Black Gate – Page 705 – Adventures in Fantasy Literature

Future Treasures: The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman

Monday, January 18, 2016 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

Alison Goodman is the author of the New York Times bestseller EON, winner of the 2008 Aurealis Award and a Tiptree nominee, and its sequel EONA, both set in a mythical China. Her other novels include the SF thriller Singing the Dogstar Blues and Killing the Rabbit. Her latest novel is The Dark Days Club (published as Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club in her native Australia), a Regency adventure starring a stylish and intrepid demon-hunter. It is the opening volume in the new Lady Helen fantasy series.

Helen must make a choice: Save her reputation, or save the world.

London, 1812. Eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall is on the eve of her debut presentation at the royal court of George III. Her life should revolve around gowns, dancing, and securing a suitable marriage. Instead, when one of her family’s maids disappears, she is drawn into the shadows of Regency London. There, she meets Lord Carlston, one of the few able to stop the perpetrators: a cabal of demons that has infiltrated all levels of society. Carlston is not a man she should be anywhere near, especially with the taint of scandal that surrounds him. Yet he offers her help and the possibility of finally discovering the truth about the mysterious deaths of her parents.

Soon the two of them are investigating a terrifying conspiracy that threatens to plunge the newly Enlightened world back into darkness. But can Helen trust a man whose own life is built on lies? And does she have the strength to face the dangers of this hidden world and her family’s legacy?

The Dark Days Club will be published by Viking Books on January 26, 2016. It is 496 pages, priced at $18.99 in hardcover, and $10.99 for the digital edition.

Fantasy Scroll Magazine 10 Now Available

Monday, January 18, 2016 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

The tenth issue of the online-only Fantasy Scroll Magazine, cover dated December 2015, is now available. In his editorial Iulian Ionescu’s celebrates the release of their Year One anthology, Dragons, Droids and Doom, and points out that in Year Two Fantasy Scroll published 55 short stories from 53 authors, totaling 181,000 words of fiction.

Iulian also provides his usual sneak peek of the contents of the issue. Here’s a snippet:

We start with “The Genie and the Inquisitor,” a new and fresh take on the genie myth by Johnny Compton, partly funny and partly horrific, but definitely bone-chilling. “The Hummingbird Air” by Paul Roberge is next, a fantasy story that follows the path of a boy and his growth into a man, ready to deliver a life-long awaited revenge.

Next is “The Empty Faux-Historical Residential Unit” by Rachel Hochberg, a science fiction story that takes place in a future dominated by robots, but brings us back into an old-fashion London scene. Jeremy Szal delights us in his epic fantasy story “Last Age of Kings”; there’s a lot of bloody action in this story, but also depth of character, all happening in an interesting setting.

“Kara’s Ares” is another science fiction story, by Clint Spivey, who follows the struggle of a mission to Mars and its aftermath. For some comic relief, we follow with “Protecting Nessie” by Hank Quense, who tells the story of three sisters with magical powers, fighting hard to defend the pet of their queen. “Dancing an Elegy, His Own” by Julie Novakova is next — a science fiction story that focuses more on the relationship between characters than on the setting, creating an emotionally loaded atmosphere, and closing with an unexpected twist.

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The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes: The Shannara Chronicles

Monday, January 18, 2016 Bob Byrne Comments 7 comments

I was reading fantasy before I discovered Sherlock Holmes and it’s still one of my two favorite genres. Now, one of my favorite series’ has finally been brought to the screen. Last October, Fletcher Vrendenbuergh posted about his re-read of Terry Brooks’ classic, The Sword of Shannara. Sword, loved by many (me among them) and reviled by many, was a huge hit upon release, appealing to the horde of Tolkien fans who wanted more of that style of fantasy. It’s a good essay with lots of comments: go check it out.

After Sword, Brooks wrote a big chunk of a sequel, which (Lester) Del Rey told him to chuck and start over. Brooks did so and in 1982, we got The Elfstones of Shannara, which took place two generations after Sword. Shea’s grandson, Wil Ohmsford, now had the magical elfstones. Wishsong of Shannara rounded out the trilogy.

Two dozen more Shannara books would follow, with another due out later this year. Some take place before Sword, with most afterwards. Back when fantasy films consisted of “efforts” such as The Sword and the Sorcerer, Krull, Ator and even Ah-nuld’s two Conan movies, I always wondered why someone didn’t take Sword to the screen; be it live-action or animated. But nope: nothing.

Of course, Peter Jackson redefined fantasy films with his six movies from Tolkien’s books. And HBO created a monster with George R. Martin’s Game of Thrones. The 44-episode Legend of the Seeker, based on Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth novels, did not fare so well and was cancelled after two seasons on television.

But now, in 2016, we finally have The Shannara Chronicles, a ten-episode miniseries, based on The Elfstones. For that, we have MTV to thank. Well, it’s a mixed blessing. You got a sneak preview and some Black Gate commentary HERE last summer.

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Things Your Writing Teacher Never Told You: Pro-Tip From Lucienne Diver

Sunday, January 17, 2016 Tina Jens Comments 0 Comment

I’m pleased to have author and agent Lucienne Diver in the Pro-Tip seat this week. She’s a literary agent with The Knight Agency with twenty-three years of experience in the areas of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, romance and young adult fiction. She’s also author of the Vamped young adult series and the Latter-Day Olympians urban fantasy series.

Plot vs. Character?

Plot and character are both vital to your writing, BUT you can have the greatest plot in the world and no one will read your work if your point of view character isn’t compelling.

On the flipside, if your main character is intriguing and original with a voice all his, her or their own, you can truly invest your readers in what’s going on and keep them turning the pages to make sure everything turns out okay for your protagonist. A unique, dimensional antagonist is equally important. People are complex; your characters should be no less.

I guarantee that if you come up with amazing characters, you won’t settle for ho-hum things for them to do. Interesting characters will have interesting goals and real stakes. This is what really drives your story.

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Rediscovery of the North: Nelvana of the Northern Lights

Sunday, January 17, 2016 Matthew David Surridge Comments 0 Comment

In 2014, following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Hope Nicholson and Rachel Richey published Nelvana of the Northern Lights, a trade paperback reprinting all the appearances of the eponymous Canadian super-heroine from the 1940s. IDW gave the book a wider release in hardcover and paperback later that year. It contains over 300 pages of comics written and drawn by Nelvana’s creator Adrian Dingle, mostly in black and white, along with forewords by the editors, an introduction by Dr. Benjamin Woo (Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Carleton University), and an afterword by Michael Hirsh (an artist and animator who founded a well-known animation studio named for Nelvana). It’s a nice package, designed by Ramón Pérez, a past winner of the Eisner, Harvey, and Shuster Awards.

The book also has a one-page biography of Dingle, who sounds like an interesting character. Born in Cornwall in 1911, his family moved to Canada in 1914, and by the 1940s he was a professional illustrator in Toronto. In 1941 he became one of the founders of a new comics publisher, Hillborough Studios. A law passed late in 1940 had restricted the importation of “non-essential” goods from the United States, including comic books. As a direct result, a Canadian comics industry was blossoming, publishing so-called “Canadian Whites,” black-and-white books with colour covers. So Dingle’s Nelvana appeared in Hillborough’s Triumph-Adventure Comics starting with the first issue, in August of 1941; Dingle took the book and character to Bell features starting with the seventh issue, where they stayed until the book’s thirty-first and last issue in 1946. A final appearance by Nelvana in a 1947 colour comic tied up most of the dangling sub-plots.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the story is that Dingle credited a friend of his with the inspiration for Nelvana. Franz Johnston was part of the Group of Seven, an association of Canadian artists who created the country’s first significant movement of painters; they travelled around the country to find inspiration in the Canadian landscape and developed new techniques for painting it. Johnston shared stories with Dingle of a trip he took to the north, where he met an Inuit elder named Nelvana. From Johnston’s stories Dingle created his Nelvana, a mythic Axis-smashing superheroine.

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New Treasures: Devil or Angel and Other Stories by Matthew Hughes

Sunday, January 17, 2016 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

Devil or Angel and Other Stories-back-small

Matthew Hughes’ novels include the To Hell and Back trilogy (Damned Busters, Costume Not Included, and Hell to Pay), Gullible’s Travels, The Other, and his Tales of Henghis Hapthorn (Majestrum, The Spiral Labyrinth, and Hespira). He also writes crime fiction as Matt Hughes, and media tie-in novels as Hugh Matthews.

I’ve been extremely impressed with his short fiction, which has been collected in The Gist Hunter and Other Stories (2005), The Meaning of Luff (2013), and Tales of Henghis Hapthorn (2013). His newest self-published collection, Devil or Angel and Other Stories, is subtitled “Old-Style Science Fiction and Fantasy Tales.” It includes 16 stories that originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Asimov’s, and a smattering of anthologies. One story, “Ant Lion,” appears here for the first time. Hughes is one of the best short fiction writers working in fantasy today, especially if you’re a fan of the classic space-opera style of Jack Vance.

Devil or Angel and Other Stories was self-published by Matthew Hughes on July 30, 2015. It is 264 pages, priced at $12.99 in paperback and $3.99 for the digital edition. The cover is by Bradley W. Schenck.

Can You Help Date This John W. Campbell Pic?

Sunday, January 17, 2016 Doug Ellis Comments 0 Comment

A few weeks ago I talked about Hubert Rogers’ Astounding covers, and his fascinating correspondence with Robert A. Heinlein and L. Sprague de Camp.

During one of his trips to visit editor John W. Campbell at Astounding‘s offices, Rogers took along his camera. Here’s one of several shots that Rogers took that day of Campbell at his desk. [Click the image for a bigger version.]

None of the photos are dated, unfortunately, but my guess is that it’s sometime in the 1940’s. If anyone can pin down a more precise date, I’d love to hear it!

Vintage Treasures: Travelers of Space, edited by Martin Greenberg

Sunday, January 17, 2016 John ONeill Comments 1 comment

Gnome Press, the brainchild of Martin Greenberg and David A. Kyle, was founded in 1948, and it published some of the most important science fiction and fantasy of the 20th Century in hardcover for the first time — including Sixth Column by Robert A. Heinlein (1949), The Castle of Iron by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt (1950), Conan the Conqueror by Robert E. Howard (1950), I, Robot (1950) and Foundation (1951) by Isaac Asimov, City by Clifford D. Simak (1952), Robots Have No Tails by Lewis Padgett (1952), Judgment Night by C.L. Moore (1952), and Sands of Mars by Arthur C. Clarke (1952). The Gnome Press hardcovers — gorgeously designed and made with great care — are some of the most collectible books in the field.

For me however, the most desirable Gnome Press books are their original titles, and especially their anthologies, which gathered neglected short fiction from the Golden Age of science fiction pulps for the first time. They published several in their Adventures in Science Fiction series, all edited by Martin Greenberg, including Men Against the Stars (195), Journey to Infinity (1951), The Robot and the Man (1953), and Travelers of Space (1951).

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From Toys to Comics: The Micronauts

Saturday, January 16, 2016 Derek Kunsken Comments 8 comments

696367 — Life ain’t easy when you’re 3.75″ tall.

A number of toy properties have been re-imagined in comic books. Some examples are the Shogun Warriors, The Transformers, Rom the Space Knight, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and G.I. Joe.

My own personal favorite was Marvel’s/Mego’s The Micronauts. The story of how Mego’s Micronaut toy line got turned into a comic is unexpected.

It turns out that Marvel writer Bill Mantlo’s son was opening up his Christmas presents in 1977, which included a haul of Micronauts (something that happened in my house that year too).

Mantlo was inspired by the toys and asked Marvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter to get his hands on the comics rights, and voila!

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John DeNardo’s January Must-Read Speculative Fiction

Saturday, January 16, 2016 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

We try to keep tabs on the best in upcoming fantasy here at Black Gate. But nobody does it as well as John DeNardo, editor of SF Signal. Over at Kirkus Reviews he offers a tantalizing survey of the best new speculative fiction for the month.

Have you made any reading-related New Year’s resolutions? If speculative fiction is on your reading radar, allow me to offer some suggestions. Here’s an abundant selection of tasty speculative titles being released this month. Titles here include a two-second time [machine], cosmic horrors, multiple worlds, a prison memoir, 1920s Hollywood, and airship heists.

John’s highlights for the month include All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders, Broken Hero by Jonathan Wood, Ancestral Machines by Michael Cobley, Jani and the Great Pursuit by Eric Brown, and several that we’ve covered here at Black Gate — including Daughter of Blood by Helen Lowe, Medusa’s Web by Tim Powers, Skinner Luce by Patricia Ward, The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson, and the acclaimed first collection from Carlos Hernandez, The Assimilated Cuban’s Guide to Quantum Santeria.

Read the complete article here.

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