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Weird of Oz Conjures Up Some Other Horrors

Weird of Oz Conjures Up Some Other Horrors

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the-conjuring-poster-1This week, I’m going to take a break from the summer heat and my blogging of Arak, Son of Thunder to get all spooky on you. This is a topic I’d normally tackle in the autumn, closer to Hallowe’en, but it turns out that one of the surprise summer hits is a supernatural horror film called The Conjuring. If you enjoyed that film and are looking for some home-viewing follow-ups, here are a few to consider…

The Messengers (2007)

As the movie poster for The Messengers tells us, “There is evidence to suggest that children are highly susceptible to paranormal phenomena.”

One thing’s for certain: the children in this film certainly are.

A few years ago, I saw a subtitled edition of The Eye, the movie that put Hong Kong co-directors (and twin brothers) Danny and Oxide Pang on the American map, and it did induce chills. Here, as in that earlier film, the Pangs demonstrate their skill at evoking the dread of The Thing You Must Not See: you know something is behind you, but you can’t turn and look because what you’d see might make your heart freeze.

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Self-published Book Review: Sorrel in Scarlet by Peter Vialls

Self-published Book Review: Sorrel in Scarlet by Peter Vialls

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SorrelforKindle3Sorrel in Scarlet is an old-fashioned sword and sorcery tale (with just a little bit of early industrial technology), which put me in mind of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s John Carter series, not least because of the abundance of red and the scantiness of clothing. But there’s also the obvious parallel of the heroes finding themselves lost in a strange land and coming to the rescue of the people there. I do think this book comes across favorably in the comparison, since the heroine, Sorrel, is less superhuman than Captain Carter, and thus her adventures are more believable.

In the years before the story begins, the humans of Sendaal rose up against their dragon overlords… and lost. Sorrel is one of the few remaining pilots in Sendaal, and part of a group of rebels looking to achieve some measure of revenge. To that end, she steals a jasq–the living symbiote that provides sorcery to both humans and dragons–from Wrack, the very dragon who had cut her own jasq out and stolen her sorcery. Her daring escape goes less smoothly, and Sorrel crash lands her triplane in the Chasm. This deep rift in the ground is perpetually shrouded in mist, and those on the surface believe that it either leads to a sea or the center of the Earth. Instead, there’s a vast scarlet forest at the bottom of the rift. With her co-pilot dead and suffering from fatal injuries herself, Sorrel implants the jasq in herself in a desperate attempt to save her life. Implanting a second jasq is usually fatal, but in this case works… mostly. It heals her injuries, but causes agony whenever she tries to enter the magerealm to use sorcery.

One would think that being trapped in the Chasm with a dragon, a destroyed plane, and a non-functional jasq would be enough of a challenge, but Sorrel soon discovers that there are worse things in the Chasm. The red forest is crawling with deadly predators, orc-like graalur, and worst of all, the serpentine lloruk, creatures of legend thought to be extinct after their war with the elves. Fortunately, there are more or less friendly humans there too, and Sorrel soon finds herself trying to help them against the graalur. The lloruk are on the warpath, conquering and enslaving city after town, and preparing to use something worse on the surviving humans–a modified jasq called a larisq that can control the mind. Sorrel is desperate to help those who took her in; but it’s a task she can’t perform on her own, without any technology or magic, and she finds herself relying on her worst enemy, Wrack.

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Pathfinder RPG: Chronicles of the Righteous

Pathfinder RPG: Chronicles of the Righteous

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ChroniclesRighteousIf you’re one of the generation of gamers who cut their teeth on 20-sided dice, you know that the mythology around the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy settings often hinge upon the machinations of deities, at times capricious and petty, at times aloof, at times all too ready to lend a not-particularly-helpful hand. (Yes, I’m looking at you, Fizban.)

The gods also play a central role in the D&D-stepchild game of Pathfinder RPG, produced by Paizo Publishing. Their setting of Golarion puts an interesting twist on the gods, by featuring a number of deities that were once mortals who ascended to godhood. The gods of Golarion are controversial and the cause of much conflict, with the desert nation of Rahadoum going so far as to outlaw the worship of any deity under penalty of death. (The atheism of Rahadoum is a central theme in James L. Sutter’s fantastic novel, Pathfinder Tales: Death’s Heretic.)

But the gods are not the only otherworldly beings that have designs on Golarion. In their recent Pathfinder Campaign Settings release, Chronicles of the Righteous (Amazon, Paizo), Paizo dives more deeply into the Empyreal Lords. These are supernatural beings from other realms who have ascended to prominence in the Outer Planes, becoming almost like lesser gods who focus on their domains of interest and gather smaller groups of dedicated followers and servants to further their interests on Golarion.

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Now to Rave: A Review of Fearsome Journeys: The Solaris Book of Fantasy

Now to Rave: A Review of Fearsome Journeys: The Solaris Book of Fantasy

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Fearsome Journeys The New Solaris Book of FantasyIn recent months, I’ve been trying to check out newer writers in the fantasy field. As visitors to this site know, one of the best ways to do this is by investigating the New Treasures posts and Black Gate Online Fiction.

But, another good way I’ve found is by keeping an eye out for newer fantasy anthologies (which are often listed as New Treasures on Black Gate). In my opinion, some of the best include David Hartwell’s Sword and Sorcery, Lou Anders and Jonathan Strahan’s Swords and Dark Magic, and John Joseph Adams’s Epic: Legends of Fantasy.

When Black Gate recently announced Fearsome Journeys: The Solaris Book of Fantasy edited by Jonathan Strahan, I immediately wanted to check it out. Though I’m fairly new to the contemporary SF&F scene, I recognized most of the star lineup of authors that editor Jonathan Strahan had commissioned. Therefore, I was very interested in acquiring and reading Fearsome Journeys.

I ordered posthaste, received it, and the reading mission was accomplished. Now to rave.

Many of Fearsome Journeys’ stories fit squarely within the tradition of fantasy — which I love! For instance, many contain typical tropes such as magic, dragons, wizards, fighters, thieves, etc., as well as familiar plot angles like quests to recover treasure or kill some monster or dragon. However, as one would expect from this lineup, many are fairly experimental attempts to push the boundaries of what is, or should be, considered fantasy. Let me give a few highlights.

Glenn Cook provides another great tale of the Black Company, his popular fantasy military troop, with his story “Shaggy Dog Bridge.” Similar to Cook’s Black Company, Scott Lynch’s “The Effigy Engine” centers upon a group of (wizard) warriors called the Red Hats, who are battled-hardened cynics often attempting to just get by. This was a very interesting tale describing war contraptions that reminded me of medieval versions of the AT-AT Walkers from The Empire Strikes Back. Very cool!

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Experience the Epic Madness of Eternal Lies From Pelgrane Press

Experience the Epic Madness of Eternal Lies From Pelgrane Press

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Eternal LiesPelgrane Press has been producing some of the most ambitious and exciting RPGs in recent memory.

They began in 2001 with one of my favorite RPGs, The Dying Earth, based on the rich world created by Jack Vance. More recently, we covered their ENnie Award-winning SF game Ashen Stars; the mammoth adventure compilation for Trail of Cthulhu, Out of Space; and their epic fantasy release 13th Age — which topped the list of 9 Most Anticipated RPGs of 2013 recently compiled by EN World.

But it’s quite possible they’ve topped all of those with Eternal Lies, a massive new campaign for Trail of Cthulhu by Will Hindmarch, Jeff Tidball, and Jeremy Keller. The early buzz on Eternal Lies compares it very favorably to Masks of Nyarlathotep, the seminal 1984 mega-adventure for Call of Cthulhu that is frequently (and justifiably) cited as the finest role playing adventure ever written.

A decade ago, a band of occult investigators battled against the summoning of an ancient and monstrous evil.

They failed.

Now, you must piece together what went wrong. Investigate ancient crypts, abandoned estates, and festering slums. Explore choked jungles and the crushed psyches of your predecessors. Follow in their footprints and make new ones of your own. This time, there won’t be another chance. The world is yours to save… or lose.

Pelgrane Press is selling the adventure in a special pre-release bundle with the soundtrack album, print edition, and PDF. They’ve created an audio trailer voiced by Wil Wheaton, which you can listen to here.

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The Secret Supplement: Greyhawk, Gygax, and Outdoor Survival

The Secret Supplement: Greyhawk, Gygax, and Outdoor Survival

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Outdoor Survival-smallA while ago, my 13-year-old daughter Taylor told me her friend Will had seen the famous “Advanced Dungeons and Dragons” episode of Community and wanted to learn how to play.

“Sure,” I said. “Tell him to come over on Saturday and I’ll put together a quick adventure for both of you.” My 15-year-old son Drew joined in, creating a fighter, and even Tim, my 17-year old, got in on the action, rolling up a 1st level magic user.

That was over six months ago. What began as a simple session, involving a bunch of farm kids rescuing a dwarven thief named Jasper from marauding gobins, has evolved into an epic campaign, a desperate adventure to stop an army of hobgobins and orcs from completing a railroad that will bring war to their frontier home.

It’s the most fun I’ve had role playing in decades.

I introduced my kids to D&D years ago, but we played only intermittently, and the campaign — such as it was — never really built up steam. The addition of a fourth player, from outside the family, has brought with it a regular Saturday morning schedule, and the result is a much heightened level of interest from everyone involved.

Things are happening faster, they’re leveling up quicker, and they spend the days between sessions talking excitedly, planning, and trying to puzzle out how all the clues they’ve uncovered fit together to reveal the sinister plan behind events.

It’s brought a change in how I dungeon master, too. When I was DM for a group my own age, from roughly 1980 to 2000, there was a certain level of performance anxiety. Every session had to be bigger and better, each adventure more ambitious and epic than the last. I couldn’t just create a fun, two-hour subterranean module… I had to bring an entire underworld civilization to life, with a believable backstory and vast cast of heroes and villains.

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Goth Chick News: Elijah Wood Gets Too Freaky for New Zealand

Goth Chick News: Elijah Wood Gets Too Freaky for New Zealand

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Maniac poster-smallAnyone who saw Sin City knows that Elijah Wood can be one creepy dude.

Forget the lovable, hairy-footed Fodo Baggins. As easily as Woods can tear up and give good old Sam Gamgee a hug, he can drop into the role of a glassy-eyed, sociopathic killer with disturbing believability.

Believe me. Because apparently, Wood has his craft so finely tuned that he has managed to skeeve out an entire country.

In a decision revealed Wednesday, New Zealand’s Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) banned Franck Khalfoun’s film Maniac starring Elijah Wood from general screening in New Zealand, saying it can’t be shown outside of film festivals.

The ruling also means the movie can’t be distributed on DVD at a later date.

A remake of William Lustig’s grindhouse cult classic from 1980, Maniac opened in the U.S. last month courtesy of IFC Midnight and had its world premiere at Cannes in 2012.

It was due to screen next at the New Zealand International Film Festival, running July 26th through August 11th.

Explaining the ruling, a representative for the New Zealand fest said that the OFLC informed them that:

The POV (“point of view”) nature of the film mixed with the psychopathic behavior of actor Elijah Wood is more than disturbing, that it’s potentially dangerous in the hands of the wrong person — that is, a non-festival-goer.

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Galaxy Science Fiction, March 1951: A Retro-Review

Galaxy Science Fiction, March 1951: A Retro-Review

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Galaxy Science Fiction March 1951-smallGalaxy’s March, 1951 issue is succinct, offering only five pieces of fiction.

I noticed this on the table of contents: “Next issue at your newsstand first week in March,” which means that the March, 1951 issue was available in early February. That’s fairly standard for magazines (probably so the reader feels like an issue is current), but I admit I still find it confusing.

“The Wind Between the Worlds” by Lester Del Rey – Instead of exploring the solar system, mankind inadvertently figures out how to transport between worlds, drawing the attention of the Galactic Counsel. As a provisional member, Earth can exchange matter with other members of the council. When someone sabotages one of the matter transmitters, it remains open, sucking in large amounts of air from Earth every second. It’s up to a couple of engineers and a bureaucrat to figure out how to switch off the transmitter before the U.S. (under increasing pressure to fix the problem) bombs the facility, which would leave the transmitter permanently open.

I like science fiction like this, where there are a variety of alien races with vastly different cultures and appearances. I also enjoyed how mankind never figured out how to travel through space; we simply figured out how to transport matter to distant areas. Plausible and entertaining.

“The Other Now” by Murray Leinster – Jimmy’s wife is killed in a car accident. But in the weeks that follow, he begins to see glimpses of another reality within his home – her cigarette butts in the ashtray, doors opened that he knows were closed. Then he sees her diary open and reads the latest entry. Not only is it the current date, but she writes of missing Jimmy since his untimely death.

This has a great Twilight Zone feel to it. Yes, I know it predates the show, but the comparison is still valid. Leinster may have been the first author to use the idea of parallel universes, given that his story “Sideways in Time” appeared in the June, 1934 issue of Astounding. I leave this open for discussion.

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Adventures on Stage: Fantasy Literature’s Missing Link

Adventures on Stage: Fantasy Literature’s Missing Link

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1002747_514919775228258_344973762_nA few weeks back, I had the good fortune to take in productions of The Tempest and Peter and the Starcatcher at the Utah Shakespeare Festival (Cedar City, Utah). As I drove away afterward, I could not but help thinking that plays, too, are literature, and that more than a passing handful of theater’s best, these two titles included, are outright, unabashed fantasies. Adventures, even.

It is admittedly difficult to keep current with theater, since stagecraft is not, as books, comics, and film/television most surely are, a truly mass media. Access is tricky; productions are both local and fleeting. Also, the habit of theater can be expensive.

Nevertheless, I’m going to make a case, here and now, that Black Gate’s readership should take stock and keep track of contemporary theater. Scripted plays, after all, predate the novel as a form by many centuries, and we would be as blind as Tiresias were we to forget that were it not for Oedipus Rex, we would know nothing of that fantasy staple, the talking, riddling sphinx.

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Riddles, Intrigue, Occult and Super-Science: A Review of Laird Barron’s The Light is the Darkness

Riddles, Intrigue, Occult and Super-Science: A Review of Laird Barron’s The Light is the Darkness

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The Light is the DarknessIn just a few short years, Laird Barron has become something of a superstar in horror fiction, especially horror in the tradition of H. P. Lovecraft.

In my last post, I reviewed The Croning, Barron’s keenly awaited debut novel after the success of his award winning short story collections The Imago Sequence and Occultation. And many horror fans are waiting (still!) for the release of his new collection, The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All — an unfortunate victim set back by the fallout from Nightshade Books.

But one of Barron’s works that I’m not sure many know about is his 2011 novella, The Light is the Darkness, from Infernal House.

The background premise of The Light is the Darkness might be a bit hard to swallow as part of our own world, at least to the extent portrayed by Barron; but we are presented with a contemporary world where an underground, and presumably illegal, sport of modern and bloody gladiatorial games takes place. These games seemingly extend worldwide and are only attended by the super-wealthy elite.

Conrad, the main character, is an up-and-coming star in these games. But, apart from one “unsanctioned match,” we actually see very little of the gladiatorial violence until the very end. The games seem to mainly operate as backdrop to explain how Conrad has the leisure time and funds to undertake an investigation of his missing sister Imogene. In addition, the gladiatorial games seem to attract all manner of seedy and questionable characters, explaining why Conrad must deal with them.

In summary, The Light is the Darkness focuses upon Conrad’s search for Imogene, which unravels not only riddles concerning what his sister was up to before her disappearance, but also various secrets related to the rest of their eccentric but deceased family. There are various levels of intrigue and mystery involved throughout. However, in good Lovecraftian fashion, Conrad’s discoveries mount with menace laced with macabre.

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