Black Gate – Page 818 – Adventures in Fantasy Literature

2014 James Tiptree, Jr. Award Winners Announced

Saturday, April 11, 2015 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

With all the drama and controversy over this year’s Hugo Awards, we have neglected to inform you of the other major award new this week. Shame on us.

The 2014 James Tiptree, Jr. Awards were given out this week. The Tiptrees, named after one of the finest SF writers of the 20th Century, are awarded annually to works of science fiction or fantasy that explore and expand gender roles. This year the winners are Monica Byrne’s The Girl in the Road (Crown) and Jo Walton’s My Real Children (Tor).

As usual, the jury released a statement about each of the winners; here’s what they said this year.

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Why I Was So, So Wrong about the Standard Fantasy Setting

Saturday, April 11, 2015 Connor Gormley Comments 5 comments

So I wrote a stonking great think piece thing about the Standard Fantasy Setting a while back and a lot of people read it. Some of those people liked it and some of those people didn’t; that’s fine, it’s got to the point where I only cry for fifteen minutes when someone criticizes me now.

The problem is, though, the more I think about it, the more I think about the points I made, the more I find myself in the latter camp, the more I catch myself bad-mouthing me behind my back and trying to suffocate me in my sleep. That’s a very bad thing when you’re a bona-fide messiah, chosen by the gods to lead the masses to enlightenment.

So yeah, I thought I’d write this follow-up post, explaining what was wrong with the article and to set the record straight. It’s more for me than anyone else… mostly because, goddammit, no one criticizes Connor Gormley better than Connor Gormley does.

I had good intentions at the start, yeah. It was going to be a much more balanced look at the standard fantasy setting, its pros and cons and a pretty mild critique; and you can still see elements of that initial idea kicking around in there, in what I actually said about the setting. The fact that it lets authors focus on narrative pacing, on character development, or outright, balls-to-the-mothertrucking walls action if they want, without having to worry about world building or introducing entirely new creations because most readers already know the characteristics of Elves, Dwarves and Orcs and what not, or at least the nature of a medieval-ish society. Michael Moorcock might be able to meet the compromise, yeah, but Michael Moorcock is essentially Jesus, so I don’t think it’s fair to count him (which, renders half of the article moot, anyway).

Where the problems arose was when I started spouting out things like “A genre that, by its very nature, should have no restrictions, that should be free of limitations and impossible to define has become one of the most rigid and easily distinguishable genres in our modern spectrum.”

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Weird Fiction Review #5 Now on Sale

Friday, April 10, 2015 John ONeill Comments 1 comment

Weird Fiction Review is a terrific little magazine. In fact, it has a lot in common with the print version of Black Gate — it comes out once a year, the issues are huge (300+ pages), it’s crammed with art and pictures, and it contains a nice mix of fantasy fiction and articles.

It’s also more expensive than it probably should be. It is limited to 500 copies, and is priced as a limited-edition collectible: $35 per copy. That seems a lot for a magazine (and speaking as a publisher who used to charge 18 bucks for a small press magazine, that’s saying something.) I’m not sure I understand the business model behind a limited print run on a magazine, but the Centipede Press folks clearly know what they’re doing.

In any event, the issue looks terrific, with brand new short fiction from Brian Stableford, Darrell Schweitzer, Jason V Brock, Robert H. Waugh, and many others — plus a reprint from James Branch Cabell. There are also poems from Chad Hensley, Wade German, Charles Lovecraft, and many others.

The non-fiction includes Dennis Etchison’s 16-page photo essay on the collection and work of collector extraordinaire Forrest J Ackerman, “Presenting! The Amazing! Ackermonster!” (originally published in 1967), a 10-page color gallery by cover artist Travis Louie, a look at James Branch Cabell’s “Machen” story by Darrell Schweitzer, an article on — and interview with — MAD magazine editor Al Feldstein, Dennis Etchison’s interview with Ray Bradbury, Fifty Essential Comics by Danel Olson, Forgotten Masters of the Weird Tale by John Pelan, and tons more.

For whatever reason, the issue is not available through Amazon.com until September 15. But it’s for sale now at the Centipede Press website, and has been selling on eBay and other online outlets for a few months.

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There Will be Blood Books

Friday, April 10, 2015 Violette Malan Comments 4 comments

The great thing about the people in Tanya Huff’s Blood Books is that they act like… well, like people. This is remarkable for two reasons. First, not all of them are people; second, not all authors allow their characters to act like themselves all the time. Huff insists on it. Even when it makes writing the story difficult.

Let me qualify. All the characters in the Blood Books are people. Not all of them are human. They do act like themselves all the time, which isn’t to say that they act the way you expect them to. Not at all. More often than not, they’ll surprise you. But they’ll surprise you in a way that makes you go “Oh! Wow!” And not in a way that makes you go “Huh? What?”

The human protagonist, Vicky Nelson, was an extremely successful police detective, the kind who doesn’t suffer fools, and therefore doesn’t make a lot of friends among her peers. When she develops night blindness, she has two options, take a desk job, or leave the force. Being who she is, she chooses to leave the force and start her own detective agency. She’s stubborn, arrogant, and strong – exactly the kind of person you’d need if you were in trouble. Immanent blindness doesn’t change that.

The vampire protagonist, Henry Fitzroy, is the Duke of Richmond, the bastard son of Henry VIII. He doesn’t act like a young man living at the end of the 20th century. He acts like the son of a king, who’s been around for 450 years, has actually lived through all the changes that took place in those years, and who subsequently knows how to pretend that he’s a man living in the 1990’s. He’s a vampire, but he’s also the son of a powerful king, so for him, “territory” always has two meanings.

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Goth Chick News: How Much for the Party Coffin?

Thursday, April 9, 2015 Sue Granquist Comments 3 comments

For the fifteenth year, Transworld invited Black Gate back to cover one of the largest horror industry trade expos in the US; the Halloween and Attractions Show (“HAA”) in St. Louis, MO.

If you’ve ever wondered where the movie special effects guys go when they aren’t slinging gore for the latest scream-fest, then I can safely report that I know – they’re cooking up crazy makeup, animatronics and other visual gross-outs for the professional haunt industry.

The HAA is a “trade only” event, meaning the general public isn’t invited, but that didn’t stop a perpetual crowd from standing around outside the main entrance to the America’s Convention Center in order to get a glimpse of the attendees.

And as always, there is quite a lot to glimpse.

Over 250 exhibitors, some with what were essentially full-scale, mobile attractions, filled the cavernous convention space displaying everything from fog machines (with realistic “scents” – let’s just say yuck right here) to audio backgrounds and latex makeup elements to $15K+ robotic effects. As one attendee put it, “This is Christmas in March for everyone in the horror industry.”

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New Treasures: Image Firsts Compendium, Volume One

Thursday, April 9, 2015 John ONeill Comments 0 Comment

There’s a lot of good work going on in comics. Correction: there’s a lot of great work going on in comics, especially if you’re a fantasy fan.

It’s hard to keep up with it all. However, I’ve developed a simple system over the years. Once a month I visit my local comic shop here in St. Charles (Graham Cracker Comics; and here’s a shout out to Dan W. and Kurt Biallas, who’ve been selling me terrific comics since Kurt was about ten years old), and buy the first few issues of anything that looks interesting.

I take them home and give them to my 19-year-old son Timothy, whom I’ve studiously trained in the art of comics — starting by reading the entire Lee-Ditko run on Amazing Spider-man to him and his younger brother Drew when they were both still in footie jammies. Timothy patiently reads these comics cover-to-cover, and lets me know which ones are worth my time.

Everyone should have a 19 year-old son like Timothy. He’s also handy when the lawn needs to be mowed, or the driveway needs to be shoveled.

Sadly, Timothy made an unfortunate life choice last year (unfortunate for me, anyway). He went off to college in another state. The stack of comics waiting to be read now fills nearly an entire box, and it’s gathering dust in the corner, neglected. Clearly, I need a new system.

Apparently I’m not the only person to have this problem. When I was in the comic shop last month, I found Image Firsts Compendium, Volume One propped up near the cash register. It’s a fat, 320-page full cover graphic novel, containing the first issues of no less than nine new titles from Image Comics. And it’s priced at $5.99 — less than it will cost you for two measly comics.

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The Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series: Dragons, Elves, and Heroes edited by Lin Carter

Thursday, April 9, 2015 westkeith Comments 22 comments

Dragons, Elves, and Heroes
Edited by Lin Carter
Ballantine Books (277 pages, October 1969, $0.95)
Cover art by Sheryl Slavitt

It’s been a while since my last post, and no, I haven’t fallen off the face of the Earth, run away to join the circus, or been abducted by aliens. Although there have been times I’ve considered that circus thing. Or maybe gypsies.

No, I’m just overloaded this semester (my day job is in academia), which hasn’t left a lot of opportunity to read at a time when I’m not likely to fall asleep after a few pages.

And I wanted to take my time and do this one right. Dragons, Elves, and Heroes is the first of a two volume set in which Carter collects heroic fantasy imaginary world stories, beginning with a selection from Beowulf. This volume ends in the 1800s, although the most recent selection isn’t the last. The companion volume, The Young Magicians, will pick up where this one left off.

Anyway, this book looked like it would take some concentration, so I tried to read it when I would have time to devote to it. But enough about what happens to the well laid plans of mice and men.

I found the selections on the whole to be thoroughly enjoyable, with a few exceptions. I used the word “selections” intentionally, because other than a handful of poems, most of the stories Carter selected were excerpts. The one notable exception was the entire text of The Princess of Babylon by Voltaire was included. I wish Carter had stuck to his practice of using excerpts, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

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Get Ready For 11 Best-of-the-Year Volumes

Thursday, April 9, 2015 John ONeill Comments 3 comments

We’re entering the Best-of-the-Year season.

Starting in May we’ll see no less than eleven volumes collecting the best short fiction of last year, beginning with Jonathan Strahan’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Nine (released May 12), and ending in October with the release of the latest volume in Stephen Jones’ long-running Mammoth Book of Best New Horror. We’ve showcased eight as Future Treasures in just the last few months (click on the links below for details on each.)

The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Nine, edited by Jonathan Strahan (May 12)
Best British Horror 2015, edited by Johnny Mains (May 25)
The Year’s Best Military SF and Space Opera, edited by David Afsharirad (June 2)
The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Novellas: 2015 edited by Paula Guran (June 16)
The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2015, edited by Rich Horton (June 16)
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2015, edited by Paula Guran (June 24)
The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Second Annual Collection, edited by Gardner Dozois (July 7)
The Best Horror of the Year Volume Seven, edited by Ellen Datlow (August 4)
The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015, edited by John Joseph Adams and Joe Hill (October 6)
Year’s Best Weird Fiction Volume 2, edited by Kathe Koja (October)
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 26, edited by Stephen Jones (October)

After 18 volumes, we lost David’s Hartwell’s Year’s Best SF in 2014 — a major loss– but we’ve added three to the list this year: the Afsharirad, Adams, and Paula Guran’s Best Novellas book. (And Year’s Best Weird Fiction just started up in 2014). I don’t remember any time in the history of the genre when we had this many Year’s Best volumes; certainly there’s been no time when I’ve looked forward with anticipation to nearly so many. I take it as a sign that there’s still a very healthy interest in short fiction in this market. Stay tuned over the next six months, and we’ll bring you additional details as they hit the market.

Into the Pits: Ody-C Issues 3 and 4

Wednesday, April 8, 2015 Elizabeth Cady Comments 1 comment

Odysseus’ encounter with the Cyclops is (and has consistently been for several thousand years) one of the best known episodes from the Odyssey. It’s exciting, it’s graphic, and it displays Odysseus’ most notable quality: his cunning. So I was eager to see what Ody-C would do with this episode when it reached that point. It did so fairly quickly, and issues 3 and 4 span the telling of this encounter for Odyssia and her crew.

The results were mixed. There are things I loved, and a few I really didn’t. But first, to touch on what Homer did first. Not because it’s the meter by which we should judge Ody-C but because I like some of the ways Matt Fraction is playing with the prototype here.

For those who don’t remember, Odysseus and his crew wash up on the shores of the island of the Cyclopes. They find a large, empty cave, and help themselves to cheese and milk while waiting for the inhabitant to return. When he does, he isn’t a human but the massive Cyclops Polyphemus. Polyphemus proceeds to eat many of the sailors, until Odysseus gets him drunk and gouges out the Cyclops’ eye with a massive pole. The men then tie themselves beneath Polyphemus’ sheep in order to escape the cave when the flocks are let out to graze.

In Ody-C, the fundamentals are all here but the differences are significant. Odyssia and her women arrive on the planet Kylos. They find a massive fortress, and rather than looking for sustenance, Odyssia orders a break of the citadel in the hopes of finding treasure.

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Eastercon 66: Fun and Friction in Science Fiction

Wednesday, April 8, 2015 Sean McLachlan Comments 0 Comment

Last weekend I had the good fortune to attend Dysprosium, the 66th Eastercon, in London. It was only my second big convention and I was impressed by the number of people, dealers, panels, and events. Big cons are definitely my thing!

The convention was held at The Park Inn at Heathrow Airport, which is appropriately decorated with images of aviation and space pioneers. The elevators have glowing plastic panels that change colors and made me feel like I was in an Italian science fiction movie from the 1960s. The con was stretched out. Two large common rooms were connected by a long corridor. This meant that there was no main dealers room. Instead, each dealer had their own room and they took advantage of this by hosting their own events. Elsewhen Press gets my vote for friendliest dealer for offering plenty of friendly chatter, UFO-shaped candies, and several readings. Another dealer hosted a fascinating talk on Malaysian folklore. This worked out well for the guests but I heard more than one dealer complain they felt isolated from other dealers.

Like last year’s Worldcon, which I reported on here, diversity and inclusion was a central theme. Several of the panels reflected this, such as one on Fencing for Writers, in which two women demonstrated various ways to slash and skewer your opponent. They gave several anecdotes about female swashbucklers in the Renaissance. One French lesbian fought numerous duels with men over women and even saved her lover from a nunnery by burning the place down! That’s just begging to be made into a novel. The presenters made the telling point that, “Historians have dismissed these women as exceptions, but when you look at the sources, there are an awful lots of exceptions.”

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