Black Gate – Page 582 – Adventures in Fantasy Literature

Galaxy Science Fiction, August 1953: A Retro-Review

Monday, January 2, 2017 Matthew Wuertz Comments 1 comment

The August 1953 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction has an intriguing cover titled “Dome Repairs on Mars” by Mel Hunter. But the cover is just the start of the fun…

“Mind Alone” by J. T. M’Intosh — Muriel Martin doesn’t know who she really is or that she came from the planet Murrane. She’d found out too much about the purpose of the war between Earth and Murrane, but instead of killing her, they wiped her memories and dropped her on Venus.

Though her past is erased, Muriel’s intelligence and curiosity remain. And given enough time, she’s formidable enough to discover those secrets again

This story was really good in a lot of ways. Except that I couldn’t quite buy the romantic tie-in. It seems to be a pattern in these older issues that if there’s a young woman and young man, they will inevitably have a romantic relationship, no matter how forced it might seem. There’s some degree of realism in that kind of premise, I suppose, but I’d also like to see characters who, for whatever reason, are fine with not dating anyone. And I think Muriel would have been a much stronger character if she was solely focused on her own agenda.

“We’re Civilized!” by Mark Clifton and Alex Apostolides — Humans arrive on Mars to claim it for their own. Captain Griswold, who tends to be of a conquering mindset, allows for the possibility of sentient life. If their scientist, Mr. Berkeley, can prove the existence of a civilization, Griswold is prepared to leave. After all, the last thing he wants is to become another villain in history. Well, maybe it’s not quite the last thing.

…

Read More Read More

The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes: George Mann’s Holmes

Monday, January 2, 2017 Bob Byrne Comments 0 Comment

Last week I wrote about two Titan Books novels from James Lovegrove. I mentioned that there are two distinct lines of Holmes pastiches from Titan (actually, there are other books that don’t fall in either category, such as Kareem Abdul Jabaar’s Mycroft Holmes novel). The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes started as reprints and added new books into the mix and are generally more traditional stories.

The other features more elements of horror, steampunk and/or the supernatural and George Mann’s two novels are part of this line. He has also edited three anthologies for Titan, including a neat little book called The Associates of Sherlock Holmes.

Associates includes thirteen stories; all focusing on a character found in one of Doyle’s sixty original Holmes tales. It’s a neat idea and there are some interesting and creative stories in the mix. The aforementioned Lovegrove’s “Pure Swank” tells us the real story about Barker, Holmes’ ‘hated rival upon the Surrey shore,’ going back to when he was an Irregular.

Hugo Award winner Tim Pratt’s “Heavy Game of the Pacific Northwest” takes Colonel Sebastian Moran to the state of Washington in 1892 to hunt what seems to be Big Foot. It’s a good hunting story that paints quite a portrait of the amoral Moran.

Ian Edington’s “The Case of the Previous Tenant” brings the best of the official force, Surry’s Inspector Baynes, to London. A Viking sword and some borrowing from “The Devil’s Foot” make for a fun read.

…

Read More Read More

The Poison Apple: Interview with a Brooklyn Vampire

Sunday, January 1, 2017 Elizabeth Crowens Comments 2 comments

Steven Van Patten from That Metal Show

For our next “victim” of the new Black Gate column, The Poison Apple, I’d like to introduce Steven Van Patten. Steven is a member of the Horror Writer’s Association and when vampires are supposed to be sleeping, he works as a TV show stage manager. In the past he’s worked on shows such as MTV’s Total Request Live, The Dr. Oz Show, Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell and The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. He straddles two extremes of a busy lifestyle but still manages to write about topics that are underexplored in the speculative fiction realm. He’s written the Brookwater’s Curse series, Rudy’s Night Out, a children’s vampire story, and Killer Genius: She Kills Because She Cares, which was nominated for the African-American Literary Show Award.

Crowens: What got you into vampires?

SVP: As a little kid and an only child, often I had to entertain myself. Back in the day, that included Chiller Theater and being inspired by movies with Christopher Lee. When Blacula was released, that stuck with me as a strong, dominant character but in a sea of stereotypical nonsense in a Blaxploitation flick. As I got older, I started getting annoyed as to what happened to the brothers in a horror movie — they were dead before the credits rolled and characters were underdeveloped.

…

Read More Read More

Interzone #267 Now on Sale

Sunday, January 1, 2017 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

The November–December issue of Britain’s longest running science fiction and fantasy magazine has reached bookstores here in Illinois, which means it’s probably available everywhere. This month has a terrific cover by 2016 cover artist Vincent Sammy (with an evocative title, “The Orion Crusades: Infection” — click the image at right for a bigger version) and new fiction by Harmony Neal, Ryan Row, Sarah Brooks, Rich Larson, Samantha Henderson, and David Cleden. There’s also a feature by Martin McGrath on the James White Award; David Langford’s Ansible Link, film reviews by Nick Lowe; DVD/Blu-ray reviews by Tony Lee; book reviews, an interview with Chris Becket, and columns by Jonathan McCalmont and Nina Allan.

Kevin P Hallett, writing at Tangent Online, particularly liked “My Generations Shall Praise” by Samantha Henderson.

A death-row inmate gets an offer from a rich, but dying, cousin. The cousin wants to have her own mind, her memories and behaviors, mapped onto the inmate’s mind – effectively replacing the death-row inmate’s mind. In return, the rich cousin will set up a trust for the inmate’s daughter and future grandchild.

At first, the inmate sees no reason to ‘die’ any sooner. But after a few days to think it over, she decides that maybe she can hold onto a part of her mind. So she agrees and signs the contract.

With just days to live, the inmate has second thoughts. She puts herself in her cousin’s place and realizes she will use her daughter and future generations to live forever. She can keep breeding new vessels to transfer her mind into. As a death-row inmate she cannot escape the mind swap. Can she find another way to stop her cousin using her future generations?

And “You Make Pattaya” by Rich Larson.

…

Read More Read More

Kirkus Selects the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2016

Sunday, January 1, 2017 John ONeill Comments 2 comments

We continue our tour through the more reputable Best of the Year lists. Today’s stop: Kirkus Reviews, with their slideshow celebrating the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2016.

This is a much more selective list than most (a scant 10 titles), but it’s still a nice mix of repeats from other lists, and fresh names. It includes books by Charlie Jane Anders, Cixin Liu, Malka Older, Michael Swanwick, Brian Staveley, Yoss, and N.K. Jemisin. It calls out excellent titles such as Peter Hamilton’s latest Commonwealth novel A Night Without Stars (Del Rey, September).

Hamilton’s latest (a relatively slender 704 pages) brings to a furious boil the two-book saga (The Abyss Beyond Dreams, 2014) describing human colony planet Bienvenido’s unremitting battle against the hostile alien Fallers. Read full book review

And Patricia A. McKillip’s Kingfisher (Ace, February)

A delicately wrought, twinkle-eyed fantasy from the accomplished author of The Bards of Bone Plain (2010, etc). Read full book review

…

Read More Read More

Modular: Why Salt and Sanctuary is Making Me Salty

Sunday, January 1, 2017 Josh Bycer Comments 0 Comment

Salt and Sanctuary is the latest PS4/Windows game from developer Ska Studios, who have made a name for themselves with their unique aesthetics. Staying true to their 2D roots, the game feels like a 2D Souls-like.

However, while the game may or may not have been intended to be compared to the Souls series (Dark Souls, Bloodborne, etc), the game misses the mark on what makes those games so amazing.

A Sea Journey

The game begins with you escorting a princess to an important meeting to bring about peace. Of course the ship gets attacked, and you find yourself washed up on the shore of a mysterious island with everything trying to kill you.

…

Read More Read More

Future Treasures: Martians Abroad by Carrie Vaughn

Saturday, December 31, 2016 John ONeill Comments 2 comments

At the World Science Fiction convention in Kansas City back in August, I had a delightful dinner with Carrie Vaughn and attended her reading. She read from her upcoming novel Martians Abroad, the tale of a young girl visiting Earth for the first time who becomes caught up in interplanetary intrigue.

I make it a point to attend as many readings as I can at conventions, and Worldcon was no exception. I lost count of how many fine readings I sat through, and most of them I’ve forgotten already. But Carrie’s book has stayed with me. It was without question the best reading of the convention, and Martians Abroad is the novel I’m most looking forward to in 2017.

Polly Newton has one single-minded dream, to be a starship pilot and travel the galaxy. Her mother, the Director of the Mars Colony, derails Polly’s plans when she sends Polly and her genius twin brother, Charles, to Galileo Academy on Earth.

Homesick and cut off from her plans for her future, Polly cannot seem to fit into life on Earth. Strange, unexplained, dangerous coincidences centered on their high-profile classmates begin piling up. Charles may be right ― there’s more going on than would appear, and the stakes are high. With the help of Charles, Polly is determined to find the truth, no matter the cost.

Carrie Vaughn is best known for her bestselling Kitty Norville series, but she’s also the author of the superhero novels After the Golden Age and Dreams of the Golden Age, fantasy novel Discord’s Apple, and the collection Amaryllis and Other Stories. Her post-apocalyptic murder mystery Bannerless is coming in July from John Joseph Adams Books. This is her science fiction debut.

Martians Abroad will be published by Tor Books on January 17, 2017. It is 288 pages, priced at $24.99 in hardcover and $11.99 in digital formats. Read the first chapter at Tor.com.

Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog Selects the Best Collections and Anthologies of 2016

Saturday, December 31, 2016 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

a-natural-history-of-hell-jeffrey-ford-small

One of the reasons I love the B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog? Because they split up their Best of the Year selections into multiple lists. Why would anyone do that? To cram in more books! Duh.

Their second such list this year is The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Collections and Anthologies of 2016, selected by their editors and jotted down for us by Joel Cunningham. It includes books by Ken Liu, Patricia A. McKillip, Joe Abercrombie, Brandon Sanderson, Greg Bear, Eleanor Arnason, Gardner Dozois, Michael Swanwick, and many more. Titles such as Slipping: Stories, Essays, and Other Writing, by Lauren Beukes (Tachyon Publications, November).

In two lean, lethal sci-fi novels and two murderous, fantasy-tinged mainstream thrillers, Lauren Beukes has become one of the most exciting voices in genre writing to emerge over the last decade. Now, she’s released her first collection of short fiction, she brings the same verve for black humor, sharp satire, and mind-altering tech to stories of living artwork attacking Tokyo, corporate raids on other worlds, tears that mysteriously fall upward, and near-future marketing schemes in which brand loyalty becomes entirely literal. Standout stories: “Unathi Battles the Black Hairballs,” “Ghost Girl”

And there’s a fine shout-out for A Natural History of Hell (Small Beer Press, July), by Black Gate author Jeffrey Ford.

…

Read More Read More

Fantasy Scroll Magazine on Hiatus

Saturday, December 31, 2016 John ONeill Comments 8 comments

Fantasy Scroll Magazine has not published an issue since June of this year. Normally that wouldn’t concern me (Black Gate chugged along merrily for years publishing roughly one issue per year), but Fantasy Scroll has had a nearly flawless bi-monthly schedule since it first appeared in April 2014.

So I reached out to publisher Iulian Ionescu this week to find our what’s up. Here’s what he told me.

As months went by and life got more and more complex (new jobs, kids in new school, etc.) it seemed unfair to put out the magazine without 100% energy put into it. I’d rather not go on if I can’t produce the level of quality I set my mind to. So, I put the magazine on temporary hiatus hoping that I can turn it back up at some point.

I can’t guarantee when this will be and in the meantime I am releasing first rights back to all authors that have been accepted and not yet published. I sure hope that sometime in the future I will be able to produce the Year 2 anthology because that was a year packed with great stories!

I’m bummed to hear that. Fantasy Scroll is a fine magazine; in the last two years it published original fantasy from Sarah Avery, Ken Liu, Robert Reed, James Van Pelt, Piers Anthony, Laurie Tom, Charles Payseur, and many others. They were especially friendly to new and emerging authors, and the magazine was an excellent place to discover intriguing new writers. Their non-fiction was also enjoyable, and the TOC for each issue was typically packed with interviews, book reviews, science articles, artist spotlights, and film reviews. Their Year One anthology, Dragons, Droids and Doom, was published in November 2015.

Fantasy Scroll Magazine appeared exclusively online and was edited by Iulian Ionescu, Frederick Doot, and Alexandra Zamorski. The last issue was #13; see the complete contents of the final issue here. We last covered the magazine with issue 12.

Pellucidar on Screen: At the Earth’s Core … The Movie

Saturday, December 31, 2016 Ryan Harvey Comments 16 comments

Few of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s books offer as much promise to modern filmmakers as At the Earth’s Core. The inner world of Pellucidar is vast and strange, and the potential to craft astonishing vistas from this concave land with a sun that never moves is immense. Plus, the tyrannical Mahars are ideally suited for realization as complex creatures using mo-cap.

However, nobody appears to be working on an At the Earth’s Core movie at the moment. For shame. We have to settle for a movie made in the last glory days of low-budget SF spectacle, before the advent of Star Wars. That shining era when rubber monsters, matte paintings, and Doug McClure ruled fantasy cinema.

The 1976 At the Earth’s Core isn’t a bad way to settle. For those who grew up with it, the movie still holds a special charm because of its colorful spectacle and practical effects. It had to sacrifice some of the fascinating parts of the setting of Pellucidar because of budget limitations, but it’s an accurate rendition of Burroughs’s plot.

At the Earth’s Core is second of a trio of mid-‘70s ERB adaptations from the team of producer John Dark and director Kevin Connor for Amicus Productions and American-International Pictures. The first and third films are a split adaptation of the novel The Land That Time Forgot, The Land That Time Forgot (1975) and The People That Time Forgot (1977). Dark and Connor produced two more fantasy films afterward, the ERB-esque Warlords of Atlantis (1978), made after they realized it was too expensive to mount a John Carter movie; and the mostly forgotten Arabian Adventure (1979).

Although I’m about to say many admiring things about At the Earth’s Core, it’s my least favorite of the Amicus-AIP Burroughs movies. The director shares my opinion: Kevin Connor has called the movie “clunky” compared to the other two, and it’s easy to see what he means in the studio-bound confines and the more awkward pacing and plotting. But it’s by no means a bad film, and when I place it a notch below The Land That Time Forgot and The People That Time Forgot, that isn’t a harsh slam. The special appeal of this vanished era of imaginative filmmaking is hard to resist.

…

Read More Read More