Black Gate

Two investigators stumble across far more than they bargained for as they ferret out a deadly necromancer among the ruins of an ancient culture. . .a small band of condemned souls begins a thousand-mile journey across a landscape of horrors to escape hell. . .a young woman battles ghosts and worse to bury a cursed heirloom on a haunted island. . .and a young hero leads his ragged followers in an audacious daylight attack on the unsuspecting aliens who have ruled earth for millennia.

All that and a lot more awaits you in the latest big issue of Black Gate. “Each issue is fat enough to make up three or four issues of most of the other fiction semiprozines,” noted Gardner Dozois in his annual magazine summary, and this issue is no exception — it comes packed with novellas and short stories from Mark Sumner, Judith Berman, Don Bassingthwaite, Todd McAulty, Holly Phillips, and many others. There’s also a detailed and entertaining look back at one of the great pulp magazines, Planet Stories, from Rich Horton, plus columns and reviews from Claude Lalumiere, Lisa DuMond, and Don Bassingthwaite, and much more. And don’t miss our exclusive Knights of the Dinner Table comic strip!

An exorcist in Ancient China stumbles across far more than he bargained for…an escaped serf in a world of dangerous dimensional portals learns that fortune indeed favors the bold…an aging monarch receives the potentially lethal gift of a slave girl, the last living child of a dead Mage King…and a young man leads a ragtag band of soldiers to the surface to face the horrid invaders of Earth for the first time in millennia.

It’s all in the big fall issue of Black Gate. Have a look at our online sneak peek, featuring artwork, excerpts, and more. Our action-packed sixth issue contains new fiction from Mark W. Tiedemann, Rick Norwood, Iain Rowan, Karen Jordan Allen, and the novel-length pulp reprint “Tumithak in Shawn,” the sequel to last issue’s epic “Tumithak of the Corridors” by Charles R. Tanner.

All this plus the next hilarious installment of the Knights of the Dinner Table comic. Don’t miss it!

We’ve updated the Black Gate subscription form to make it even easier to order back issues or subscribe online!

Now you can choose from a variety of payment options — including Visa, Mastercard, and Paypal — as well as a handy new printer-friendly order form to mail in payments by check or money order. Don’t take a chance that your local bookstore runs out of Black Gate. Subscribe today!

All copies of Black Gate are mailed in a sturdy protective envelope, to ensure that they arrive at your door in pristine condition. Take advantage of our special Sample Issue offer — we’ll pay the postage!

A young woman and her barbarian protector stumble across an ancient horror in a ruined temple…a group of children are trapped by the lethal remnant of a sorcerous war…a young explorer undertakes a dangerous journey to Earth’s surface, untold centuries after an alien conquest…and the last survivor of a race of shape-shifters faces an unexpected fate in the bloody coliseum of Ancient Rome.

These and many more exciting stories await you in the big spring issue of Black Gate, on sale now. Have a look at our online sneak peek, featuring lengthy excerpts, artwork, and much more. This issue features fiction from Bram Stoker Award-winning author Brian A. Hopkins, a chilling new horror novella from Todd McAulty, and great new fiction from Don Bassingthwaite, Michael H. Payne, Jennifer Busick and many others. And don’t miss the hilarious exploits of the Knights of the Dinner Table by Jolly R. Blackburn!

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) has released the 2002 Nebula Awards preliminary ballot, and we are very proud to announce that ElizaBeth Gilligan’s “Iron Joan,” from our Winter 2002 issue, has been nominated in the category of Best Short Story. The Nebula Awards are voted on, and presented by, active members of SFWA, and the Awards will be announced at the 2002 Nebula Awards Banquet to be held in Philadelphia on Saturday, April 19th.

ElizaBeth’s tale of a mysterious young woman’s arrival in a small town, and the effect she has on its inhabitants, was one of the most acclaimed pieces of fiction we’ve published, and we are very pleased to present “Iron Joan” online here in a Special Fiction Feature, complete in its entirety and with the original art by Chris Pepper. We hope you enjoy it.

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A Chicago pub where the ghosts of Blues legends gather to swap tales and jam one final time…a post-apocalyptic cityscape where automated bombers still cruise overhead and the last rock band hears the sound of extinction…a wild west where a trio of demons test the wits of a lone bounty hunter…and the dungeons of Chateau Machecoul, where an aging knight comes face-to-face with a horror unlike anything he’s ever known.

These are just a few of the unique and exciting settings that await you in the big summer issue of Black Gate. This issue features the start of a major fantasy series from Hugo Award-winning author Bill Johnson and a new novelette from epic fantasy novelist David B. Coe, as well as fiction from Cory Doctorow, Tina Jens, Mark McLaughlin, and many others. And don’t miss the return of the hilarious Knights of the Dinner Table comic by Jolly R. Blackburn to the pages of Black Gate!