New Treasures – Page 179

New Treasures: Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews

Tuesday, July 30, 2013 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

I’ve been hearing more and more about Ilona Andrews recently — and all of it good. “Ilona Andrews” is the pen name for husband-and-wife writing team, Ilona Gordon and Andrew Gordon, and their latest novel, Magic Rises, just got a rare 5-star review over at our buddy site, SF Signal. Here’s Kristin Centorcelli:

The fight scenes are superb, as usual, and you’ll want to keep an eye out for the scene in which Kate spars with their host. Magic Rises goes to some pretty dark places, but the stakes are very high, and expect some major game changers here… The story is made much richer by having read the previous books in the series, but I can honestly say that new readers could start with this one as well (though I would recommend starting with book 1, Magic Bites, because it’s, well, awesome).

I have to admit, I’ve been stagnating a bit where urban fantasy is concerned, but Magic Rises has reawakened my love for the genre. Urban fantasy absolutely does not get much better than this.

For those of you who need more than just a great review, here are the details:

Mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate, Curran, the Beast Lord, are struggling to solve a heartbreaking crisis. Unable to control their beasts, many of the Pack’s shapeshifting children fail to survive to adulthood. While there is a medicine that can help, the secret to its making is closely guarded by the European packs, and there’s little available in Atlanta.

Kate can’t bear to watch innocents suffer, but the solution she and Curran have found threatens to be even more painful. The European shapeshifters who once outmaneuvered the Beast Lord have asked him to arbitrate a dispute — and they’ll pay him in medicine. With the young people’s survival and the Pack’s future at stake, Kate and Curran know they must accept the offer — but they have little doubt that they’re heading straight into a trap…

Magic Rises is the sixth volume in the Kate Daniels series, which opened with Magic Bites. It was published today by Ace Books. It is 355 pages, priced at $7.99 for both the paperback and digital editions.

See all of our recent New Treasures here.

New Treasures: The Fall of the First World, Book Two: Sorrowing Vengeance by David C. Smith

Sunday, July 28, 2013 John ONeill Comments 1 comment

I’ve seen a lot of exciting news from David C. Smith recently.

If you’ve been following the Black Gate Online Fiction series (see the latest here), you know that his recent collaboration with Joe Bonadonna, Waters of Darkness, has been near the top of our monthly traffic charts since we published an excerpt back in March. And just a few months ago, our website editor, Michael Penkas, reviewed his much-loved Red Sonja novels, co-written with Richard L. Tierney in the early 80s.

That wasn’t even the big news, however. No, that was the re-release of Dave’s seminal fantasy trilogy The Fall of the First World, originally published in paperback by Pinnacle Books in 1983. Unavailable for nearly thirty years, these exciting novels are finally being returned to print by Borgo Press. The first, The West is Dying, appeared in November, and now we’re very pleased to see that volume two, Sorrowing Vengeance, arrived last month.

“I see more in darkness than you can see in the light.” A priest turned sorcerer is reborn as the ultimate creature of Evil. He will topple a throne and begin the destruction of the world, even as the crowns of two empires move inexorably toward launching an impossible war that neither can win. The King of Athadia, fearing a personal curse, tries to maintain peace. But when his Queen is abducted by the barbarian ruler of the East — and she welcomes the affront — armies gather on every border, and ships set sail on oceans of blood. The world is at war, and a great sorrowing vengeance, foretold long ago, comes to life in the darkest of times… The second great fantasy novel in the epic saga of The Fall of the First World!

Sorrowing Vengeance was published by Borgo Press on June 19. It is 452 pages, priced at $18.99 in trade paperback. There is no digital edition. The third and final volume, The Passing of the Gods, is also due this month.

New Treasures: The Crown of the Blood by Gav Thorpe

Friday, July 26, 2013 John ONeill Comments 5 comments

It’s Friday. Already. Which means I’m a little tardy getting my latest New Treasures selection up.

I usually decide what book to highlight by glancing over the new arrivals for the week and selecting which one I’m going to read on the weekend. Except this weekend, I’ll have my nose in the 358-page rulebook for Black Crusade, the Warhammer 40k role playing game from Fantasy Flight, learning how to play so I can host an adventure for my kids, who’ve been begging me for weeks. (Why don’t kids play softball any more? Or frisbee? What does that take — 45 seconds prep time?)

So instead, I’m staring longingly at the review books that arrived this week, wishing I could read them. Still, all this Warhammer immersion reminds me of the great adventure fiction set in that universe, and as a result I find the book calling loudest for my attention is Gav Thorpe’s The Crown of the Blood, the first novel in his trilogy of the same name.

Ullsaard has conquered the known world. All have fallen before his armies.

Now it’s time to take the long journey home, back to the revered heart of the great Empire he had helped create for his distant masters. But when he returns to the capital, life there is so very different from what he had believed. Could it be that everything he has fought for, has conquered and killed for, has been a lie?

A sweeping fantasy of immense battles, demonic magic and dark politics.

No waiting around for the sequels, either — they’re already here: The Crown of the Conqueror and The Crown of the Usurper. (Great — more books I can’t read this weekend.) Gav Thorpe has written over a dozen novels in the Warhammer universe for Black Library, including Angels of Darkness and the Sundering trilogy.

The Crown of the Blood was published by Angry Robot in September, 2010. It is 528 pages in paperback, priced at $7.99 ($6.99 for the digital edition). More details at the Angry Robot website.

When the 21st Century was Far Future: Frank R. Paul: The Dean of Science Fiction Illustration

Wednesday, July 24, 2013 John ONeill Comments 6 comments

I consider Frank R. Paul to be one of the most important — if not the most important — artist in the history of science fiction.

It’s odd then that so few readers today are familiar with his work. Jerry Weist set out to correct that with Frank R. Paul: The Dean of Science Fiction Illustration, a dream project of his that was released only after Weist’s death in 2011.

Paul virtually created American Science Fiction, alongside Hugo Gernsback, in the late 1920s. He was the cover artist Gernsback chose for the first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories — every single issue, for over three years, until Gernsback lost control of it in 1929.

That meant Paul crafted many of the defining images of early science fiction, including his interpretation of Buck Rogers (on the cover of Amazing August 1928), H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds (August 1927), and Edgar Rice Burroughs’s John Carter of Mars (Amazing Stories Annual 1927). He made exciting new concepts like space travel, picture-phones, aliens, and robots vivid and real to an America where most people didn’t even own a telephone.

When Gernsback left Amazing behind and founded a new stable of magazines — including Science Wonder Stories and Air Wonder Stories — he took Paul with him. Altogether, Paul painted over 300 magazine covers before his death in 1963, most of them for Gernsback.

Paul had numerous artistic firsts. He was the first to paint a space station, for the cover of the August 1929 Science Wonder. He painted the cover for Marvel Comics #1 in October, 1939, giving the world its first look at the Human Torch.

Paul did countless interior illustrations as well. In addition to his striking cover art, he executed a famous series of original paintings imagining life elsewhere in the solar system for the back covers of many of Gernsback’s magazines.

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New Treasures: The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu

Tuesday, July 23, 2013 John ONeill Comments 3 comments

Steven Silver, Holly McDowell, and Mary Robinette Kowal in at the Without a Summer launch party. Click for bigger version

Back in April, I was invited to Mary Robinette Kowal’s Without a Summer launch party here in Chicago, to celebrate the publication of the third volume of her Glamourist Histories fantasy series (which we covered right here at Black Gate on April 6).

It was a great chance to catch up with a lot of local writers, including Steven Silver, Holly McDowell, and Kelly Swails — and to meet Mary’s husband Rob, who is a winemaker (seriously!) at City Winery Chicago.

I’d like to pause here to note that I don’t get to write a sentence like that every day.

And, of course, it was a chance to see Mary, who was modeling one of her trademark empire style dresses. Brilliant writer, killer fashion sense, married to a winemaker… you can see why one just doesn’t turn down an invitation from this woman.

About an hour after I arrived, Mary introduced me to Wesley Chu, another local Chicagoan and recently published author.

Now, this never gets old. I’ve been in publishing a long time now, and I meet aspiring writers, wannabee writers, and Gee-I’ve-got-a-great-idea-for-a-novel writers all the time. But introduce me to someone who’s published an honest-to-God novel, and I turn into an instant fanboy.

I can’t help it. At heart I’m still a reader, and I’m not so jaded by this industry that I can’t appreciate that behind all the marketing spin, crushing deadlines, commercial pressures and compromises, is true magic — the fragile creative spark nurtured and nudged onto the stage by the diligent and the brave. I’m in awe of these people, and when I meet a new author I want to hear all about their creations.

I had a great talk with Wesley, and he was gracious enough to indulge me a little and tell me about his book. And the more I heard, the more fascinated I became.

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Discover the 20th Century’s Great SF & Fantasy Writers with Bud Webster’s Past Masters

Sunday, July 21, 2013 John ONeill Comments 3 comments

I’m always proud of the work our contributors do at Black Gate. We’ve explored virtually every aspect of fantasy in our print edition and here on the blog — from Games to Comics to Conan, from Vintage Treasures to Art to Music and even Fashion. We’re hip, it’s true.

Occasionally, of course, I see a brilliant article in some other zine that makes me think, “Dang. I wish I had published that.”

That’s exactly what happened the first time I stumbled upon Bud Webster’s marvelous Past Masters column at Jim Baen’s Universe, in which Bud examined the history and contributions of the most important and creative writers in SF and Fantasy, in his entertaining and highly engaging style.

My usual procedure in such circumstance, naturally, is to sulk for several days, snarling at passersby until my black mood passes. Bud has a jovial disposition however, and is famously approachable, so in this case I postponed my jealous rage and shot him a quick note. Would he ever think of publishing some of these brilliant pieces in my humble magazine, I asked?

And, gentleman that he is, Bud said yes. The first new article, with the new title “Who?” appeared in Black Gate 15, and examined the short but magical career of Tom Reamy, author of San Diego Lightfoot Sue.

Bud wrote nearly 20 Past Masters columns, starting in the online Helix SF magazine; when it ceased publication in Fall 2008 he took the column to Jim Baen’s Universe, and then to Eric Flint’s Grantville Gazette.

He wrote so many, in fact, that demands to collect them in a more permanent format became a constant chorus. The diligent Merry Blacksmith Press, run by the talented John Teehan, saw an opportunity and seized it, and three weeks ago Past Masters: and Other Bookish Natterings finally appeared as a handsome trade paperback.

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New Treasures: House of Fear, edited by Jonathan Oliver

Saturday, July 20, 2013 John ONeill Comments 4 comments

I tip my hat to Solaris Books, the Oxford division of comic publisher Rebellion Developments, who have shown a real commitment to short fiction.

It started with George Mann’s The Solaris Book Of New Science Fiction, which lasted three volumes, only to be reborn as Solaris Rising: The New Solaris Book of Science Fiction under new editor Ian Whates (two volumes so far). In May of this year, they finally showed fantasy some love with Fearsome Journeys: The New Solaris Book of Fantasy.

And you know what? I totally missed their horror volume — an all-original collection of haunted house stories featuring tales from Christopher Priest, Joe R. Lansdale, Eric Brown, Tim Lebbon, Chaz Brenchley, Christopher Fowler, Gary Kilworth, Sarah Pinborough, Lisa Tuttle, Nina Allan, Stephen Volk, and many more. It was released nearly two years ago, but I just got my hands on a copy this week.

The tread on the landing outside the door, when you know you are the only one in the house. The wind whistling through the eves, carrying the voices of the dead. The figure glimpsed briefly through the cracked window of a derelict house. Editor Jonathan Oliver brings horror home with a collection of haunted house stories. The tread on the landing outside the door, when you know you are the only one in the house. The wind whistling through the eves, carrying the voices of the dead. The figure glimpsed briefly through the cracked window of a derelict house.

Editor Jonathan Oliver brings horror home with a collection of haunted house stories by some of the finest writers working in the horror genre.

The book is edited by Solaris Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Oliver, who also directs the Abaddon books line. Where he finds the time to oversee two major publishing houses and edit original fiction anthologies on the side, I have no idea. I was hard-pressed to edit one issue of Black Gate per year, believe me.

House of Fear was edited by Jonathan Oliver and published by Solaris on September 27, 2011. It is 485 pages, priced at $7.99 in paperback and $6.99 for the digital edition. Learn more at the Solaris website.

See all of our recent New Treasures here.

Watch This Awesome Teaser Trailer for The Boxtrolls, Because it’s Good for You

Thursday, July 18, 2013 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

Seriously, this trailer will make you smile, turn you into a better person, and maybe even teach you a foreign language. All in 72 seconds.

As I reported last week, Alan Snow’s criminally overlooked YA series The Ratbridge Chronicles — so overlooked that America forgot to publish it — is being adapted into a feature film by stop-motion studio Laika, creators of Coraline and ParaNorman. Any studio that takes their name from the first dog in space is okay in my book.

Technically, I think The Boxtrolls adapts only the first novel, the marvelous Here Be Monsters, which appeared in 2006. The second, Worse Things Happen at Sea, was released in the UK in October 2010, and cruelly snubbed here in the US — at least until last week, when it was finally published by Atheneum Books (you guys rock). The third, Thar She Blows, is scheduled to appear in December 2013.

The Boxtrolls will be released September 26, 2014. It is directed by Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi, and stars the voice talents of Ben Kingsley, Simon Pegg, Elle Fanning, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Toni Collette, and Jared Harris.

New Treasures: Cobweb Bride by Vera Nazarian

Thursday, July 18, 2013 John ONeill Comments 3 comments

There’s lots of perks to running the Black Gate global mega-publishing empire. For one thing, I enjoy being part of the “lamestream media,” telling America what to think and do, ignoring today’s critical issues so I can focus on movies about giant robots. That’s satisfaction right there. Plus, those Manhattan press parties are a blast. Seriously, I could tell you stories.

But the best part of publishing is discovering new talent, the emerging short fiction writers of today who will be the towering giants of the field tomorrow. Writers like Vera Nazarian, whose brilliant short story, “Niola’s Last Stand,” we published earlier this year. Strangely, no one seems to have told Vera that she’s expected to toil away in obscurity for years before vaulting to superstardom — she’s already accumulated two Nebula noms, and her just-released novel, Cobweb Bride, looks like a clear contender for one of the most talked-about books of the year. Some people have no respect for due process.

Well, we know how to cash in on a good thing. So we asked Vera for an exclusive quote explaining Cobweb Bride to our readers (“Quick — while she’s still taking our calls.”) Here’s what she told us:

Cobweb Bride is a story of Death and Love and loss and intensity, a strange twist on the Persephone myth set in an alternate Renaissance Europe. Enter the Uncanny Valley of the Shadow of Death. This is a place at the heart of the Brothers Grimm and in the mind of Dante, in the gut of Ouroboros, in the mouth of Hell, and in the eye of a glittering Imperial Court rivaling the splendor of Louis XIV’s Versailles.

It is an epic fantasy of love and eldritch wonder, about death’s ultimatum to the world.

Does that sound awesome, or what? What did we tell you? Pay attention, we won’t steer you wrong.

Cobweb Bride is the first book of the Cobweb Bride Trilogy. It was published by Leda on July 15. It is $14.95 in trade paperback, and just $5.99 for the digital edition.

Get Five Years of Fiction from Tor.com — For Free!

Tuesday, July 16, 2013 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

To celebrate their fifth anniversary, Tor.com is releasing an anthology crammed with all the original fiction they’ve published since their launch.

It’s a hugely impressive list — over 150 short stories. Authors include Charles Stross, John Scalzi, Cory Doctorow, Steven Gould, Elizabeth Bear, Terry Bisson, Jay Lake, Brandon Sanderson, Jeff VanderMeer, Jo Walton, Ken Scholes, Rachel Swirsky, Harry Turtledove, Michael Bishop and Steven Utley, and Kij Johnson. And that’s just in the first twelve months!

Short fiction from Tor.com has won virtually every major award in SFF. Want examples? “Ponies” by Kij Johnson (Jan 2010) won the Nebula and Charlie Jane Anders’s novelette “Six Months, Three Days” (June 2011) won the Hugo. There are numerous Nebula nominees among the collected stories as well, including “The Finite Canvas” by Brit Mandelo (Dec 2012), “Swift, Brutal Retaliation” by Meghan McCarron (Jan 2012), and two novelettes by Rachel Swirsky: “Portrait of Lisane da Patagnia” (Aug 2012) and “A Memory of Wind” (Nov 2009).

There’s no shortage of Hugo nominees in this lot either, including John Scalzi’s “Shadow War of the Night Dragons: Book One: The Dead City: Prologue” (April 2011), “Ponies” by Kij Johnson (Nov 2010), “Eros, Philia, Agape” by Rachel Swirsky (Mar 2009), and “Overtime” by Charles Stross (Dec 2009).

In short, this is one of the most impressive and monumental anthologies to come along in years. And Tor.com is giving it away absolutely free. We’re not worthy, but we won’t let that stop us.

You can see the complete list of fiction Tor.com has published in the last five year at their Original Fiction index. And just to prove that they’re not resting on their laurels, they’ve announced five new stories will be published tomorrow, by Carrie Vaughn, Nancy Kress, Lavie Tidhar, Ben Burgis, and Tina Connolly.

Fiction for Tor.com is acquired and edited by Liz Szabla, Ann VanderMeer, Susan Dobinick, Ellen Datlow, Noa Wheeler, George R. R. Martin, Paul Stevens, Calista Brill, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Brendan Deneen, Janine O’Malley, and a talented community of Tor editors and their pals.

Get the free book here.

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