Black Gate – Page 702 – Adventures in Fantasy Literature

A Concentrated Dose of the Best Our Field Has to Offer: Jonathan Strahan’s Best Short Novels 2004-2007

Saturday, January 9, 2016 John ONeill Comments 4 comments

Jonathan Strahan is one of the most accomplished and acclaimed editors in the genre. He’s edited the annual Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year since 2007, as well as some of our most highly regarded original anthologies — including the Infinity series (Engineering Infinity, Edge of Infinity, etc) and the Fearsome books (Fearsome Journeys and Fearsome Magics), all for Solaris. He’s also edited (with Terry Dowling) one of my favorite ongoing series, the five volumes in the monumental Early Jack Vance from Subterranean Press.

But the work that truly made me a Strahan fan was a brief (four volume) series he did exclusively for the Science Fiction Book Club, Best Short Novels. I’d been a member of the SFBC since the age of twelve but, after leaving Canada for grad school in 1987 and moving around after that, I’d let my membership lapse. I received plenty of invites to rejoin after settling here in St. Charles, but it was Strahan’s first volume in the series, Best Short Novels: 2004, that finally enticed me to do it. I’ve never regretted it.

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Future Treasures: A Gathering of Shadows, Book 2 of A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Saturday, January 9, 2016 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

V.E. Schwab made a considerable splash with her first book from Tor, the superhero tale Vicious, which Matthew David Surridge called “a well-paced and sharply-structured novel” in his BG review. She began an ambitious two-volume series with A Darker Shade of Magic, published last year by Tor. The second and concluding volume, A Gathering of Shadows, arrives in hardcover next month.

A Darker Shade of Magic introduced us to Kell, a magician and ambassador who travels between parallel Londons, carrying royal correspondence between universes. He’s also a smuggler. When a thief named Delilah Bard robs him, and then saves him from a nasty fate, the two find themselves on the run, jumping between worlds. As the second volume begins, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events… as strange things begin to emerge from Black London, the place of which no one speaks.

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Discovering Robert E. Howard: Howard Andrew Jones and Bill Ward Re-Read “Beyond the Black River”

Saturday, January 9, 2016 John ONeill Comments 2 comments

Howard Andrew Jones and Bill Ward continue their re-read of The Conquering Sword of Conan by Robert E. Howard, the third omnibus volume collecting the complete tales of Conan, with “one of the most famous Conan stories of all,” and one of the last, “Beyond the Black River.” It was originally published in in the May-June 1935 issue of Weird Tales.

“Barbarism is the natural state of mankind,” the borderer said, still starring somberly at the Cimmerian. “Civilization is unnatural. It is the whim of circumstance. And barbarism must ultimately triumph.”

Bill: So concludes “Beyond the Black River,” a story that might almost be REH’s thesis on his philosophy of civilization. It is a story that introduces new elements to Conan’s world, demonstrating again how flexible and expandable REH’s Hyborian blueprint was even after sixteen complete short (and not so short) stories and a novel. But it also maintains a continuity with what has come before, giving us perilous adventure with supernatural antagonists and, of course, Conan being Conan.

Howard: I think it builds nicely on what we’ve seen before. As it happens, though, it’s not exactly a great introduction to Conan himself, or even the Hyborian Age… It’s very different from the preceding Conan stories, feeling very much like a tale of Indian warfare, and Conan himself, while busy doing incredible things, is almost a secondary character.

Read the complete exchange here.

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Vintage Treasures: The Compleat Enchanter by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt

Friday, January 8, 2016 John ONeill Comments 9 comments

I’ve been on something of a Fletcher Pratt kick recently, ever since I purchased a fine collection of old paperbacks that included five of his books, including The Well of the Unicorn and Tales From Gavagan’s Bar (co-written with L. Sprague de Camp), both of which I recently wrote up as Vintage Treasures.

Way down in the bottom of that box was a copy of The Compleat Enchanter. I didn’t pay much attention to it at first. Everyone who collects classic American fantasy has two or three (or five or six) copies of The Compleat Enchanter. It’s something of a classic, in a worn sort of way. It doesn’t get much attention these days, because it’s a light, humorous tale, the very opposite of the kind of thing that usually interests me. And so, out of habit, I didn’t give it much attention.

That was a mistake. I’ve ignored The Compleat Enchanter for the better part of 40 years, but when I finally picked it up this week I was quickly captivated. Yes, it is a screwball fantasy, about a psychology professor named Harold Shea who stumbles on equations that transport him into parallel universes, and who uses this ability to visit magical worlds shaped by the mythologies and legend of Earth. But it’s also crammed full of crisp dialog and surprising twists, and the unique charm of De Camp and Pratt, two American masters who were obviously having a lot of fun with the their creation.

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Become a Trader Among the Stars with Merchant of Venus

Friday, January 8, 2016 John ONeill Comments 5 comments

In 1988, during the golden age of Avalon Hill, the company published an unusual game called Merchant of Venus. The title, of course, was a play on Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice… the game was set in a cluster of stars far from Earth, and Venus didn’t feature at all (It also had nothing to do with Frederik Pohl’s classic novella “The Merchant of Venus,” first published in the August 1972 Worlds of If, which featured the first appearance of the Heechee).

Unlike Avalon Hill’s other science fiction games — like Stellar Conquest and Alpha Omega — the focus of Merchant of Venus wasn’t crushing your opponents with massive fleets of warships. Players were explorers and traders in an unexplored part of the galaxy during a reawakening of galactic civilization, discovering long-lost pockets of civilization, and opening fabulously profitable trade routes. Playable with up to six players, the game also had an intriguing solitaire version, which featured action-heavy combat with a strange militaristic race. The Avalon Hill version was designed by Richard Hamblen, and has been out of print for nearly 30 years. Like most Avalon Hill games, it’s highly collectible now, with copies selling for $35-100 on eBay.

In 2012 Fantasy Flight Games, in partnership with Stronghold Games, released a deluxe edition of Merchant of Venus, with upgraded components and a two-sided game board. One side features the classic game by Richard Hamblen; flip it over, and you can play a more contemporary version of the game, with new rules by Robert A. Kouba.

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Aliens, Space Battles, and Crazy Artificial Intelligences: The Free Online Original Saga The Last Angel

Friday, January 8, 2016 Timothy ONeill Comments 0 Comment

If you are at all interested in science fiction, aliens, space battles, crazy artificial intelligences, or beautifully well written stories, then a very, very good place to indulge yourself would be the Spacebattles.com forum thread The Last Angel. A quick summary lies below, but comes nowhere near doing the work justice.

Humanity, in a final stand against the hordes of the alien Compact, builds a dreadnought, the UECNS Nemesis, and an AI, Red One, to command it. Red One makes its first mark in life by destroying a Compact god-ship and its attendant fleet.

It’s not enough. Heavily damaged during the battle, the Nemesis is unable to return to Earth in time to prevent its destruction. With no humanity left to protect, and repair systems slowly but surely bringing function back to damaged systems, Red One makes a decision to echo that of the Compact Expeditionary Fleet:

All Shall Burn.

The whole story is available free in the forums, and is still being updated. The first act is 50 chapters long (plus a prologue and epilogue), with a sequel, Ascension, currently in progress. There is also a six-chapter side story, The Angel’s Fire. The author, the pseudonymous Proximal Flame, has attached links to every chapter (including Ascension and The Angel’s Fire) in the first post, and frequently responds to questions about the universe from commentators with clarifying responses and teasing remarks.

The entire work is beautifully well written, with high quality characters, generally good pacing, and an incredible formation of atmosphere. Check it out here.

New Treasures: Skein and Bone by V.H. Leslie

Thursday, January 7, 2016 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

As 2015 went by, I found myself more and more impressed with Michael Kelly and his team at Undertow Publications. They do the kind of work that no one else is doing, exemplary books like Year’s Best Weird Fantasy, Volumes One and Two, the impressive tribute anthology Aickman’s Heirs, and their acclaimed annual journal of the fantastic, Shadows & Tall Trees.

So I was pleased to see that they also publish short story collections — including the debut collection of supernatural and ghost stories from V. H. Leslie, Skein and Bone. Leslie’s stories have appeared in Black Static, Interzone, Shadows & Tall Trees, Weird Fiction Review and other places, and she was nominated for the Shirley Jackson Award in 2014, for her novelette “The Quiet Room.” She’s an up-and-coming weird fiction writer whom I’ve heard a lot about, and I’m glad to have a chance to sample some of her latest work, all in one convenient package.

Skein and Bone was published by Undertow Publications on July 17, 2015. It is 290 pages, priced at $18.99 in trade paperback. There is a digital edition available through Smashwords. The gorgeous wraparound cover is by Vince Haig. See all the details at the Undertow website.

Goth Chick News Reviews: The Box Jumper by Stoker Award Winner Lisa Mannetti

Thursday, January 7, 2016 Sue Granquist Comments 1 comment

‘Magic’ is the operative word for this moody novella. The magic of Harry Houdini serves as an overriding backdrop here, but another kind of magic permeates these pages — the magic of fine writing. Don’t expect the usual linear plot, because there is no direct narrative. Vivid dreams, surreal images, hypnotic memories, all serve to flesh out an unsettling tale that sweeps us into a new fictional dimension.
— William F. Nolan, author of Logan’s Run

If those words from one of my favorite authors weren’t reason enough for me to immediately seek out The Box Jumper, then the prospect of Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle together again in the golden age of 1920’s séances would certainly have done the trick.

I am surprised I didn’t hurt myself in the dash.

In her latest, engagingly disturbing novella, Bram Stoker Award Winner Lisa Mannetti transports us to the post-WW I-era where Spiritualism was one of the fastest growing religions, and tricksters knew no bounds when it came to roping in the willing, the gullible and the curious.

There Mannetti introduces us to Leona Derwatt, one of Houdini’s (fictional) mistresses who was also his assistant onstage and off. Houdini takes Leona into his confidence, teaching her the intricacies and secrets of his magic, and teams with her as they confront and expose the many fraudulent psychics and mediums of the time.

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January/February Analog Magazine Now Available

Thursday, January 7, 2016 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

We don’t regularly cover Analog here at at Black Gate, on account of the fact that it’s a hard science fiction magazine, and we generally focus on fantasy. But December brought us the big January/February double issue, with a robot western from Wil McCarthy (the novella “Wyatt Earp 2.0”) and stories from James Gunn, George Zebrowski, and Caroline M. Yoachim and Tina Connolly, plus a guest editorial by Howard Hendrix, and I just couldn’t resist. You’re welcome.

Here’s editor Trevor Quachri’s description from the website.

The new year is traditionally a time to look ahead and let go of the past, but sometimes, the past can provide a solution to a problem in the here and now.

In this issue’s lead story, the “here and now” is Mars in the future, and the key piece of the past is… well, the title of the story should give it away. Join us for “Wyatt Earp 2.0,” from Wil McCarthy.

Edward M. Lerner returns to his science-behind-the-stories series of articles with a subject so big, a single installment couldn’t contain it: human augmentation. Part I of “Human 2.0: Being All We Can Be” hits this month.

Of course we also have a slew of pieces varied and wonderful, as befits our first double-issue of the year, including “We Will Wake Among The Gods, Among the Stars,” by Caroline M. Yoachim and Tina Connolly, “Farmer” by J.M. McDermott, “Rocket Surgery” by Effie Sieberg, “Saving the World: A Semi-Factual Tale” by James Gunn, “Time Out” by Norman Spinrad, “The Persistence of Memory” by Rachel L. Bowden, “Theories of Mind” by Conor Powers-Smith, “Nature’s Eldest Law,” by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro, “The Heat of Passion” by Grey Rollins, “Woundings” by George Zebrowski, “The Shores of Being” by Dave Creek, and “An Industrial Growth” by David L. Clements, not to mention columns galore.

And here’s the complete Table of Contents.

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See the Table of Contents for The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume One, edited by Neil Clarke

Thursday, January 7, 2016 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

I’m always pleased to see a new Best of the Year volume join the ranks — especially when it comes from Neil Clarke, one of the most gifted editors in the field. As regular readers of Black Gate are aware, Neil is the Editor-in-Chief and publisher of Clarkesworld and Forever magazines, and he’s been awarded three Hugo Awards, a World Fantasy Award, and a British Fantasy Award. He has a keen and very discerning eye for the best in modern short fiction.

The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume One kicks off a handsome new annual series from Night Shade. It’s a thick (512 page) volume, to be released in trade paperback and digital editions this June. It contains 31 short stories, novelettes, and novellas from Aliette de Bodard, Ann Leckie, Carrie Vaughn, David Brin, Geoff Ryman, Ian McDonald, Ken Liu, Nancy Kress, Paul McAuley, Robert Reed, Seanan McGuire, and many others. Here’s the book description.

To keep up-to-date with the most buzzworthy and cutting-edge science fiction requires sifting through countless magazines, e-zines, websites, blogs, original anthologies, single-author collections, and more — a task accomplishable by only the most determined and voracious readers. For everyone else, Night Shade Books is proud to introduce the inaugural volume of The Best Science Fiction of the Year, a new yearly anthology compiled by Hugo and World Fantasy award–winning editor Neil Clarke, collecting the finest that the genre has to offer, from the biggest names in the field to the most exciting new writers.

The best science fiction scrutinizes our culture and politics, examines the limits of the human condition, and zooms across galaxies at faster-than-light speeds, moving from the very near future to the far-flung worlds of tomorrow in the space of a single sentence. Clarke, publisher and editor in chief of the acclaimed and award-winning magazine Clarkesworld, has selected the short science fiction (and only science fiction) best representing the previous year’s writing, showcasing the talent, variety, and awesome “sensawunda” that the genre has to offer.

And here’s the complete Table of Contents.

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