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Category: Editor’s Blog

The blog posts of Black Gate Managing Editor Howard Andrew Jones and Editor John O’Neill

Black Gate Zeppelin Pointed Towards Dragon*Con

Black Gate Zeppelin Pointed Towards Dragon*Con

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zepplin2I arrived at our building this morning to find people milling around in the street, pointing into the air. A fat, smoke-shrouded zeppelin was moored to the Black Gate rooftop headquarters.

“Oh God, no,” I thought. “I was sure Howard was joking. That thing is a death trap.”

Howard wasn’t joking. I took the elevator to the roof, punched in the secret code, and stepped out into chaos. Minions were scurrying everywhere, loading cargo into the airship. John Woolley, our graphic designer, was stuffing our brand new 12-foot banners into a well-worn travel case from the 1920s. I caught him just as a strong gust of wind damn near took him over the edge, and we got it stowed into the cargo hold.

I found Howard commanding operations. “Are you crazy?” I shouted at him. “That thing will never make it to Atlanta. It can barely do five knots!”

Howard did look slightly crazy, dressed in jungle fatigues and standing on a desk. He was clutching a worn parchment. “Isn’t she beautiful? Jason Waltz completely re-built the engines. She hit Mach 2 just after midnight last night during our test run!”

…

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Howard Andrew Jones’ The Desert of Souls available for pre-order on Amazon

Howard Andrew Jones’ The Desert of Souls available for pre-order on Amazon

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whispers-from-the-stone-small3Howard Andrew Jones’ Dabir and Asim stories are some of the most popular we’ve published in Black Gate. His first novel featuring his 9th Century adventurers, The Desert of Souls, is now available for pre-order from Amazon.com.

Howard’s tales of Dabir and Asim have appeared in many fine venues, including the anthology Sages and Swords, and Paradox, the magazine of historical and speculative fiction. In “Sight of Vengeance” (Black Gate 10), our intrepid heroes investigate a fiendish foe who claims the eyes of his victims.  In “Whispers From the Stone” (Black Gate 12), Dabir and Asim find themselves trapped in an ancient tomb, up against an sinister conspiracy led by a long-dead — and very formidable — opponent.

Howard has discussed the fascinating details of selling his novel here on the Black Gate blog (“How to Get a Book Deal“). We’ll publish an excerpt from the novel in our next issue, Black Gate 15. But for now you’ll have to content yourself with the enticing plot summary from the Amazon listing:

In 9th century Baghdad, a stranger pleads with the vizier to safeguard the bejeweled tablet he carries, but he is murdered before he can explain. Charged with solving the puzzle, the scholar Dabir soon realizes that the tablet may unlock secrets hidden within the lost city of Ubar, the Atlantis of the sands. When the tablet is stolen from his care, Dabir and Captain Asim are sent after it, and into a life and death chase through the ancient Middle East. Stopping the thieves — a cunning Greek spy and a fire wizard of the Magi — requires a desperate journey into the desert, but first Dabir and Asim must find the lost ruins of Ubar and contend with a mythic, sorcerous being that has traded wisdom for the souls of men since the dawn of time. Debut author Howard Jones breathes new life into the glittering tradition of sword-and-sorcery, combining the masterful fantasy of Robert E. Howard with the high-speed action of Bernard Cornwell.

Already being described as “A thrilling, inventive cross between One Thousand and One Nights and Sherlock Holmes,” The Desert of Souls will appear in hardcover in February, 2011, from St. Martin’s imprint Thomas Dunne Books.

Art by Storn Cook for “Whispers From the Stone.”

Hyperborean Mice: Grim Swords & Sorcery Action… With Talking Mice

Hyperborean Mice: Grim Swords & Sorcery Action… With Talking Mice

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hyper-miceAm I a bad gamer if I really, really want to play this game?

I mean… a role playing game of heroic rodents, tiny critters struggling valiantly against barbarian rat tribes, gargantuan predators such as foxes and owls, legendary horrors that prowl the land, and foul sorcery.  All in Conan’s backyard.

Just listen to this product description:

The ancient White Lords, albino mice with magical powers, rule over the valley of Hyperborea, but their empire is crumbling. Barbarian rat tribes, deadly predators and political intrigue threaten to bring their mousy civilization to an end. Terrible predators like foxes and owls take the place of giants and dragons. Voracious shrew clans raid the Fallows, seeking mice and rats to fill their larders. Centipedes scuttle beneath the underbrush, seeking prey. Hawks force the inhabitants to stay under cover during the day, while owls stalk the sky at night… Legendary horrors stalk the land, unique predators with potent magical abilities of their own. The terrifying Mocker, a centipede whose only voice is the imitated cries of his victims. The serpent Ssaaa gathers a cult of worshipers to do her bidding in the valley. And no mouse dares stand against dread Hoorooru, the ancient ruler of Rookswood and the enemy of the gods.

It’s like Robert E. Howard was hired to write the screenplay for The Secret of Nimh. Scott Oden reports that it’s “Filled with REH and Lovecraft homages! Like an owl that’s worshipped as a god by clans of savage mice.” I got chills, I swear.

Hyperborean Mice was written by Frank Sronce and published by Kiz and Jenn Press. It’s 102 pages, and is available as a softcover book from Lulu.com or as a digital download PDF from RPGNow and DriveThru RPG. Show it some love and check it out, and let me know I’m not crazy.

Blood of Ambrose Nominated for World Fantasy Award

Blood of Ambrose Nominated for World Fantasy Award

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thewolfageLocus Online reports that James Enge’s first novel Blood of Ambrose, part of his Morlock series, has been nominated for a World Fantasy Award for Best Novel of the Year.

The other nominees are The Red Tree by Caitlín R. Kiernan, China Miéville’s The City & The City, Finch by Jeff VanderMeer, and In Great Waters by Kit Whitfield.

Morlock first appeared in “Turn Up This Crooked Way” in Black Gate 8. Since then he’s returned to our pages a total of four times, most recently in the novella “Destroyer” in Black Gate 14. All the Black Gate stories, plus many others, were collected in This Crooked Way, the second volume in the series.

Howard Andrew Jones also published three Morlock tales in the late, lamented Flashing Swords e-zine. Morlock’s most recent appearance was in the new Eos anthology Swords and Dark Magic. You can learn more about the origin of Morlock in Howard’s lengthy Black Gate interview with Enge here.

The complete list of World Fantasy Award nominees is here.

In other Enge news, Publisher’s Weekly has given the third Morlock volume, the upcoming novel The Wolf Age, a starred review, saying:

Werewolves clash with legends in the harrowing and beautiful third novel (after 2009’s This Crooked Way) detailing the epic travels of enchanter Morlock Ambrosius. Following a string of bad luck, Morlock is incarcerated in the werewolf fortress of Vargulleion… Enge’s elegant prose perfectly captures Morlock’s terse and morbid nature, which thrives in the vicious, honorable werewolf nation. Numerous intimate, complicated, and contentious relationships provide depth and gravity to the grim tale, which will enthrall fans of the dark and sinister.

The Wolf Age will be published by Pyr in October.

Congratulations James — on both the boffo review, and the nomination!  They are richly deserved.

A Return to The Village of Hommlet (4E Style)

A Return to The Village of Hommlet (4E Style)

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hommlet4eHow cool is this? Wizards of the Coast has released an updated version of Gary Gygax’s 1979 classic The Village of Hommlet, one of the most celebrated AD&D adventures and the first part of the notoriously difficult Temple of Elemental Evil mega-campaign, revised to run in the 4th Edition of Dungeons and Dragons. The new version was updated by Andy Collins and is suitable for fourth level characters.

Oh, wait. “Released” is too strong a word. The module was actually a free giveaway WotC mailed to RPGA  members as a DM Reward, and is not available for sale (unless you count eBay, where copies are currently selling for around $50.) Curses!

If you’re the creative sort, Familiar Ground is offering a free copy for one lucky winner, selected randomly from all those who leave a comment with a “gaming or RPG related joke or funny incident.” Deadline is Aug 31.

The original module is still played today by die-hard fans.  It’s been converted to a popular computer game, and the back-story behind it all is annually re-enacted as a tabletop miniatures game at Garycon.  Not bad for a module that’s been out of print for over two decades.

I have fond memories of the original.  And when I’m 80, I hope to have fond memories of tracking down this one.  Let the search begin.

More Haffner Goodness: Detour to Otherness

More Haffner Goodness: Detour to Otherness

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detour-to-otherness1Yesterday’s deliveries here at the Black Gate rooftop headquarters yielded — among the usual bills, magazines, and spare parts for the plutonium-powered signal beacon — a review copy of Detour to Otherness, by Henry Kuttner & C.L. Moore.

Hallelujah!  I’ve been looking forward to Detour since I first saw the dust jacket at Steve Haffner’s table at the Windy City Pulp & Paper show in April. It collects twenty-four stories of science fantasy and terror by the legendary husband and wife team, with a new intro by Robert Silverberg and an afterword by Frederik Pohl.

Of course, I probably won’t get to keep it.  Not unless I can distract Howard Andrew Jones, who will almost certainly gleefully take it back to Indiana to write a review (Hey Howard! Look at this!!)

Detour to Otherness shows the usual care and craftsmanship of all of Haffner’s titles. The core of the book is the 1961 Bypass to Otherness, the famous paperback collection of many of Kuttner and Moore’s finest stories, drawing from Kuttner’s popular  “Gallegher Galloway” series, featuring a quirky scientist who invents technical marvels only while drunk, his comedic  “Hogbens” stories of otherworldly hillbillies, and the “Baldy” tales about mutant telepaths. It was followed by Return to Otherness in 1962, containing eight more stories. Both paperbacks are valuable collector’s items today. Detour to Otherness assembles both Bypass to Otherness and Return to Otherness, plus eight additional stories “selected for their scarcity, quality, and sheer entertainment value.”

Kuttner’s “Gallegher Galloway” stories were collected by Paizo in Robots Have no Tails (reviewed for us by James Enge here), and Paul Di Filippo recently reviewed Moore’s seminal collection Judgment Night for us here.  But both books are dwarfed by this thick new volume.  If you’re a fan of science fantasy, you’ll want to add this to your collection.  It’s available from Amazon.com, or directly from Haffner Press, for just $40 for an archival-quality hardcover packed with 568 pages of classic fiction.

Apex Magazine #15 arrives, featuring C.S.E. Cooney

Apex Magazine #15 arrives, featuring C.S.E. Cooney

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apexmag08Apex Magazine #15 was published on August 2, featuring fiction from Theodora Goss, Nick Mamatas, a reprint by Jeff VanderMeer — and “Dogstar Men,” a short poem by Black Gate blogger C.S.E. Cooney.

This is the first issue of Apex from new editor Catherynne M. Valente; Jason Sizemore continues as the publisher. The striking cover is by Brazilian artist Priscila Santos.

We last profiled Apex in June when they announced they were re-opening to submissions.

C.S.E. Cooney’s poem “Dogstar Men” is available here. Her most recent work for Black Gate, the three-part (and suitably epic) blog opus Exploring Fantasy in Metal, begins here.

Apex Magazine #15 is available online; the complete magazine is also available in a downloadable, pay-what-you-want edition through Smashwords, and in a Kindle edition (for 99 cents). Select back issues are also available through their excellent Magazine Archive.

To join the Apex Army and donate, subscribe, or help spread the word, visit their online store.

One-Year subscription to Black Gate now available for $21.95

One-Year subscription to Black Gate now available for $21.95

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black_gate_9-277We’ve just re-vamped our subscription page, and as part of the changes we’ve introduced a new two-issue (one year) subscription option for just $21.95.

Black Gate is published twice a year, and priced at $12.95/issue for 256-304 pages of the best in modern adventure fantasy ($15.95 for our jumbo-sized issues, such as Black Gate 1 and Black Gate 14). Now you can find out what everyone’s talking about for just $21.95 — delivered right to your door.  A two-year, 4-issue subscription is just $39.95.

What are people saying about Black Gate?  “I was poleaxed, banjaxed, gobsmacked and just plain overwhelmed.”  (Tangent Online)  See all the coverage of our latest issues here, and reviews of our first six issues here.

Got an e-reader? Try any current issue of Black Gate in PDF for just $4.95 — or four issues for only $17.95. Or add a PDF edition to your print subscription for just $2.95/issue.

And don’t forget our Back Issue Sale: any two issues for just $21.95, or any four for $39.95, plus shipping.  And yes, that includes our double-sized issues, both normally priced at $15.95.

We’re selling back issues only while supplies last — which won’t be much longer for many of our earliest editions.  We’re down to a few dozens copies of BG 3, BG 4, and BG 5, and we’ll be bringing the last of them to Dragon*con in two weeks, where we expect to exhaust our supply fairly quickly.  If you’re interested, better move quickly.

Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “Folie and Null” by Douglas Empringham

Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “Folie and Null” by Douglas Empringham

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folie-and-null-277The ruined mansion seemed the perfect place to elude their pursuers… until they began to penetrate its secrets.

     “What unrelenting desolation!” remarked Folie. “Not a stem or leaf to be seen.”
     Soon they were poised on the lip of a depression in the rock landscape. In this hollow, some distance off to their left, was a mansion whose middle section had fallen in.
     “The lords of this demesne,” observed Folie wryly, “must receive their rent in gravel and scorpions.”
     “Can their hospitality be worse than that?” Rhing said, motioning toward the roiling darkness and webs of lightning filling the horizon to their right.

Douglas Empringham lives in San Bruno, California. Art by Kent Burles.

“Folie and Null” appears in Black Gate 14. You can read a more complete excerpt here. The complete Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek (Part I) is available here.

This wraps up Part I of our Sneak Peek. Over the next few weeks we’ll bring you Part II — excerpts from novellas from Pete Butler, James Enge, and Robert J Howe — and Part III, the non-fiction, including a look at Modern Reprints of Classic Fantasy by Rich Horton, and copious reviews.

Best American Fantasy comes to an End

Best American Fantasy comes to an End

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best-american-fantasy2aOver at Ecstatic Days, Jeff VanderMeer has announced that the annual anthology series he founded with Ann VanderMeer, Sean Wallace, and Matthew Cheney, Best American Fantasy, has wrapped up after three volumes.

The first, published in 2007 by Sean Wallace at Prime Books and edited by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, was an eclectic and delightful mixture of fantasy assembled from Zoetrope: All-Story, Analog, McSweeney’s, Zahir, Strange Horizons, The New Yorker and others sources, featuring nearly two dozen writers I’d never heard of. The second offered a slightly more familiar cast, including Jeffrey Ford, Kelly Link, and Peter S. Beagle, but still cast a wide net to include fiction from Cincinnati Review, Tin House, Barrelhouse, Harpers, Mississippi Review, and many others.

With the third volume the series jumped to Victoria Blake’s Underland Press, and changed editor to Kevin Brockmeier (our review, by David Soyka, is here). It contained work from Stephen King, Lisa Goldstein, Peter S. Beagle, Jeffrey Ford, and others. Jeff reflects on the decision to end the series thusly:

The amicable move from Prime to Underland following the publication of BAF2 was meant to rejuvenate the series and to finally achieve stability for it. Unfortunately, this didn’t occur, for a variety of reasons. BAF did not having a wide margin for error. A cross-genre fantasy year’s best that focused not just on genre magazines but also on literary magazines, that required sympathy and generosity from both the mainstream and genre, as well as the right placement in the chains, was always going to be a difficult sell.

New series editor Larry Nolen has posted the short list of stories under consideration for the unpublished fourth volume here — including fiction from Richard Parks, Sean McMullen, and Catherynne M. Valente, and four stories from Clockwork Phoenix 2.