Black Gate

My family owns the extended editions of the Lord of the Rings movies, which, with the exception of Return of the King, we enjoy more than the theatrical releases. The week before Thanksgiving and through the Thanksgiving school break we finally watched all three WITH the children. My youngest is 7 going on 8 and until recently we thought it might be a bit too intense. 

They really enjoyed it. My favorite part, though, took place in the moments after King Theoden’s death. The screenplay tweaked the already powerful final moments of King Theoden so that the dialogue was even sharper than the book — and it was acted superbly. Once again I was teary eyed as Theoden spoke his last. Then the camera panned over the carnage that was the battle site, and we saw dead men and horses and orcs and the massive oliphaunts sprawled across the immense field, twisted horribly as far as the eye could see. My lttle girl piped up brightly: “It’s going to take a LONG time to clean up THAT mess.”

I laughed so hard it hurt.

Howard 

A very pleasant Thanksgiving was had by all in the Black Gate rooftop headquarters. I’ve been away a long time and there’s a lot I intend to write about, but I’m going to pace myself and go for a series of short posts.

First, John O’Neill is closing on the end of the submissions pile and making final choices amongst those tales I forwarded him from e-subs. I have a handful of subs I need to address before month’s end and hope to get to them in the next few days.

Second, I’ve been meaning to write about a great swashbuckler I read on the plane to and from the World Fantasy Convention. Scott Oden’s Men of Bronze is the most fun I’ve had reading a historical in years. Set in the time of the Pharoahs, it’s a heads-down, swift-paced action novel that starts at a run and never really lets up. The central character is a Carthaginian mercenary named Hasdrubal Barca, who, while commanding a legendary border unit, stumbles upon a Persian invasion plan set in motion by traitorous Greek mercenaries. There’s soaring descriptions, vivid action, and heroics galore. I’m very much looking forward to more from Oden’s pen, and have added his Memnon to my Christmas list. Be warned — if you don’t like Robert E. Howard, or are into fiction where mopey people wander about emoting their woes and doing nothing, this book’s probably not for you.

I love a good historical adventure novel, and picked up another that’s been sitting on my bookshelf since I last read it at 12 or so, Kenneth Roberts’ Northwest Passage. I ended up spending a lot of time over my Thanksgiving break heads down over that compelling novel, wondering why I hadn’t ever read more by Roberts. That’s something I aim to correct soon, although right now I’m reading non-Hornblower nautical fiction to research the feel of, well, nautical stuff, for my own stories. I’ll read Hornblower again, someday, but I’ve already read almost every volume three times over the years, and wanted something different.

Howard

Here’s the lowdown on the writer’s strike, told Daily Show style:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzRHlpEmr0w

Still feeling cruddy. It’s been so long since I was sick I forgot how annoying it is. Got some good editing done… but I think I’m going to crawl off to bed now.

Howard

I should have a post on the World Fantasy Convention up fairly soon. I came back with a low-grade fever and a couple of deadlines, and I have to deal with them first. In sum, John and I had a good time and met a lot of great people. More details in the next day or so.

Howard

I’ve  got a number of topics I’d love to post on, but they all require a bonafide essay, and I’ve been too slammed with editing and class prep work to devote any time to them. I’m stealing time right now for this short post, as a matter of fact.

World Fantasy Convention time is fast approaching. John O’Neill and I will be there manning the Black Gate booth, attending various panels, and mingling with the writers, editors, publishers, and artists, although the convention organizers insisted we leave the undead minions behind this time after that incident in the cafeteria last year. 

If you’re planning to attend, we hope you’ll drop by and visit our booth.

The convention is being held in Saratoga Springs New York from November 1-November 4. More details can be found by following this link.

I’m apt to be away from the blog for another week or so, but more regular updates will return soon.

Warm Regards,
Howard