Top Choice October: Dracula ‘58 (Horror of Dracula)

Top Choice October: Dracula ‘58 (Horror of Dracula)

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dracula-58-title-on-coffin-with-bloodOctober films come in two flavors for me: Universal and Hammer. I have affection for almost any Gothic horror films these studios produced during their Golden Ages (1930s and ‘40s for Universal, 1950s and ‘60s for Hammer), even the lesser entries. The studios have such opposite visual approaches to similar material — the black-and-white shadows of Universal, the rococo lurid colors of Hammer — that they create a perfect Yin and Yang for Halloween, a Ghastly Story for Whatever Suits Your October Mood.

And what suits my mood best, most of the time? Hammer’s 1958 Dracula, released in the U.S. as Horror of Dracula. This isn’t my top pick of the Hammer canon — I lean toward two 1968 films for that honor, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed and The Devil Rides Out — but it is the film I turn to more than any other when the calendar changes into the deep orange and serge hues of the Greatest Month.

Dracula ‘58 is my favorite version of the Dracula story, and perhaps my favorite vampire anything — with the possible exception of Matheson’s novel I Am Legend. It has flaws, but scoffs at me for even thinking that they exist. It is so desperately alive, so exploding with its own entertainment value, and so rich in execution that it never fails to be “exactly what I wanted to watch tonight.” I can say that about few films, even objectively better films.

Dracula is the cornerstone of the Hammer Film Productions legend, and an icon of the Anglo-Horror revival that seized the 1960s. Hammer had already entered the field of horror with their science-fiction “Quatermass” films, the intriguing spiritual spin-off X the Unknown, and the unusual creature-search adventure The Abominable Snowman. In 1957, the studio made their first color period horror movie, The Curse of Frankenstein, which whirled far away from both standard source materials — Mary Shelley’s novel and the 1931 James Whale film starring Boris Karloff — to represent an accidental manifesto of the new terror. It also introduced the horror-watching world to the double-team of Peter Cushing (Doctor) and Christopher Lee (Monster).

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Existence of Unpublished Stieg Larsson Novel is Confirmed

Existence of Unpublished Stieg Larsson Novel is Confirmed

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dragon-tattooCBS and The New York Times are reporting that the long-rumored fourth novel in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series does, in fact, exist.

Whether it will ever be published in another matter. The complete text has yet to surface, and the only person reportedly in possession of a copy is his longtime companion Eva Gabrielsson, who is believed to have a laptop containing the manuscript. However Gabrielsson does not control the rights to the book, which are held by Larsson’s family. CBS is reporting the Larssons have, to date, forbidden publication.

The Millennium trilogy began with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and continued in The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.  Larsson reportedly planned to write 10 volumes.

Larsson, who died of a heart attack at the age of 50, did not live to see the books published.  They have become an international phenomenon, with roughly 30 million copies sold. All were published originally in Sweden and then translated into English.

Among the disclosures today was the fact that the manuscript is believed to be the fifth book in the 10-volume series, rather than the fourth, “because he thought that was more fun to write.”

I bought these books for my mother on her birthday, only to discover she’d already read them.  That pretty much makes me the last person in North America not to have read them.  On the bright side, at least now I have copies.

Supernatural Spotlight – Episode 6.3 “The Third Man”

Supernatural Spotlight – Episode 6.3 “The Third Man”

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The angel Castiel (right) returns to the fold, joining Sam (left) and Dean (right) in their battle to stop evil.
The angel Castiel (right), along with his trench coat, returns to the join Sam (left) and Dean (right) in their battle to stop evil.

This week features the return of Castiel – the angel who seems to always get the short end of the stick. Castiel’s been around through seasons four and five. He was first introduced as the angel who pulled Dean out of Hell, but has since rebelled against the divine plan by thwarting the apocalypse. Last we saw him, in the season five finale, he had been bloodily blown up by Lucifer … and then miraculously healed in the final moments of the episode, presumably by God (or something).

The episode begins in a police locker room. A cop is changing to go home, washing his face, when he notices a little cut on his face. Further washing makes things worse, as he peels half of his cheek off. His feet are bleeding, and then his back, and then his mouth. “I think I’m bleeding,” he says before he collapses to the ground … and splat his body erupts into a liquified pile of blood and flesh. (Far more blood than flesh.)

Cut to Dean having a sex dream about Lisa and waking up alone in the Impala. Sam’s wake-up routine seems a bit more driven, as he’s doing a hardcore workout. Still, he apparently likes his distractions, as a woman is in the room. As she’s leaving, Sam reminds her that he owes her money. She apparently almost forgot. “Next time, you can call me on my night off,” she says. Go Sammy!

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Mongoose Traveller: A Bright Future for Science Fiction Role-Playing

Mongoose Traveller: A Bright Future for Science Fiction Role-Playing

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The Traveller Tripwire campaign.
The Traveller Tripwire campaign.

I’ve never been especially quiet about my love for sword-and-sorcery, heroic fiction, and historical swashbucklers, so it may come as a surprise to some that one of my very favorite diversions is that most famous of science fiction role-playing games, Traveller.  It is literally worlds away from the rest of my interests, and perhaps that’s why I’m drawn to it. Traveller‘s Third Imperium setting is rife with adventure, intrigue, and fascinating places to visit.

I’ve been reviewing Traveller products in Black Gate‘s game column for years, and it’s been a real pleasure to see a whole new generation of rule books, adventures, and supplements released by Mongoose Publishing. I’ve been reading a number of them for our upcoming winter issue, and as I started work on the reviews, I decided to contact the publisher of Mongoose Traveller, Matthew Sprange, to see if he had time to answer a few questions. He kindly obliged me, and here’s what he had to say.

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Wormy: The Dragon‘s Dragon

Wormy: The Dragon‘s Dragon

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WormyIt begins with an imp, some dwarves, a stolen set of bowling balls, and a cigar-smoking dragon in a flat newsboy cap. It gets stranger from there, sprawling through an epic of long-jawed mudsuckers, oddly literate stonedrakes, bad puns, bounty hunters, and some of the most spectacular color comics pages you can imagine.

I’m talking about Wormy, a comic by David Trampier which ran in the back of Dragon magazine, one to four pages per month, from 1977 to 1988. Trampier, whose artwork helped define the feel of First Edition Dungeons & Dragons, created a lush, memorable tale, one that deserves to be better known today. You can see a large chunk of it here, though most of the comic seems to be offline.

What was it about? As I said, it began with Wormy, a green dragon with a cigar, who’d stolen some bowling balls from a group of dwarves. The dwarves show up to try and get them back, which leads to complications involving a group of brutal but occasionally cunning card-playing ogres (Wormy steals their poker pot when they’re not looking), a minotaur, a talking bear in a Robin Hood hat, a whole community of trolls, and a Brooklyn-accented imp. Then somewhere in there one of the balls gets broken, and a demon comes spilling out. So when we cut to a wizard named Gremorly, “somewhere at the end of this weird world,” plotting to steal the dwarven treasure, we’re not that surprised.

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Adventures Fantastic reviews James Enge’s “Destroyer”

Adventures Fantastic reviews James Enge’s “Destroyer”

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destroyer21Keith West has started a series of “Long Looks at Short Fiction” at the Adventures Fantastic blog, and he’s kicked it off with Black Gate 14:

If you’re a fan of heroic fantasy, adventure fantasy, or just plain good ol’ fashioned storytelling, and you haven’t checked out Black Gate, then you owe it to yourself to do so.  Some of the best writing being done in the fantasy field right now is published here…  John O’Neil [sic] brings the highest production and editorial values to his magazine.
What separates Black Gate from the pro markets is that the Big Three… aren’t willing to publish novellas from writers who aren’t household names (yet).

The first piece he discusses is James Enge’s Morlock tale “Destroyer:”

The story opens with Morlock leading the party between two mountain ranges.  He takes Thend with him to investigate something… a Khroi warrior trapped in a web built by the spider people.
The pace is swift, and the nonhuman characters intriguing as Morlock attempts to guide the party between Khroi and spider people without detection.  You can probably guess how successful he is in this… all the usual sardonic wit and cleverness we’ve come to expect from Morlock are on display here. Morlock has been described as a thinking man’s Conan.
Morlock uses his brain at least as much as he uses his magic or his sword.  The situation here isn’t one he can simply get out of by either magic or swordsmanship (although both are necessary)… If you’re not familiar with Morlock, this is as good a place as any to make his acquaintance.

You can read the complete commentary here.

Art by Chuck Lukacs for “Destroyer” (from Black Gate 14).

Apex Magazine 17 Arrives

Apex Magazine 17 Arrives

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apex-oct-10aThe October issue of Apex Magazine is now available.

Apex is a magazine of Dark Fiction, publishing science fiction, fantasy, horror, and “mash-ups of all three.”  Single issue price is $2.99, and they are available in ePub/PDF/LIT/PDB/ LRF/mobi/RB/prc formats, which is more formats than I knew existed. A lot more, if I’m honest about it.

They have an October Financial Goal meter right on the website, so you can see exactly how your purchase impacts the bottom line, which is fairly gratifying.  If I did that, I’d have to have a separate meter for the uncontrolled pulp purchases currently depleting the Black Gate bank account. Stupid eBay.

Original fiction this issue is from Ian Tregillis and Brenda Stokes Barron, and there’s a special reprint by Ekaterina Sedia. Poetry is by Rose Lemberg and Elizabeth McClellan.

Their September issue apparently snuck past us, but we did profile August.  So we’re not completely asleep.

Apex Magazine is edited by the lovely and tireless Catherynne M. Valente.

The E-book Revolution

The E-book Revolution

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star-soldier1An atomic bomb has exploded in the world of writing. The mushroom cloud expanding over us awes some and terrifies others. Many claim it’s a passing thing and will blow away in time.

“Fah! I’ve seen other explosions before,” say the critics. “This, too, will fade.”

“Look,” they add, “only ten percent of readers will use Kindle, Nook, iPad or read on their computers. Everyone else will stick with print.”

The critics have a masterful argument, too. Smell. “A book smells sooo good,” they say. “I love the odor.”

I call them snifffers. Until the E-book Revolution, I had no idea so many people lovingly lifted their books to their nose like a bouquet of roses and inhaled the odor.

“Ahhh, just smell this, honey. Oooo, it gets me in the mood.”

Like Guttenberg’s printing press, the E-book Revolution is changing the dynamics of the game.

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Come Visit Port Iris

Come Visit Port Iris

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port-isisOK, there’s gotta be a more creative headline when your name is Port Iris magazine, but that’s the best I could come up with.

Editor Casey Seda dropped us a note this week, saying:

I have not come across Black Gate until recently, but when I did, I had to subscribe to your RSS feed immediately. As an editor of my own speculative fiction magazine, I like to see the opinions of readers for other magazines. Our magazine has released its 3rd quarterly issue and is available for free in web and PDF formats.

I was intrigued enough to drop by their website. Port Iris is an extremely attractive publication, and in the Submission Guidelines Casey says he’s “specifically looking for science fiction and fantasy, but I am open to almost anything. Cross-genre is acceptable too.” Sounds like a recipe for an interesting magazine.

Issue 3 contains three short stories, “The Father of the Riverborn,” by Megan Arkenberg, “Salary Ninja,” by Aidan Doyle, and “Watching,” by Jeremy C. Shipp, as well as interviews with A.J. Hartley, Davey Beauchamp, and DJ Torch.

You can find the latest issue here. Check it out and let us know what you think.

Black Gate: Your Definitive Source for Sword & Sorcery

Black Gate: Your Definitive Source for Sword & Sorcery

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swordssorcery2So I finally had a chance to sit down this week with Swords & Dark Magic, the new anthology from Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders.

It’s well worth your time.  It has a terrific new story by James Enge, “The Singing Spear,” in which Morlock faces off against an indestructible weapon of his own design. It also includes a new Black Company tale by Glen Cook, and a fresh Elric novella from Michael Moorcock.

Additional contributors include Robert Silverberg, with a new Majipoor story, and Michael Shea with a tale of Cugel the Clever, as well as Joe Abercrombie, Garth Nix, Gene Wolfe, Steven Erikson, C.J. Cherryh, and many others.

The introduction by the editors, “Check Your Dark Lord at the Door,” is a fine retrospective of Sword & Sorcery through the decades. And the editors salute this publication with:

Black Gate magazine… has been the definitive source for sword and sorcery short-form works since its launch in 2000.

Kind words indeed. Always a pleasure to be honored by such distinguished gentlemen. And now I know what book I’ll be giving as a Christmas gift to all my relatives and in-laws. If you’re interested in a copy, better find one before I buy them all.