Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “The Word of Azrael” by Matthew David Surridge

Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “The Word of Azrael” by Matthew David Surridge

Comments 0 Comment

azrael-cropNext up in our Black Gate 14 Preview is an old-school Sword & Sorcery epic from  talented newcomer Matthew David Surridge.

Eventually Isrohim Vey went to the land of Marás, where, in the nave of the Obsidian Cathedral, he slew the Black Bishop called Nimsza; and, taking up Nimsza’s ring, spoke with the demon Gorias that Nimsza had commanded in life.

“It may be true,” Gorias purred, “that demons know something of the ways of angels.” Gorias held Nimsza’s soul between its claws, and was content.

“Tell me of the Angel of Death,” said Isrohim Vey.

“Azrael cannot be evaded,” the demon said.

“I do not want to evade the Angel,” said Isrohim Vey. “I want to find him.”

“The Word of Azrael” appears in Black Gate 14, coming in February.  You can read an excerpt here.

The complete Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek is available here.

Matthew David Surridge lives in Montreal. “The Word of Azrael” was his first fiction sale. You can find him online at misrule.blogspot.com.

Art by David Bezzina.

Goth Chick News: Like Martha Stewart, Only Different

Goth Chick News: Like Martha Stewart, Only Different

Comments 1 comment

image006It doesn’t take much psychic ability to figure out a lot about a person just by walking through their front door. We look for subtle indications that our impression outside their abode was either right on or dead wrong. We keep an eye out for hidden aspects of their personality that might reveal themselves in subtle ways. For instance, did you stumble upon a racy mag stacked amongst the Better Homes and Gardens at your boss’ summer BBQ party? BINGO!

However, there are some people whose living arrangements simply scream out a more tangible and obvious message about what’s going on between their ears. As kids, their rooms were wallpapered with visual representations of what they were into, and the moment you walked through the door you realized that YES, this was clearly your friend’s personal space, for better or worse.

But what happens later, when those particularly expressive individuals get jobs and eventually, heaven forbid, expendable income?

Welcome to Chateaux du Goth Chick.

I want to preface what I’m about to tell you by saying that by in large, the really creepy stuff is relegated to my office, where I mentioned last week the cleaning lady refuses to go. This is fine with me, considering how fragile the voodoo doll collection is. The arrangement also makes it possible to simply close the door, thereby preserving the delicate sensibilities of some of my guests.

The rest of the house was done up with Mr. Goth Chick’s approval. As most of you gentlemen know, your biggest battle is to keep your surroundings from becoming too “girly” or worse yet, from looking like an advertisement straight out of a yuppie catalog. I can tell you with all due respect, Mr. Goth Chick has a whole different set of concerns.

So let’s take a little tour shall we?

…

Read More Read More

The Weird of Cornell Woolrich: “Dark Melody of Madness”

The Weird of Cornell Woolrich: “Dark Melody of Madness”

Comments 1 comment

dimemysteryContinuing from last week’s look at the weird tales of pulp suspense maestro Cornell Woolrich, today I’ll walk around another bleak urban corner of the midnight-hued world of my favorite pulp author.

“Dark Melody of Madness,” first published in the June 1935 issue of Dime Mystery and often reprinted under the less-chilling title of “Papa Benjamin,” is one the superb pulp horror stories, and one of Woolrich’s earliest classics, written during the first year of his career as professional magazine writer. In its use of race as an undercurrent, it has connections to some of the great horror works of Robert E. Howard, in particular “Pigeons from Hell,” which also uses the device of voodoo of the West Indies. Anyone interested in the American Weird should read it. Fortunately, it’s been reprinted in many anthologies.

…

Read More Read More

Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “The Bonestealer’s Mirror” by John C. Hocking

Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “The Bonestealer’s Mirror” by John C. Hocking

Comments 1 comment

brand-demon-smallBrand and his shipmates face dread sorcery on a strange isle in John C. Hocking’s “The Bonestealer’s Mirror,” the sequel to “The Face in the Sea” from Black Gate 13.

We searched the labyrinth of sea-caves for hours, finally emerging in early afternoon, wet, hungry and tired. Asbjorn decided to return to Mord’s steading to collect Vali and Asdis, and to ask if the isle had more sea-caves in which the demon might lair.
      We knew something was amiss as soon as we came over the ridge and could see Mord’s home below. Vali and Asdis sat on the low roof of the longhouse, but of the dwelling’s owner there was no sign. As we approached they stood, and I saw Vali held his sword.
      “Where have you been?” yelled Asdis. Anger made her voice hard. I felt she was speaking to me alone and could not have uttered a reply for a chest of gold.
      “Just taking our ease,” said Asbjorn, “walking about in the black belly of a mountain hunting a demon out of Niflheim.” 

“The Bonestealer’s Mirror” appears in Black Gate 14, coming in February.  You can read an excerpt here.

The complete Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek is available here.

John C. Hocking is the author of Conan & the Emerald Lotus (Tor, 1995).  The first tale of Brand the Viking, “The Face in the Sea,’ appeared in our last issue, the second, “Vali’s Wound”, was in Daniel Blackston’s anthology Lords of Swords (Pitch-Black, 2005). “The Bonestealer’s Mirror” is the third installment.

Art by Storn Cook.

Short Fiction Review #25: Interzone #226

Short Fiction Review #25: Interzone #226

Comments 1 comment

213The January/February Interzone features a very cool, magna-like cover by Warwick Fraser-Coombe; he’ll be doing the cover art for all six issues in 2010, which are intended to be put together to form a larger image. Collect them all and assemble the collage to see exactly what’s up with this. As far as I can tell, it has nothing to do with the contents of the magazine, which, by the way, has  returned to a color interior; it’s a very attractive package, as you’d expect from the folks at TTA Press.

The retro-look does reflect the fiction, however, in the sense that, for the most, part the fiction could have been ripped right out of a 1950s/1960s pulp magazine. A swashbuckling fantasy, space adventure, post-nuclear holocaust dystopia. It’s  déjà vu all over again.

…

Read More Read More

Black Gate Giveaway: Eberron Campaign Guide

Black Gate Giveaway: Eberron Campaign Guide

Comments 6 comments

eberron-campaign1A strange box covered with cryptic glyphs recently parachuted onto Black Gate‘s rooftop headquarters. It landed near Howard Andrew Jones, who was working on his next Dabir & Asim novel by candlelight in the restricted section of our pulp library.

Due to a small misunderstanding with Gordon van Gelder and the staff of Fantasy & Science Fiction over an unpaid lunch bill at Windycon, all unmarked mail here in the inner sanctum is routinely handed over to the Chicago bomb squad for immediate disposal. Doubtless due to the Zen-like focus on his novel (or perhaps because he’d just ordered pizza) Howard forgot, and pried open the box.

Inside, between shredded pages of the Necronomicon used as packing paper, were pristine copies of the 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons Eberron Campaign Guide, compliments of Wizards of the Coast.

That explains the cryptic glyphs.  In case the copies are laced with exotic contact poison, or otherwise booby-trapped (Gordon’s minions can be very creative), we’re doing the only logical thing: giving them away.  To you.

How do you win? By writing a two-sentence review of your favorite Eberron product, and sending it us to eberron@blackgate.com.

The eight best reviews — as selected by Black Gate staff, and maybe whatever bill collectors happen to be in our offices at the time — will be published here on the BG website, and the authors will receive a copy of the Guide. 

All entries become the property of New Epoch Press. No purchase necessary. Must be 12 or older.  Decisions of the judges (capricious as they may be) are final. Not open to employees of Wizard of the Coast, or Gordon van Gelder. Not valid where prohibited by law.  Or anywhere postage for a hefty hardcover is more than, like, 5 bucks.  Seriously, we’re on a budget.

…

Read More Read More

Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “The Hangman’s Daughter” by Chris Braak

Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “The Hangman’s Daughter” by Chris Braak

Comments 0 Comment

hangmansSomething is crawling into Cresy’s bedroom each night… something not human.

The Thing was here, in her room again, shuffling softly by her bed. She could hear it, and it made her afraid. And more than anything, the fear made her angry.
        I am the Hangman’s daughter, in her mind, her voice echoed from the walls. I am strong. I am not afraid of you!
       After what seemed like an eternity, Cresy sat bolt upright in her bed, and the sounds of the city came back to her. But this time, this time she saw it. A black shadow by her window, curved, hunched over. It was built like a therian — small, like a child, but with long arms and huge hands, hands built for strangling. Its eyes glowed, featureless yellow orbs. And in the light from those eyes, she could see its face, and she could see that it had no lips. Just skin, stretched across its jaws, as it tried to scream, and couldn’t.

Chris Braak is a novelist and playwright from Philadelphia.  His first novel is The Translated Man.

“The Hangman’s Daughter” appears in Black Gate 14, coming in February.  You can read an excerpt here.

The complete Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek is available here.

Art by John Kaufmann.

Goth Chick News: How I Nearly Killed Myself Laughing…

Goth Chick News: How I Nearly Killed Myself Laughing…

Comments 2 comments

villains-guide1I’m sure you’d never guess this, but my taste is a little left of center. 

I have a full suit of armor I dubbed “Prince Vlad” which looms large over my comfy reading chair.  For my last birthday, my amazingly normal friends Mr. and Mrs. Disney presented me with a picture of Tippi Hedren from Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, which was autographed by Tippi herself. I was nearly brought to tears I was so touched.  I have a full-on voodoo shelf with authentic trinkets from Africa and the Caribbean, which Madam Laveaux herself would envy. 

Tippi Hedren
Tippi Hedren

I think I should mention here that the Catholic cleaning lady will not go near my office.

As it would naturally follow, my sense of humor is a tad off too; as in I got a nearly fatal fit of giggles during a relative’s funeral.  Though I admit this was entirely improper and uncalled for, I take heart in the idea that the deceased would probably have found the cause as hilarious as I did. 

My parents continue to pull me aside and give me “the talk” about not embarrassing them before important family events, something Mr. Goth Chick finds especially amusing, but I think you see my point.

It is because of these unfortunate traits that I find myself drawn to the strange and unusual gems of the literary macabre; often those items tucked into back shelves at the book store or better yet, at the flea market.

In my defense, the written material which occupies the place closest to my blackish, goth chick heart wasn’t written for me specifically and did find its way to a publisher and into the general marketplace. 

Therefore, I conclude I must share this morbid sense of humor with others, closeted though you may be.

Which is why it my pleasure this week to share some my favorites with you.  Their titles speak to their literal subject matters so I’ve just included a couple of succulent tidbits from each.  Ironically, most of this advice would be just as easily at home in the latest “How to Succeed in Business” publication, but there you go.

…

Read More Read More