absolution for the fatal errors he made when he slew the dragon. All that while, he has tried and failed to keep the woman he loves from dying over and over.

Yet in the fifty years since the Night the Dragon Breathed over the city of Chicago, the Gate has not only remained fixed, but open to the trespasses of the Wyld, the darkest of the Feiriefolk. Not only does that mean an evil resurrected from Nick’s own past, but the reincarnation of his lost Cleolinda, a reincarnation destined once more to die.

Nick must turn inward to that which he distrusts the most: the Dragon, the beast he slew when he was still only Saint George. He must turn to the monster residing in him, now a part of him… but ever seeking escape.

The gang war brewing between Prohibition bootleggers may be the least of his concerns. If Nick cannot prevent an old evil from opening the way between realms… then not only might Chicago face a fate worse than the Great Fire, but so will the rest of the mortal realm.

Black City Saint will be published by Pyr Books on March 1, 2016. It is 383 pages, priced at $18 in trade paperback and $11.99 for the digital edition. The cover was designed by Jacqueline Nasso Cooke.

New Treasures: The Bloodsounder’s Arc Trilogy by Jeff Salyards

New Treasures: The Bloodsounder’s Arc Trilogy by Jeff Salyards

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Scourge of the Betrayer-small Veil of the Deserters-small Chains of the Heretic-small

Every time a fantasy trilogy successfully wraps up, Black Gate throws a little fiesta. (Someone has to cherish these little publishing milestones. We think it should be us.)

Jeff Salyards’ Bloodsounder’s Arc trilogy began with Scourge of the Betrayer, his debut novel, back in January 2013. Veil of the Deserters was released in June 2014, and now the balloons and shrimp tacos are standing by for Tuesday’s release of Chains of the Heretic, the third and final volume. (We used to celebrate with cheeseburgers, but last year Tor started publishing Pathfinder trilogies, and I gained 30 pounds.)

Now that the whole series is available, I’m looking forward to tucking into Bloodsounder’s Arc. Over at SF Signal Nick Sharps called the first volume “both Debut of the Year and Fantasy of the Year. It is also one of the finest debuts I have ever read.” At B&N.com, Paul Goat Allen said:

Scourge of the Betrayer is a literary appetizer that will undoubtedly captivate anyone who enjoys fantasy, be it epic fantasy, adventure fantasy, military fantasy, etc. If you’re a fan of Cook’s Black Company, or GRRM’s A Song of Ice and Fire, or of classic fantasy sagas like Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser and Moorcock’s Elric, this is a debut novel that is, like Jagger said, ‘what you need.’”

Sounds pretty promising to me. Chains of the Heretic will be published by Night Shade Books on February 16, 2016. It is 524 pages, priced at $25.99 in hardcover and $11.99 for the digital edition. The cover is by Ryan Pancoast. Read an excerpt from Scourge of the Betrayer here.

Blogging The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer – Part One: “The Zayat Kiss”

Blogging The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer – Part One: “The Zayat Kiss”

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NOTE: The following article was first published on March 7, 2010. Thank you to John O’Neill for agreeing to reprint these early articles, so they are archived at Black Gate which has been my home for over 5 years and 250 articles now. Thank you to Deuce Richardson without whom I never would have found my way. Minor editorial changes have been made in some cases to the original text.

ZayatInColliersinsidious 1Arthur Henry Ward was born in England in 1883. His father hoped his son would make his way through life as a respectable businessman, but young Arthur was determined to make a name for himself as an author.

He discovered immortality with the invention of two unlikely monikers that conjured an air of exotic intrigue when they debuted in print a century ago. The first was his chosen pen name, Sax Rohmer and the second was the name of the character at the heart of his first published novel, Dr. Fu-Manchu.

Over the years, the name lost its hyphen and became synonymous with the moustache artists and actors always depicted the character as wearing despite the fact that he was always described in print as clean-shaven. Dr. Fu-Manchu is a brilliant and honorable scientist who is opposed to British colonial interference in the East. Using a variety of fiendish inventions, insects, and assassins, he sets out to remove Western influence and silence those who know too much about the East.

Most intriguing in our post-9/11 world, the Devil Doctor chooses to fight his battles not in China, but on British soil using terror as his weapon. He is opposed in his efforts by stalwart British colonialist Nayland Smith and Smith’s bodyguard and Fu-Manchu’s chronicler, Dr. Petrie. Rohmer’s stories spanned five decades moving in real time with his characters aging alongside their author. For much of the first half of the last century, Dr. Fu-Manchu was the villain readers loved to hate.

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