Black Gate

I think I speak for the entire country when I say that this winter stinks.

Seriously. I grew up in Canada; I know cold, miserable winters. When I was five, I spent a year in northern Quebec, where it snowed in June and the winter was one constant snow storm. I remember I climbed the snowdrift by our driveway until I was able to step up onto the house, and my Dad came out and yelled at me to get off the roof. Now that’s a lot of snow.

But I can’t ever recall a winter as cold or as miserable as this one. Here in Chicago, the weathermen tell us we’re only a few inches away from a snowfall record and a few more sub-zero days away from the coldest winter on record.

The things that frighten each generation are very different. And it’s only our very best best horror writers who are so plugged into the national psyche that they know what frightens us before we know it ourselves. And after the winter of 2013-2014, I think we’ll all look back and appreciate just how brilliant Christopher Golden is and how he picked the right year to write a novel about a killer snow storm.

The small New England town of Coventry had weathered a thousand blizzards… but never one like this. Icy figures danced in the wind and gazed through children’s windows with soul-chilling eyes. People wandered into the whiteout and were never seen again. Families were torn apart, and the town would never be the same.

…

Read More Read More

C.S. Friedman is not a particularly prolific writer — but what she does write usually makes an impact. Her first novels, including In Conquest Born and The Madness Season, were science fiction; her more recent Magister trilogy (Feast of Souls, Wings of Wrath, and Legacy of Kings) returned to the sweeping epic fantasy of her popular Coldfire trilogy (Black Sun Rising, When True Night Falls, and Crown of Shadows).

Her new novel, on sale this week, is something brand new for Friedman — a contemporary fantasy. Mixing a woman gifted with visionary dreams, gaming culture, and the very roots of mythology, Dreamwalker is an ambitious new novel with an intriguing premise.

All her life Jessica Drake has dreamed of other worlds, some of them similar to her own, others disturbingly alien. She never shares the details with anyone, save her younger brother Tommy, a compulsive gamer who incorporates some aspects of Jessica’s dreams into his games. But now someone is asking about those dreams… and about her. A strange woman has been watching her house. A visitor to her school attempts to take possession of her dream-inspired artwork.

Why?

As she begins to search for answers it becomes clear that whoever is watching her does not want her to learn the truth. One night her house catches on fire, and when the smoke clears she discovers that her brother has been kidnapped. She must figure out what is going on, and quickly, if she and her family are to be safe.

Following clues left behind on Tommy’s computer, determined to find her brother and bring him home safely, Jessica and two of her friends are about to embark on a journey that will test their spirits and their courage to the breaking point, as they must leave their own world behind and confront the source of Earth’s darkest legends – as well as the terrifying truth of their own secret heritage.

Dreamwalker was published Feb. 4 by DAW Books. It is 400 pages, priced at $19.99 in hardcover, and $10.99 for the digital edition.

See all of our recent New Treasures here.

Boy, Tor publishes intriguing books. I keep trying to save a few bucks by waiting until they arrive in paperback, but there are some books that just demand to be read right now.

I admit I was attracted to London Falling first by the great cover. Covers are important to me — ultimately I have time to read less than a third of what I buy, so at least I want my purchases to look good on my shelves. But the book description, which promises an enticing mix of police procedural and supernatural mystery, really sealed the deal.

Police officers Quill, Costain, Sefton, and Ross know the worst of London — or they think they do. While investigating a mobster’s mysterious death, they come into contact with a strange artifact and accidentally develop the Sight. Suddenly they can see the true evil haunting London’s streets.

Armed with police instincts and procedures, the four officers take on the otherworldly creatures secretly prowling London. Football lore and the tragic history of a Tudor queen become entwined in their pursuit of an age-old witch with a penchant for child sacrifice. But when London’s monsters become aware of their meddling, the officers must decide what they are willing to sacrifice to clean up their city.

Paul Cornell’s first novels were a series of highly regarded Doctor Who tie-ins, and the SF novels Something More (2002) and British Summertime (2007). This is his first fantasy novel, but he’s no stranger to the genre. He wrote three Doctor Who episodes for the BBC, and his comics work includes Batman & Robin, Action Comics, Saucer Country, Demon Knights, and Young Avengers. He’s also an acclaimed short story writer and one of only two people to be nominated for the Hugo Award for fiction, comics and television (bonus points if you can name the other one).

London Falling was published by Tor Books on April 16, 2013. It is 403 pages, priced at $24.99 in hardcover, and $11.99 for the digital edition. The sequel, The Severed Streets, is scheduled to be published by Tor on May 20.

See all of our recent New Treasures here.

I try hard to keep the focus on fantasy at Black Gate. There’s only so much we can cover and there are plenty of other sites out there devoted to science fiction, horror, etc.

Of course, there are always borderline items for which I’m constantly trying to find a way to justify a mention. That was the case with Aric Davis’s new novel The Fort. After a week of racking my brains, I came up with this: The heck with it. If ever there was a boy’s adventure novel sure to appeal to every young fantasy fan I’ve ever met, it’s The Fort.

Here’s the description from the back of the book:

With the boys’ new fort finally finished, everything that summer was going great. And then the killer showed up.

During the summer of 1987, from their tree house fort in the woods, neighborhood boys Tim, Scott, and Luke spot a man holding a gun to missing sixteen-year-old Molly Peterson’s back. The problem is, nobody believes their story, not even the police. As search efforts to find Molly dwindle, the boys know that she, and the man with the gun, are nearby — and that they must now find and save Molly themselves. A growing sense of honor and urgency forces the boys to take action — to find Molly, to protect themselves, and to stand guard for the last long days of summer.

Aric Davis has a resume that would impress fantasy fans, too. He’s the author of the crime novels Rough Men and A Good and Useful Hurt, and the YA detective novel Nickel Plated, which Gillian Flynn called a “dark but humane, chilling and sometimes heart-breaking work of noir.”

The Fort was published on June 11, 2013 by Thomas & Mercer. It is 239 pages, priced at $14.95 in trade paperback, and just $4.99 for the digital edition.