Black Gate

You know what’s missing from my recent book diet? Romance. Especially romance involving mystery, the supernatural, clockwork creatures, and black fishnet stockings.

I’m serious (especially about the fishnet stockings). I’m a sucker for a good romance. I think most readers are, regardless of gender, but a lot of male readers are suspicious of anything packaged as paranormal romance or romantic SF. I think it stems not from any true dislike of romance, but more a mistrust of the trappings of the genre. A lot of fantasy readers avoid anything packaged as romance because they’re unfamiliar with it, assume most of it is poor quality, and can’t be bothered to take the time to learn differently.

Fools. The finest novels in the English language are romances. If I were stranded on a desert island with a single book, I’d to be plenty annoyed if it weren’t a waterproof copy of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (although I could make do with Emma in a pinch.)

Science fiction, epic fantasy, sword & sorcery… these speak to the nobler aspects of our nature, our need to explore and seek new experiences. But great romance strikes at the very core of the human spirit, our desire to truly connect. And especially to connect with someone who looks really great in fishnet stockings.

Which is why tonight I’ll be curling up with Bec McMaster’s debut novel Kiss of Steel, in which vampires, werewolves, and clockwork creatures roam the mist–shrouded streets of London…

Most people avoid the dreaded Whitechapel district. For Honoria Todd, it’s the last safe haven. But at what price?

Blade is known as the master of the rookeries — no one dares cross him. It’s been said he faced down the Echelon’s army single-handedly, that ever since being infected by the blood-craving he’s been quicker, stronger, and almost immortal. When Honoria shows up at his door, his tenuous control comes close to snapping. She’s so… innocent. He doesn’t see her backbone of steel — or that she could be the very salvation he’s been seeking.

Kiss of Steel was published by Sourcebooks Casablanca on September 1, 2012. It is 439 pages, priced at $6.99 for both the digital and print versions. The sequel Heart of Iron, book 2 in what’s now being called The London Steampunk series, was released on May 7th. Learn more at Bec McMaster’s website.

Last March, Elizabeth Bear visited to tell us a little about her new fantasy novel, Range of Ghosts. And it sure sounded terrific — especially if her inspirations were any indication.

But here’s Bear in her own words:

The influences on this work are myriad, and begin with the beloved books of my childhood: Conan, of course, but also Jessica Amanda Salmonson’s three-volume retelling of the life of Japan’s legendary female samurai Tomoe Gozen, which at one point I read until the covers fell off.

Leiber, but I wanted something with more scope than the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser tales — something with a sense of empire and history. Tolkien, but not just Tolkien, because while I wanted a heroic aspect — not the straight rejection of heroic narrative that comes with George R.R. Martin and his literary descendents, such as Joe Abercrombie. But I didn’t want an uninterrogated heroic narrative either…

Moorcock is of course an influence, but I didn’t want to write something that dark. Poul Anderson was probably closest to the mark I was aiming at — humane, accepting of the horrors of war, but also capable of acknowledging the potential for greatness of the human spirit — and its indomitable stubbornness, which is my favorite thing about Tolkien. His people just. Keep. Plugging. Away.

Conan, Salmonson, Leiber, Tolkien, Moorock, Poul Anderson… man, there’s no way this book won’t be great.

Of course, if you’re like me, you’re a little gun shy of starting a series until a few books are in print. Which is why I was delighted this spring when Elizabeth Bear’s Shattered Pillars, the second volume in the Eternal Sky series, hit the stands.

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If you’ve been reading this site for more than, say, ten minutes, you’re probably aware that I’m a big fan of anthologies. And I’m especially fond of the Best of the Year anthologies.

It’s definitely that time of the year. Jonathan Strahan’s The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Seven, was released in May (we covered it here), and Rich Horton’s The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2013 Edition arrived on July 10 (here).

Gardner Dozois’s The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirtieth Annual Collection was published on July 23, and Paula Guran’s The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror: 2013 Edition will debut on August 20. The other major contender, David G. Hartwell’s Year’s Best SF 18, has been delayed to December.

And now there’s a new kid on the block. Newcomer Steve Hayes has assembled a promising volume dedicated to the best in British fantasy, including tales from Mark Morris, Lavie Tidhar, Steph Swainston, Lisa Tuttle, and many more. If I had to guess, I’d say the contents run towards the Dark Fantasy side of the spectrum, just based on the subtitle at the bottom: Discover How Dark British Fantasy is Willing to Go.  Here’s the complete description.

From the post-apocalyptic American West to the rural terror in New Zealand, this major anthology has evil spirits, bin-Laden style assassinations, steampunk, sexual dysfunction, a twisted version of Peter Pan, the folklore of standing stones, mermaids, alien tour guides, zombies, gruesome beasts, voice-controlled police states, environmental disasters and off world penal colonies. Unmissable.

Featuring (among others) Simon Bestwick, Joseph D’Lacey, Cate Gardner, Carole Johnstone, Tyler Keevil, Kim Lakin-Smith, Alison Littlewood, Cheryl Moore, Mark Morris, Adam Neville, Lavie Tidhar, Sam Stone, Steph Swainston, E.J. Swift, Lisa Tuttle, Simon Unsworth, Jon Wallace.

It contains a great many stories from names I’m unfamiliar with, which isn’t a bad thing. I’m always on the lookout for new talent, and this seems like a great way to discover it.

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Usually when I’m looking for new reading material, I turn to one of my old favorites. Or I’ll try the latest novel by a BG contributor, or by an author I’ve met recently at a convention. It’s a rare thing these days when I crack open a book by someone I know absolutely nothing about. But sometimes I miss those days when the whole field was new and I approached every book with no expectations — nothing but a willingness to be entertained and transported. In those days, I was constantly delighted, surprised by almost every book I read.

And you know what? I think the two are connected.

Once upon a time, every author I tried was new and all I knew was wonder and magic. Now I read exclusively the same small circle of authors and very little surprises me anymore. So to recapture that wonder again, I try the simplest thing: I read new authors. Writers like Bailey Cunningham, whose first novel, Pile of Bones, first in the Parallel Parks series, was just released by Ace Books.

In one world, they’re ordinary university students. In another world, they are a company of heroes in a place of magic and myth called Anfractus…

The Cree called the area Oscana, “pile of bones,” a fertile hunting ground where game abounded. The white settlers changed that to Wascana. And centuries later, it became Wascana Park, a wooded retreat in the midst of the urban sprawl of Regina.

For a select few, who stay in the park until midnight, the land reverts into a magical kingdom, populated by heroes and monsters. They become warriors, bards, archers, gladiators. In the city called Anfractus, they live out a real-life role playing game.

All harmless fun — until they find themselves in the middle of an assassination plot which threatens to upset the balance of everything. Politics are changing, and old borders are about to disappear. The magic of Anfractus is bleeding into the real world — an incursion far more dangerous than the students suspect. Only they know what is happening — and only they can stop it…

Pile of Bones was published July 30th by Ace Books. It is 321 pages, priced at $7.99 for both the paperback and the digital version. The sequel is Path of Smoke.