Editor’s Blog – Page 88

The Paris Fashion Week of Games, Spring Edition

Friday, March 8, 2013 John ONeill Comments 7 comments

You know what happens tomorrow? Think hard.

That’s right! The Spring Auction at Games Plus here in Chicago — only the best auction in the entire country for dedicated game collectors of all stripes. I reported on the Fall Auction here, and confessed to a painful bout of auction fever at last year’s Spring Auction here.

I used to attend these as part of a constant quest for rare science fiction and fantasy collectibles — things like Judge’s Guilds epic Wilderlands of High Fantasy, Task Force Games’ colorful Swordquest, SSI’s wonderous Swords & Sorcery, and of course the most eagerly sought artifiact in Western Civilization, an intact copy of Barbarian Prince.

These days, my interests have changed. It’s not that I’m not constantly on the lookout for Barbarian Prince — who isn’t? — but I gradually realized that an obsession with older games was blinding me to the golden age of adventure gaming we’re living Right Now.

So my trip to Mount Prospect, Illinois tomorrow to take part in the auction will be with an open mind. And a lengthy list of recently-published games I’m seeking — including Cyclades by Asmodee, Mansions of Madness by Fantasy Flight, the second edition of Descent: Journeys in The Dark, Alien Frontiers from Clever Mojo Games, Mice and Mystics by Plaid Hat, Cosmic Patrol by Catalyst, and many others.

Wish me luck. I’ll report back here with all my treasures next week.

R.I.P. Lynn Willis, Game Designer Extraordinaire

Thursday, March 7, 2013 John ONeill Comments 5 comments

I was researching some recent OSR (Old School Renaissance) D&D releases at The Society of Torch, Pole and Rope blog when I came across a shocking post: an obituary for legendary Chaosium game designer and editor Lynn Willis, dated January 18.

It’s tough to describe the sense of loss I feel. I never met Lynn, so I didn’t know him personally. But he was a prolific designer and editor, and his name graces many of my favorite games. Like the other great designers of the era — Gary Gygax, Steve Jackson, Greg Stafford, Greg Costikyan, Sandy Peterson, Marc Miller — the name Lynn Willis quickly came to be synonymous with a top-notch product. In a tiny industry, that was no small thing.

I was introduced to gaming in 1978 by Metagaming, which offered enticing SF and fantasy microgames like Ogre and Melee in the pages of Analog and Asimov’s SF Magazine, and it was there I first encountered his work, in games like Godsfire (1976), Olympica (1978) and Holy War (1979). He designed the sci-fi guerrilla war game Bloodtree Rebellion for GDW in 1979, but found his permanent home when Chaosium published his post-apocalyptic game of a sunken America Lords of the Middle Sea in 1978.

Lynn became employee #3 at Chaosium, and had a spectacular career. He was the co-creator of Call of Cthulhu, perhaps his single most enduring contribution, and eventually became the mastermind behind the entire CoC line. Even a partial list of the Chaosium titles he worked on will give you an understanding of his energy and ability: Dragon Pass, Raiders and Traders, Arkham Horror, Thieves’ World, Ringworld, RuneQuest, Borderlands, Pavis, Big Rubble, Questworld, Stormbringer Companion, Elric, Shadows of Yog-Sothoth, Masks of Nyarlathotep, Cthulhu by Gaslight, Dreamlands, Horror on the Orient Express, and Beyond the Mountains of Madness.

On September 2008, Chaosium announced that Willis had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Chaosium President Charlie Krank, and company founder Greg Stafford, announced his death on January 18, 2013.

Lynn Willis left behind a formidable legacy — a body of work that literally changed the face of hobby gaming at arguably its most creative and formative time. For me, he was one of the backbones of the industry, a man whose contributions were so numerous and vital that you almost took him for granted

Almost. Rest in peace, Lynn. Though we never met, you lived your life in a way that immeasurably enriched mine. Thank you.

The Best One-Sentence Reviews of Manly Wade Wellman: The Winners of The Complete John Thunstone Contest

Sunday, March 3, 2013 John ONeill Comments 12 comments

Three weeks ago, we announced a contest to win one of two copies of Manly Wade Wellman’s The Complete John Thunstone, compliments of Haffner Press.

To enter, contestants had to submit a one-sentence review of their favorite Manly Wade Wellman novel or short story. That’s it. Are we good to you, or what?

It quickly became the most popular contest in our history, with a steady stream of diverse entries covering the entire expanse of Wellman’s nearly 60-year career, from his first story in Thrilling Tales in 1927, to his final John the Balladeer story, “Where Did She Wander,” in 1986.

We’d like to present some of the best submissions here, and at the end we’ll announce the two winners, both of whom will receive a copy of The Complete John Thunstone, the latest archival quality hardcover release from Haffner Press.

Perhaps not surprisingly, we received the most votes for Wellman’s popular Silver John stories, also known as the John the Balladeer tales. We begin with Jeremy Harper, who highlights the very first Silver John story:

“O Ugly Bird!” A legend is born when a saintly hillbilly musician confronts a backwoods sorcerer and his goddamn Ugly Bird and smites them dead with his silver string guitar.

Nick Ozment expands on Jeremy’s comments this way:

Having enjoyed one of Manly Wade Wellman’s Silver John novels, I find it interesting how Wellman’s traveling troubadour provides an American folk counterpart to Yeats’s Irish bard Owen Red Hanrahan, rooting the mysticism and magic in American soil.

…

The Top 50 Black Gate Blog Posts in January

Friday, March 1, 2013 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

We broke another traffic record in January. Don’t you people have better things to do? Seriously, we’re glad you’re here, but you’re starting to look a bit pale. Think about taking your laptop out to the patio maybe, get some sun.

January was a busy time for us. Emily Mah trumpeted an ultimately successful Kickstarter campaign for the Chizine horror anthology Fearful Symmetries, Scott Taylor talked about selling sex, we took a peek at the paperback release of Throne of the Crescent Moon, Emily Mah (again!) interviewed Ian Tregillis, and Ryan Harvey cracked the binding on Edgar Rice Burroughs The Mucker.

And that’s just the Top Five. What follows is the complete list of the Top 50 posts at the Black Gate blog in January. Enjoy — and remember to bundle up, if you’re enjoying them from the patio.

The Top 12 Black Gate Fiction Posts in January

Thursday, February 28, 2013 John ONeill Comments 1 comment

bones-of-the-old-ones January marked the fourth straight month that we’ve been bringing you the best in adventure fantasy through our new Black Gate Online Fiction line. Every week we present an original short story or novella from the best writers in the industry, all completely free.

The response has been very gratifying, and Fiction has quickly become one of the most popular sections of the blog. Here are the Top Twelve most read stories in January, in case you missed them:

An excerpt from The Bones of the Old Ones, by Howard Andrew Jones
“The Terror in the Vale,” by E.E. Knight
“A Princess of Jadh,” by Gregory Bierly
“When the Glimmer Faire Came to the City of the Lonely Eye,” by John R. Fultz
“The Moonstones of Sor Lunarum,” by Joe Bonadonna
“The Gunnerman,” by Jason E. Thummel
“The Poison Well,” by Judith Berman
An Excerpt from Seven Kings, by John R. Fultz
“The Tea-Maker’s Task,” by Aaron Bradford Starr
“The Whoremaster of Pald,” by Harry Connolly
“The Daughter’s Dowry,” by Aaron Bradford Starr
“The Trade,” by Mark Rigney

The complete catalog of Black Gate Online Fiction, including stories by Mark Rigney, C.S.E. Cooney, Vaughn Heppner, E.E. Knight, Jason E. Thummel, Judith Berman, Howard Andrew Jones, Dave Gross, Harry Connolly, and others, is here. The most popular Black Gate fiction from December is here.

We’ve got plenty more fiction in the coming months, so stay tuned!

New Treasures: Epic, Edited by John Joseph Adams

Thursday, February 28, 2013 John ONeill Comments 6 comments

Black Gate‘s Managing Editor Howard Andrew Jones said something in his Monday post on Heroic Fantasy Quarterly 15 that I wish I’d said. So I’m going to repeat it here word for word, and pretend I’m saying it now.

I always wished I could find a way to draw more attention to the Flashing Swords e-zine when I helmed it. Well, it’s gone now. But HFQ is alive and well, and doing good work. So I’m using the mighty bandwidth now possessed by Black Gate online to point you to the e-zine. I can personally vouch for the stories I’ve named above. If you’re a fan of sword-and-sorcery and heroic fiction, you owe it to yourself to check them out. Go there, celebrate the stories, and the writers, and the market, because markets are fragile things and should be cherished while we have them.

Hear hear! We’re always happy when we can point you to a neglected vintage paperback or forgotten silent film. But our greatest pride comes from finding and promoting exciting, vibrant creators doing great work now, who need and deserve your support.

Lately, I feel that way about John Joseph Adams, who’s edited some of the most celebrated anthologies of the past few years — including The Way of the Wizard, Wastelands, Federations, Lightspeed: Year One, The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination, and many others. But his most recent publication of keen interest to heroic fantasy fans is the monumental Epic, a massive collection of some of the finest epic fantasy from the last five decades. It’s a fabulous collection of many of your favorite writers — including Patrick Rothfuss, George R. R. Martin, Tad Williams, Robin Hobb, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Michael Moorcock — alongside exciting authors you should be reading, such as Aliette de Bodard, Mary Robinette Kowal, N. K. Jemisin, Paolo Bacigalupi, and many others.

The complete table of contents is here. Support John Joseph Adams and Tachyon Publications, and keep them publishing groundbreaking anthologies for the next 20 years.

Epic: Legends of Fantasy was published on October 5th by Tachyon Publications. It is 624 pages in trade paperback for $17.95 ($9.99 for the digital version). Complete details at the Tachyon website.

Final Ballot for the 2012 Bram Stoker Awards Announced

Tuesday, February 26, 2013 John ONeill Comments 4 comments

The Horror Writers Association has announced the Final Ballot for the 2012 Bram Stoker Awards. This is the 26th annual ballot; the HWA has been giving out Stoker Awards since 1987.

The award, a miniature haunted house designed by Harlan Ellison and sculptor Steven Kirk, is the coolest trophy in the genre. Just check it out at right. The little door even opens! If anybody has one of these and they want to unload it, I’m here to help. Seriously. I’m your guy.

Ten more are going to be awarded at the Bram Stoker Awards Banquet in New Orleans on June 15. Let’s get to the nominees.

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A NOVEL

Ethridge, Benjamin Kane – Bottled Abyss (Redrum Horror)

Everson, John – NightWhere (Samhain Publishing)

Kiernan, Caitlin R. – The Drowning Girl (Roc)

Little, Bentley – The Haunted (Signet)

McKinney, Joe – Inheritance (Evil Jester Press)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A FIRST NOVEL

Boccacino, Michael – Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling (William Morrow)

Coates, Deborah – Wide Open (Tor Books)

Day, Charles – The Legend of the Pumpkin Thief (Noble YA Publishers LLC)

Dudar, Peter – A Requiem for Dead Flies (Nightscape Press)

Gropp, Richard – Bad Glass (Ballantine/Del Rey)

Soares, L.L. – Life Rage (Nightscape Press)

…

The Real Argo: The Lord of Light Film and the Lost Jack Kirby Sketches

Monday, February 25, 2013 John ONeill Comments 16 comments

I was pleased to see Ben Affleck’s Argo win the Academy Award for Best Picture last night. It was the best film I saw last year, although I admit I didn’t see all the nominees.

But I was a little annoyed during parts — especially scenes which included dialog from the fake movie, Argo. It’s clear that Affleck (and his characters) have little respect for science fiction, as the script and its source material are portrayed as utterly terrible sci-fi at its pretentious worst.

Which was particuarly annoying because the source material in question — the script used by real-life CIA agent Tony Mendez, the man portrayed by Affleck — is based on my all-time favorite SF novel, Roger Zelazny’s brilliant Lord of Light. The man who wrote the original Wired article that inspired Argo, Joshua Bearman, explains it this way:

Argo was the name Tony gave to a script that was in turnaround and sitting in a pile at [makeup artist John] Chambers’ house. That script was called Lord of Light and had been adapted from a successful Roger Zelazny science-fantasy novel of the same name. A small-time self-starting dreamer… named Barry Geller had optioned Zelazny’s book himself and raised money to get the project started. He hired Jack Kirby to do concept art and Chambers to make the alien masks. But the whole project fell apart…

It was hard to see the script for Lord of Light merciliessly skewered for laughs in Argo. Still, something good has come out of it all. As a result of the recent spotlight on the film, Jack Kirby’s original sketches — thought lost for years — have come to light.

BuzzFeed has reproduced eleven of the sketches in an article by Richard Rushfield. If you’re a Kirby fan, or a fan of Zelazny’s SF masterpiece, they are well worth a look. Check them out here.

New Treasures: The Unearthed Arcana 1st Edition Premium Reprint

Thursday, February 21, 2013 John ONeill Comments 26 comments

The Premium 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons reprint series is one of the best ideas Wizards of the Coast has ever had.

By bringing Gary Gygax’s original AD&D rulebooks back into print in deluxe editions, Wizards is making the groundbreaking work of the father of role playing available to a modern audience. More than that, it’s a tacit acknowledgement of the growing popularity of retro-gaming, a nod to those players who still enjoy playing first edition (or OE, Original Edition) D&D and AD&D.

I’m one of them. My most recent game of D&D was last Sunday, and one of the books we reached for during play — as a troop of goblins chased my player characters through a dark wood — was the first edition AD&D volume Unearthed Arcana.

Unlike the Players Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Masters Guide, Gygax’s Unearthed Arcana — which, among many other innovations, introduced the Cavalier, Barbarian, and Thief-Acrobat classes — had never been reprinted, and the copy we used to quickly check the effects of my daughter’s druid’s “Goodberry” spell was the original TSR printing from 1985. That’s a hard book to come across these days, as one of my young players lamented.

But no longer. Wizards of the Coast released the Unearthed Arcana 1st Edition Premium Reprint on Tuesday of this week. Best of all, this edition incorporates the corrections and updates published under Gygax’s supervision in Dragon magazine, making this the definitive edition of the text. At long last, players can assemble a complete collection of the most essential rule books for the greatest role playing game ever written, without having to pay collector’s prices for long out-of-print volumes.

The Unearthed Arcana 1st Edition Premium Reprint was published by Wizards of the Coast on February 19, 2013. It is 128 pages in hardcover, priced at $49.95. There is no digital or softcover edition.

Congratulations to Black Gate on 3,000 Blog Posts!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013 John ONeill Comments 14 comments

I feel like one of the service staff at a restaurant, waiting excitedly at the entrance for their 10,000th customer. Minus the cool food service uniform.

Ryan Harvey’s article on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ The Oakdale Affair, which went live less than an hour ago, was our 3,000th post. Congratulations to Ryan — and indeed, to the entire Black Gate staff.

The Black Gate blog was the brainchild of Howard Andrew Jones, who suggested I replace the outdated site he and I updated haphazardly with a modern WordPress web publication. I originally said no — and in fact said ‘No” the next half dozen times Howard brought it up. But he eventually talked me into it. Our new look was designed by Leo Grin and our first two posts, in November 2008, were both written by our site engineer David Munger. Our first regular bloggers were David Soyka, Judith Berman, E.E. Knight, Ryan Harvey, James Enge, Scott Oden, and Bill Ward.

Note that I was not a regular blogger. I was not a blogger at all. It took me six months just to figure out how to log in and puzzle out WordPress — and much longer before I dared make my first, timid post. I wrote over 750 in the next four years, and gradually got the hang of it.

We are very proud to be able to bring you, our readers, the best in new and overlooked fantasy every week. The site has grown by leaps and bounds in the last four and a half years, and today a team of nearly 30 bloggers contributes over 20 articles per week. In November 2008 our readership was in the hundreds; this month we are perilously close to breaking 100,000 visits. It’s been an honor and a privilege, and we’re pleased to have you here to celebrate with us.

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