Aaron Bradford Starr’s latest tale of Gallery Hunters Gloren Avericci and Yr Neh — the 35,000-word epic fantasy mystery “The Sealord’s Successor,” which Louis West at Tangent Online called “A gripping tale of fantasy, mystery, murder and intrigue. A must read!” — was our top fiction post last month.

Coming in a close second was Robert Rhodes’s story of a time-traveling swordsman, “Devotion,” followed by Vera Nazarian’s tale of armies, gods and a city on the brink of collapse, “Niola’s Last Stand.” Also making the list were terrific stories by Michael Penkas, Howard Andrew Jones, Mary Catelli, Judith Berman, Joe Bonadonna, Jason E. Thummel, and many others.

If you haven’t sampled the adventure fantasy stories offered through our new Black Gate Online Fiction line, you’re missing out. Every week, we present an original short story or novella from the best writers in the industry, all completely free. Here are the Top Twenty most read stories in May:

1. “The Sealord’s Successor,” by Aaron Bradford Starr
2. “Devotion,” by Robert Rhodes
3. “Niola’s Last Stand,” by Vera Nazarian
4. “The Worst Was Yet to Come,” by Michael Penkas
5. An excerpt from The Bones of the Old Ones, by Howard Andrew Jones
6. “The Turtle in the Sea of Sand,” by Mary Catelli
7. “The Poison Well,” by Judith Berman
8. “The Moonstones of Sor Lunarum,” by Joe Bonadonna
9. “Assault and Battery,” by Jason E. Thummel
10. An excerpt from The Waters of Darkness, by David C. Smith and Joe Bonadonna

     

11. “Disciple,” by Emily Mah
12. “The Terror in the Vale,” by E.E. Knight
13. “The Pit Slave,” by Vaughn Heppner
14. “The Cremators Tale,” by Steven H Silver
15. “Awakening,” by Judith Berman
16. “The Sorrowless Thief,” by Ryan Harvey
17. “The Duelist,” by Jason E. Thummel
18. “Truck Stop Luck,” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
19. Pathfinder Tales: Queen of Thorns, Chapter One, by Dave Gross
20. “The Whoremaster of Pald,” by Harry Connolly

The complete catalog of Black Gate Online Fiction, including stories by Martha Wells, Michael Penkas, Vera Nazarian, Ryan Harvey, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, E.E. Knight, C.S.E. Cooney, Howard Andrew Jones, Harry Connolly, and many others, is here. The Top fiction from April is here.

We’ve got plenty more in the coming months — including the last section of Martha Wells’ novel The Death of the Nercomancer, a new Gallery Hunter tale from Aaron Bradford Starr, and new fiction from Mark Rigney, Jason E. Thummel, and many others — so stay tuned!