Cthulhu Has Risen…

Cthulhu Has Risen…

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Anticipating CTHULHU’S REIGN (Part 3 of 3) cthulhu32

    “You made me master of the world where you exist
The soul I took from you was not even missed.”

–Black Sabbath, “Lord of This World”

“The process of delving into the black abyss is to me the keenest form of fascination.”

–H. P. Lovecraft

At last, the stars are right.

The long-anticipated horror anthology CTHULHU’S REIGN finally hits stores this week, and the world of Lovecraft-inspired fiction will never be the same.

Last week I interviewed a few of the authors who contributed to the collection. In this third and final installment of “Anticipating CTHULHU’S REIGN“ several more Architects of the End have shared with me the dark secrets behind their stories.

Although these 15 tales share a common concept (Great Cthulhu rising up to reclaim the world for the Old Ones), there is a wide array of story types and styles at play here, from cosmic adventures to philosophical nightmares, to humanistic stories of survival in a world gone mad, and more. The sheer diversity of storytelling in this single volume is stunning–a testament to the anthology-building skills of editor Darrell Schweitzer. Yes, there are some experimental pieces in CTHULHU’S REIGN, but there is just as much old-school Weird Tales flavor, which makes for a delicious blend of horror and strangeness.

Richard Lupoff’s “Nothing Personal” takes a science-fiction approach to horror. “The first decision I had to make was, Will this be a science fiction story or a supernatural fantasy? I then referred back to an earlier story of my own, utilizing the theme of a distant planet that had gone undiscovered because its orbit is at right angles to the plane of the ecliptic, and moved on from there.” That planet is Yuggoth, which (like its grotesque inhabitants) is composed entirely of antimatter.

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2 Clash 2 Titans: Clash of the Titans (2010)

2 Clash 2 Titans: Clash of the Titans (2010)

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clash-of-the-titans-1Clash of the Titans (2010)
Directed by Louis Leterrier. Starring Sam Worthington, Mad Mikkelson, Gemma Arterton, Alexa Davalos, Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson, Pete Postelthwaite.

You may not believe this, based on other things I’ve written at this site, but I walked into my local movie theater showing the re-make of Clash of the Titans with an open mind. Or as open as possible for someone who can pinpoint the original 1981 film as the moment from his childhood when he awakened to fantasy adventure.

And I’m glad I kept my mind pried open. Because Clash of the Titans: 2010 is a perfectly adequate modern fantasy movie, and I was able to enjoy the good that it had to give.

This may not sound like a stirring recommendation, but when you consider the complete Olympian thrashing the film is getting from the majority of critics, for a Ray Harryhausen defender to say, “Hey, I kind of liked that,” is, ahem, a titanic deal. (I’m really, really sorry about that pun.)

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The Sorcerers Guild Interviews John C. Hocking and John O’Neill

The Sorcerers Guild Interviews John C. Hocking and John O’Neill

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brand-demon-smallJeff Crook at The Sorcerers Guild interviews John C. Hocking and John O’Neill, following last week’s announcement that “The Face in the Sea” won  for best all-around Sword & Sorcery short story of 2009.

SG: What’s on your launch pad right now? What’s in your future?

John C. Hocking: The third Brand tale, by far the longest and most ambitious, is in Black Gate 14, which just came out. Five years back, when Howard Andrew Jones was editing the Flashing Swords e-zine, I wrote a trio of stories for him about a different set of characters. I’ve written two more tales of the Archivist and his friend Lucella, and Black Gate has accepted them. I’ve been stalled on both a novel about the Archivist and the final Brand story, “Home to Midgard,” but I hope to get both into action before too much longer.

You can read the complete interview here. And you can read an excerpt from the third Brand tale, “The Bonestealer’s Mirror,” now appearing in Black Gate 14

Look for John C. Hocking’s tales of the Archivist and his friend Lucella in future issues, starting with Black Gate 15.

Art by Storn Cook.

Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “Red Hell” by Renee Stern

Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “Red Hell” by Renee Stern

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red_hell-277It looked like a routine hire… until Kellen found himself framed for theft, and embroiled in a plot to steal the secret of the Crown’s great airships.

     The ship’s motion grew more violent, and the crewmen passing his hiding place cursed. Kellen smacked into the hull, then fell back against a sharp-cornered skip. How much more of this could the ship take and stay aloft?
     Against all expectation, he’d escaped discovery. But he had to do something. They’d toss him overboard as soon as they found out, he had no doubt, along with his hopes of escape, but he wouldn’t be the cause of destroying this ship and its crew.
     He wriggled out from his hiding place, hands held high to look nothing like a threat. “I need to speak to your captain.”
     Silvery beams swung toward him, and he shielded his eyes. “Stowaway!” one shouted.

Renee Stern’s short fiction has appeared in Aeon Speculative Fiction, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Oceans of the Mind, and the anthology Sails and Sorcery: Tales of Nautical Fantasy.  She lives outside Seattle.

“Red Hell” appears in Black Gate 14, now shipping.

You can read a more complete excerpt here. The complete Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek is available here.

Art by Jim & Ruth Keegan.

Michael Moorcock on the Birth of Hawkmoon

Michael Moorcock on the Birth of Hawkmoon

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jewel-skull-moorcock-hawkmoonLast week Tor.com ran a terrific article by Michael Moorcock about the origins of his (recently reprinted) Hawkmoon stories. In ‘The Genesis of Hawkmoon‘ Moorcock talks about method, motive, and how the big cultural changes of the sixties heavily influenced his work. Firstly, the man’s writing MO is legendary, and he wrote fantasy fiction with a journalistic mindset: fast with no revisions. The political elements of Hawkmoon, in which a far-future Britain is the ‘Dark Empire’ opposed by a German hero, was a direct protest of the lingering prejudice and division left over from WWII in England. Moorcock sees the books, and himself, as a product of the times — and the times they were a’ changing.

Finally, Moorcock expresses his quiet astonishment over the longevity of Hawkmoon and all the Eternal Champion stories, and remarks “Not bad, I guess, for twelve days hard work!”

No, Mr. Moorcock, not bad at all.

Goth Chick News: A Strange Surf

Goth Chick News: A Strange Surf

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Frankie Avalon in Horror House (1969)
Frankie Avalon in Horror House (1969)

In spite of the fact that I spend a good portion of each day on the computer, surfing the net for the sheer fun of it never loses its appeal.

On these occasions, my favorite tactic is to put a word grouping in Google, and just follow wherever it leads.

Today that produced some truly intriguing results. And though you may think this is a lame blog topic, probably brought on because I’m hung over and didn’t have any other ideas, I say “NO!” I never touch the stuff on school nights (though if my posting day were Sunday instead of Thursday, you might have a point.)

Now that we’ve cleared that up, see if you don’t agree this is downright strange stuff.

I started out with the following in Google:

“strange celebrity horror movies”

With these key words I found a fascinating article on About.com called “The 15 Most Unlikely Horror Movie Stars” which was a find indeed, being that I’m a rabid fan of cheesy scream-fests. Though some of these weren’t news, a few were complete surprises which I quickly added to my Netflix list.
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Black Gate to Launch Sister Magazine

Black Gate to Launch Sister Magazine

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Rumors about our new venture have been spreading for weeks, and it’s time that John and I finally came clean. Next month we’ll be launching a call for submissions to our new, bi-monthly sister magazine, Spicy Troubadour.

John and I have been getting letters for years asking for more stories about bards, minstrels, and troubadours in adventurous situations and exotic positions, and we finally decided to bow to public demand. We didn’t want to change the core makeup of the fiction within Black Gate, hence Spicy Troubadour.

Heading up the new venture will be Managing Editor John C. Hocking, author of Conan and the Emerald Lotus, recent recipient of the Harper’s Pen Award, and owner of the largest collection of troubadour 8-tracks and antique, clashing-legged lederhosen in all of Michigan.

While the primary thrust of the magazine will be stories about medieval music makers, to broaden appeal, Spicy Troubadour will also print comic Viking stories, and urban fantasies featuring vampires with talking cats.

We look forward to reading your submissions! Further details will be posted as the launch date nears.

John C. Hocking’s “The Face in the Sea” wins The Harper’s Pen Award

John C. Hocking’s “The Face in the Sea” wins The Harper’s Pen Award

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harpers-penThe Sorcerer’s Guild has announced that John C. Hocking’s “The Face in the Sea” (Black Gate 13) has won The Harper’s Pen Award for the best all-around Sword & Sorcery short story of 2009.

Award administator Jeff Crook puts it this way:

John’s story is a superb example of the genre, harkening back to the master himself – REH. It hit all the points I mentioned in my previous post: two strong hooks (story and adventure); well-crafted, believable historical fantasy setting; solid characters; monsters, mayhem and magic aplenty; a satisfying ending, and an entertaining storyteller’s voice.

The Award winner receives $200, a certificate, and an engraved handmade pen by Syzygy Pens.

You can read an excerpt from “The Face in the Sea” as part of our Black Gate 13 online preview.

The sequel to the story, “The Bonestealer’s Mirror,” appears in Black Gate 14, now shipping.

Congratulations to John Hocking on the Award! Congratulations in fact, to all the finalists, including stories from Asimov’s Science Fiction, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Dark Worlds, Electric Spec, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Rage of the Behemoth, and Silver Blade.

Jeff Crook is posting his notes on each of the finalists at The Sorcerer’s Guild over the next few days.

On behalf of John C. Hocking and Black Gate, we’re extremely honored to receive this award. We also hope that, if you enjoy his story, you’ll take some time to explore Beneath Ceaseless Skies,  Electric Spec, Rage of the Behemoth, or one of the other fine publications on the ballot. And if you like what you see, we hope you’ll support some of our worthy competition.

Me, I’m going to start off with a subscription to Dark Worlds. It looks great.

It’s the End of the World As We Know It…

It’s the End of the World As We Know It…

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Anticipating CTHULHU’S REIGN (Part 2)

 

cthulhu12
Cthulhu is watching. And waiting...

            “And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.”

     –Revelations 9.6

“Who will survive and what will be left of them?”

     –White Zombie,  “Real Solution #9”

 

Ask 15 writers what the End of the World will be like, and you’ll get 15 different answers. That’s exactly what editor Darrell Schweitzer did when putting together his latest anthology. Horror and Strangeness were the only constants. Oh, and Cthulhu, of course…

Last week I introduced CTHULHU’S REIGN, a new anthology from DAW Books featuring 15 new tales sharing a common theme: Great Cthulhu has risen and reclaimed the world for the Old Ones. What happens next?

This H. P. Lovecraft-inspired collection is an essential read for horror fans, Lovecraft fans, and anyone interested in survivalist fiction. Although surviving in a universe warped and twisted by the Great Old Ones may not even be possible. As the saying goes: “Evolve or die.” But even death may be no escape from Cthulhu’s World.

This week (and next) I’m talking with some of the authors who wrote stories for CTHULHU’S REIGN about what inspired their tales of terror and madness.  

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