The Moon and Mars have fascinated science fiction writers for generations, although I thought the era of classic Mars and Moon anthologies was over. But it turns out that’s not the case. At least not while editor Mike Ashley is on the job, anyway. Lost Mars: The Golden Age of the Red Planet, which collects pulp-era tales (and pre pulp-era tales) from Wonder Stories, Amazing Stories, Astounding, and Worlds of If, was published in April 2018. Its sister anthology Moonrise:…
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A few years ago Black Gate asked “Is the Original SF and Fantasy Paperback Anthology Series Dead?” Those were dark, dark days, and I don’t like to think of them. They’re over now. Science fiction was rescued from a barren wasteland of paperback sameness by the one publisher who had a decent shot: Solaris. They did it by taking a chance on a paperback anthology series that has become one of the most acclaimed and celebrated of the past few decades: Jonathan Strahan’s…
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Andrew Liptak at The Verge has dipped into the thundering production pipelines at America’s publishing houses for the month of June, and returned with a secret list of the 13 very best science fiction and fantasy books — including novels by Paul Tremblay, Yoon Ha Lee, Peter Watts, Katie Williams, Alex White, Rob Boffard, Melissa F. Olson, and Black Gate‘s own Todd McAuty. Many bothans died to bring us this information. Use it wisely. The Robots of Gotham by Todd McAulty (John Joseph…
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208 pages, $9.95 On Sale February 2003 Edited by John O’Neill Published by New Epoch Press Cover Art by Chris Pepper (Illustrating “Two-Skins” by Shawn L. Johnson) Interior Art by Chris Pepper, Bernie Mireault, Denis Rodier, Greg Faillace, Chuck Lukacs, and Gregory Price ISSUE SOLD OUT! FICTION “The Mourning Trees” by Peadar O Guilin The deadly mourning trees were a remnant of a sorcerous war, and now one clutched Moya’s only son. “Stand at Llieva” by Joseph A. McCullough V In…
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The first few issues of Black Gate magazine have seen rave reviews from some of the most respected publications in the industry, including Locus, Interzone, SF Site, and many others. Here are some brief excerpts from some of the highlights. Where possible, links to the complete review are provided. Year’s Best Volumes The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror #14 2003 Edition Edited by Stephen Jones Even Weird Tales wasn’t as good looking as Black Gate: Adventures in Fantasy Literature….
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The Bantam Spectra Élisabeth Vonarburg: The Silent City (August 1992), In the Mothers’ Land (December 1992), and Reluctant Voyagers (March 1995). Covers by Oscar Chichoni, Oscar Chichoni, and Stephen Youll I left Canada to attend grad school at the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign in August 1987, and when I did I lost touch with much of the vibrant Canadian SF scene. There were a few Canadian authors celebrated in the States — folks like Charles de Lint, Donald…
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The first four volumes of the ABCs of Horror anthology series, edited by Mark Morris and published by Flame Tree Press. Covers by Nik Keevil and Flame Tree Studio I miss the days of the paperback horror anthology. The great horror anthologists of the late 20th Century — Peter Haining, Sam Moskowitz, Charles L. Grant, Karl Edward Wagner, David Hartwell, and others — curated dozens of volumes of top-notch fiction that kept me thrilled and entertained many a late night,…
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November-December 2023 issues of Analog Science Fiction & Fact, Asimov’s Science Fiction, and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Cover art by 123RF, Shutterstock, and Alan M. Clark This is another great batch of print magazines, with a tale of a failing space colony by Jeff Reynolds (in Analog), an exciting new Quiet War novella by Paul McAuley (in Asimov’s), and a tale of mysterious AIs on a moon of Saturn by Geoff Ryman and David Jeffrey (in F&SF)….
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Dear Mr. Campbell, I have received your stories, but I have had time to read only one or two of them. I don’t want to comment on them in extended fashion until I’ve read all, but I do think them competent. However, there is one alteration I think you should definitely make; Mr. Wandrei would insist on it, and that is to remove your stories from the Lovecraft milieu. I mean, keep the Gods, the Books, etc., but establish your…
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The NeoG trilogy, published by Harper Voyager: A Pale Light in the Black (March 2020), Hold Fast Through the Fire (July 2021), and The Ghosts of Trappist (June 27, 2023). Covers by Vadim Sadovski and Reginald Polynice K.B. Wagers is one of the most exciting of the new crop of space opera writers. Their first novel, Behind the Throne, appeared in 2016 from Orbit Books, and it kicked off what eventually became a popular six-volume series featuring Hail Bristol, a…
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