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.

Short Fiction Roundup

Short Fiction Roundup

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cover002-150Salon Futura is a recently launched online non-fiction magazine for essays and reviews about science fiction and fantasy. Therehugo-12 have been several attempts to do this sort of thing, most of which have had short life spans (anyone remember the Internet Review of Science Fiction?), but with Cheryl Morgan on the masthead, whose Emerald City book review blog was up for 12 years, this perhaps might have more staying power. On the other hand, this is a paying market, so if you’re interested in critical discussions of SF/F genre, you might want to consider hitting the donate button. Here’s the short fiction review for the October issue by Karen Burham.

Morgan, by the way, is also the non-fiction editor of 2010 Hugo award winner Clarkesworld magazine. Publisher Neil Clarke (oh, that’s why the magazine is called that) writes about winning the Hugo and other developments here.

A Peek at The Way of the Wizard

A Peek at The Way of the Wizard

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WAY OF THE WIZARD hits stores on Nov. 16.
The Wizard hits stores on Nov. 16.

It’s almost here! Next month Prime Books releases its new fantasy anthology paperback, THE WAY OF THE WIZARD. It features 32 stories of sorcerers, wizards, magicians and the like. In addition to luminaries like Neil Gaiman,  George R. R. Martin, Robert Silverberg, and Peter S. Beagle (among others) it features my own story, “The Thirteen Texts of Arthyria.”

Editor extraordinaire John Joseph Adams just announced the book’s complete table of contents:

WAY OF THE WIZARD

– Table of Contents –

-Introduction by John Joseph Adams
–In the Lost Lands — George R.R. Martin
–Family Tree — David Barr Kirtley
–John Uskglass and the Cambrian Charcoal Burner — Susanna Clarke
–Wizard’s Apprentice — Delia Sherman
–The Sorcerer Minus — Jeffrey Ford
–Life So Dear Or Peace So Sweet — C. C. Finlay
–Card Sharp — Rajan Khanna
–So Deep That the Bottom Could Not Be Seen —  Genevieve Valentine
–The Go-Slow — Nnedi Okorafor
–Too Fatal a Poison — Krista Hoeppner Leahy
–Jamaica — Orson Scott Card
–The Sorcerer’s Apprentice — Robert Silverberg
–The Secret of Calling Rabbits — Wendy N. Wagner
–The Wizards of Perfil — Kelly Link
–How to Sell the Ponti Bridge — Neil Gaiman
–The Magician and the Maid and Other Stories — Christie Yant
–Winter Solstice — Mike Resnick
–The Trader and the Slave — Cinda Williams Chima
–Cerile and the Journeyer — Adam-Troy Castro
–Counting the Shapes — Yoon Ha Lee
–Endgame — Lev Grossman
–Street Wizard — Simon R. Green
–Mommy Issues of the Dead — T. A. Pratt
–One Click Banishment — Jeremiah Tolbert
–The Ereshkigal Working — Jonathan L. Howard
–Feeding the Feral Children — David Farland
–The Orange-Tree Sacrifice — Vylar Kaftan
–Love is the Spell That Casts Out Fear — Desirina Boskovich
–El Regalo — Peter S. Beagle
–The Word of Unbinding — Ursula K. Le Guin
–The Thirteen Texts of Arthyria — John R. Fultz
–The Secret of the Blue Star — Marion Zimmer Bradley

So I’m sandwiched in between Ursula K. LeGuin and Marion Zimmer Bradley. Not a bad place to be!

You can pre-order WAY OF THE WIZARD at Amazon.com

Cheers!
John

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the Power of Myth-Making

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the Power of Myth-Making

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wrightson-frankensteinMary Shelley’s Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus is a remarkable work. The book had its origin as a ghost story concocted during a weekend gathering of the literati on Lake Geneva. It became the modern myth best reflecting the ethical and moral issues that arise when technology consistently outpaces its maker’s ability to reconcile progress with the established strictures of society. It remains a classic cautionary tale that has lost none of its relevance nearly 200 years since its publication. Despite this fact, it is an intensely personal story with strong autobiographical touches.

frankenstein2Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin was born in the late eighteenth century to outspoken liberal political theorist William Godwin and pioneering feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. Her mother died of complications giving birth to Mary. She grew up revering her parents’ work and was encouraged by it to ceaselessly question authority in any form. At age 16, Mary began an affair with one of her father’s most ardent followers, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley who was five years her senior and married with small children.

Percy left his wife and family to travel the continent with Mary and her stepsister, Claire. He enjoyed affairs with both young women. Their unconventional living arrangement engendered much public outrage and ostracism wherever they went. Mary became pregnant with Percy’s child, but the little girl died shortly after birth. Mary’s father, who had criticized the institution of marriage in his writings, inexplicably turned his back on his unwed daughter for her licentious behavior.

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