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Future Treasures: Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente

Future Treasures: Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente

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Six-Gun Snow White-smallWith all the fuss around Catherynne M. Valente’s new novel Radiance, I almost missed the fact that Cat’s 2013 award-winning novella, Six-Gun Snow White, was being brought back into print by Saga Press.

Six-Gun Snow White is a delightful reimagination of one of the best-known fairy tales of all time, featuring Snow White as a gunslinger in the mythical Wild West. It was nominated for every major award our field has to offer — including the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards — and it won the Locus Award for Best Novella of the year, for the limited edition from Subterranean Press. Now Saga is reprinting the book as an attractive trade paperback, with cover and interior art by Charlie Bowater.

Forget the dark, enchanted forest. Picture instead a masterfully evoked Old West where you are more likely to find coyotes as the seven dwarves. Insert into this scene a plain-spoken, appealing narrator who relates the history of our heroine’s parents — a Nevada silver baron who forced the Crow people to give up one of their most beautiful daughters, Gun That Sings, in marriage to him. Although her mother’s life ended as hers began, so begins a remarkable tale: equal parts heartbreak and strength. This girl has been born into a world with no place for a half-native, half-white child. After being hidden for years, a very wicked stepmother finally gifts her with the name Snow White, referring to the pale skin she will never have. Filled with fascinating glimpses through the fabled looking glass and a close-up look at hard living in the gritty gun-slinging West, this is an utterly enchanting story… at once familiar and entirely new.

Six-Gun Snow White will be published by Saga Press on November 10. It is 154 pages, priced at $24.99 in hardcover and $14.99 in trade paperback. The cover and interior illustrations are by Charlie Bowater.

Review: Steampunk History – Osprey’s Confederate Cavalryman versus Union Cavalryman

Review: Steampunk History – Osprey’s Confederate Cavalryman versus Union Cavalryman

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…breathtaking moments where the very centuries seem to clash

Leather duster, shotgun… sword and lance. That’s pretty much an iconic Steampunk image, but it’s also a Confederate Cavalryman, which is why I asked Osprey to send me a review copy of their Confederate Cavalryman vs Union Cavalryman – Eastern Theater 1861-65 (Combat) – I am these days at least a 50% Steampunk author, after all.

I was expecting insights into what happens when “modern” Victorian cavalry armies clash. I got that, but also a sense of what cavalry warfare feels like in any era where cold steel and raw courage grant victory as much as good tactics and drill.

To an outsider, the American Civil War looks like oddly like a backwards version of World War One. Both were continental scale wars between belligerents who shared a civilisation. Both resulted from convoluted strings of decisions made with more enthusiasm for honour and principle than for preserving the lives of young men. However, during the course of the fighting, the Civil War gained moral purpose — became about slavery– whereas the Great War lost it — became about… well mostly mud, with the real crusades being internal, classically the development of tanks by both sides.

What’s interesting — to the same outsider — is that the American Civil War, unlike World War One, routinely had massed cavalry battles.

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New Treasures: The Builders by Daniel Polansky

New Treasures: The Builders by Daniel Polansky

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The Builders Daniel Polansky-small The Builders Daniel Polansky-back-small

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Daniel Polansky has had an enviable career. His first novel, Low Town, was one of the most talked-about fantasy debuts of the year, and he’s already produced two sequels: Tomorrow the Killing (2012) and She Who Waits (2013). His new novel Those Above, the opening entry in The Empty Throne, was called “Machiavellian clockwork glory” by Mark Lawrence.

His latest, The Builders, the newest entry in Tor.com‘s novella series, is a dark anthropomorphic fantasy featuring a company of warriors keeping a low profile after being on the losing end of a grueling war. John Hornor Jacbos calls it “Funny, exciting, and extremely original. The Wild Bunch meets Watership Down.” I’ve been intrigued by all the titles in Tor.com‘s new publishing venture, but The Builders cranks my interest up to 11. And at 224 pages, it’s closer to a full-fledged novel than a novella.

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Vintage Treasures: John the Balladeer by Manly Wade Wellman

Vintage Treasures: John the Balladeer by Manly Wade Wellman

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John the Balladeer-small John the Balladeer-back-small

Manly Wade Wellman, whom Karl Edward Wagner called “the dean of fantasy writers,” was one of the great 20th Century fantasists, particularly in the field of the “occult detective.” He created several memorable occult investigators, including Judge Pursuivant and John Thunstone. But his most enduring creation is surely Silver John, also known as John the Balladeer.

Silver John, a Korean War vet who becomes a wandering singer in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina, appeared in around 20 stories published between 1951 and 1987, chiefly in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and later in anthologies like Shadows and Whispers. The stories were gathered in several volumes over the years, and these books are highly collectible today. In 1988 Baen Books released a complete collection of the Silver John stories in paperback, John the Balladeer, with a captivating painting by Steve Hickman.

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Future Treasures: The Thing Itself by Adam Roberts

Future Treasures: The Thing Itself by Adam Roberts

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The Thing Itself Adam Roberts-smallAdam Roberts is a prolific British science fiction writer. His novels include Swiftly, Stone, and The Dragon with the Girl Tattoo. Three of his novels, Salt, Gradisil and Yellow Blue Tibia, were nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award; and By Light Alone was nominated for the 2012 British Science Fiction Association Award.

Sadly, not many of his books have made it across the pond. But next month his publisher Gollancz will release the digital version of his latest novel, The Thing Itself, simultaneously in the US and the UK. The Thing Itself is a very intriguing riff on one of my favorite horror films, the classic SF/horror tale The Thing. Sounds like a great time for American readers to try Roberts.

Adam Roberts turns his attention to answering the Fermi Paradox with a taut and claustrophobic tale that echoes John Carpenters’ The Thing.

Two men while away the days in an Antarctic research station. Tensions between them build as they argue over a love-letter one of them has received. One is practical and open. The other surly, superior and obsessed with reading one book — by the philosopher Kant.

As a storm brews and they lose contact with the outside world they debate Kant, reality and the emptiness of the universe. They come to hate each other, and they learn that they are not alone.

The Thing Itself will be published by Gollancz/Hachette Book Group on December 17, 2015. It is 352 pages, priced at $10.99 in digital format. If you prefer the print edition, you can order that from Gollancz in the UK for £8.99.

SFFWorld Announces Kickstarter for Ecotones Ecological SF Anthology

SFFWorld Announces Kickstarter for Ecotones Ecological SF Anthology

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ecotoneslrgThe folks over at SFFWorld are working on their latest in a series of themed “pro-am” anthologies. These anthologies bring together big names, rising stars, and relative unknowns around a common theme. This year’s book, Ecotones, is taking a speculative look at ecological issues with stories by Lauren Beukes, Tobias S. Buckell, and Ken Liu. It will come out in December 2015. Other authors include Matthew Hughes, Stephen Palmer, Daniel Ausema, Victor Espinosa, Andrew Leon Hudson (also the editor), Kurt Hunt, Christina Klarenbeek, Jonathan Laidlow, Igor Ljubuncic, P. J. Richards, and Rebecca Schwarz.

(Full disclosure: Contributor/editor Andrew Leon Hudson is a friend of mine here in Madrid. He’s also my most obnoxious beta reader, so he’s serious about clean prose.)

You can check the project’s teaser page to learn more about the stories, which appear to span the realm of speculative fiction from space opera to urban fantasy.

SFFWorld is trying to raise £1,000 to cover costs and pay the authors via a Kickstarter campaign. As inducements they’re offering the anthology, plus bundles including their three previous anthologies and other goodies. Rewards start at the £3 mark, which is cheap for a Kickstarter. While the authors have already been offered a nominal fee, the Kickstarter is pushing for additional  £2,500 and £5,000 goals in order to pay them semi-pro or pro rates.

The Kickstarter is on for the entire month of November.

Click here to help the Kickstarter. Check the anthology’s blog for more information and updates.

Sean McLachlan is the author of the historical fantasy novel A Fine Likeness, set in Civil War Missouri, and several other titles, including his action series set in World War One, Trench Raiders. His historical fantasy novella The Quintessence of Absence, was published by Black Gate. Find out more about him on his blog and Amazon author’s page.

New Treasures: The Secrets of Drearcliff Grange School by Kim Newman

New Treasures: The Secrets of Drearcliff Grange School by Kim Newman

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The Secrets of Drearcliff Grange School-smallKim Newman is the author of the classic vampire novel Anno Dracula and its many sequels (including The Bloody Red Baron, Johnny Alucard, and Dracula Cha Cha Cha).

His newest novel is a YA tale set in a boarding school for girls with supernatural abilities in the 1920s, a tale of daring adventure after lights out… and a sinister and deadly conspiracy.

A week after Mother found her sleeping on the ceiling, Amy Thomsett is delivered to her new school, Drearcliff Grange in Somerset.

Although it looks like a regular boarding school, Amy learns that Drearcliff girls are special, the daughters of criminal masterminds, outlaw scientists and master magicians. Several of the pupils also have special gifts like Amy’s, and when one of the girls in her dormitory is abducted by a mysterious group in black hoods, Amy forms a secret, superpowered society called the Moth Club to rescue their friend. They soon discover that the Hooded Conspiracy runs through the School, and it’s up to the Moth Club to get to the heart of it.

The Secrets of Drearcliff Grange School was published by Titan Books on October 20, 2015. It is 410 pages, priced at $14.95 in trade paperback, and $5.99 for the digital edition. The cover was designed by Amazing15.

See all of our recent New Treasures here.

A Prophet Without Honor: J.G. Ballard

A Prophet Without Honor: J.G. Ballard

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Awards are important
Awards are important

After the past several months of Socratic dialogue/pie fight/drunken Hell’s Angels motorcycle-chain melee (in other words, after dozens of articles and hundreds – thousands? – of comments on the Hugo debacle, for you late arrivers), we here at Black Gate have firmly answered the nonmusical question, “What are awards good for?” In a nutshell, we have established that awards can help writers find a wider audience, they can provide a bit of financial leverage for those who win them, and perhaps most of all, they can be tangible forms of validation and encouragement for those whose work is often difficult, lonely, and (unless your name starts with George, has two middle initials, and ends with Martin) financially unrewarding.

All of that being said however, consider this: Tolstoy never won the Nobel Prize for Literature. (He was passed over ten times.) Cary Grant never took home a Best Actor Oscar. Martin Scorsese didn’t win Best Director for Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, or Goodfellas — he won for The Departed (do you really want to argue that one, tough guy?) and Howard Hawks, the director of Red River, The Big Sleep, Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, To Have and Have Not, Rio Bravo, and (unofficially) The Thing From Another World, was never even nominated.

F. Scott Fitzgerald never won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction — but Edna Ferber did, the year The Great Gatsby was published. The Best Picture Oscar of 1952 went to The Greatest Show on Earth. (I’ll spare you some Googling and tell you that it’s a Cecil B. DeMille circus picture. Now you just take a minute and think about that.) Try watching The Greatest Show on Earth today — just try. Only don’t do it alone; you’ll definitely want someone present to hear all of your witty zingers and rude asides, or to perform the Heimlich Maneuver if you choke on a buffalo wing during the epic train derailment scene, in which Jimmy Stewart scales unheard-of heights of tragic heroism… all in clown make-up.

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Sasquatch, Chupacabra, and Haunted Puppets: Beasts by Brendan Detzner

Sasquatch, Chupacabra, and Haunted Puppets: Beasts by Brendan Detzner

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Beasts by Brendan DetznerFar from being a review, what I want to offer you is a warning. If you find yourself in possession of this collection, take precautions to limit the number of stories you finish in one sitting. One or two should be safe. Any more than that and your view of the world around you will begin to … shift. Perhaps you think you’ll avoid misadventure by perusing only the more sedate “normal” selections in this volume.

So which stories in this collection are normal?

Can’t you guess? Consider:

In The Fall – Are monsters born or made? In a struggle between the supernatural and the mad, can there be any doubt who will win every time?

The Chupacabra Versus Sasquatch Variations 1-9 – No matter the time or place, two ancient foes continue to fight, having long forgotten why.

Spirits of the Wind – They are never far and, though we rarely see them, they are always watching us. Always waiting to touch our lives.

A Day And Two Nights When I Was Twenty – Of course, they’re not always content to lightly touch our lives. Sometimes, they want to give us a push.

The Return of Uncle Hungry’s Pizza Time Fun Band – At least clowns can wash away their make-up when the celebrations are finished. For puppets, the smiles stay forever painted in place. And when all the parties are finished, what horrid things they have to say to each other.

I-65 – One of the ironies of rage is that we think our vision is most clear, but that’s when things are most often not what they seem. And forgiveness is not always enough to dispel that illusion.

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The New Yorker on the Tangled Cultural Roots of Dungeons & Dragons

The New Yorker on the Tangled Cultural Roots of Dungeons & Dragons

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Empire of Imagination-smallIn a lengthy and sometimes rambling article for The New Yorker, Jon Michaud reviews Michael Witwer’s new biography Empire of Imagination: Gary Gygax and the Birth of Dungeons & Dragons, with particular focus on the anti-D&D satanic scares of the late 70s, and the apparently surprising fact that Gygax was a practicing Jehovah’s Witness. Ultimately though, he finds Gygax a worthy subject for a 320-page biography.

Gygax was an ur-nerd who not only changed the way games are played but who also endured a tumultuous business career that, in the right hands, could make as compelling a story as that of Steve Jobs. He was a high-school dropout who lost his father when he was still young, never had a driver’s license, married early, had six children, two wives, turned an obsession with military war-gaming into a worldwide phenomenon, started a successful company from which he was later pushed out only to return and then be bought out once again. Following a well-trodden path, he went to Hollywood, where he briefly prospered, snorting cocaine and hosting pool parties at King Vidor’s mansion, before failing, miserably, to get a motion picture made. His influence can be seen in everything from video games to The Hunger Games. Like Debbie in Jack Chick’s Dark Dungeons, Gygax, who died in 2008, made his way back to God at the end of his life, writing in January of that year, “All I am is another fellow human that has at last, after many wrong paths and failed attempts, found Jesus Christ.”

Read the complete article here.