Editor’s Blog – Page 112

New Treasures: Strange Worlds

Thursday, December 1, 2011 John ONeill Comments 4 comments

Back on October 7th I reported on a promising little artifact called Strange Worlds, an anthology of sword and planet stories from Space Puppet Press, collected and edited by Jeff Doten.

Now I’m holding a copy in my hot little hands, and I can report that it’s just as cool as it looks.

Strange Worlds collects nine pieces of original fiction from Ken St. Andre, Charles A. Gramlich, Paul R. McNamee, Lisa V. Tomecek, Charles R. Rutledge, and others.

Each story is also illustrated by Doten with a full color plate, done in loving homage to the Ace Doubles of the 50s and 60s, where much of the most-loved sword & planet in the genre first appeared.

Doten also provides some fine black & white interior illustrations for each story.

Interior color plate by Jeff Doten — Interior plate by Jeff Doten

It’s a quality package, and no mistake. There’s even a 13-page full-color “Strange Worlds” comic, written and illustrated by Doten, rounding out the book.

It’s very clear to me that Doten knows his stuff, and his love and knowledge of the genre comes across on every page. There’s even a three-page Suggested Reading list, an invaluable reference for modern fans covering virtually every major practitioner of the genre — from Edgar Rice Burroughs, Otis Adelbert Kline, Gardner Fox, Leigh Brackett, and Lin Carter, all the way up to more modern writers experimenting in the same playground, such as S.M. Stirling.

In his introduction Doten says Strange Worlds was “my effort to rectify the tragic lack of Sword and Planet stories in the modern world.” He has succeeded with flying colors.

Strange Worlds is 189 pages printed on quality stock in oversize format. It is available from Space Puppet Press for $27 plus $3.75 U.S. shipping, and richly deserves your support.

Order today from strangeworldsanthology.com.

Mur Lafferty on Reading the Classics

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 John ONeill Comments 27 comments

Mur Lafferty, author of The Afterlife Series and Playing For Keeps, has kicked off an interesting discussion on reading classic SF and Fantasy on her blog:

I’m not quite sure how to read classic SF. You know the stuff that was groundbreaking with its expanse of ideas that hadn’t even been considered yet? But it was also the stuff that was very likely sexist, had cardboard characters, was completely lacking women or POC, used what we consider now to be hack tools (eg “looking in a mirror to describe the protag”), and may have protags that are total jerks.

I couldn’t finish The Stars My Destination, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever or the Book of the New Sun. I can’t root for a rapist protagonist. And I really wanted to read Stars and New Sun.

Recently I couldn’t finish Earth Abides (despite the wonderful intro by one of my favorite authors of all time, Connie Willis.) I got bored and annoyed with the elitist, “It’s the end of the world, but I’m CERTAINLY not going to hang out with whores and drunks,” attitude of the protagonist. And WTF is up with mentioning that a woman is “young enough” in her description, and leaving it at that? …how can I appreciate the classics when I run into such painful roadblocks like this? It’s hard to read things I’m not enjoying, even for academic purposes.

Speaking as someone with an unnatural fondness for pulp fiction, this is a problem I’m intimately familiar with. My last attempt to re-read Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy ended in utter failure. And I dearly loved that book in my early teens. But I didn’t pay much attention to girls then, and I suppose a book that also pretended women didn’t exist just didn’t seem very unusual.

Comments are now closed on Lafferty’s blog (she notes they had “gone into unhelpful areas“), but you can read the original post and comments here.

Cosmic Crimes Stories #2

Tuesday, November 29, 2011 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

Okay, I don’t really know anything about Cosmic Crimes Stories. I’d never even heard about it until today.

But I know it’s cool. And let’s be honest — that should be good enough for you.

What is Cosmic Crimes Stories? I’m operating a little on faith here, since I’ve never actually seen a copy. But according to the website, it’s “a biannual digest of science fiction and fantasy crimes and criminals.”

Um, what?

A little more digging reveals that it’s a magazine of science fiction mysteries, tales of crime on far off planets and in strange dimensions. That alone makes it totally unique in the history of the genre, far as I know.

And it’s published two issues in 2011, which already makes it one of the most reliable small press magazines in the genre.

Here’s the blurb for the second issue, dated July 2011:

Crime will always be with us, and as laws evolve, so will the techniques of violating them. Will slavery exist when we encounter other intelligences, and if so, will the relationship be parasitic or symbiotic? What complications can arise when a detective pursues a criminal across dimensions? How does a perfect society react to an axe murderer in its midst?

Perhaps I just have a weakness for unusual magazines. But I’m intrigued. Maybe I’ll ask David Soyka to review the latest issue. That guy covers everything.

Cosmic Crimes Stories is published in January and July, and edited by Karen L. Newman. Individual issues are $9 plus $2.50 shipping and handling, and a one-year subscription is $16 plus $4 S&H. You can order online here.

Dabir and Asim return in The Waters of Eternity

Monday, November 28, 2011 John ONeill Comments 11 comments

Dabir and Asim, the heroes of The Desert of Souls, return in a new collection from Black Gate Managing Editor Howard Andrew Jones.

The Waters of Eternity includes six short stories of Arabian fantasy, including “Sight of Vengeance” (BG 10), which brings our heroes face to face with a supernatural horror while searching for a killer in the heart of ancient Baghdad.

Venture into the time of the Arabian Nights with stalwart Captain Asim and the brilliant Dabir as they hunt an unseen killer that craves only the eyes of his victims, and pursue a dark entity haunting the halls of an opulent mansion. Ride with them on a desperate journey to preserve a terrible weapon from Byzantine agents, and seek the waters of eternity to save a dying girl’s life. In six tales brimming with mystery and sword-slinging action Dabir and Asim stride forward into adventure. With nothing to shield them but Asim’s sword arm and Dabir’s wit, the two heroes must unravel sinister puzzles, confront dark wizards, rescue fair maidens, and battle the terrifying monsters of legend.

The Waters of Eternity was published by Macmillan in a Kindle Edition on November 22. It is available for $2.99 from Amazon.com, iBooks, and Barnes & Noble. The cover art is by Ervin Serrano.

This is excellent stuff… mysteries surrounded by magic… in the grand tradition of high adventure, Arabian Nights, and Sherlock Holmes. These are unique, clever and well-written little gems.

Joe Bonadonna, author of Mad Shadows

If you’re a fan of adventure fantasy, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

Howard Andrew Jones on The Roots of Arabian Fantasy

Wednesday, November 23, 2011 John ONeill Comments 4 comments

The Adventures of Amir Hamza, translated by Musharraf Ali Farooqi

Black Gate Managing Editor Howard Andrew Jones, author of The Desert of Souls, knows a thing our two about Arabian fantasy — and excellent storytelling.

He was recently invited to be a guest blogger by our friends at SF Signal. The result is a fascinating post on the origins of Arabian Fantasy, the influence of Indian folklore, puzzle box stories, Aesop’s Fables, Persian myth, and more more.

Anyone looking for pointers on excellent non-Western fantasy will find the entire article richly rewarding, including this fascinating tidbit:

The fantastic tales of Arabia might, sort of, begin with the 1001 Nights, but they certainly don’t end there. Less well known in the west is The Adventures of Amir Hamza. This immense work was written by Ghalib Lakhnavi in 1871 — though that’s not when it was created. Lakhnavi was just setting to paper the result of some thousand years of oral stories concerning the fictitious exploits of the Uncle of the prophet Mohammad — though that should in no way diminish what was a mammoth undertaking. Like the 1001 Nights, The Adventures of Amir Hamza brim with fantastic monsters, magic, and mayhem and romance. Within them, though, is a more obvious strain of Indian influence. It is currently available in one volume from Modern Library, painstakingly and lovingly translated/assembled by Musharraf Ali Farooqi.

The complete post is here.

Anne McCaffrey, April 1, 1926 – November 21, 2011

Tuesday, November 22, 2011 John ONeill Comments 5 comments

Anne McCaffrey, one of the most loved SF and fantasy writers of the 20th Century, died yesterday at her home in Ireland.

McCaffrey is probably best known for her Dragonriders of Pern novels, which began with the novella “Weyr Search” in Analog in October, 1967.

“Weyr Search” won the Hugo Award for Best Novella; its sequel “Dragonrider” (published in two parts in Analog in December 1967 and January 1968) was awarded the Nebula. The two stories were collected as the first Pern novel Dragonflight, first published by Ballantine Books in July, 1968.

That was followed by an incredible 22 novels and two collections of short stories (some co-written with her son Todd), including The White Dragon (1978), the first hardcover SF novel to become a New York Times bestseller.

McCaffrey was a very prolific writer, with more than 100 books to her credit. Her first novel was Restoree (1967), and she had a real talent for series — including the Crystal Singer series, Freedom, Doona, Dinosaur Planet, Brain & Brawn Ship, Acorna, and many others. [I know — crazy, right? The only comparable modern author I can think of who has nearly this many popular series is L. E. Modesitt.]

I recently bought a collection of vintage Analog magazines, and came across the one above, with the “Weyr Search” cover by John Schoenherr. It reminded me that those were the days when genre magazines could catapult you to the very peak of the profession, something far more rare today. McCaffrey had published only a handful of stories and her first novel (barely) when “Weyr Search” appeared… within a year she had won both the Hugo and Nebula, and published the first novel of a series that would make her a bestselling writer.

In addition to stellar sales, Anne McCaffrey was highly honored by fans and her fellow writers. She won the Robert A. Heinlein Award in 2007, became a SFWA Grand Master in 2005, and was inducted into the SF Hall of Fame in 2006.

Weird Fiction Review, and its Doppelganger

Monday, November 21, 2011 John ONeill Comments 2 comments

Back in August we reported that Wildside Press sold Weird Tales magazine to Marvin Kaye, leaving editor Ann VanderMeer out in the cold.

But it didn’t take long for Ann and her husband Jeff VanderMeer, World Fantasy Award-winning author of Finch and City of Saints and Madmen, to bounce back with a new enterprise: Weird Fiction Review, an online journal of fact and fiction:

WeirdFictionReview.com is an ongoing exploration into all facets of the weird, from the classics to the next generation of weird writers and international weird. Reviews, interviews, short essays, comics, and occasional fiction.

Cool. Ann and Jeff are a creative force to be reckoned with, and together they have co-edited several fine fantasy anthologies, including The New Weird and the monumental The Weird: A Compendium of Strange & Dark Stories, a four pound, 1,152-page exploration of weird fiction over the last century. The new website looks extremely promising as well, featuring fiction by Jeffrey Thomas, Jean Ray, and Michal Ajvaz, non-fiction from Jeffrey Ford, Scott Nicolay, António Monteiro, and others, and a web comic by Leah Thomas.

Astute genre readers will note there’s already a fine periodical with the name Weird Fiction Review, a critical journal edited by the distinguished S.T. Joshi (see right). Published annually by Centipede Press, the first issue was released in Fall 2010. According to Ann & Jeff,

This site exists in a symbiotic relationship with S.T. Joshi’s print journal The Weird Fiction Review but does not share staff.

Whatever that means. But hey, we’re just happy to have Ann back at the helm of a new fantasy magazine, doing what she does best: discovering and promoting new talent. More power to her.

Free Knights of the Dinner Table Online Strips

Sunday, November 20, 2011 John ONeill Comments 2 comments

The talented Jolly Blackburn, creator of the comic Knights of the Dinner Table, has posted an epic KoDT comic strip online for your enjoyment.

Knights of the Dinner Table is the finest gaming comic ever made. It follows the misadventures of a group of misfits from Muncie, Indiana, whose love of gaming routinely trumps normal social conventions, and occasionally even their sense of self preservation.

This latest online strip, “Not Up To Speed,” finds the gang involved in an impossibly ambitious live-action recreation of the D-Day landing in a vast convention hall at Gary Con.

Long time readers will recognize the characters Eddie and Sara, who appear in the KODT Java Joint strip in the pages of Black Gate magazine.

The latest issue of the Knights of the Dinner Table print magazine is #180 (October 2011), making it one of the longest-running independent comics in history.

Knights of the Dinner Table magazine is 64 pages of comics, reviews and gaming fun for just $5.99. It’s available at better comic and game shops around the country, or online at KenzerCo, and it gets my highest recommendation.

New Treasures: The Legend of Drizzt

Friday, November 18, 2011 John ONeill Comments 5 comments

I love board games. But after collectible card games and computer games pretty much swept the market clean of them in the mid-90s, it seemed the era of the board game was over. I put away my copies of Dragon Pass and Divine Right, and pretty much accepted the fact that I’d be explaining the quaint concept of “board games” to my grandkids. Assuming I could get them to put down their Xbox controllers long enough.

Then an interesting thing happened in the middle of the last decade: The board game experienced something that almost looked like a resurgence. Enticed by Settlers of Catan and a series of popular titles from Fantasy Flight, gamers began to cautiously put down their controllers and cluster curiously around kitchen tables again.

Wizards of the Coast took notice and tossed their hat in the arena with several very well received games, including Ikusa and the epic Conquest of Nerath, both of which Scott Taylor reviewed for us here.

With just a few titles, WotC has become a heavyweight in fantasy board games — and they show no signs of slowing down.

Earlier this month a box landed on my doorstep (with a resounding thud) containing a review copy of their latest entry: The Legend of Drizzt, a massive 7-pound contender that has every appearance of being another winner.

…

Erol Otus and Star Control II

Sunday, November 13, 2011 John ONeill Comments 5 comments

Let’s talk about Star Control II.

Last week Black Gate blogger Scott Taylor did a special Art Evolution post on the august Erol Otus, perhaps the most distinctive of the first edition D&D artists. Otus’ work has graced numerous RPG books and adventure modules, including some of the most famous in the industry, including the seminal Deities and Demigods and the D&D Basic boxed set.

Go ahead, click on the link to Scott’s article and check them out. I’m sure you’ll find at least a few familiar pieces.

One of the more intriguing tidbits Scott shared in the comments section of his excellent article was this one:

Erol has worked for years in the computer games industry, most notably with Star Control II, but it’s cool to see him back at tabletop gaming.

Star Control II is one of the most famous computer role playing games ever created. Published in 1992 by Accolade and later ported to the Sega Genesis and the short-lived 3DO platform, it was named one of the best games of all time by both IGN and GameSpot.

It put you in charge of a sturdy starship and gave you over 500 star systems to explore, and a series of fascinating mysteries involving 16 cleverly-designed alien races to unravel, set in a galaxy filled with surprises and plots within plots.

But I was pretty sure Scott was dead wrong about Erol being involved. I would have remembered that.

…

Black Gate

Adventures in Fantasy Literature

Browsed by
Category: Editor’s Blog