As Black Gate‘s resident oddball zombie movie reviewer (Honest! John O’Neill did it in style of Mad Men‘s Roger Sterling, he did a Jedi hand wave and anointed me thus) I have to say a little bit about the ultra-low budget 2012 movie The Battery. The zombie movie has reached the arthouse at last. And the arthouse loved it, this micro-budget film won numerous awards. Now don’t get me wrong, I love a traditional zombie movie as much as the…
Gunnerman Clap, the hero of “The Gunnerman,” returns in a tale of a daring night assault on a cliffside fortress: Up they climbed, gusted by winds determined to knock them from their perch on the rock. Clap kept his mermaid’s tooth talisman close as he kept reminding Shullum that he was a sailor true, that it wasn’t his fault he was on land, that he really wished to return to the sea, to the ship, and that any protection the…
By Jason E. Thummel This is a complete work of fiction presented by Black Gate magazine. It appears with the permission of Jason E. Thummel and New Epoch Press, and may not be reproduced in whole or in part. All rights reserved. Copyright 2013 by New Epoch Press. Chief Gunner Clap looked over the new detachment of soldiers, fresh from Portsway, and grumbled. How did he manage to get grouped with these turf-busters? Not a one looked seaworthy, and even…
Last month I shared what I’ve been reading lately. Being the unoriginal guy that I am, I figured this week, it would be what I’ve been watching! RELIC HUNTER A decade after Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (number three in the franchise), an Indy take-off show hit the airwaves. Now, many of you know Tia Carrere best as Akivasha, the evil sorceress in Kevin Sorbo’s Kull, which was reportedly to be the third Conan film starring Schwarzenegger (though there’s…
“This man is a Samson in physical strength – in fact, the limit of his strength is unknown even to me., as every bone and muscle in him is of the finest steel. The machinery that works his limbs is inside of him, and he can walk, run, jump, and kick forward or backward with wonderful agility. The motive power that moves him is in a powerful electric battery enclosed in yonder box, under the floor of the carriage, and…
Paizo Publishing is a major force in the fantasy gaming industry, having taken the core mechanics of Dungeons & Dragons edition 3.5 and transforming it into the Pathfinder RPG, an impressive stand-alone game system in its own right. Beyond the core tabletop roleplaying game, Pathfinder has also diversified out into the Pathfinder Tales series of novels, the various versions of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game (including a digital edition), audio dramas, comic books, and ever-expanding other platforms and formats. But…
By Joe Bonadonna This is a complete work of fiction presented by Black Gate magazine. It appears with the permission of Joe Bonadonna, and may not be reproduced in whole or in part. All rights reserved. Copyright 2013 by Joe Bonadonna. Caution: Adult content. But when the Night had thrown her pall Upon that spot, as upon all, And the mystic wind went by Murmuring in melody– Then–ah then I would awake To the terror of the lone lake. — …
Over at Tangent Online, Chuck Rothman finds plenty to like in the latest issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction. July’s Asimov’s begins with “Ten Poems for the Mossums, One for the Man” by Suzanne Palmer and starts out with a protagonist — a poet — attending what is essentially a writing retreat alone on an alien world with strange life forms, including the Mossums, described as “green fuzzy boulders.” The poet writes a series of poems about his impressions, and slowly…
In May 2015, I was at the Fantastic Fiction at KGB reading in New York City when Nicole Kornher-Stace and Wesley Chu were featured; they were brilliant. Read their books. But I’m not here to talk about them. I’m here to talk about eavesdropping. (Well, I’m here to talk about some books I read, but I’m gonna preface it by talking about eavesdropping.) So, at KGB last May, I happened to be sitting at a table with an Agent and an Editor. The…
Read Part I here. The Charge of the Light Brigade There were four speeds for the cavalry: Walk: not to exceed four miles per hour Trot: not to exceed eight and a half miles per hour Gallop: eleven miles per hour Charge: not to exceed the utmost speed of the slowest horse The Light Brigade started at a walk because the horses could not maintain the charge speed for over a mile. When the first line was well clear of…