Black Gate – Page 636 – Adventures in Fantasy Literature

John DeNardo on The Must-Read Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror in June

Saturday, June 18, 2016 John ONeill Comments 2 comments

Kirkus Reviews has become a lively place for SF and fantasy discussion, thanks primarily to the efforts of Andrew Liptak and John DeNardo, who have been producing weekly articles that look at the best in the genre, old and new. John has taken to doing a monthly survey of the most intriguing new titles in SF, fantasy and horror, and I find it invaluable. This month he highlights new books by Stephen King, Malka Older, Naomi Novik, Brenda Cooper, Anthony O’Neill, Charles Stross, and many others — including the first novel by acclaimed short story writer Yoon Ha Lee.

Here’s a sample of some of John’s top choices for the month.

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New Treasures: The Year’s Best Military & Adventure SF 2015, edited by David Afsharirad

Saturday, June 18, 2016 John ONeill Comments 2 comments

Last June Baen Books launched an intriguing new Best of the Year series, The Year’s Best Military SF and Space Opera, edited by David Afsharirad. It was a commercial and critical success, and I was pleased to see a second volume arrive this month. This year’s edition has a slightly tweaked title, The Year’s Best Military & Adventure SF 2015, but it’s still packed with the best military SF, space opera, and adventure SF stories from last year, culled from the top magazines and online venues. Here’s the complete Table of Contents.

Preface by David Afsharirad
Introduction by David Drake
“The Siege of Denver” by Brendan DuBois (Baen.com, December 2015)
“Save what You Can” by David Drake (Onward, Drake!)
“For the Love of Sylvia City” by Andrea M. Pawley (Clarkesworld, May 2015)
“The Wizard of the Trees” by Joe R. Lansdale (Old Venus)
“Helping Hand”by Claudine Griggs (Lightspeed, June 2015, Queers Destroy Science Fiction! Special Issue)
“Morrigan in Shadow” by Seth Dickinson (Clarkesworld, December 2015)
“Remembery Day” by Sarah Pinsker (Apex Magazine, issue 72)
“Gyre” by Brad R. Torgersen (Galaxy’s Edge, March 2015)
“Twilight on Olympus” by Eric Leif Davin (Galaxy’s Edge, March 2015)
“The Trouble with Telepaths” by Hank Davis (Onward, Drake!)
“This is the Way the Universe Ends: With a Bang” by Brian Dolton (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March/April 2015)
“The Tumbledowns of Cleopatra Abyss” by David Brin (Old Venus)

The Year’s Best Military & Adventure SF 2015 was published by Baen on June 7, 2016. It is 288 pages, priced at $16 in trade paperback and $8.99 for the digital edition. The cover is by Kurt Miller. Find all the details — and sample excerpts — at Baen.com.

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Check Out the Latest Fantasy Fiction at Tor.com

Friday, June 17, 2016 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

Okay, not technically the latest fiction, since I’m still getting caught up. Let’s say recent fiction, and leave it at that. We’ll start with “Your Orisons May Be Recorded” by Laurie Penny, a hilarious and poignant story of an angel working in call center, answering prayers. Her co-worker is a demon, and she’s not allowed to actually answer any prayers, but those aren’t her greatest concerns… far from it, as it turns out. “Your Orisons May Be Recorded” was edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden and illustrated by Yuko Shimizu (above left). It was published March 15.

Caighlan Smith’s dark fantasy “The Weather” was edited by Ann VanderMeer, and illustrated by Keith Negley (above middle). It was posted on March 23rd. Here’s the description.

In the middle of a barren wasteland, a small town goes through the motions as if nothing’s changed. Lolly has school, a part time job, a senile grandmother that needs looking after. But everything has changed, and Lolly’s always one storm away from facing that.

Finally, we have “Freedom is Space for the Spirit,” a contemporary fantasy by Glen Hirshberg. It was edited by Ellen Datlow and published on April 6, 2016, with artwork by Greg Ruth (above right).

“Freedom is Space for the Spirit” by Glen Hirshberg is a fantasy about a middle-aged German, drawn back to Russia by a mysterious invitation from a friend he knew during the wild, exuberant period in the midst of the break-up of the Soviet Union. Upon his arrival in St. Petersburg, he begins to see bears, wandering and seemingly lost.

We last covered Tor.com with Alter S. Reiss’s epic fantasy “Recalled to Service.” For more free fiction, see our recent online magazine coverage.

And In The Centre Ring: Mongo the Magnificent!

Friday, June 17, 2016 Violette Malan Comments 9 comments

Chesbro Horseman Eden I haven’t heard much about George C. Chesbro lately, and I don’t think it’s entirely because he died in 2008. Chesbro was one of those writers who are somehow just a little bit too extreme – in one way or another – to become widely popular. The people who like Chesbro’s stuff really like it, and the ones who don’t, are often left a little perplexed.

Take his most well-known, and certainly his most popular character. Robert Frederickson is a dwarf, with a genius-level IQ, a black belt in Karate, and a PhD in criminology. He’s also a retired circus headliner who went by the name “Mongo the Magnificent.” He got bored just being a college professor, so he became a licensed private investigator. Somehow, the cases he gets all seem to skew into the weird end of the spectrum. Go figure.

So, what was too much for you? The dwarf? The IQ? The PhD? The PI license? If your reaction to Mongo’s description is “oh come on! Really?” you might want to look at some of Chesbro’s other work. But if your reaction is more like mine was back in the day, “oh, this I gotta see,” then you might really enjoy a walk down Mongo’s dark streets. This is hard-boiled, even noir crime fiction the like of which you’ve never seen.

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Future Treasures: Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan

Friday, June 17, 2016 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

Michael J. Sullivan is the author of two popular adventure fantasy trilogies: Riyria Revelations (Theft of Swords, Rise of Empire, and Heir of Novron), and The Riyria Chronicles (The Crown Tower, The Rose and the Thorn, and The Death of Dulgath).

Now, in his US hardcover debut, Age of Myth, he kicks off his most ambitious project yet: a five-book epic of gods, men, and the powerful destiny that ties both together.

Since time immemorial, humans have worshiped the gods they call Fhrey, truly a race apart: invincible in battle, masters of magic, and seemingly immortal. But when a god falls to a human blade, the balance of power between men and those they thought were gods changes forever.

Now, only a few stand between humankind and annihilation: Raithe, reluctant to embrace his destiny as the God Killer. Suri, a young seer burdened by signs of impending doom. And Persephone, who must overcome personal tragedy to lead her people.

The Age of Myth is over; the time of rebellion has begun.

Age of Myth will be published by Del Rey on June 28, 2016. It is 416 pages, priced at $26 in hardcover and $12.99 for the digital edition. The eye-catching cover is by Marc Simonetti.

See all of coverage of the best upcoming fantasy here.

Science Fiction’s Unsung Hero: SFX on Perry Rhodan

Thursday, June 16, 2016 John ONeill Comments 13 comments

Two weeks ago I got a cryptic e-mail from the distinguished John DeNardo, founder and publisher of SF Signal. The whole thing read:

Just read David Barnett’s SFX article on Perry Rhodan, including quotes by you. Very cool!

Wait, what? When did I say stuff about the mighty Perry Rhodan? DeNardo, what are you talking about? John kindly elaborated in his next note:

It’s the Summer 2016 issue. I’m a digital subscriber. Screen caps attached.

The first of two double-page spreads John forwarded me is above. It’s a terrific full-color article from SFX magazine on Perry Rhodan, the long-running space opera, and it does indeed include a quote from me. I knew nothing about it. You know what that means. That’s right — there’s a science fiction magazine called SFX out there and I didn’t know about it. What the hell, world?

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Mighty Pirate Kingdoms, Weather Wizards, and Quarrelsome Ghosts: Sarah Avery’s The Imlen Brat

Thursday, June 16, 2016 John ONeill Comments 8 comments

To me, The Imlen Brat will always be the story that got away.

After I bought “The War of the Wheat Berry Year” from Sarah Avery (it appeared in Black Gate 15), I begged her to send me something new. She responded in spectacular fashion, with a dynamite novella called “The Imlen Bastard.” It was a marvelous tale of mighty pirate kingdoms, weather wizards, quarrelsome ghosts, secret magics, and deadly court intrigue, all seen through the eyes of an adopted daughter in an enemy royal house. I told Sarah I wanted to buy it, and happily set the wheels in motion to publish it.

Alas, it was not to be. BG 15 was our final issue, and I was forced to return all the fiction I was holding for future issues — including “The Imlen Bastard.” Scarcely three years later, Sarah won the Mythopoeic Award for her first book, Tales from Rugosa Coven, and the world finally began to realize that Sarah was a major new talent. Her successful Kickstarter to self-publish the novella wrapped up late last year (see her blog post about it all, “Kickstarting a Belated Black Gate Story: The Imlen Bastard“), and the book, now known as The Imlen Brat, is inching closer to release. Last month Sarah shared the gorgeous final cover design (above), saying:

This morning the book designers sent me a proof of the cover design, and it looks like just the kind of book I’d pick up if I saw it on the bookstore shelf… As a thank-you for email list subscribers, I’m offering a free short story ebook, a spin-off about Stisele, the heroine of The Imlen Brat. For at least the next three years, this story will be available only to my list subscribers.

The Imlen Brat will be released later this summer. The cover art is by Kate Baylay, and the cover was designed by designforwriters.com. Click on the image above for a bigger version, and subscribe to Sarah’s e-mail list here to get the free 9,000-word story, “The Enemy in Snowmelt Season.”

Prowling and Howling Through the Moonlit Forests of Lycanthropia: Thomas McNulty’s Werewolves!

Wednesday, June 15, 2016 Joe Bonadonna Comments 1 comment

Werewolves! A Study of Lycanthropes in Film, Folklore and Literature-small

Werewolves! A Study of Lycanthropes in Film, Folklore and Literature-back-small

Werewolves! A Study of Lycanthropes in Film, Folklore and Literature
By Thomas McNulty.
BearManor Media (215 pages, including Notes and Sources, Selected Werewolf Filmography, Bibliography, and Index; $19.95 in trade paperback, November 17, 2011)

Thomas McNulty’s Werewolves! is an insightful, informative and scholarly look at the legend and cinestory (film history) of werewolves. Now, I consider myself a pretty fair hand when it comes to all things “lycanthropic,” but McNulty has me beat by a mile. I learned about films I’d never heard of before, such as The Werewolf, a lost 1913 silent film; 1995’s Huntress: Spirit of the Night; and 2003’s Dark Wolf (which I have finally viewed and highly recommend.)

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Vintage Treasures: The Best of Clifford D. Simak, edited by Angus Wells

Wednesday, June 15, 2016 John ONeill Comments 6 comments

Clifford D. Simak has been experiencing something of a renaissance recently, thanks chiefly to David W. Wixon, editor of the six-volume Complete Short Fiction of Clifford D. Simak from Open Road Media. That’s a delightful series, and it makes Simak’s previous collections largely superfluous. But nonetheless, I still find myself compelled to track down the last few missing titles to complete my Simak collection.

Right now, the most elusive is The Best of Clifford D. Simak, edited by Angus Wells. It was published in paperback by Sphere in 1975 with a knockout wraparound cover by Eddie Jones.

Simak had two Best Of collections in the US, Best Science Fiction Stories of Clifford D. Simak (Paperback Library, 1972) and Skirmish: The Great Short Fiction of Clifford D. Simak (Berkley, 1978). Those contain the classic tales you’d generally expect, including “Huddling Place,” “The Ghost of a Model T,” “All the Traps of Earth,” “Skirmish,” and his masterpiece “The Big Front Yard.”

Angus Wells’ The Best of Clifford D. Simak is a different beast. It skips all the stories I mentioned above, and contains instead an eclectic mix of stories, including a handful of his early pulp tales and two Hugo nominees, “The Thing in the Stone” and “The Autumn Land.” Needless to say, it’s highly prized among Simak collections — yours truly included.

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The Digest Enthusiast #4 Now Available

Wednesday, June 15, 2016 John ONeill Comments 3 comments

The Digest Enthusiast is fast becoming one of my favorite magazines.

Yeah, maybe that’s because I’m an obsessive collector of digest magazines, so finding a publication devoted to my special interests makes me feel all tingly. But seriously, this magazine is a fun read, cover to cover.

Take for example Steve Carper’s excellent article on The Galaxy Science Fiction Novels, 31 SF novels published in magazine format between 1950-1958 and edited by Galaxy‘s legendary editor H.L. Gold. I bought a story from Steve Carper, “Pity the Poor Dybukk,” which appeared in Black Gate 2, and it’s great to be reading him again. In less skilled hands this article might be nothing more than a dry recitation of facts and publishing dates (not that I wouldn’t find that thrilling, mind you), but Steve greatly livens up the proceedings with fascinating and highly informed commentary on the novels Gold chose, and the often surprising history behind them. Here’s a taste.

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