Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “The Girl Who Feared Lightning” by Dan Brodribb

Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “The Girl Who Feared Lightning” by Dan Brodribb

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lightninggirl-277The sarcophagus was empty, the mummy was on the loose, and Corporate expected her to deal with it. Seemed like a lot to ask, especially for minimum wage.

     “So where’s the mummy?” Cara asked. She ran her hand along the edge of the sarcophagus.
     “Well.” The man in the suit cleared his throat and studied the floor. “It escaped.”
     “You mean it was stolen?” she said.
     “I mean, it got up and walked away.” With his right hand, the man made a walking movement with his fingers; with his left, he pointed to the corner of the ceiling. “See that camera up there? We got the whole thing on film.”
     Slowly, very slowly, Cara pulled her hand away from the sarcophagus and looked around for something to wipe her fingers on.

Dan Brodribb is a Canadian writer and stand-up comic, whose stories have appeared in Canada, the U.S., and Australia.

“The Girl Who Feared Lightning” appears in Black Gate 14.  You can read a more complete excerpt here.

The complete Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek is available here.

Art by Bernie Mireault.

Goth Chick News: And You Can Quote Me

Goth Chick News: And You Can Quote Me

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beetlejuice1I freely cop to having the sort of geeky sense of humor that is immediately triggered by someone coming up with the perfect movie quote for any given situation. For that matter, the level of hilarity is proportionately magnified by the obscurity of the quote, how quickly I was able to identify it, and any subtle, “insider” references the quote might invoke.

Recently at my day job (no, I’m not doing this whole Goth Chick thing from my own Eastern European castle…yet) as my team faced a particularly nasty and potentially explosive dilemma, the guy to my left leaned over and whispered, “We’re going to need a bigger boat.” At which point I disrupted the whole proceeding with one of those incontrollable fits of laughter I told you about earlier.

Though I’d be extremely skeptical to learn you’re a fan of Black Gate and haven’t done this sort of thing yourself, or for that matter, don’t know precisely where that quote originated, I’ll give you this one just for conversation sake; it’s the famous line uttered by Chief Brody when the enormous shark from Jaws rears up along side his small fishing boat and gives him the eyeball.

It is one of the most used favorites from my own repertoire and, though it doesn’t score impressively high on the obscurity scale, it never fails to get a reaction.

OK, you get the idea. So for the rest of these, you’re on your own for the context. However, I will recommend that if any of the movies quoted here are unfamiliar, the next thing you should do is get them on your movie watching schedule. They’re quotable for a reason, even if that reason is extreme cheesiness.

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No Mere Nostalgia: The Original Clash of the Titans

No Mere Nostalgia: The Original Clash of the Titans

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medusa-defeatedOn April 2nd, “Titans Will Clash!” Which is perhaps the worst tag-line I’ve seen since “The Story That Won’t Go Away” for JFK. I wonder why the tag-line on director Louis Lettier’s previous film wasn’t “This Summer, The Hulk Is Incredible!”

And the Titans will also clash in 3D. But not real 3D; this is a post-production fix designed to cash-in on the success of another 3D movie. Clash ‘10 wasn’t shot with the extra dimension in mind, so don’t expect me to shell out extra cash for the polarized goggles.

I would feel a bit easier about the upcoming re-make of Clash of the Titans if it weren’t for the attitude of some online movie sites and critics who seem to take pleasure in putting down the 1981 original in their anticipation of the new film. I should feel nothing but excitement; who am I to object to Greek myth and big beasts on the silver screen? But I have this discomfort with those critics who normally object to re-makes but somehow feel that the Ray Harryhausen classic is going to get improved in a re-do because the original is only “cheesy nostalgia.”

No. It’s. Not.

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Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “Devil on the Wind” by Michael Jasper & Jay Lake

Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “Devil on the Wind” by Michael Jasper & Jay Lake

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devil_on_the_wind-277It was Lena’s fifth suicide. Such was the way of the Killaster Witches. But as ambitious as she was, Lena’s schemes for revenge might not be quite treacherous enough…

     After a few more steps, I realized Rego was no longer behind me.
     From the corner of my eye, I could see him. He was not alone.
     “Lena…” His voice was thick with fear. “Should’ve gone ‘round.”
     Dripping dirt, dust, and strips of leathered flesh, four corpses had risen from the dirt to surround Rego. His mount’s back was arched, its tail puffed up and thick. The skeletal hands clattered as they beat ragged chests and yellowed ribcages, inching closer to Rego. They glowed with the same sickly light as the cauldron beast. Even as I watched, more corpses pulled themselves from their shallow, unmarked graves.

Michael Jasper has three novels in print, and his collection Gunning for the Buddha is now available from Prime.  Jay Lake is the award-winning author of over 250 short stories and ten novels, including Green and Escapement.

“Devil on the Wind” appears in Black Gate 14.  You can read a more complete excerpt here.

Note: this story contains some adult themes.

The complete Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek is available here.

Art by John Kaufmann.

Black Gate Giveaway: Eberron Campaign Guide

Black Gate Giveaway: Eberron Campaign Guide

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eberron-campaignLast month we announced we were giving away eight copies of the Eberron Campaign Guide, a 4th Edition D&D Supplement from Wizards of the Coast.

How do you win? By sending a two-sentence summary of a recent Eberron product to eberron@blackgate.com. The best eight — as selected by a capricious panel of barely-literate judges — will be published here, and the authors will be awarded the prizes.

That’s it. No forms to fill out.  No skill-testing questions. No money down. No fine print.  OK, maybe a little fine print, so sue us. It’s a contest, no one’s gonna believe it’s legit until they see some fine print.

It’s a mighty fine book, too.  Yes, that’s Edward Scissorhand’s dad on the front cover.  And his dogs Zipper and Papercut.  They bring a whole new level of menace to “running with scissors.” Ouchie ouchie.

Come on, this is the easiest contest we’ve ever run.  Maybe the easiest contest in the whole history of civilization.  I could even make it even easier by pointing you to a complete list of Eberron modules and sourcebooks to get you started, but that would be spoon feeding you, wouldn’t it?  Yes it would.

Time is running out to claim one of these fine D&D books, and perhaps to introduce yourself to the very cool Eberron setting. E-mail us at eberron@blackgate.com now.  Operators are standing by.

The ABC’s of DNA and Other Thorny Themes: Daryl Gregory’s “The Devil’s Alphabet”

The ABC’s of DNA and Other Thorny Themes: Daryl Gregory’s “The Devil’s Alphabet”

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the-devils-alphabetPaxton Martin has come home to Switchcreek, Tennessee, to attend the funeral of a childhood friend. He drove in from Chicago, pulling an all-nighter, because he could not decide until the last minute if he wanted to go back. He’d been living in Chicago since running away from Switchcreek, 13 years ago, after everything changed.

The opening of any number of novels, classic in its prodigal simplicity, promising Faulknerian brambles with a dash of Wolf (Thomas that is) and a thread of O’Connor. The returning son of the local preacher, reconnecting, abrading old scabs, stirring nearly-dead ashes, the stuff of Americana along gothic lines. The changes, of course, mask how much everything has remained pretty much the same. After a time, one can even overlook those changes…

Not in Daryl Gregory’s second novel, The Devil’s Alphabet. The changes in this case cannot be ignored. By anyone.

Switchcreek has undergone a profound experience in the form of mutations which swept through the small population, transforming many residents into distinctly divergent species. The genetic instructions for these people have been rewritten by some unknown process, which did not strike all people. When the changes worked their way through, Switchcreek was home to populations of what became known as Argos, Betas, and Charlies, as well as the untouched population.

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Short Fiction Beat: Quirkiness

Short Fiction Beat: Quirkiness

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door99The latest issue of  webzine Flurb, is now online.  After an erratic start, this seems to be publishing on a regular schedule, with the next installment promised for September.  In addition to the current issue #9, you can access all the previous editions in what seems to be an exercise for co-founder/editors Rudy Rucker and Paul DiFillipo to ask their friends to submit stories.  Check out, for example, “Clod, Pebble” by Kathe Koja and Carter Scholz. It’s about book signings. And what to choose, when all your choices seem bad ones, particularly if you’re not seeing things in the right light.

Given the company it keeps, you can expect Flurb to be a little quirky. Speaking of which, Small Beer Press has announced an upcoming edition of Lady Churchhill’s Rosebud Wristlet, though there’s nothing up yet on the website.

You know how it is with zines. They’re nothing if the first page isn’t an apology for being late. And, you know, we haven’t gotten that apology written yet, which is really holding things up.

What’s in that issue (number 25) of LCRW? Fiction and poetry and Advice from: Veronica Schanoes, Richard Parks, Dear Aunt Gwenda, Jeanine Hall Gailey, and more as well as not one but two translations. We may have more news on the translation front later this spring, keep an eye out. (Ouch.) The translations are from Edward Gauvin of French author Georges-Olivier Châteaureynaud’s “A City of Museums” (which will be included in A Life on Paper, the first book by G.-O. C. in English which we will publish in May— galleys are going out now!) and a self-translation by award-winning Chinese author Haihong Zhao (which was brought to our attention by Michael Swanwick, yay!).

Goth Chick News: A Curiosity “From Hell”

Goth Chick News: A Curiosity “From Hell”

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From The London Times, October 1, 1888
From The London Times, October 1, 1888

Between August 31st and November 9th, 1888, the first widely documented serial killer known as “Jack the Ripper” brutally murdered five prostitutes in the heinous poverty that was the Whitechapel area of London.

In 2010, a Google search on “Jack the Ripper” returns over 2 million entries, and Amazon lists 605 books and 64 movies, all focused on an unsolved mystery that is 122 years old and which frankly, by today’s standards would hold the headline spot on CNN for a week at most.

I had to literally ask myself why?

Meaning I’ve been right there fascinated along with everyone else.

I’m not sure when I first became aware of Jack and his bloody doings, but I do recall that taking the after dark “Jack the Ripper Tour” was high on my list of priorities when I packed off to London the first time. 

There on a perfectly damp and foggy evening I, along with a couple of dozen other tourists, followed a guide wearing a fairly cheesy black cape and top hat through some very fragrant Whitechapel alleyways.  And though this neighborhood is a mostly respectable industrialized area today, it doesn’t take much encouragement to imagine coming upon the mangled mess of Polly Nichols spread unceremoniously across the wet bricks.

OK, now that I’ve engaged your gag reflex and you’re thinking I should try going someplace nice like Vegas next time, I will tell you that at that moment I completely understood the term “morbid fascination.”

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