Black Gate – Page 642 – Adventures in Fantasy Literature

June Analog Now on Sale

Sunday, June 5, 2016 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

I know I said last time that I’d limit myself to covering issues of Analog that have dinosaurs on the cover. But Bob Eggleton’s cover for the June issue is so good I made an exception (click the image at right for a super-big version. You’re welcome.)

To be honest, I kinda gave up on Analog during the Stanley Schmidt era. The science was great, but the fiction just didn’t cut it for me. And since he was the longest-serving editor in the magazine’s history (34 long years, from 1978 to 2012), that’s virtually all of my adult life. I want to like Analog, I really do, but at this point it’s kinda like trying to date the girl who kissed you on the playground in Junior High… the memories are magical, but there’s been a lot of years, and a whole lotta great kisses, between then and now.

But I hear good things about the new editor, Trevor Quachri. Promising things. And Quachri sure knows how to pique my interest with his issue summaries. Here’s his enticing words for the June issue.

It’s rare that we’ll pick a later installment in a series to be the lead in an issue, but when the story is as good as Michael F. Flynn’s “The Journeyman: In the Great North Wood,” we make an exception. As the title suggests, we find Teodorq sunna Nagarajan in the Great North Woods, where he and his compatriots are roped into protecting a team of proto-archeologists, but of course, there’s more going on than anyone expects or understands. (And as ever, the story rewards close reading.)

We also have part two of Edward M. Lerner’s time travel fact piece, “Here we go Loopedy Loop,” as well as a story about time travel, Bill Johnson’s “When the Stone Eagle Flies”; and a story about, well, the opposite of time travel, in Marie Vibbert’s “Hold the Moment”; as well as Christopher L. Bennett’s tale of “Murder on the CisLunar Railroad”; Jay Werkheiser’s “The Anthropic War”; J.T. Sharrah’s tongue-in-cheek (but not entirely unrealistic) “The Nult Factor”; and Brandon Ghislain’s take on the dangers of taking some proverbs too literally in “That Which Grows on Trees.”

There’s a Bill Johnson story? I love Bill Johnson! We shared an office at Motorola about a hundred years ago, around the time he won a Hugo for his magnificent tale “We Will Drink a Fish Together.” I even bought a novella from him, “Mama Told Me Not to Come,” which I published in Black Gate 4. Okay, if Bill Johnson is back in Analog, things are definitely looking up.

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Read the Best of Matthew David Surridge in Once Only Imagined: Collected Reviews, Vol II

Sunday, June 5, 2016 John ONeill Comments 1 comment

Matthew David Surridge is Black Gate‘s most successful blogger, both in terms of critical and popular success (his post “A Detailed Explanation,” on why he declined a Hugo nomination last year, is the most popular article in our history). He’s also one of our most prolific, with 270 articles to his credit, and he’s had more reprinted than anyone else on our staff. Of course, that’s mostly due to last year’s Reading Strange Matters, which collected 24 of his posts, chiefly focusing on 21st Century writers.

Reading Strange Matters was successful enough to encourage his publishers to produce a second volume, Once Only Imagined, released last week. It collects another 30 articles, with a slightly different focus than last year’s book. Matthew is our sure-footed guide to the true origins of modern fantasy, tracing them through the twisted maze of late 20th Century publishing to the nearly-forgotten fantasy masters of the era. Here’s Matthew, from his introduction.

My first collection of essays about fantasy fiction, Reading Strange Matters, looked at books from the twenty-first century. This second one moves back in time, to the second half of the twentieth… There was a revival of sword-and-sorcery adventure fiction at about this time, relatively short novels focused on plot, action, and violence. And Ballantine Books reprinted several pre-Tolkien fantasies under the editorship of writer and fan Lin Carter. But many of the fantasy novels published in the 1960s and 1970s had a veneer of science fiction about them — their setting explained as another planet (as in the case of Andre Norton’s Witch World and Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series), or their magic explained as pseudo-scientific psionic powers (as in Katherine Kurtz’ Deryni series).

1977 is usually cited as the year when everything changed, with the publication of Terry Brooks’ The Sword of Shannara and Stephen R. Donaldson’s Lord Foul’s Bane ushering in a new age of commercial fantasy fiction. This ignores several important predecessors, I feel, not only Norton, McCaffrey, and Kurtz, but also Patricia McKillip, whose The Riddle-Master of Hed came out in 1976. I think the form that eventually developed for commercial fantasy was shaped in part by these books… Writers like Raymond Feist and David and Leigh Eddings (the first few of whose books were published under David Eddings’ name alone) soon had popular series as well…

Still, it’d be wrong to think of the fantasy genre of the 1980s as populated entirely by Tolkien knock-offs. Some writers were trying to do new things, and some idiosyncratic books were published as the genre developed. Writers like Glen Cook, with his Black Company series, challenged the new conventions with gritty stories set in a pseudo-medieval world but told in a very modern tone.

Matthew’s knowledge of fantasy is breathtaking, and his deep insights into the evolution of the genre — and many of its greatest and most neglected works — are profoundly illuminating. At $3 for the digital edition, it’s the best purchase you’ll make all year.

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Future Treasures: Steeplejack by A. J. Hartley

Sunday, June 5, 2016 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

In his author bio, A. J. Hartley says he writes “fantasy adventures of the swords and sorcery variety (albeit from the slightly unusual perspective of a smart-mouthed young actor called Will Hawthorne).” That includes Act of Will (2009) and Will Power (2010), both available in paperback from Dystel & Goderich.

His latest is the first installment of a new young adult fantasy series set in an industrial city in a country reminiscent of Victorian South Africa. It arrives in hardcover from Tor next week.

Seventeen-year-old Anglet Sutonga lives repairing the chimneys, towers, and spires of the city of Bar-Selehm. Dramatically different communities live and work alongside each other. The white Feldish command the nation’s higher echelons of society. The native Mahweni are divided between city life and the savannah. And then there’s Ang, part of the Lani community who immigrated over generations ago as servants and now mostly live in poverty on Bar-Selehm’s edges.

When Ang is supposed to meet her new apprentice Berrit, she instead finds him dead. That same night, the Beacon, an invaluable historical icon, is stolen. The Beacon’s theft commands the headlines, yet no one seems to care about Berrit’s murder―except for Josiah Willinghouse, an enigmatic young politician. When he offers her a job investigating his death, she plunges headlong into new and unexpected dangers.

Meanwhile, crowds gather in protests over the city’s mounting troubles. Rumors surrounding the Beacon’s theft grow. More suspicious deaths occur. With no one to help Ang except Josiah’s haughty younger sister, a savvy newspaper girl, and a kindhearted herder, Ang must rely on her intellect and strength to resolve the mysterious link between Berrit and the missing Beacon before the city descends into chaos.

Steeplejack will be published by Tor Books on June 14, 2016. It is 336 pages, priced at $17.99 in hardcover and $9.99 for the digital edition. The cover is by Mike Heath.

Build Your Very Own Fantasy Empire With Asmodee’s Hyperborea

Saturday, June 4, 2016 John ONeill Comments 10 comments

I have a certain fondness for epic fantasy games. You know the ones I’m talking about. The kind where you build vast armies, dress them up in matching clothes, and scooch them around, crushing civilizations.

I also have a fondness for saving money. And where these two interests intersect, I find a lot of personal joy. So recently I’ve been hunting up game bargains online, especially on Amazon, which has deep discounts on a number of fantasy boardgames. Why they do, I dunno. I don’t question it. I just give them my money, and get fabulous shinkwrapped treasures in return.

My most recent acquisition is Asmodee’s game of epic fantasy conquest, Hyperborea, which multiple online sellers are offering for about 60% off. It’s a 2–6 player board game that challenges players to build their mythical nation into the greatest empire in history. You do that by capturing land, defeating imposing monsters, exploiting strange technologies and magics, and building mighty armies. That you scooch around the map, crushing civilizations.

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Rebirth: DC’s Corrective Reboot

Saturday, June 4, 2016 Derek Kunsken Comments 5 comments

The last time I blogged about a reboot, the word may have given people hives. But don’t reach for your anti-histamines yet. Well… keep them handy. Your reboot allergic reaction may not be triggered by a Corrective Reboot.

What the heck’s a corrective reboot? Well, it’s like corrective lenses.

I reviewed comics for weeklycomicbookreview.com from 2008-2010. I covered mostly DC, with a fair chunk of Dynamite (I love me my John Carter of Mars, The Lone Ranger, and Kato). I read Superman and Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, but my favorite DC titles seemed to be Red Robin (Tim Drake), Batgirl (Stephanie Brown, mentored by Barbaba Gordon AKA Oracle) and Dick Grayson as Batman. I guess, looking back, I like it when sidekicks make good.

Shortly after I stopped reviewing, DC did a reboot called The New 52. Some of the continuity was preserved, but some wasn’t. As… counter-intuitive as that sounds, the result was that about ten years was shaved off of all the DCU and we lost some sidekicks and some relationships.

For example, prior to the New 52 reboot, enough time had passed for four Robins to have swung about in scaled Underoos (Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake and Damian Wayne). And of course, many of the DCU’s greatest buddy relationships (or romantic ones, in the case of Green Arrow and Black Canary) had time to form.

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New Treasures: Xenowealth by Tobias S. Buckell

Saturday, June 4, 2016 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

I wasn’t actually aware that so many of Tobias S. Buckell’s acclaimed novels took place in the same universe until I stumbled on a copy of his collection Xenowealth. That kind of put it all together for me. His Locus-Award nominated first novel Crystal Rain (2006), his Nebula nominee Ragamuffin (2007), Sly Mongoose (2008), and his self-published The Apocalypse Ocean (2012) are all part of a series called The Benevolent Satrapy Universe… also know as the Xenowealth novels.

The Xenowealth novels have been widely acclaimed as high concept space opera, and this collection gathers tales featuring the same setting and characters… including “Manumission,” the origin story of Pepper, the dread-locked baddass from Crystal Rain and Ragamuffin, “Placa del Fuego,” an extended excerpt from the last novel, Apocalypse Ocean, two new stories written just for this collection, and many others.

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Blogging The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer, Part Eight – “Andaman — Second!”

Saturday, June 4, 2016 William Patrick Maynard Comments 3 comments

NOTE: The following article was first published on June 6, 2010. Thank you to John O’Neill for agreeing to reprint these early articles so they are archived at Black Gate which has been my home for nearly 6 years and 270 articles now. Thank you to Deuce Richardson without whom I never would have found my way. Minor editorial changes have been made in some cases to the original text.

“Andaman — Second!” was the seventh installment of Sax Rohmer’s serial, Fu-Manchu first published in The Story-Teller in April 1913. The story would later comprise Chapters 18-20 of the novel, The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu (originally re-titled The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu for U.S. publication). Rohmer returned the series to its Holmesian roots by mining Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans” for inspiration. Conan Doyle’s case concerns stolen submarine plans taken from Cadogan West while Rohmer’s story involves stolen aero-torpedo plans taken from Norris West. “The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans” was published in 1912, just a few months before Rohmer wrote “Andaman — Second!” and shows that Sherlock Holmes was still very much a model for the Fu-Manchu series at this early stage.

The story starts out with Dr. Petrie in the final throes of fighting his feelings for Karamaneh. He tries telling himself that slavery in the 20th Century is an impossibility, but he cannot doubt Karamaneh’s account of her tragic life of bondage and enforced servitude. Try as he might to convince himself that she is too foreign to his values and culture and that she has been jaded and corrupted by her life and experiences, he cannot deny his heart. The reader’s expectation at this point is that Rohmer will bring the two lovers together once Petrie wins her freedom from Dr. Fu-Manchu. Of course, it is worth remembering that Rohmer delights in breaking with tradition. Happy Endings are never assured in his fiction.

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The Most Successful Anthology of 2015: Meeting Infinity, edited by Jonathan Strahan

Friday, June 3, 2016 John ONeill Comments 5 comments

It’s beginning to look as if Jonathan Strahan’s Meeting Infinity is the most successful SF anthology of 2015… at least if you use story reprints as your yardstick (which I kinda do).

Let’s examine the evidence. Rich Horton reprinted two stories from Meeting Infinity for his Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy:

“My Last Bringback” by John Barnes
“Drones” by Simon Ings

Neil Clarke reprinted a whopping four for his Best Science Fiction of the Year, Volume 1, more than any other source except Asimov’s SF. Of course, they were a different four.

“In Blue Lily’s Wake” by Aliette de Bodard
“Outsider” by An Owomeyla
“Cocoons” by Nancy Kress
“The Cold Inequalities” by Yoon Ha Lee

Meanwhile Gardner Dozois picked a completely different set of three tales, for the upcoming 33rd volume of his Year’s Best Science Fiction

“The Falls: A Luna Story,” by Ian McDonald
“Emergence,” by Gwyneth Jones
“Rates of Change,” by James S.A. Corey

That’s a darned impressive hit rate… over 50% of the Table of Contents selected for Best of the Year volumes. I’m sure there’s an historical precedent if you look hard enough, but I can’t remember one. And I tried.

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May/June Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction Now on Sale

Friday, June 3, 2016 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

The cover story in the May/June issue of F&SF is Ted Kosmatka’s cave man tale “The Stone War.” Kevin P Hallett reviews it at Tangent Online, saying:

This novelette length fantasy reveals a world where a stone man lives with total indifference to the people passing through. The one brutal truth is that he kills anyone who directly or indirectly attacks him. At first, the consequences seem unimportant and localized. Until a king determines to find a way to use the stone man as a weapon to forward his desire for conquest. However, that proves to be much more of a challenge than he imagined. An interesting new look at what deterrent means and trying to curb our impulse to grow at the expense of others… well-written and engaging.

In fact, Kevin seems to like a lot of the May/June issue. Here he is on Albert E. Cowdrey’s “Steamboat Gothic.”

A horror mystery about a Louisiana sheriff investigating the gruesome murder of a film crew. Sheriff Chew has his own agenda that blurs the lines around justice, using fake evidence to pin the crime of someone who deserved to be jailed – a Deep Southern view. However, the real criminal turns out to be someone even the sheriff didn’t imagine. Cowdrey’s style quickly pulls the reader into the story, getting them invested in the characters and storyline. An enjoyable story to be sure.

The cover is by Max Bertolini. Here’s the complete Table of Contents.

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The Omnibus Volumes of C.J. Cherryh, Part IV: The Complete Morgaine

Friday, June 3, 2016 John ONeill Comments 4 comments

Last year, in my series on The Omnibus Volumes of C.J. Cherryh, I mentioned The Morgaine Saga, a collection of the first three novels in her classic sword-and-sorcery series. That’s a fine book, but there are two problems with it. One, it doesn’t include the final novel, Exile’s Gate, and two, it’s been out of print for over a frickin’ decade.

Ah well… I guess when you’re a vintage paperback collector, you shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. The Morgaine Saga was a terrific book, and collectors were glad to get it (when we could find it). Gate of Ivrel, Cherryh’s first novel, and the first book in the series, was a breakout book for her. She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer the year after it appeared, and it helped launch her entire career (for the intimate details of her start in the business, watch CJ’s talk at 2016 the Nebula Awards last month.)

In honor of CJ’s Grand Master at the Nebula’s, DAW gave out samples of her work to all the attendees. And I was surprised and delighted to find a copy of The Complete Morgaine among the giveaways. Published in trade paperback last year, it contains all four books for the first time in a single volume:

Gate of Ivrel (1976)
Well of Shiuan (1978)
Fires of Azeroth (1979)
Exile’s Gate (1988)

I guess it’s true what they say… good things come to he who waits. The Complete Morgaine was published in September 2015 by DAW Books. It is 816 pages, priced at $20, with a cover by Michael Whelan. It also contains an introduction by Andre Norton. We previously surveyed The Omnibus Volumes of C.J. Cherryh (and there’s more than you think): Part I, Part II, and Part III.