Reviews of Black Gate – Page 5

Locus Online Reviews Black Gate 15

Wednesday, June 1, 2011 John ONeill Comments 1 comment

Lois Tilton at Locus Online is one of the most diligent short fiction reviewers in the industry, and she’s been a friend and frequent champion of Black Gate for years. She’s the first to check in with a complete (and I do mean complete) review of our latest issue, although as usual she’s cranky about our fondness for series fiction:

I found much to praise in the last issue, and particularly the absence of the usual series stories. Possibly just to vex me, this time the zine has at least four new series and more sequels.

She had many kind words for the issue, including this about Jonathan L. Howard’s “The Shuttered Temple”:

Kyth the Taker… has taken a commission from the priesthood of Prytha to enter the Shuttered Temple, originally built years ago by an emperor whose power was being eroded by the Prythians. No one has yet survived the attempt… What Kyth is, besides broke, is apt at recognizing a trap when she sees it.

This one features the protagonist from one of the most enjoyable tales I’ve read in this zine, and the current story shares the same qualities of cleverness and ingenuity, with a light, engaging narrative.

–RECOMMENDED

We’re fans of sequels and series, of course, because truly great characters and stories aren’t always recognized immediately. Sometimes it takes a few installments for rich, complex fantasy to really find its audience.

Case in point: it’s great to see that Lois now considers the first Kyth story, “The Beautiful Corridor” (BG 13), “one of the most enjoyable tales I’ve read in this zine.” Especially since she dismissed it with faint praise in her original review, giving a “Recommended” label to the tale that followed it instead. It’s frequently only in retrospect that rich fiction truly reveals itself, and the best way we know to keep exciting characters fresh in your mind is to present them to you as often as we can.

And that’s why we publish sequels. I’m glad it’s working.

Saladin Ahmed on Black Gate

Saturday, May 21, 2011 John ONeill Comments 1 comment

Over at Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist, guest blogger Saladin Ahmed had this to say about the modern landscape for heroic fantasy:

In recent years I’ve also discovered that there is a wealth of short-form heroic fantasy out there… Anthologies like the excellent Swords and Dark Magic feature some of the top names in the field (Erikson, Lynch, Abercrombie, Moorcock, Nix, Cook). And writers like Peter V. Brett have produced collections of short works set in their bestselling worlds (The Great Bazaar and Other Stories, Brayan’s Gold). But there are also some great short story ezines out there publishing the next generation of heroic fantasy writers: Heroic Fantasy Quarterly has made it their mission to bring back the pulp era with unabashedly larger-than-life adventures. Black Gate (the magazine where James Enge’s awesome Morlock Ambrosius got his start) is also working hard to revive the sense of wonder that heroes like Conan and John Carter of Mars used to evoke in readers. And Beneath Ceaseless Skies specializes in what the editor calls ‘literary adventure fantasy’ – stories that combine excellent prose and psychological depth with fantasy elements like alchemists, samurai, werewolves, and talking swords.

Thanks for the shout-out, Saladin! For our part we’re looking forward to your upcoming novel, Throne of the Crescent Moon.

Adventures Fantastic Salutes Bud Webster and Tom Reamy

Monday, May 16, 2011 John ONeill Comments 4 comments

We’re receiving reports as Black Gate 15 arrives in mailboxes around the globe. We’ll update you here as we collect feedback and reviews on the issue and its contents.

One of the first to check in was Keith West at Adventures Fantastic, who has written an open letter to Bud Webster in response to Bud’s column on Tom Reamy, the acclaimed fan and short story writer who died in 1977:

Dear Bud,

I wanted to let you know how much I appreciated your profiling Tom Reamy in your inaugural installment of “Who?!” in the new issue of Black Gate. I’ve enjoyed your “Past Masters” columns for years. You have a tendency to profile most of my favorite writers from my teenage years. I assume you know which ones to pick because you have exemplary taste. I was especially pleased that you chose Tom Reamy. He is an author who is sadly neglected, and I wish someone would bring him back into print in an archival edition…

Somewhere, and I don’t recall where, I found a hardcover of San Diego Lightfoot Sue. At the time I was (and still am) an aspiring writer with a fondness for short fiction… In his Afterward, Howard Waldrop writes about the gas station the Reamys operated on the highway between Breckenridge and Woodson. As soon as I read about it, I knew exactly the gas station Howard was talking about. It sat in a curve in the road just inside the county line.

The gas station is gone now, but the house is still standing. That’s it in the photo on the right. I’d read on the Black Gate blog that you were going to write about Tom and I took the picture when I was visiting my parents in Breckenridge last Christmas.

Job well done, Keith. A nice piece of investigative reporting. Thanks for the touching tribute of your own. Hope you enjoy the rest of the issue as much as Bud’s column.

You can see Keith’s complete letter (and photos) here.

Now Shipping: Black Gate 15

Friday, May 6, 2011 John ONeill Comments 8 comments

Black Gate 15 is now shipping. The last subscriber copies will go in the mail early next week.

The issue is for sale through our online store. Copies are available to US subscribers for just $18.95 including shipping (just select “Sample Issue”), or as part of a 2-issue subscription for only $32.95.

BG 15 is a massive 384 pages, packed with the best in modern adventure fantasy. This issues’s theme is Warrior Women, and it includes tales of female warriors, wizards, weather witches, thieves, and other brave women as they face deadly tombs, sinister gods, unquiet ghosts, and much more. Contributors this issue include Frederic S. Durbin, Harry Connolly, John Fultz, Darrell Schweitzer, Chris Willrich, Maria V. Snyder, and many others.

BG 15 is notable for more than just its epic size. This issue we celebrate the triumphant return of the fantasy series to our pages — starting with Jonathan L. Howard’s “The Shuttered Temple,” featuring the resourceful thief Kyth the Taker in the sequel to “The Beautiful Corridor” (BG 13).

Plus the opening installments of five exciting new serials that will continue in Black Gate 16 and beyond:

Vaughn Heppner’s rollicking sword & sorcery tale of the barbarian Lod in a decadent city, “The Oracle of Gog”
Brian Dolton’s Yi Qin the exorcist in a mystery of the ancient Orient, “What Chains Binds Us”
John C. Hocking’s tale of The Archivist and a deadly desert tomb, “A River Through Darkness and Light”
Jamie McEwan’s intrepid prince Tanek and his desperate solo campaign against a relentless invader, “An Uprising of One”
S. Hutson Blount’s story of Hautbee and the dread sorceress Gambetzo, “The Laws of Chaos Left Us All in Disarray”

That’s not all. Howard Andrew Jones offers up a tantalizing slice of his blockbuster new novel The Desert of Souls; and Mike Resnick , Bud Webster, Scott Taylor, and Rich Horton contribute feature articles. Plus over 30 pages of book, game, and DVD reviews, edited by Bill Ward, Howard Andrew Jones, and Andrew Zimmerman Jones — and a brand new 4-page Knights of the Dinner Table strip! Plus 22 full pages of art from Kent Burles, Storn Cook, Mark Evans, John E. Kaufmann, Jim & Ruth Keegan, Malcolm McClinton, and many others. See the complete Table of Contents here.

Don’t forget our Back Issue Sale: any two back issues for just $25 plus shipping — including the massive BG 14 (384 pages, cover price $18.95) and our rare first issue (regularly $18.95).

Cover by Donato Giancola.

Black Gate 15 Complete Table of Contents

Tuesday, April 26, 2011 John ONeill Comments 53 comments

The theme of our massive 15th issue, captured beautifully by Donato Giancola’s striking cover, is Warrior Women. Eight authors — Jonathan L. Howard, Maria V. Snyder, Frederic S. Durbin, Sarah Avery, Paula R. Stiles, Emily Mah, S. Hutson Blount, and Brian Dolton — contribute delightful tales of female warriors, wizards, weather witches, thieves, and other brave women as they face deadly tombs, sinister gods, unquiet ghosts, and much more.

Frederic S. Durbin takes us to a far land where two dueling gods pit their champions against each other in a deadly race to the World’s End. Brian Dolton offers us a tale of Ancient China, a beautiful occult investigator, and a very peculiar haunting. And Jonathan L. Howard returns to our pages with “The Shuttered Temple,” the sequel to “The Beautiful Corridor” from Black Gate 13, in which the resourceful thief Kyth must penetrate the secrets of a mysterious and very lethal temple.

What else is in BG 15? Howard Andrew Jones bring us a lengthy excerpt from his blockbuster novel The Desert of Souls, featuring the popular characters Dabir & Asim. Harry Connolly returns after too long an absence with “Eating Venom,” in which a desperate soldier faces a basilisk’s poison — and the treachery it brings. John C. Hocking begins a terrific new series with “A River Through Darkness & Light,” featuring a dedicated Archivist who leads a small band into a deadly desert tomb; John Fultz shares the twisted fate of a thief who dares fantastic dangers to steal rare spirits indeed in “The Vintages of Dream,” and Vaughn Heppner kicks off an exciting new sword & sorcery saga as a young warrior flees the spawn of a terrible god through the streets of an ancient city in “The Oracle of Gog.”

Plus fiction from Darrell Schweitzer, Jamie McEwan, Michael Livingston, Chris Willrich, Fraser Ronald, Derek Künsken, Jeremiah Tolbert, Nye Joell Hardy, and Rosamund Hodge!

In our generous non-fiction section, Mike Resnick educates us on the best in black & white fantasy cinema, Bud Webster turns his attention to the brilliant Tom Reamy in his Who? column on 20th Century fantasy authors, Scott Taylor challenges ten famous fantasy artists to share their vision of a single character in Art Evolution, and Rich Horton looks at the finest fantasy anthologies of the last 25 years. Plus over 30 pages of book, game, and DVD reviews, edited by Bill Ward, Howard Andrew Jones, and Andrew Zimmerman Jones — and a brand new Knights of the Dinner Table strip.

Buy this issue for only $18.95, or as part of bundle of back issues — any two for just $25 plus shipping!

Buy this issue in PDF for only $8.95!

Buy the Kindle version at Amazon.com for just $9.95!

Black Gate 15 is another huge issue: 384 pages of fiction, reviews, and articles. It contains 22 stories, totaling nearly 152,000 words of adventure fantasy. Complete details on all the contents after the jump.

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Shipping April 30: Black Gate 15!

Saturday, April 23, 2011 John ONeill Comments 3 comments

bg15_320a Black Gate 15 arrives from the printer this week, and subscriber copies will begin shipping out April 30th.

BG 15 is another massive issue: 384 pages of fiction, reviews, and articles. It contains 22 stories, totaling nearly 152,000 words of adventure fantasy. Jonathan L. Howard returns with “The Shuttered Temple,” the sequel to “The Beautiful Corridor” from Black Gate 13, in which the resourceful thief Kyth must penetrate the secrets of a mysterious and very lethal temple. Howard Andrew Jones bring us a lengthy excerpt from his blockbuster novel The Desert of Souls, featuring Dabir & Asim. And Harry Connolly returns after too long an absence with “Eating Venom,” in which a desperate soldier faces a basilisk’s poison — and the treachery it brings.

What else is in BG 15? John C. Hocking kicks off a terrific new sword & sorcery series with “A River Through Darkness & Light,” featuring a dedicated Archivist who leads a small band into a deadly desert tomb; John Fultz shares the twisted fate of a thief who dares fantastic dangers to steal rare spirits indeed in “The Vintages of Dream,” and Vaughn Heppner offers the first chapter of an exciting new sword & sorcery serial as a young warrior flees the spawn of a terrible god through the streets of an ancient city in “The Oracle of Gog.”

Plus fiction from Darrell Schweitzer, Jamie McEwan, Michael Livingston, Frederic S. Durbin, Chris Willrich, Fraser Ronald, Maria V. Snyder, Brian Dolton, Sarah Avery, and many others!

Black Gate 15 is $18.95 for the print edition, $8.95 in PDF, or shipped right to your door as part of a 2-issue subscription for just $32.95! We’ll have a detailed sneak peek, with tantalizing story excerpts and artwork, right here in a few days. Stay tuned. And don’t forget our back issue sale — any two back issues for just $25, including our double-sized BG 14!

Cover art by Donato Giancola.

Fantasy Literature Reviews Black Gate 14

Monday, March 21, 2011 John ONeill Comments 4 comments

bglg Terry Weyna at the Fantasy Literature blog has posted a detailed and embarrassingly complimentary review of our latest issue:

I’ve only just discovered [Black Gate]. And what a time to do so! The Winter 2010 edition, Number 14, is 385 pages long, the size of a hefty book. The price reflects that; few magazines will run you $15.95 in the print edition… But then, few magazines will give you as much great fantasy as this one, including first stories by four promising new authors. There are a very great many stories in this issue – 16 short stories and three novellas… More than a few of the pieces are exceptional, real standouts in a day when fantasy stories are as numerous as stars.

She was particularly struck by “Devil on the Wind” by Michael Jasper and Jay Lake:

It reminds you how what is old can be made new. This story is about Lena, one of the Killaster Witches, a woman who has just committed suicide – and been reborn – for the fifth time. There are eight witches, led by Black Mattieu, and they demand obeisance from the kingdoms that surround their hold. When Prince Falloe of Ironkeep fails to send the proper tribute, substituting instead two coppers (symbols of the pennies laid on a dead man’s eyes), Black Mattieu sends Lena to teach the kingdom a harsh lesson. To say that Lena is not saintly hardly begins to tell the tale… The language used to describe her doings is rich and graphic, and the twists and turns of the tale unpredictable. “Devil on the Wind” is a marvelous story.

And Pete Butler’s novella “The Price of Two Blades:”

Equally original and refreshing. A bard who is heading into a village notices the sizable cemetery outlying it, and notices that a great many of the tombstones all show the same date of death. He theorizes that the deaths could somehow be connected to the disappearance of the noted bandit gang led by King Kruthas. Soon, the villagers reveal that this, in fact, the case, and they sit him down to tell him the tale of how they were rescued from that dreaded army. The method of their rescue is one completely unique to fantasy, so far as I know, and the lesson one learns is sad and necessary. This novella is a small masterpiece, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it grace an awards ballot or two.

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King of the Nerds reviews Black Gate 14

Monday, March 7, 2011 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

bglg Mike Ferrante at the King of the Nerds blog has published a lengthy review of our latest issue:

Character driven stories with brisk pacing, often strange landscapes, and more often than not a boat load of action are what Black Gate is all about. It was a good time to jump on board with Black Gate since issue 14 (Winter 2010) is a double-stuffed issue clocking in at a massive 385 pages (in pdf), the print edition rivaling my 4th Edition Player’s Handbook in size. What’s most impressive about those 385 pages is the sheer amount of awesome fiction packed within… everything I’ve read has been fantastic in one way or another, and wonderfully unique as well.

He was especially impressed with “The Word of Azrael” by Matthew David Surridge:

By far my favorite story in this issue… it was inspired by the snippets of biography that were featured in some of the old Conan novels. As such “the Word of Azrael” reads sort of like a listing of deeds. Brief highlights of a lengthy career that nonetheless serve as veritable seeds for the reader’s imagination. Yet at the same time, in that sparse chronicle, Surridge still manages to convey a palpable weight to Isrohim Vey, a sense of gravitas and tragedy that a surround a character whom we know startlingly little about… Fantastic stuff here and more than enough to make me damned glad I’m a Black Gate subscriber.

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Tangent Selects Six Black Gate Stories for its Best of 2010

Sunday, March 6, 2011 John ONeill Comments 1 comment

Tangent Online has published its annual Recommended Readling List, this year including six stories from our most recent issue, Black Gate 14:

“The Hangman’s Daughter” by Chris Braak
“Devil on the Wind” by Michael Jasper and Jay Lake
“Red Hell” by Renee Stern
“La Señora de Oro” by R. L. Roth
“Destroyer” by James Enge
“The Natural History of Calamity” by Robert J. Howe

Congratulations to all!

Tangent Online is managed by Steve Fahnestalk, and published by Dave Truesdale. The complete Recommended Readling List is here.

Art by John Kauffman for “The Hangman’s Daughter.”

Black Gate at Suvudu

Tuesday, February 15, 2011 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

Black Gate is featured this week as part of Suvudu’s Magazine Mania series.

Suvudu is a division of Random House, and promotes a rich variety of science fiction, fantasy, comics, graphic novels, and gaming titles from Del Rey, Spectra, Pantheon Books, and Random House Children’s Books, all part of Random House.

They also do a fine job covering film news, independent bloggers, and books and comics of interest from many other publishers. Suvudu has previously highlighted Fantasy & Science Fiction, Fangoria, Electric Velocipede, and the extremely cool Kobold Quarterly in their Magazine Mania column, helping bring print magazines to the attention of new SF & fantasy readers. The articles are written by Matt Staggs.

We’re proud to be featured this week. Here’s part of Matt’s commentary:

While the web offers a lot of wonderful stuff for sci-fi, fantasy and horror fans, it’s important to remember that there are plenty of print magazines on your local bookstore shelves that deserve your attention. Some of them have been steadily supplying news and features to fandom for decades, while others are new publications bravely stepping into the breach. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be featuring a few of these magazines for your consideration. Today’s magazine is Black Gate. Launched in 2000, Black Gate specializes in tales of swords, sorcery and high adventure.

The complete post is here, including a brief interview with me in which I yak on for a bit on why you should try Black Gate. I’d quote a bit of it here, but quoting an article that quotes yourself is a bit weird. Even for me.

Black Gate

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