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Read Derek Künsken’s Story “Flight From the Ages” in the April/May Asimov’s SF

Read Derek Künsken’s Story “Flight From the Ages” in the April/May Asimov’s SF

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Asimov's Science Fiction April May 2016-smallI bought Derek Künsken’s story “The Gifts of Li Tzu-Ch’eng” for Black Gate 15; since then he’s had a very impressive career, publishing over a dozen short stories in Asimov’s, Analog, and other fine places. In 2013 he won the Asimov’s SF Readers’ Award for his story “The Way of the Needle,” and “Persephone Descending,” his cover story for the November 2014 Analog, placed #2 in the 2014 Analog Readers’ Award for Best Novelette.

His latest story, “Flight From the Ages,” appears in the April/May issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction, now on sale at fine bookstores everywhere. It’s the far-future tale of the artificial intelligence Ulixes-316, sole occupant of the customs and tariff ship The Derivatives Market. Here’s a taste.

Ulixes emerged into a sepulchral rubble of asteroids, hard planetesimals, and shriveled, radioactive gas giants. This was the wreck of the Tirhene system, seen half an AU from the streams of dark lithium and carbon in the highest clouds of the red dwarf. This wasteland of planetary debris had been left by the long-ago Kolkheti-Sauronati War…

Another customs and tariff ship in the Tirhene system signaled with an encrypted Bank code. Poluphemos-156. Ulixes acknowledged the signal and they proceeded sunward…

“You’re lit up with tachyons,” Ulixes transmitted.

“It’s new corporate tech,” Poluphemos replied. “I’m in direct contact with the bank headquarters.”

“What? Why wasn’t I told?”

“It’s need-to-know,” Poluphemos said. “Now you need to know.”

I like the subtle call-outs to the tale of Ulysses and Polyphemus. Derek is a regular Saturday blogger for Black Gate; his recent articles for us include his interview with Ken Liu, and “On Becoming a Full-Time Writer.”

We’ll cover the rest of this issue of Asimov’s as part of our regular magazine coverage. See all our latest magazine news here.

Series Fantasy: The Books of the Raksura by Martha Wells

Series Fantasy: The Books of the Raksura by Martha Wells

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The Cloud Roads-small The Serpent Sea-small The Siren Depths-small The Edge Of Worlds-small

I’m cheating a bit with these books, since technically they’re not all part of the same series. Also, the newest volume, The Edge of Worlds, won’t officially be released until April 5th — but Amazon and B&N.com both have copies in stock today, so let’s go with it.

Martha Wells’ tales of Gilead and Ilias were some of the most popular stories we ever published in Black Gate, and her Books of the Raksura trilogy captivated readers around the world. Her latest novel, The Edge of Worlds, expands her world of the Raksura with the start of a brand new series. That brings the total books set in the Three Worlds to four:

The Cloud Roads (300 pages, $14.99/$9.99 digital, March 1, 2011, cover by Matthew Stewart) — excerpt
The Serpent Sea (320 pages, $14.99/$9.99 digital, January 25, 2012, cover by Steve Argyle) — excerpt
The Siren Depths (320 pages, $14.99/$9.99 digital, December 4, 2012, cover by Steve Argyle) — excerpt
The Edge of Worlds (388 pages, $24.99/$13.99 digital, November 10 2015, cover by Yukari Masuike) — excerpt

All four are published by Night Shade Books. Links will take you to our previous coverage.

Here’s the description for The Edge of Worlds.

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ChiZine Announces Don Bassingthwaite’s Cocktails at Seven, Apocalypse at Eight

ChiZine Announces Don Bassingthwaite’s Cocktails at Seven, Apocalypse at Eight

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Cocktails at Seven Apocalypse at Eight-smallDon Bassingthwaite is a man of many talents. We published his terrific sword & sorcery tale “Barbarian Instinct” in Black Gate 5, and an excerpt from his unpublished Kingdoms of Kalamar novel Point of the Knife in Black Gate 7. On top of that, he was the magazine’s Games Editor for our first four years, recruiting top-notch talent to write reviews for us, including Jennifer Brozek, Howard Andrew Jones, Dave Webb, Johanna Meade, and Michael Thibault.

Don’s writing career has taken him to the top of the industry, with a dozen novels in the last ten years, from publishers like Wizards of the Coast and White Wolf. Over the years he’s also produced a series of highly regarded holiday tales, collectively known as the “Derby Cavendish” stories.

Earlier this month Don revealed the cover of his first short story collection, Cocktails at Seven, Apocalypse at Eight: The Derby Cavendish Stories, in a Facebook post.

What’s this? A collection? Oh, you shouldn’t have!

ChiZine Publications has just revealed the cover (by the incomparable Erik Mohr) for my forthcoming collection Cocktails at Seven, Apocalypse at Eight: The Derby Cavendish Stories — more details to come but look for it this fall!

Cocktails at Seven, Apocalypse at Eight: The Derby Cavendish Stories will be available in both ebook and print editions. Look for it from Canadian publisher ChiZine later this year. I don’t have many more details at the moment — but trust me, as soon as I know more, so will you!

See our survey of ChiZine’s gorgeous 2014 catalog here.

PublishAmerica Settles Lawsuit Against Writer Beware

PublishAmerica Settles Lawsuit Against Writer Beware

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Writer Beware Logo-smallVictoria Strauss had a review column, Fantastic Fiction: Books for Younger Readers, in the first three print issues of Black Gate. She was marvelous to work with, and her column was one of my favorite parts of the magazine, but her own growing success as a novelist (Garden of Stone, The Burning Land, The Awakened City) soon stole her away from us.

With author A.C. Crispin, Victoria founded the invaluable Writer Beware, a SFWA-backed volunteer organization that roots out and exposes scammers and con artists preying on aspiring writers. Today Victoria announced the settlement of an ongoing suit that arose from those efforts.

I’m finally getting to post about something I’ve been keeping under my hat for quite some time… On March 18, 2014, America Star Books, formerly PublishAmerica, filed suit against me, Michael Capobianco, Rich White, and Writer Beware in the Circuit Court for Charles County, MD.

The lawsuit alleged defamation per se on the basis of two posts from this blog: one from March 2013 covering the second class action lawsuit filed against PublishAmerica, and one from January 2014 covering PublishAmerica’s new name and services as America Star Books. A total of $800,000 in punitive and compensatory damages was demanded, plus interest and attorneys’ fees…

After a long delay by the Maryland court, the case reached the discovery stage. Shortly after my attorneys sent interrogatories and discovery requests to ASB, ASB’s attorney, Victor Cretella, contacted us to discuss the possibility of a settlement. A final settlement was signed by all parties in January of this year. In exchange for agreement by myself, Michael, and Rich not to seek recovery of legal fees, ASB agreed to release all claims asserted against me, Michael, Rich, and Writer Beware, and to stipulate to Dismissal With Prejudice. ASB does not admit any lack of merit, nor do I and the other defendants admit any liability.

I’m enormously pleased to see Victoria, and Writer Beware, prevail in this suit. Read Victoria’s complete announcement here.

Congratulations to Black Gate‘s Nominees for the REH Foundation Awards

Congratulations to Black Gate‘s Nominees for the REH Foundation Awards

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The Robert E. Howard Foundation

On Wednesday the Robert E. Howard Foundation announced the nominees for this year’s REH Foundation Awards, honoring the top contributions in Howard scholarship and in the promotion of Howard’s life and works. We were delighted and honored to see Black Gate bloggers nominated in several major categories, including Barbara Barrett, Bob Byrne, Howard Andrew Jones, and Bill Ward:

The Cimmerian — Outstanding Achievement, Essay (Online)

BARRETT, BARBARA – “Hester Jane Ervin Howard and Tuberculosis (3 parts)” REH: Two Gun Raconteur Blog (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

The Stygian — Outstanding Achievement, Website

BLACK GATE (John O’Neill)

The Black River — Special Achievement

BYRNE, BOB – For organizing the “Discovering REH” blog post series at Black Gate

JONES, HOWARD ANDREW and BILL WARD – For their “Re-Reading Conan” series at howardandrewjones.com

Only REH Foundation members can vote for the nominees. If you’re interested in learning more about the foundation (and voting), you can sign up for a free memberships at the REHF website here.

Thanks to the REH Foundation for the many honors. And congratulations to all the nominees!

Future Treasures: Guile by Constance Cooper

Future Treasures: Guile by Constance Cooper

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Guile Constance Cooper-small Guile Constance Cooper back-small
Art for "The Wily Thing" by Michael Vilardi (BG 12)
Art for “The Wily Thing” by Michael Vilardi (BG 12)

I frequently get excited by upcoming fantasy novels. But I rarely get as excited as I am by Guile, the debut fantasy novel from Constance Cooper, to be released next month by Clarion Books. Here’s Constance, from her blog:

Guile started with a short story called “The Wily Thing” which was published in Black Gate magazine in 2008. It was well received…

It was indeed. Here’s Lois Tilton at The Internet Review of Science Fiction:

Yonie and her cat LaRue make a meager living as Seers in one of the cheaper districts of Wicked Ford. Actually LaRue is the Seer, having been nearly drowned as a kitten. It is prolonged contact with the waters that make an object or a person guileful. Now a fisherman has brought Yonie an object, a ship’s gong taken from a wrecked vessel, that has some very dangerous wiles, but the fisherman has disappeared before she can warn him about it — and be paid.

An absolute delight. The setting is fascinating and original, every detail crafted in prose with real charm… RECOMMENDED.

“The Wily Thing” originally appeared in Black Gate 12, and it’s one of my favorite stories from that era of the magazine. The novel tells a brand new tale of Yonie and her magically gifted cat LaRue, set in the treacherous waters of Wicked Ford.

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Matthew David Surridge on The Great Hugo Wars of 2015

Matthew David Surridge on The Great Hugo Wars of 2015

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Rabid Puppies logo-smallOver at culture site Splice Today BG blogger Matthew David Surridge, who declined a Hugo nomination last year for Best Fan Writer, looks back at his involvement in Puppygate.

It was difficult to keep up with everything that was happening; when a controversy strikes the literary world, writers are affected, meaning much will be written. And I was out of it. Appreciative reaction to my post continued to come in at Black Gate, but as what Martin called “Puppygate” sprawled on, I was watching from the sidelines. I saw calls for boycotts of publishers, I saw counter-calls to buy books from the same publishers, I saw reports that the number of people buying memberships to Worldcon had hit record numbers. I saw satires and arguments. I saw proposals to change the Hugo voting rules to limit the impact of future slates. I kept track of as much as I could, partly because it was fascinating to watch, and partly because I never knew if my name would come up. Mostly, it didn’t, which suited me fine. If for no other reason than that the culture-war overtones that Breitbart had highlighted in the Puppies became increasingly front and center…

In the end the Hugo voters opted for “No Award” over the Puppy nominees in almost every category. The Best Novel Award went to Cixin Liu’s The Three Body Problem, which made it onto the ballot when Marko Kloos, whose book Lines of Departure was on Beale’s slate, declined the nomination after learning about the Rabid Puppy actions. Beale, ironically, ended up urging his Puppies to vote for The Three Body Problem; the Rabid vote seems to have given it the margin of victory. Meanwhile, Best Fan Writer was won by the lone non-Puppy, Laura J. Mixon. Later, the final nomination data confirmed a rumour I’d heard that Mixon had gotten the nomination when I declined it.

See Matthew’s complete comments here.

Bud Webster, July 27, 1952 – February 14, 2016

Bud Webster, July 27, 1952 – February 14, 2016

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Bud Webster wonders if he can afford TEXT
Bud Webster doing what he loved – selling books

It’s never easy to write obituaries. It’s especially difficult when they’re members of the Black Gate staff.

I was already a fan of Bud Webster’s Past Masters column, thoughtful biographical pieces on the enduring impact of our finest writers, when I first approached him to become a Contributing Editor. His first article for us, a marvelous discussion of Tom Reamy, and a continuation of his Who? series on neglected genre authors, appeared in Black Gate 15.

Bud didn’t waste my time with a superficial survey of Reamy’s fiction — anyone could have done that. Instead, he delivered an impeccably researched, 3,400-word piece that dove into Reamy’s history and early influences. It was the kind of piece that triggered an outpouring of discussion and gratitude from BG‘s readers (Keith West even drove to Breckenridge, Texas so he could send Bud a photo of the empty lot where Reamy’s house once stood).

It was the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership with Bud. He was briefly our poetry editor, before the death of the print magazine made that title superfluous. He became a prolific early blogger for us, contributing a dozen posts, mostly on his favorite subjects — the pros and cons of selling vintage books, his role as an stfnal historian, and the magical books that first lured him into the hobby.

Bud wrote extensively on the hobby he loved so much. His first book was Anthopology 101 (2010), an affectionate look back at the classic SF anthologies that helped define the genre. It was quickly followed by The Joy of Booking (2011) and Past Masters, & Other Bookish Natterings (2013). All three were collections of his earlier columns.

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Get a Free Pathfinder Tales Audiobook (if you act before Feb. 16)

Get a Free Pathfinder Tales Audiobook (if you act before Feb. 16)

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Death's Heretic-smallOf all the books I’ve reviewed for Black Gate, definitely two of my favorites have been the Pathfinder Tales novels by James L. Sutter, Death’s Heretic and The Redemption Engine. I’m not alone, of course. There’s no shortage of Pathfinder Tales fans (or authors) hanging out around the Black Gate headquarters, and James Sutter is a friend of the website.

In fact, the enthusiasm is so great that I have a large backlog of Pathfinder Tales books that I haven’t gotten to read yet. These days, a decent chunk of my reading comes from listening to audiobooks while performing other tasks. I use Audible.com, but the Pathfinder Tales novels hadn’t offered audiobooks unfortunately. That changed with their announcement last October about a partnership with Audible Audiobooks to produce the audiobooks, not only for their newly-released titles but for their backlog of audiobooks as well.

To celebrate the Pathfinder Tales audiobooks, Audible.com is offering the Death’s Heretic audiobook for free through February 16. Once you purchase the book, it’ll remain in your digital library to access at any time, which you can do on apps available through iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and online web formats. So, really, there’s little excuse for not signing up to get the book.

And if that’s not enough to keep you busy…

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Mark Sumner Serializes His First New Novel in Seven Years at Daily Kos

Mark Sumner Serializes His First New Novel in Seven Years at Daily Kos

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On Whetsday Denny-smallMark Sumner is one of Black Gate‘s most popular writers. When his short story “Leather Doll” appeared in Black Gate 7, The Internet Review of Science Fiction called it “absolutely riveting… [a] masterpiece of contemporary science fiction,” and his serialized novel The Naturalist became one of the most acclaimed tales in our long history. (All three BG installments of The Naturalist were collected under one cover in 2014.)

Now Mark has kicked off an ambitious new project, publishing a brand new serial novel at the political blog Daily Kos, where he has been a writer for several years. The first installment went live today:

This is the first installment of a new novel, On Whetsday. The book was inspired by recent events, old attitudes, and the long-held conviction that science fiction’s ability to create a fresh angle on society is more than just a parlor trick. On Whetsday is my first new work in several years. It will be available from my friends at Word Posse both as an ebook and in genuine wood pulp. The book is also available as a podcast, with voices provided by Raymond Shinn and Rett Macpherson.

The artwork today [at right] comes from Amy Jones, our own Ashes of Roses. I think it’s fantastic.

This is, in fact, the first new novel from Mark since the last installment of The Naturalist appeared in Black Gate in 2009, and I’m thrilled to see it. A new Mark Sumner novel is a major publishing event.

Check out the first installment of On Whetsday here.