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Category: Reviews of Black Gate

Tangent Online on “Glimmer Faire”: “An Enjoyable Adventure That Reveals the Power of Art”

Tangent Online on “Glimmer Faire”: “An Enjoyable Adventure That Reveals the Power of Art”

John R FultzCyd Athens at Tangent Online reviews John R. Fultz’s fourth tale for Black Gate, “When the Glimmer Faire Came to the City of the Lonely Eye,” published here on Sunday, January 6:

This was my first encounter with John R. Fultz’s world. That in no way detracted from my appreciation… The hero, Artifice, is in the midst of a career change. He used to be “the most famous Quill in the world’s greatest city, whose books were sought after across the length and breadth of the Continent.” As the story begins, he is a penniless apprentice Playwright, travelling with a company of actors and fae musicians while working on his first play…

This is a prosaic piece, filled with vivid descriptions that make it easy to imagine the characters, their surroundings, and the play itself… Artifice and his companions are a pleasant fit and work well together. The words here are carefully chosen so as to maximize their effectiveness while minimizing the attention they draw to themselves. At its simplest, this is an enjoyable adventure that reveals the power of art and artists.

John’s tales for Black Gate include “Oblivion is the Sweetest Wine” (Black Gate 12), “Return of the Quill” (Black Gate 13), and “The Vintages of Dream” (BG 15). Seven Kings, the second book of the Shaper Trilogy, was released on Jan. 15; read an exclusive chapter here.

You can read Cyd’s complete review at Tangent Online, and “When the Glimmer Faire Came to the City of the Lonely Eye,” a complete 6,800-word novelette of heroic fantasy, free here.

The complete catalog of Black Gate Online Fiction, including stories by E.E. Knight, Mark Rigney, C.S.E. Cooney, Donald S. Crankshaw, Judith Berman, Howard Andrew Jones, Dave Gross, Sean McLachlan, Harry Connolly, and Jason E. Thummel, is here.

The Tangent Online 2012 Recommended Reading List

The Tangent Online 2012 Recommended Reading List

Tangent-OnlineThe Tangent Online 2012 Recommended Reading List is compiled by 17 short fiction reviewers, and consists of the finest fiction from dozens of sources inside and outside the genre.

This year, three stories from our Black Gate Online Fiction line made the list, including two with their coveted three-star rating, their highest ranking:

The Trade” by Mark Rigney (Three Stars)
The Daughter’s Dowry” by Aaron Bradford Starr (One Star)
Godmother Lizard” by C. S. E. Cooney (Three Stars)

You can see the complete catalog of Black Gate Online Fiction, including stories by E.E. Knight, John R. Fultz, Donald S. Crankshaw, Sean McLachlan, Judith Berman, Howard Andrew Jones, Harry Connolly, and Jason E. Thummel, here.

Last year’s Tangent Online Recommended Reading List included no less than four stories from Black Gate 15; read the complete details here.

The complete 2012 Tangent Online Recommended Reading List  list can be found here.

Tangent Online on “The Tea-Maker’s Task”: “An Entertaining, Tongue-in-Cheek Fantasy”

Tangent Online on “The Tea-Maker’s Task”: “An Entertaining, Tongue-in-Cheek Fantasy”

tea-makers-task2Louis West at Tangent Online reviews Aaron Bradford Starr’s latest tale, published here on Sunday, December 30:

Aaron Bradford Starr’s “The Tea-Maker’s Task” is an entertaining, tongue-in-cheek fantasy about Gallery Hunters Gloren and his cat companion, Yr Neh. Their adventures take them from the rancid food of Burrow Deep Lane in the city of Ravanon to the workshop of a Tea-Making master then through the forests of Candelon, wherein lurks the Walker of the Woods, until they finally reach the ruined city of Vandelon. All the while, Gloren and the cat engage in constant, silent banter, much like two brothers or war buddies… I wanted more.

Gallery Hunters Gloren Avericci and Yr Neh were last seen seeking a legendary treasure in a sunken tower in “The Daughter’s Dowry,” published here on October 14.

You can read Louis’s complete review at Tangent Online, and “The Tea-Maker’s Task,” a complete 9,000-word short story of heroic fantasy, free here.

The complete catalog of Black Gate Online Fiction, including stories by Mark Rigney, C.S.E. Cooney, Donald S. Crankshaw, Judith Berman, Howard Andrew Jones, Dave Gross, Sean McLachlan, Harry Connolly, and Jason E. Thummel, is here.

A 4-Star Review of Black Gate 15

A 4-Star Review of Black Gate 15

bg-15-cover2We got an early Christmas gift this year, courtesy of Goodreads, the social cataloging website dedicated to helping users find and comment on good books. With over 20 million readers each month, Goodreads is one of the most popular online destinations for dedicated readers.

All fifteen issues of Black Gate have been cataloged at Goodreads, and our latest issue has several outstanding reviews. This week, I came across a 4-star review from none other than publisher and editor Forrest Aguirre, author of Archangel Morpheus and Fossiloctopus, and co-editor of the prestigious Leviathan anthology series. Forrest writes:

My favorite piece of fiction in the volume was “The Shuttered Temple,” by Jonathan L. Howard (author of Johannes Cabal the Necromancer, among others). Kyth the Taker, a brilliant and rather glib thief, is the heroine here. This was a very clever story whose strongest point is less the adventure than the philosophical underpinnings that drive Kyth and Tonsett, her foil. Witty, funny, and thought provoking, I found this the best of this excellent volume.

I have to admit, though, that a piece of non-fiction overshadowed all the fiction in the volume. “Art Evolution,” by Scott Taylor, is an epic article that touched a soft spot in my heart and made me wax nostalgic for role-playing days of old. This was as thoroughly-researched an article on the subject of fantasy-art in role-playing as I’ve ever seen. Of course, I’m hard pressed to think of other articles that have even endeavored such an undertaking. From Jeff Dee to Matthew D. Wilson, Taylor traces the history of art in role-playing. It’s an incredible journey that is worth the price of the issue alone.

Copies are still available for only $18.95 each (or as part of a heavily discounted back issue bundle) at our online store. Also available in PDF for $8.95, and for the Kindle — with enhanced content and color art and images — at Amazon.com for just $9.95!

You can read the complete review at Goodreads here. The complete BG 15 table of contents is here.

Tangent Online on “The Trade”: “Marvelous Tale. Can’t Wait for the Next Part”

Tangent Online on “The Trade”: “Marvelous Tale. Can’t Wait for the Next Part”

mark-rigney-smallLouis West at Tangent Online reviews the latest original fiction from Black Gate, published here on Sunday, December 9:

Mark Rigney’s “The Trade” immediately drew me into this world with powerful depictions of Gemen and his two companions… Together they are unstoppable. Individually? That is part of their mystery. Hints of background story leak through for each, not enough to explain but enough to tantalize, to [make you] want to read on and know more.

The pace is fast. They arrive in Andolin late in the spring, quickly dispatch several bandit attacks, then are in the far north of Andolin at Tynnefast Reach where Gemen finds a magic mirror. Since the locals refuse to trade for it, he takes it, wakening the wrath of a guardian stone golem. But stone is slow. More than enough time for Gemen’s trio to make it to Corvaen, swap the mirror for knowledge about the Cryptlord’s grave and leave before the stone golem arrives to fetch back the mirror.

However, things don’t go as planned in the crypt, revealing much more about how fragile the bonds between the three may be.

Marvelous tale. Can’t wait for the next part.

“The Trade” is the first installment in an exciting new heroic fantasy series. “The Find,” which explores Gemen’s past and reveals more of his mysterious quest, will be published here next year, followed quickly by the third installment.

You can read the entire review at Tangent Online, and the complete 7,000-word short story free here.

The complete catalog of Black Gate Online Fiction, including stories by C.S.E. Cooney, Donald S. Crankshaw, Aaron Bradford Starr, Sean McLachlan, Harry Connolly, and Jason E. Thummel, is here.

Tangent Online: “‘Godmother Lizard’ Entranced Me From the Beginning”

Tangent Online: “‘Godmother Lizard’ Entranced Me From the Beginning”

claire-254Tangent Online reviews C.S.E. Cooney’s original fantasy novella “Godmother Lizard,” published at Black Gate on Sunday, November 10:

C.S.E. Cooney’s “Godmother Lizard” is a delightful fantasy tale about an orphan girl, Ro, and how she becomes a hero by saving her friends from their human-looking mother who was slowly eating them. It takes her two decades to accomplish this, but that’s part of the charm of this story. Cooney deftly uses that time to grow Ro and her friends into adults which changes them from victims to empowered.

I enjoyed the fantastical elements in Ro’s world. The essence of its magic is poignantly captured when Wyll, Jaks’ younger brother, gives Ro his living silver lizard bracelet for protection: “It wound in frantic circles around his finger, mewling all the time, until it had spiraled to rest a blunt triangular head upon his fingernail.”

The story language is rich and colorful, the growing relationship between Ro and Jaks reminiscent of chivalrous lords and ladies. The dialog has a pleasantly oblique edge to it which entranced me from the beginning. I highly recommend it.

I felt the same way when I first read it. “Godmother Lizard” is a marvelously creative fantasy set in a uniquely inventive world — one that Cooney returns to in her upcoming story “Life on the Sun.” Catch it right here as part of our upcoming line of Black Gate Original Fiction.

Read Louis West’s review in its entirety at Tangent Online, and read C.S.E. Cooney’s novella “Godmother Lizard” completely free here.

The complete catalog of Black Gate Online Fiction, including Judith Berman’s sword & sorcery tale “The Poison Well,” Donald S. Crankshaw’s 50,000-word short novel A Phoenix in Darkness, Aaron Bradford Starr’s adventure tale “The Daughter’s Dowry,” the 25,000-word dark fantasy novella “The Quintessence of Absence” by Sean McLachlan, Harry Connolly’s thrilling mystery “The Whoremaster of Pald,” and Jason E. Thummel’s adventure fantasy novelette “The Duelist” is here.

Tangent Online on “The Daughter’s Dowry”: “A Story Such as This Deserves a World of its Own”

Tangent Online on “The Daughter’s Dowry”: “A Story Such as This Deserves a World of its Own”

daughters-dowry-cropTangent Online has weighed in on Aaron Bradford Starr’s novelette “The Daughter’s Dowry,” published here on Sunday, October 14:

A tale… that has the feel of being told around the fireplace in a fantasy setting. The protagonist, Gloren Avericci, is a freelance Gallery Hunter. This may be code for thief, but to hear Gloren tell it, he is an adventurer in true fantasy style. Even after knowing the story, it is debatable whether his cat, Yr Neh, is a familiar or a travelling companion, though said cat is presented as former royalty and sentient. One of the funniest bits here revolves around Yr Neh trysting with a female cat under Gloren’s bed. To say more would be to spoil the scene…

That very little is resolved in this tale is part of its charm… At times, he fills in his back story or gives teasers about other adventures by incorporating associated bits into his retelling of events. However, he warns us that he’s telling us what actually happened rather than embellishing with any of the literary conventions that a Chronicler might use. Just a moment before any of his many tangential anecdotes could become as annoying as a pebble in one’s shoe, Gloren draws his audience back into the main event — that of his happenstance finding of a very special key, and the events that occurred afterward.

This was a fast and pleasant read. A story such as this deserves a world of its own and more adventures from its hero.

Not surprisingly, we feel the same way. Aaron Bradford Starr’s “The Daughter’s Dowry” is the first in an exciting sequence of classic adventure fantasy tales. “The Tea Maker’s Task,” in which Gallery Hunter Gloren Avericci and Yr Neh journey to a remote and dangerous island which conceals a dark secret, will be published here in January, followed quickly by two major novellas. Stay tuned for details.

You can read the entire review at Tangent Online, and read the novelette “The Daughter’s Dowry” completely free here.

The complete catalog of Black Gate Online Fiction, including the 25,000-word novella of dark fantasy “The Quintessence of Absence” by Sean McLachlan, Harry Connolly’s thrilling mystery “The Whoremaster of Pald,” and Jason E. Thummel’s adventure fantasy novelette, “The Duelist,” is here.

Adventures Fantastic on “The Duelist”: “Black Gate‘s Online Fiction Debut Has Set a High Standard”

Adventures Fantastic on “The Duelist”: “Black Gate‘s Online Fiction Debut Has Set a High Standard”

jason-e-thummelOur first Online Fiction Feature of 2012 was Jason E. Thummel’s adventure fantasy novelette “The Duelist,” posted last Sunday. Adventures Fantastic was one of the first to review it this week:

Was it worth the wait? The answer is “Yes!”… This is a tale of a drunken duelist who is the top in his field… the plot is a solid sword and sorcery story. First I like the protagonist, Androi Karpelov, because even though he’s a very flawed hero, he’s still a man with honor. And he’s willing to take great risks to satisfy that honor… The story moves at a nice clip, never dragging.

Black Gate‘s online fiction debut has set a high standard of quality. That’s a good thing.

Thummel is also the author of the novel The Spear of Destiny and the short story collection In Savage Lands… I liked them a lot. Look for a review sometime in the next few months. This is a writer whose work I’m going to keep an eye out for.

I’m looking forward to more of Black Gate‘s fiction offerings. It’s been one of my favorite publications for a long time.

Author Donald Crankshaw turns a critical eye to our format at the Back of the Envelope blog:

How well does Black Gate‘s new format work for reading stories? Are they comfortable to read? Is it easy to keep track of your place? I find these questions particularly interesting… the story uses the same unusual color-scheme, light blue letters on a black background, as for Black Gate‘s blog… Surprisingly — or perhaps not so surprisingly, assuming that their web designer knows what he’s doing — I found the blue-on-black color scheme to be comfortable to read, and had no trouble with eye strain. Another thing that surprised me was that the lettering was large enough to read clearly on a mobile device…

Black Gate‘s blog posts have in-line commenting on the article page. This is how I prefer to see comments on blogs, but it can work to the detriment of long stories, partly by making a long page even longer, and partly because spamming and trolling can distract from the story. The solution Black Gate came up with works well. The story does not contain in-line comments, but a link to the blog post announcing the story, allowing readers to comment there. It also keeps all the comments in one place, to prevent a proliferation of pages.

Overall, I think the formatting that Black Gate used worked well. My only real concern is how well it will handle even longer stories, and I suppose we’ll see that when it happens.

Our complete schedule of upcoming fiction is here.

“Quit Messing Around and Subscribe”: James van Pelt Reviews Black Gate 11

“Quit Messing Around and Subscribe”: James van Pelt Reviews Black Gate 11

black-gate-11I was doing a search earlier today and stumbled on a review of Black Gate 11 by none other than the distinguished author James van Pelt. It was written in Sept 2007, though I missed it until now. Here’s what Jim says, in part:

In the last three days I’ve received my subscriber copies of my two favorite magazines, Talebones and Black Gate. As I was looking them over (lovingly), it suddenly occurred to me that both of these magazines should have kick-butt subscription numbers. They’re wonderful, issue after issue… Here’s what you’re missing in this month’s issue of Black Gate:

  • Really superior production values…  This is a beautiful magazine
  • Great cover art… my little image doesn’t quite capture the impact of the magazine…
  • Top notch high and heroic fantasy. Where do you go for your fantasy kick of that sort? The contents of Black Gate leans toward the adventure fantasy side of the field, but there’s a lot of range in the magazine in approach, style and tone.
  • A serialized story from Mark Sumner, “The Naturalist: Part II.” I like serialized work. Do you remember when that was common in most of the magazines? I first really started paying attention to Sumner when he published an earlier story in Black Gate called “Leather Doll.”
  • Interesting, in depth reviews of the latest fantasy books. Unlike a lot of review venues, Black Gate gives me enough insight into the book to decide to buy it or not
  • Articles by Rich Horton, one of the towering authorities on short fiction in science fiction and fantasy. He can write about a 1954 issue of Galaxy magazine that makes me want to try to find it.
  • A column on gaming
  • A funny multi-page cartoon called “Knights of the Dinner Table: the Java Joint” that in this issue mentioned another favorite author of mine within the cartoon, Carrie Vaughn
  • A lively letter section

This is the second shout out this week for Mark Sumner’s “Leather Doll” (the first was in today’s Letters Column). Not bad for a story which appeared over eight years ago in Black Gate 7. You can read Jim’s complete review — as well as his comments about Talebones, another terrific small press magazine — here.

Black Gate 11 is still available on our back issue page. Buy the PDF for just $8.95, or the print version as part of our back issue sale — any two issues for just $25.

New Treasures: Rich Horton’s The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2012

New Treasures: Rich Horton’s The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2012

the-years-best-science-fiction-fantasy-2012-2We’re deep into Best of the Year anthology season now. Gardner Dozois’s The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Ninth Annual Collection arrived on July 3 (29th volume!), Paula Guran’s The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2012 on June 19, David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer’s Year’s Best SF 17 on May 29, and Night Shade Books published Volume 6 of Jonathan Strahan’s The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year (which we covered here) on March 6.

Naturally, my favorite Best of the Year anthology takes the longest to arrive: Rich Horton’s The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2012. This is fourth volume in this format; prior to 2009 Rich published separate Best of the Year volumes from science fiction and fantasy, from 2006 to 2008. So all told this is his tenth Best volume (eleventh, if you count Unplugged: The Web’s Best Sci-Fi & Fantasy in 2008. Which we do.)

The highlight of theses books for me is frequently the introduction, customarily the place where the editors rattle off statistics and lament the imminent death of the short fiction market (traditional since the late 1970s), or even publishing in general.  Rich seems to be growing more self-assured in his intros, and they can be quite entertaining. This from the latest volume:

There are also a few writers appearing here for the first time who have been doing exciting work for several years — I’m a bit late to the party, perhaps, with Lavie Tidhar, certainly, and with Nina Allan… Alan de Niro, Gavin Grant, Chris Lawson, Vylar Kaftan, and Marissa Lingen are all also writers I’ve had my eye on for a few years. (Speaking of the perils of gender identification, I recall that I publicly listed Lavie Tidhar as a woman and Vylar Kaftan as a man… at least my aggregate totals were correct!)

And I should probably also mention that some of the writers I’ve already anthologized twice are quite young, or at any rate quite new to publishing, such as C.S.E. Cooney, Genevieve Valentine, and Alexandra Duncan. The field remains in good hands.

This volume includes much of the most highly acclaimed SF and Fantasy short fiction from last year, including “The Last Sophia,” by BG website editor C.S.E. Cooney, Catherynne M. Valente’s “The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland — For a Little While,” Kij Johnson’s “The Man Who Bridged the Mist,” “Choose Your Own Adventure” by Kat Howard, and many more. There’s also a Recommended Reading list, which includes Rosamund’s superb tale from Black Gate 15, “Apotheosis.”

We covered last year’s volume here. The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2012 is 575 pages. It is published by Prime Books for $19.99 (trade paperback) or $6.99 (Kindle). Highly recommended.