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Bill Ward reviews Black Gate 13

Bill Ward reviews Black Gate 13

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Welcome back Bill!

We’ve missed Bill during his sabbatical from the BG blog. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been busy. On Sunday he posted another in his regular series of Black Gate magazine reviews. Here’s what he said about our latest issue, in part:

One look at Black Gate and you understand what makes it the leader in this field. Gorgeous cover and interior art, a huge amount of content including short stories and novellas, non-fiction, and an extensive reviews section that takes on both gaming and current fiction offerings, makes Black Gate a magazine that delivers on all cylinders…

Fans of John C. Hocking’s story in Lords of the Swords, ‘Vali’s Wound,’ will be excited to see the precursor story to that tale of vikings, ‘The Face in the Sea.’ Peadar Ó Guilín returns to Black Gate with another weird tale, ‘The Evil Eater,’ a contemporary fantasy in which a forbidden food leads to an underworld of horror. And John R. Fultz offers another strong fantasy, one of the best in the issue, with a tale of wizards and rebels in a most compellingly drawn setting in ‘Return of the Quill.’

You can find the full review here .

Black Gate now open to Fiction Submissions

Black Gate now open to Fiction Submissions

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Black Gate magazine is open to fiction submissions until June 30.

Black Gate publishes epic fantasy at all lengths, including novel excerpts. We’re looking for adventure-oriented fantasy fiction suitable for all ages, as long as it is well written and original.

Please look over our Submission Guidelines before sending us anything. If you have any questions, drop me a note at john@blackgate.com.

It’s worth mentioning that we accept both electronic and physical submissions, and will consider simultaneous submissions. Our response time is about two months.

Our submission address is:

New Epoch Press
Attn: Submissions Dept
815 Oak Street
St. Charles, IL 60174

submissions@blackgate.com

Physical Submissions must contain a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) or an e-mail address. Please send us only disposable manuscripts. If you need your manuscript returned, please so indicate (clearly) on your cover letter, and make sure you have sufficient postage on your return envelope.

If you are submitting via e-mail, please ensure the e-mail address you use is the one you wish us to reply to. In the event your e-mail address changes, be sure to drop us a note.

Electronic submissions must be sent as plain text pasted into the body of an e-mail message, not as an attachment or separate file (which are more prone to carrying viruses). Special formatting (such as italics or bold) should be indicated _like so_. To safeguard our computer systems, submissions sent as attachments will be deleted unread.

And good luck!  We’re looking forward to seeing something from you.

New Review of Black Gate 13

New Review of Black Gate 13

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Long time reader Matthew Wuertz has posted a splendid review of Black Gate 13 on his blog.  Here’s what he said about “Bones in the Desert, Stones in the Sea” by Amy Tibbetts:

Aleem’s sister was alienated from the rest of her village after conceiving a half-breed child from one of the uttuk pillagers because she sought to carry it to full term. Aleem arrives after her death that occurred during childbirth, and he must deal with the tragic loss of his sister as well as figure out the most merciful way to kill her offspring.

I felt like this was the heart of the issue. A brother torn by the loss of a sister he’d had little contact with once they became adults, forced to confront his duties of honoring her wishes to have a child that she conceived out of rape. This was a really moving piece that seemed to go beyond just the story itself, one that I’d like to see up for an award.

And “The Merchant of Loss” by Justin Stanchfield and Mikal Trimm:

Galen brings a wagon of strange wares into the Bitter Hills, an assorted collection of “effluvia of daily life.” He encounters a secretive woman who seeks a trade between the breath of her name and a locked box from Galen’s wagon.

This was my favorite story of the issue. Haunting, captivating and engaging. The story grabbed me and pulled me through to the end.

You can find the full review at matthewwuertz.blogspot.com/2009/04/black-gate-issue-13.html.

Thanks Matthew! Glad you enjoyed the issue.

Write your own review, and let us know about it, and we’ll post it here for others to enjoy.

PDF Versions of BLACK GATE now available!

PDF Versions of BLACK GATE now available!

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Black Gate is now selling downloadable PDF versions of the magazine for just $4.95 each. The PDFs contain the complete magazine – all 224 pages, plus the color cover – and require a free PDF reader, such as Adobe Acrobat. PDF subscriptions are also available: any 4 issues for $19.95, and any 8 for $34.95.

Already have a subscription? We’ll sell you a PDF for $2.95 – or just $9.95 for all four issues.

Order your PDF using our regular subscription form, and we’ll send you a unique link to download the complete magazine at your leisure.

A PDF version of Black Gate 13 is already available, and our minions are hard at work converting all our back issues to bring you the entire Black Gate library.

Black Gate 13

Black Gate 13

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Black Gate Issue 13 CoverWhat awaits you in the latest issue of Black Gate, the finest adventure fantasy magazine on the planet? Gunslinger Charles Duke (Black Gate 4) returns in a weird western tale featuring gods, demons – and a sorcerer who drives a hard bargain indeed.  A resourceful thief uncovers a most unexpected surprise deep in a deadly tomb… Grimsort the necromancer  learns just how dangerous it is to court a beautiful ghost in the treacherous city of Narr… a small band of soldiers finds they are the last hope in a river battle against alien bonesetters… and the desperate survivors of  the Selvanos colony retreat before the advancing horror of the antriders to make a last stand in St. George.  Featuring John C. Hocking, L.E. Modesitt, Peadar Ó Guilín, John R. Fultz, David Wesley Hill, and the conclusion of Mark’s Sumner riveting novel The Naturalist.  All this plus our Letters column, book and game reviews, and a brand new Knights of the Dinner Table strip!  At $9.95 for 224 big pages, it’s the best bargain in fantasy reading.

Check out the Issue 13 preview page.

Happy Birthday Michael Moorcock

Happy Birthday Michael Moorcock

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Michael Moorcock turned sixty-nine yesterday, and it’s hard to believe that this prolific, vocal, daring, and sometimes vociferous (see Wizardry & Wild Romance for an idea of what I’m talking about) Grand Master of SF is a senior citizen. Best known, of course, for the brooding albino prince Elric and his soul-hungry sword Stormbringer, Moorcock’s restless energy hasn’t confined itself to one hero, genre, or way of telling a story. So whether it’s the other aspects of the Eternal Champion such as Corum, Hawkmoon, or Von Bek adventuring through his shared worlds of the multiverse, his alternate histories like the Pyat Quartet and Nomad of the Time Streams, his experimental novels like Breakfast in the Ruins and Behold the Man, or a whole hosts of other complex and enduring novels such as Mother London and Gloriana, Moorcock has written something for everyone.

For his wide-ranging talent, refusal to play it safe with his writing, and enormous energy and imagination, Moorcock is truly one of the field’s most inspiring figures. Naturally, at Black Gate our focus is primarily on Sword & Sorcery and Heroic Fantasy, and in that field especially Moorcock stands as a giant — perhaps the last giant still among us — for his blend of old-school storytelling muscle, fertile mind, and New Wave edge. While the other aspects of the Eternal Champion may stand in the shadow of the forever-iconic Melnibonean, the entirity of Moorcock’s Sword and Sorcery oeuvre has to be seen as one of the field’s finest and most epic creations.

So happy birthday Michael Moorcock — and many happy returns!

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BILL WARD is a genre writer, editor, and blogger wanted across the Outer Colonies for crimes against the written word. His fiction has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, as well as gaming supplements and websites. He is a Contributing Editor and reviewer for Black Gate Magazine, and 423rd in line for the throne of Lost Lemuria. Read more at BILL’s blog, DEEP DOWN GENRE HOUND.

Welcome To The New BlackGate.com!

Welcome To The New BlackGate.com!

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You may have noticed that we’ve got a new look here at BlackGate.com. Not only does the site have a fresh appearance, it’s also got a different engine under the hood. We’ve migrated to using WordPress as our publishing engine, which will allow us to introduce some new features.

We now offer RSS feeds for convenient updates through the rss reader of your choice.

And you can now leave comments to discuss your reaction to our posts and online articles.

Finally, we will soon introduce our official bloggers who will be contributing regular content to the site.

We’re excited about these new features, and hope you are too!

Special Subscription Offer – Dark City Games for only $2.95!

Special Subscription Offer – Dark City Games for only $2.95!

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The Sewers of Redpoint
For a very limited time, we’re offering a selection of Dark City Games for just $2.95 to new subscribers of Black Gate magazine. That’s $10 off the regular price!

Dark City Games are complete fantasy role playing adventures, perfectly suited for solitaire play or an evening’s entertainment for up to four players. They’re easy to learn and fast to play, even if you’ve never tried a role playing game. Available titles include The Crown of Kings, Gates to the Underworld, The Island of Lost Spells, and many more.

If you’ve played Orcs of the High Mountains, the free game included with Black Gate 12, or seen the rave reviews of Dark City Games in our recent issues, you know that they are some of the most exciting things to emerge on the fantasy gaming scene in years. Now’s your chance to try one of the best new games in the industry — and to subscribe to Black Gate, your source for the finest in short fantasy — at an unbeatable price.

Receive one Dark City Game of your choice for just $2.95 (plus shipping) with a 4-issue subscription to Black Gate, or any two for $5.90 with an 8-issue sub. Want to learn more? Read the feature reviews of The Island of Lost Spells by Todd McAulty (from BG 10) and Wolves on the Rhine by Andrew Zimmerman Jones (from BG 11) .

But please hurry! Quantities of most titles are extremely limited. Click “more” below to see a full list of available games — or subscribe now!

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