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Interzone #239

Interzone #239

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443_largeThe March-April issue of Interzone features new stories by Chris Beckett (”The Gates of Eden”), Steve rasnic Tem (”Twember”), Jon Wallace (”Lips and Teeth”), Suzanne Palmer (Tangerine, Nectarine, Clementine, Apocolypse”), Matthew Cook (“Railriders”) and Nigel Brown (“One-Way Ticket”); cover artwork by Ben BaldwinJacob Boyd (“Bound in Place”); “Ansible Link” genre news and miscellanea by David Langford; “Mutant Popcorn” film reviews by Nick Lowe; “Laser Fodder” DVD/Blu-Ray reviews by Tony Lee; book reviews by Jim Steel and other contributors.

Interzone alternates monthly publication with sister dark horror focused Black Static, published by the fine folks at TTA Press.

Clarkesworld Issue #66

Clarkesworld Issue #66

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cw_66_300The March  issue of Clarkesworld is currently online. Featured fiction: “Sunlight Society” by Margaret Ronald, “The Bells of Subsidence” by Michale John Grist and “From Their Paws, We Shall Inherit” by Gary Kloster.  Non fiction by E.C. Ambrose, Jeremy L.C. Jones and Neil Clarke.  The cover art is by Sergio Diaz.

All of this is available online for free; there’s even an audio podcast version of all three stories read by Kate Baker. However, nothing is really free. The magazine is supported by “Clarkesworld Citizens” who donate $10 or more.

We last covered Clarkesworld with issue #64.

Rolling Cities and Ship Building: A Talk with Frederic S. Durbin

Rolling Cities and Ship Building: A Talk with Frederic S. Durbin

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Philippe de Champaigne's Vanitas Still Life with Skull
Philippe de Champaigne's Vanitas Still Life with Skull

In a Frederic S. Durbin story, you’re as likely to get a chattering, boxed skull secreted away on an enormous mobile city as you are to get an ominous underground world directly beneath a funeral parlor. Durbin writes dark stories with a light touch. His detailed settings come close to becoming characters themselves. Though his audience is mainly a younger crowd, his fantasy novels can be enjoyed by all. All, meaning me. I like his books. You should too. Don’t even get me started on his short stories. I might squeal all over you.

Durbin was born in Illinois, taught English and creative writing in Japan for twenty years and now resides in Pittsburgh, PA. His most recent novel, The Star Shard, was released in February.

Black Gate had a sit down and discovered the secrets of Frederic S. Durbin’s soul. Ish. OK. That’s a lie. More so we booktalked, but if you ask him nicely on his GoodReads or blog, “Mr. Durbin, what secret(s) does your soul hold?”… he might tell you. And if he does, report it back to the big BG so we get the scoop first. In the meantime, here’s Black Gate’s talk with Frederic S. Durbin.

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March/April Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine now on Sale

March/April Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine now on Sale

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mar-apr-2012-fsf-coverI think I’m a little late with this one, as this issue has maybe been on sale for a few weeks. Tisk, tisk. That’s what one little game auction will do to you.

Well, time to catch up.  The March/April issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine, for those of you who haven’t read it already, is packed full of great stuff, including a brand new novelette by the incredible Peter S. Beagle, and short stories from Robert Reed, Steven Utley, Richard Bowes, Geoffrey Landis, Robert Walton and Barry N. Malzberg, C.S. Friedman, and a lot more. Here’s the complete fiction TOC:

NOVELETS

  • “Electrica”  – Sean McMullen
  • “Twenty-Two and You”  – Michael Blumlein
  • “Greed”  – Albert E. Cowdrey
  • “Gnarly Times at Nana’ite Beach”  – KJ Kabza
  • “Olfert Dapper’s Day”  – Peter S. Beagle

SHORT STORIES

  • “Repairmen”  – Tim Sullivan
  • “One Year of Fame”  – Robert Reed
  • “The Tortoise Grows Elate”  – Steven Utley
  • “The Queen and the Cambion”  – Richard Bowes
  • “Demiurge”  – Geoffrey Landis
  • “The Man Who Murdered Mozart”  – Robert Walton and Barry N. Malzberg
  • “Perfect Day”  – C.S. Friedman

The amazing Lois Tilton has already reviewed the complete issue at Locus Online. Here’s what she says about Beagle’s contribution, “Olfert Dapper’s Day”:

Dr Dapper, of no real medical degree, is forced to flee to the New World when his various frauds are revealed to the authorities of Utrecht. In the wilderness, among the comfortless Puritans, he has no alternative but to pose as a medical practitioner. Yet despite himself, he finds wonders and miracles in the wilderness.

A fine and moving fantasy. The author’s voice is quite engaging and his protagonist undergoes a memorable metamorphosis.

The cover price is $7.50, for a thick 258 pages. Cover artist this issue is David A. Hardy. More details at the F&SF website, including the complete text of book and film reviews by Charles de Lint, Chris Moriarty, Paul Di Filippo, and Lucius Shepard. We last covered F&SF here with the January/February issue.

A Time Capsule from 1983

A Time Capsule from 1983

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space-gamer-66Last month I wrote a lengthy blog post about Sword & Sorcery, a lavish fantasy board game published by SPI over three decades ago. In the comments section the topic soon turned, as it often does with us old-time gamers, to TSR’s purchase of the bankrupt remnants of SPI in 1983. Christian Lindke, a long-time reader, had some particularly astute observations:

While it is easy to blame TSR for what they did to SPI — and they deserve a lot of blame — one should keep two things in mind. First, when they purchased SPI it was in dire financial straights and would likely not have survived. Second, they had hoped to keep SPI’s staff, but those staff members refused to work for TSR — for varied reasons — and left to form the Victory Games studio over at Avalon Hill… A massive resurgence of publishing of SPI games happened under Lorraine Williams. We would never have seen the SPI monster TSR World War II game, or Wellington’s Victory, Sniper (including BugHunters), let alone the 3rd edition of DragonQuest…

There is an excellent issue of Fire and Movement, printed by Steve Jackson Games, that goes over the purchase of SPI.

I asked Christian if he could track the issue down, and he did more than that. He wrote an extensive and excellent blog post on the topic, and in a good bit of investigative reporting he tracks down a series of articles in Steve Jackson’s Space Gamer magazine that reveal more extensive details.

But it was this bombshell at the bottom of Christian’s article that I personally found much more startling.
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New Treasures: Allen K’s Inhuman Magazine #5

New Treasures: Allen K’s Inhuman Magazine #5

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inhuman-magazine-5Allen Koszowski is almost supernaturally talented.

I first hired him more than a decade ago, when I was desperate to find an artist who could capture the eldritch horrors of Edmond Hamilton’s classic “The Monster-God of Mamurth,” a tale of ancient desert ruins and unlucky explorers from the August 1926 Weird Tales, which I reprinted in Black Gate 2. Allen’s work for Cemetery Dance, Whispers, and Weird Tales convinced me he was the guy.

He delivered three knockout pieces of art (see the first here). And the envelope they arrived in was stuffed with additional pieces which he offered for free. It was remarkably generous, and I was glad I was able to hire him again for Black Gate 3.

Since 2004 Allen has been publishing his own horror magazine, Allen K’s Inhuman Magazine. Every issue he assembles the top names in dark fantasy and horror, and he handles the art for each story personally.

The results have been consistently excellent, but with Issue 5 Allen has outdone himself. This issue Centipede Press has taken over production, and the magazine looks better than ever. To showcase other artists Allen has added a gallery, highlighting the Lovecraft Mythos work of Randy Broecker, Bob Eggleton, Jill Bauman, David Carson, and others, although Allen still handles the cover and interiors. Click on the image at left to get a closer look at his cover art for this issue.

This issue features fiction by Michael Shea, Darrell Schweitzer, Tim Curran, Tim Waggoner, James S. Dorr, Christopher M. Cervasco, John Pelan, and many others. The magazine is huge — 208 pages! — and copiously illustrated. It is perfect bound for the criminally low price of just $6.95, which makes it the single best buy you’ll hear about all week.

My thanks to my buddy Chris Cervasco for tipping me off that the magazine was available. Like many beautiful and precious things, copies can be hard to come by. I bought mine from the excellent online seller The Overlook Connection, who still have most issues in stock. There’s also ordering information on Allen’s website.

Support an excellent magazine, and discover a terrific source of quality dark fantasy. It’s a win-win. Buy your copy today!

Apex #34 and Black Static #27

Apex #34 and Black Static #27

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apexmag03_12

This month’s Apex Magazine features ”A Member of the Wedding of Heaven and Hell” by Richard Bowes  and ”Copper, Iron, Blood” by Mari Ness; the classic reprint is “Lehr, Rex”  by Jay Lake, who is interviewed by Maggie Slater.

Julie Dillon provides the cover art: Julia Rios and editor Lynne M. Thomas penned nonfiction columns round out the issue.

429_large1Further details about this on-line publication can be found here.

The February-March Black Static features new horror fiction from Simon Bestwick (”The Churn”), Gord Sellar (”Empty of Words, thePage”), Jacob Ruby (”The Little Things”), V.H. Leslie (”Family Tree”) and Stephen Bacon (”Cuckoo Spit”).

Nonfiction by the usual suspects, Peter Tennant, Christopher Fowler, Tony Lee, and Mike Driscoll.
The editor is Andy Cox.

Black Static alternates monthly publication with sister SF and fantasy focused Interzone.

Interzone #238: It’s All the Cards

Interzone #238: It’s All the Cards

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interzone-238Ben Baldwin gets dibs as the cover artist for Interzone in 2012.  In his guest editorial, Baldwin explains his intention to foci “around the imagery and symbolism of some of the Major Arcana of the tarot deck.”  For the January-February issue, the subject  is The Moon.

This issue’s fiction includes “Fata Morgana” by Ray Cluley, “”Fearful Symmetry by Tyler Keevil, “God of the Gaps” by Carole Johnstone and “The Complex” by E.J. Swift along with the usual departments and columns.

Further details on this issue can be found on the Interzone web site.


Apex #33

Apex #33

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apexmag02_mediumThis month’s Apex Magazine features ”Bear in Contradicting Landscape” by David J. Schwarz and ”My Body, Her Canvas” by A.C. Wise; the classic reprint is “Useless Things”  by Maureen McHugh, who is interviewed by Maggie Slater. Donata Giancola provides the cover art and Alex Bledsoe and editor Lynne M. Thomas penned columns round out the issue.

Further details about this on-line publication can be found here.

Vote in the 2011 Locus Online Poll!

Vote in the 2011 Locus Online Poll!

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the-desert-of-souls-tpBalloting for the annual Locus Poll and Survey is now open!

The winners of the poll are given the prestigious Locus Awards each year. Categories include Best SF novel, Best Fantasy novel, Best First novel, Best Anthology, Best Magazine, Best Editor, Best Artist, and many others.

But the Locus Poll is more than just an awards ballot. Locus has been taking the pulse of the entire industry for the last 42 years, and the information collected — on buying habits, reading preferences, income, computing, and much more — is used by Locus magazine to form a picture of the evolving dynamic of the modern SF and fantasy reader.

Of more than passing interest of to Black Gate readers, I was very pleased to note that our Managing Editor Howard Andrew Jones has been nominated for Best First novel for The Desert of Souls. And Black Gate magazine has been nominated for Best Magazine.

Voting is open to all, subscribers and non-subscribers, per the instructions:

In each category, you may vote for up to five works or nominees, ranking them 1 (first place) through 5 (fifth). Listed options in each category are based on our 2011 Recommended Reading List [this link will open a new window], with options in categories for editor, artist, magazine, and publisher including results of the past two years.

You are welcome to use the write-in boxes to vote for other titles and nominees in any category — if you do, please try to supply author, title, and place of appearance, where appropriate.

The ballot is here. The deadline is April 1, 2012. Make sure your voice is counted in the most important ballot and survey in the industry!