• 224 pages, $9.95
• On Sale March 31, 2009
• Edited by John O’Neill
• Published by New Epoch Press
• Website Editor: Dave Munger
• Cover by Malcolm McClinton
• Spot Art by Bernie Mireault
• Interior Art by Kent Burles, Storn Cook, Mark Evans, Leif Jones, John Kaufmann, Malcolm McClinton, Bernie Mireault, Jim Pavelec, and Michael Vilardi

Buy this issue — ­ only $9.95 plus postage and handling!

FICTION

“The Beautiful Corridor”
By Jonathan L. Howard
Kyth had penetrated every chamber of the ancient and deadly tomb… all but the beautiful corridor.

“The Good Sheriff”
By David Wesley Hill
Gunslinger Charles Duke returns in a weird western. All he wanted was a way home – but first he had to barter with a sorceror, and all those gods & demons…

“The Face in the Sea”
by John C. Hocking
“Look to the south,” the face in the sea shrieked. “Can you see your death approaching?”

“Naktong Flow”
By Myke Cole
The Naktong river bore them inland. Everywhere the dark water carried them, the shore was laid waste.

“The Murder at Doty Station”
By Matthew Bey
Could a clockwork killer be haunting the road at lonely Doty Station?

“The Evil Eater”
By Peadar Ó Guilín
“The Evil-Eater is hungry, Toby,” the Hurani said. “If you’re not evil, you have nothing to fear.”

“Bones in the Desert, Stones in the Sea”
By Amy Tibbetts
She left him a final message… and a treasure he’d never hoped to find.

“The Merchant Of Loss”
By Justin Stanchfield & Mikal Trimm
“What would you pay for pain, my good friends? What would you offer for misery?”

“Return of the Quill”
By John R. Fultz
In the catacombs below the ancient city of Narr, the necromancer searched for the lovely ghost.

“Spider Friend”
By L. Blunt Jackson
It is a terrible thing, to refuse the blessing of the Spider Goddess.

“Silk and Glass”
By Sharon E. Woods
Jas wore a slave collar; was bound to obey. But she was not known as the Temptress of Saria for nothing.

“The Naturalist Part III: St. George and the Antriders”
By Mark Sumner
The exciting conclusion to the saga of the Naturalist.

FEATURES

Behind the Magic of Recluse
By L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

DEPARTMENTS

Editorial: Confessions of a Blurber
By John O’Neill

Letters
From Our Readers

Back Issues
A list of rare (but miraculously still available) back issues of Black Gate.

Next Issue
Fantastic fantasy from John C. Hocking, Michael Jasper & Jay Lake, Mike Shultz, Matthew Surridge, Diana Sherman, Pete Butler, Martin Owton, Chris Braak, Ron Roth, Sylvia Volk, and many more.

---

REVIEW FEATURES

Book reviews

The Ant King and Other Stories, Benjamin Rosenbaum (Small Beer Press)
A Posse of Princesses, Sherwood Smith, (YA Angst/Norilana)
Five Novels of the 1960S & 70s, Philip K. Dick (The Library of America)
The Steel Remains, Richard K. Morgan (Del Rey)
The Sorcerers’ Plague, David B. Coe (Tor)
Jhegaala, Steven Brust (Tor)
Warhammer: Curse of the Necrarch, Steven Savile (BL Publishing)
Warhammer: Knight Errant, Anthony Reynolds (BL Publishing)
Pax Dakota, Ken Rand (Five Star)
Gordath Wood, Patrice Sarath (Ace)
The Wolf Sea, Robert Low (Thomas Dunne Books)
The New Annotated Dracula, Bram Stoker, edited by Leslie S. Klinger

Reviewed by Rich Horton, Jackson Kuhl, John C. Hocking, Bill Ward, Thomas M. MacKay, and Todd Ruthman

---

GAMING

Fantasy Game Reviews

Dungeon Crawl Classics 55: Isle of the Sea Drake, Adrian M. Pommier (Goodman Games)
Master Dungeons M1: Dragora’s Dungeon, Harley Stroh (Goodman Games)
GameMastery Module TC1: Into the Haunted Forest, Greg A. Vaughan (Paizo)
GameMastery Module D1: Crown of the Kobold King, Nicolas Logue (Paizo)
Grimm, Robert Vaughn (Fantasy Flight Games)
Void Station 57, Bret Winters (Dark City Games)
Haiiiii-Ya! Cartoon Martial Arts Combat, Bradley K. McDevitt (Goodman Games)
Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay: Dark Heresy: The Game Master’s Kit (Black Industries )
PC Pearls, Greg Oppedisano (Goodman Games)
The Random Esoteric Creature Generator, James Edward Raggi IV (Goodman Games)
Points of Light, Robert Conley and Dwayne Gillingham (Goodman Games)
Secrets of Kenya: The Mythos Roams Wild, David Conyers (Chaosium)
Secrets of Morocco: Eldritch Explorations in the Ancient Kingdom, William Jones (Chaosium)

Reviewed by Howard Andrew Jones, Andrew Zimmerman Jones, and Jackson Kuhl

---

COMICS

Knights of the Dinner Table: The Java Joint

By Jolly Blackburn, Steve Johansson, and John O’Neill