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New Treasures: Iron Night by M.L. Brennan

New Treasures: Iron Night by M.L. Brennan

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Iron Night-smallI’m a sucker for a good review. You’d think that, with all the reviews I’ve written, edited, and published, I’d be immune to a little hyperbole by now. But I’m not. When I see a reviewer pull out all the stops for a new book — especially one from a writer I’ve had my eye on for a while — I’m intrigued. I can’t help it. I love this genre and, at the end of the day, we’re all on the lookout for that great read hidden amongst all the same-looking titles on the bookshelves.

It was the ever-trusty SF Signal that pointed me towards my latest discovery, M.L. Brennan’s Generation V series, with Nick Sharps’ review of the second volume, Iron Night:

Someone or something is killing humans in a particularly gruesome way and it just happened to pick the wrong target – the roommate of Fortitude Scott. Fort, now being brought up to speed on the family business, pursues the killer with vengeance in mind, but he might have stumbled onto something far more dangerous than a common murderer…

I haven’t been this excited about a series in a long time. This is urban fantasy at its best, with a strong focus on characters and relationships and an awesome take on established creatures… Brennan’s elves are on par with her vampires. The elves of Iron Night are seriously twisted – more the product of Guillermo del Toro’s worst nightmare than Tolkien’s friendly fair folk… The plot of Iron Night is much stronger than Generation V, complete with really awesome moments (I’m particularly fond of the undercover speed dating)…

Iron Night is freaking awesome. Brennan has made vampires cool again, elves creepy, and urban fantasy feel fresh. In an over saturated genre this is no small feat.

M.L. Brennan’s first novel, Generation V, featuring the young vampire Fortitude Scott, was published on May 7, 2013. The third installment, Tainted Blood, will appear in November.

Iron Night was published on January 7, 2014 by Roc Books. It is 320 pages, priced at $7.99 for both the paperback and digital versions.

Announcing the Winner of M. Harold Page’s The Sword is Mightier and Blood in the Streets

Announcing the Winner of M. Harold Page’s The Sword is Mightier and Blood in the Streets

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The Sword is Mightier-smallLast month announced a contest to win both novels in M. Harold Page’s exciting Scholar Knight series: The Sword is Mightier and Blood in the Streets, compliments of Paradox Interactive and M. Harold Page.

It’s too late to enter the contest now, but it’s not too late to discover Mr. Page’s unique brand of heroic fantasy. Visit his blog here or stop by Black Gate every Thursday to read his regular column.

His recent articles for us have included So What’s Wrong With (Some) Modern Fantasy?,  Understanding Tolkien: Why His Landscapes Work, Why Evil Overlords Need to be Competent, and Why Medieval Fantasy is Not Inherently Conservative (or Inherently Anything Political).

We received so many entries for this contest, we had to abandon our usual tracking and selection process. We gave up on spreadsheets to track the entries — but at least our D&D dice didn’t fail us when it came time to determine a winner.

We are pleased to announce that the winner of both volumes in M. Harold Page’s Scholar Knight series is Jackie Stevens of Aylesbury. Congratulations, Jackie! We’ll be touch to let you know how you can claim your books.

Thanks to everyone who entered, and to M. Harold Page and Paradox Interactive for sponsoring the contest. The Sword is Mightier and Blood in the Streets were published on September 25 and December 12, 2013, respectively. They are available in digital format for $4.99 each.

In Praise of Little, Big by John Crowley

In Praise of Little, Big by John Crowley

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Little Big-smallOne of the great pleasures of adulthood is stumbling onto those unexpected moments when the world reveals that it still has secrets to impart. John Crowley’s novel Little, Big provokes in me exactly that response.

Those who have read the book fall into two distinct categories. The first group raises baffled eyebrows and perhaps does not even make it through Book One; when this group sat down to order, this is clearly not the meal they expected or wanted. The second group adores Little, Big, and can barely speak coherently about it for fear of needing to sit down suddenly or perhaps burst into a gully-washer of hand-wringing tears. I belong to the latter crowd and what I love best about Little, Big (1981) is that I have only the most limited understanding of why the book affects me as it does.

Let’s face it, I read books now as a writer, which means I am in the business of unpacking the techniques and hidden machinery of every tome I plunder — sorry, not plunder: read. I really meant to say “read.” Plunder is for pirates.

My point remains: the better the book, the more I want to plumb its mysteries, vivisect its wildly beating heart, and fully behold what makes it tick.

With Little, Big, I remain largely in the dark. In the dark, and in tears.

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Vintage Treasures: The Legion of Space by Jack Williamson

Vintage Treasures: The Legion of Space by Jack Williamson

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The Legion of Space-smallA few months ago I wrote about The Best of Jack Williamson, a fun refresher course for me in one of the great science fiction writers of the pulp era. It also reminded me that I wanted to read his Legion of Space novels, one of the most popular pre-Campbell space operas.

Time is running out, too. Isaac Asimov, a huge fan of The Legion of Space when he first read it in Astounding Stories in 1934, sadly found it virtually unreadable when he returned to it as an adult. It’s not unusual for these early pulp novels to be a tough read as you get a little older — if you want to really enjoy them, you pretty much have to experience them first in your youth. And since I turn 50 this year, I figured I better get cracking.

The story goes that Jack Williamson was in a Great Books course when he heard that Henryk Sienkiewicz, the Nobel Prize-winning writer of Quo Vadis, had written at least one of his novels by mashing The Three Musketeers with Shakespeare’s John Falstaff. Recognizing a brilliant idea when he heard it, the young Williamson took Falstaff and the Musketeers and shot them into space, and went looking for a market for his new masterpiece.

Williamson’s Legion, the military and police arm of the newly-liberated Solar System, was led by Jay Kalam and the brilliant warrior Hal Samdu. The part of Falstaff is played by Giles Habibula (frequently described on the jacket copy as “the incomparable Giles Habibula!”, with an exclamation mark). The setting is the 30th Century, where the solar system is colonized but mankind dares venture no further, since the first team of interstellar explorers to Barnard’s Star returned as barely-alive madmen, babbling about a massive planet filled with deadly aliens — and a city inhabited by evil “Medusae,” floating jellyfish with terrible powers.

Astounding turned out to be the right market at the right time. Editor F. Orlin Tremaine published The Legion of Space as a five-part serial, beginning in April 1934. It was a success and Williamson followed with The Cometeers, a four-part serial in Astounding starting  in May 1936, and then One Against the Legion, a three-parter starting in April 1939. All three were collected in 1980 as Three from the Legion; one of the first books I ever purchased from the Science Fiction Book Club. Williamson re-visited the Legion a final time, nearly 50 years after he penned their first adventure, with The Queen of the Legion, an epic set after the disbanding of the Legion. It was published in 1983.

I’ve been reading a lot of pulp fiction recently, and mostly enjoying it — especially the short work of Clark Ashton Smith (“The Vaults of Yoh-Vombis“), Murray Leinster (“Proxima Centauri“), and the fanzines that cover the pulps, like Fantasy Review. I have high hopes that The Legion of Space will add to that list.

New Treasures: London Falling by Paul Cornell

New Treasures: London Falling by Paul Cornell

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London Falling-smallBoy, Tor publishes intriguing books. I keep trying to save a few bucks by waiting until they arrive in paperback, but there are some books that just demand to be read right now.

I admit I was attracted to London Falling first by the great cover. Covers are important to me — ultimately I have time to read less than a third of what I buy, so at least I want my purchases to look good on my shelves. But the book description, which promises an enticing mix of police procedural and supernatural mystery, really sealed the deal.

Police officers Quill, Costain, Sefton, and Ross know the worst of London — or they think they do. While investigating a mobster’s mysterious death, they come into contact with a strange artifact and accidentally develop the Sight. Suddenly they can see the true evil haunting London’s streets.

Armed with police instincts and procedures, the four officers take on the otherworldly creatures secretly prowling London. Football lore and the tragic history of a Tudor queen become entwined in their pursuit of an age-old witch with a penchant for child sacrifice. But when London’s monsters become aware of their meddling, the officers must decide what they are willing to sacrifice to clean up their city.

Paul Cornell’s first novels were a series of highly regarded Doctor Who tie-ins, and the SF novels Something More (2002) and British Summertime (2007). This is his first fantasy novel, but he’s no stranger to the genre. He wrote three Doctor Who episodes for the BBC, and his comics work includes Batman & Robin, Action Comics, Saucer Country, Demon Knights, and Young Avengers. He’s also an acclaimed short story writer and one of only two people to be nominated for the Hugo Award for fiction, comics and television (bonus points if you can name the other one).

London Falling was published by Tor Books on April 16, 2013. It is 403 pages, priced at $24.99 in hardcover, and $11.99 for the digital edition. The sequel, The Severed Streets, is scheduled to be published by Tor on May 20.

See all of our recent New Treasures here.

Practically Fantasy: The Fort by Aric Davis

Practically Fantasy: The Fort by Aric Davis

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The Fort Aric Davis-smallI try hard to keep the focus on fantasy at Black Gate. There’s only so much we can cover and there are plenty of other sites out there devoted to science fiction, horror, etc.

Of course, there are always borderline items for which I’m constantly trying to find a way to justify a mention. That was the case with Aric Davis’s new novel The Fort. After a week of racking my brains, I came up with this: The heck with it. If ever there was a boy’s adventure novel sure to appeal to every young fantasy fan I’ve ever met, it’s The Fort.

Here’s the description from the back of the book:

With the boys’ new fort finally finished, everything that summer was going great. And then the killer showed up.

During the summer of 1987, from their tree house fort in the woods, neighborhood boys Tim, Scott, and Luke spot a man holding a gun to missing sixteen-year-old Molly Peterson’s back. The problem is, nobody believes their story, not even the police. As search efforts to find Molly dwindle, the boys know that she, and the man with the gun, are nearby — and that they must now find and save Molly themselves. A growing sense of honor and urgency forces the boys to take action — to find Molly, to protect themselves, and to stand guard for the last long days of summer.

Aric Davis has a resume that would impress fantasy fans, too. He’s the author of the crime novels Rough Men and A Good and Useful Hurt, and the YA detective novel Nickel Plated, which Gillian Flynn called a “dark but humane, chilling and sometimes heart-breaking work of noir.”

The Fort was published on June 11, 2013 by Thomas & Mercer. It is 239 pages, priced at $14.95 in trade paperback, and just $4.99 for the digital edition.

New Treasures: Castaway on Temurlone by David Wesley Hill

New Treasures: Castaway on Temurlone by David Wesley Hill

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Castaway on Temurlone-smallDavid Wesley Hill was known simply as David W. Hill when I bought his weird western “Far From Laredo” for Black Gate 4. Man, that was a great story. Gunslinger Charles Duke is summoned from 19th Century Texas by poor villagers to deal with three very different — and very deadly — demons. Strange seduction attempts, a forest of trees that used to be men, and a frog-demon blocking a bridge all challenge Duke on his journey… not to mention a reward that turns out very differently than expected.

Duke returned in “The Good Sheriff” in Black Gate 13, one of the strangest and most original tales I’ve ever published. Duke is hired as sheriff of a strange frontier town peopled by dogmen and demons… and a powerful sorcerer who knows how to send him home. But first he must confront a fallen god in an epic shootout in the middle of town.

I wish I could have published a great many more Charles Duke stories, but David turned his attention to novels — including the acclaimed At Drake’s Command, which Awesome Indies called “A godsend to readers.” But I admit I was most intrigued by his first novel, Castaway on Temurlone, featuring as it does space pirates, beautiful clones, and cannibal innkeepers.

It is indeed a Universe of Miracles! But not for young Pimsol Anderts, idle and jobless on a depressed, waterlogged world, until he signs aboard the interstellar freighter Miraculous Abernathy. Indentured to the aristocratic Wirthy family — and bewitched by beautiful Mirable Wirthy, the latest clone of the long-dead matriarch Imogene Wirthy — Pim’s adventure has barely begun when pirates attack, forcing him to flee the ship with Mirable in tow.

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Sgt. Janus Returns

Sgt. Janus Returns

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Sgt._Janus_ReturnssgtjanusJim Beard made quite a splash in the New Pulp community when he introduced an original occult detective character in Sgt. Janus, Spirit-Breaker in 2012. There has been a rich history of Holmesian occult detectives, but Beard appeared to have been the first to hit upon the brilliant concept of having each short story in the volume narrated by a different client of the detective. It was a simple, but highly effective means of giving eight different perspectives on the character.

Beard also took the unexpected decision to kill off his character at the end of the last story in the collection. Imagine if A Study in Scarlet had concluded with Holmes plunging to his death at the Reichenbach Falls and you have a clear notion of what a bold and unexpected move it was to make for an author who had already managed to raise the bar in a genre that many believed had been exhausted of fresh ideas.

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Vintage Treasures: Wolfwinter by Thomas Burnett Swann

Vintage Treasures: Wolfwinter by Thomas Burnett Swann

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wolfwinter thomas burnett swann-smallI know almost nothing about Thomas Burnett Swann… other than that he wrote a lot of fantasy novels in the decade between 1966 and 1976, most of them published as paperback originals by DAW. He died of cancer in 1976 at the age of 48, bringing a very promising career to an abrupt end.

Wildside Press has reprinted much of his work as print-on-demand trade paperbacks. But other than their efforts, virtually none of his novels remain in print today.

I didn’t pay much attention to Swann in my formative years, despite that fact that he had numerous novels on the shelves. His work — peopled with satyrs, dryads, and minotaurs — had a classical, almost pastoral, fantasy feel to it, which did nothing to appeal to my hungry-for-adventure teen mind. His fans have done a much better job of summarizing it than I ever could in his Wikipedia entry:

The bulk of Swann’s fantasy fits into a rough chronology that begins in ancient Egypt around 2500 BC and chronicles the steady decline of magic and mythological races such as dryads, centaurs, satyrs, selkies and minotaurs. The coming of more “advanced” civilisations constantly threatens to destroy their pre-industrial world, and they must continually seek refuge wherever they can. They see the advent of Christianity as a major tragedy; the Christians regard magic and mythological beings as evil and seek to destroy the surviving creatures… An undercurrent of sexuality runs through all of these stories. Many of Swann’s characters are sexually adventurous and regard sexual repression as spiritually damaging. Casual and sometimes permanent nudity is common.

Swann is well-regarded as a writer with a fine poetic sense, by those who remember him, and every few years I promise myself I’ll try one of his novels. I haven’t managed it yet, but I did have the chance to buy a copy of one of his harder-to-find books: Wolfwinter, published by Ballantine in 1972.

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Paul O. Williams and The Pelbar Cycle

Paul O. Williams and The Pelbar Cycle

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The Song of the Axe-smallIf you read my posts with any kind of regularity, you’ve seen me refer fairly frequently to the same Fantasy and SF classics, whether I’m talking about my own reading habits, or just looking for examples of the topics I’m discussing. So you know that LOTR, Chronicles of Narnia, Leiber’s Fafhrd and Grey Mouser stores, etc., keep turning up.

In part this is because I really love these books and in part it’s because in many instances (as with Star Trek, Star Wars, and The Princess Bride) these works are community property, as it were, and I can be pretty sure that in referring to them, I’m going to a common source that most of you will recognize.

Recently, however, John O’Neill’s post on Emma Bull’s novels reminded me that sometimes you need to talk about books people might not know. It’s in that spirit that I’d like bring to your attention the seven books that form Paul O. Williams’s The Pelbar Cycle, originally published between 1981 and 1985.

Each book is a self-contained adventure (I didn’t read them in order until I had them all and didn’t have a problem with it), but the overall story arc tells of the re-uniting of human groups which became isolated after “the time of fire” and evolved separately into distinct (though recognizable to us) societal types.

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