The J. Lloyd Eaton Award was established in 1977 and initially was presented to the best critical science fiction book of the year. It was not presented in 1981, 1992, 1997, 1998, or 2000 and was put on hiatus after the 2001 awards were presented. When the award was started again in 2008, it was no longer given for a critical work, but rather for lifetime achievement. The award is presented at the annual Eaton Conference, held at the University…
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By Joe Bonadonna This is an excerpt from The MechMen of Canis-9 by Joe Bonadonna. It is presented by Black Gate magazine. It appears with the permission of Joe Bonadonna, and may not be reproduced in whole or in part. All rights reserved. Copyright 2018 by Joe Bonadonna. This time out, Sergeants Seamus O’Hara, Claudia Akira, Fernando Cortez and a platoon of Marines are deployed to Canis-9 — Devoora, the Ocean Planet. Their mission: find seven indestructible robot warriors hidden…
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It’s been a bit of a shock, even if a somewhat welcome one, to be done with Glen Cook after so many weeks. I’ve been so immersed in the world of the Black Company that it feels a little weird to be moving on. Fortunately, I was able to turn around and pick up the brand new collection containing all of Clifford Ball’s short stories. Who’s Clifford Ball, you ask? Well, let me tell you. Actually, let Dave Ritzlin tell…
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Pirates in Hell (Heroes in Hell, Volume 20) Edited by Janet and Chris Morris Perseid Press. (456 pages, $22.40 in trade paperback, $8.99 in digital formats, April 10, 2017) Cover Design and Cover Art: Roy Mauritsen Book Design: Chris Morris Fifteen men on the Dead Man’s Chest Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! Drink and the devil had done for the rest Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! ― Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island Ahoy there! Well here we are — another…
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As we segue (stagger, stumble, reel, crawl, stop-drop-and roll) from winter into spring, we are faced as always with the never-ending question: “What in the world am I going to read next?” Everyone will solve this dilemma in their own way. Dart and ouija boards, animal entrails, tarot cards, various dice systems, and the blind recommendations of pimply, pasty complexioned clerks in chain bookstores have all been resorted to by readers desperate for guidance. For many people (Black Gate followers no…
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I felt like looking at a classic pulp from the great late stages of the true SF pulps. A moment of definition is in order here: I consider a true pulp magazine to have been printed on pulp paper, in approximately the traditional pulp size (7″ by 10″), during the heyday of the SF pulps (say, 1926-1955). This is meant to exclude digests (like Astounding after about 1943; and most SF magazines after 1955), and of course slicks. The great…
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Terri Windling is a superstar in the field of fantasy. She’s been awarded the World Fantasy Award nine times, and she’s also won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the 2010 SFWA Solstice Award. As an editor at Ace she discovered and promoted first novels by Charles de Lint, Emma Bull, and many other important authors; with Ellen Datlow she co-edited 16 volumes of the seminal Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror from 1986–2003. She’s also an author…
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Two years ago at Days of the Dead in Chicago, during a brief chat with Sean Young, the actress revealed she was just signed to do another indy horror flick following the then-recent-release of Jug Face (VOD). Of course, she also shared that she was moving to New York and having a garage sale — did I want a second-hand, 1950’s patio set for $1,500, and could we all just boycott any new iteration of Blade Runner since Ridley Scott would…
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Rich Horton continues his exploration of the Ace Double line at his website Strange at Ecbatan. His recently reviewed a pair of largely forgotten novels, Our Man in Space by Bruce Ronald, and Ultimatum in 2050 A.D. by Jack Sharkey, originally published in 1965 as Ace Double #M-117. In his opening comments, Rich highlights one of the more appealing aspects of later Ace Doubles — they remain inexpensive and easy to find. Most of the previous Ace Double reviews I’ve done feature books I’ve…
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Dave Ritzlin’s Swords of Steel anthology, published last February by DMR Books, was a popular topic here at Black Gate and elsewhere. In his review, Fletcher Vredenburghw wrote: When John O’Neill posted a few weeks ago about Swords of Steel, edited by D.M. Ritzlin, I knew I had to read it. The hook was simple: swords & sorcery stories written by members of metal bands. Tons of heavy bands — Uriah Heep, Iron Maiden, Manowar, Metallica, Megadeth, to name several…
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