Browsed by
Category: Editor’s Blog

The blog posts of Black Gate Managing Editor Howard Andrew Jones and Editor John O’Neill

Vintage Treasures: Lin Carter’s Weird Tales, Part II

Vintage Treasures: Lin Carter’s Weird Tales, Part II

Comments 1 comment

Table of Contents for Weird Tales 1, edited by Lin Carter (Zebra Books, December 1980)

For yesterday’s Vintage Treasures post, I finally had the chance to discuss Lin Carter’s early-80s attempt to resuscitate the Magazine that Never Dies, the long-running weird fiction pulp Weird Tales.

Since I examined all four paperbacks, there wasn’t room in that article to look back at some of the fascinating discussions they’ve triggered over the last four decades, including lengthy commentary from Carter himself — especially his (largely unfulfilled) plans for the future volumes — or reviews of the stories within from modern readers. So I took the time to do that today.

…

Read More Read More

The Mystery of Steven Klaper, Agent of Insight

The Mystery of Steven Klaper, Agent of Insight

Comments 6 comments


Agents of Insight (Tor, October 1986). Cover by Barclay Shaw

Back in 2017 I bought a copy of Agents of Insight, and thought it would be interesting to do a brief write up of the genre-blending science fiction-P.I. novel for Black Gate. But I immediately ran into a problem. The author, Steven Klaper, was a complete mystery. This was the only work of any kind I can find published under that name. No other novels, short stories, comics, nothing. When that happens, I automatically assume the name is a pseudonym — and I’m usually right. But even after 30 years, I couldn’t find any record of the name “Steven Klaper” used by a more well-known writer.

I made a plea on for information on Facebook, and Gordon van Gelder, publisher of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, immediately offered a useful suggestion.

Thirty-one years isn’t that long ago and there are plenty of Tor Books employees with long memories like Beth Meacham and Claire Eddy who probably know if Klaper was a pen name for, say, the guy who published as Samuel Holt or if in fact Klaper was just a guy who only ever published one book.

Tor Editor extraordinaire Beth Meacham did indeed remember Steven, and this is where things got interesting.

…

Read More Read More

Howard Andrew Jones and Todd McAulty on Exploring the Fine Art of Short Epic Fantasy

Howard Andrew Jones and Todd McAulty on Exploring the Fine Art of Short Epic Fantasy

Comments 2 comments

Image by Tor.com

It’s been three years since I’ve had the chance to partner with Black Gate‘s first managing editor, the ever-creative Howard Andrew Jones, on a feature article for Tor.com. Back in 2019-2020 we wrote a series of pieces showcasing overlooked fantasy authors and games, including Five Forgotten Swordsmen and Swordswomen of Fantasy, Five Classic Sword-and-Planet Sagas, and Traveller: A Classic Science Fiction Simulator. (I co-wrote those articles as ‘Todd McAulty,’ the byline I use for writing fiction.)

In honor of the publication of Howard’s breakout novel Lord of a Shattered Land, we looked back at some of the greatest fantasy sagas of all time — in particular, those that began as humble series of short stories, before they exploded into novels. They include Karl Edward Wagner’s classic Kane, Michael Moorcock’s groundbreaking Elric, and Stephen King’s bestselling The Dark Tower. Special shout-out to our Black Gate regulars who braved the trip to Tor.com to read and comment, including Rich Horton (ecbatan), Eugene R, NOLAbert, James Enge, and Joe Hoopman. Thanks team!

Check out the complete article at Tor.com, and don’t forget to grab a hardcover copy of Lord of a Shattered Land while they’re still available!

Get Ready for a Fantasy Revolution: Lord of a Shattered Land by Howard Andrew Jones

Get Ready for a Fantasy Revolution: Lord of a Shattered Land by Howard Andrew Jones

Comments 6 comments


Lord of a Shattered Land and The City of Marble and Blood
(Baen, August 1 and October 3, 2023). Covers by Dave Seeley

A few times in my life I’ve had an early look at a book that I knew was going to revolutionize fantasy. When I received an advance proof of A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin in 1996. When Andy Heidel at Avon sent us an early copy of Neil Gaiman’s first novel. When Betsy Wollheim at DAW sent me an advance reading copy of The Name of the Wind in the fall of 2006.

I had that same feeling while reading Howard Andrew Jones’ Lord of a Shattered Land, the opening book in the Chronicles of Hanuvar, on sale in less than two weeks. Howard is the leading Sword & Sorcery author of the 21st Century, and this series is his masterwork.

…

Read More Read More

Package Blue, the Second Novel by Todd McAulty, Now Available Free

Package Blue, the Second Novel by Todd McAulty, Now Available Free

Comments 6 comments

Artwork for Package Blue by Pixel Vault

In May of last year I was contacted by director Tim Miller (Deadpool, Terminator: Dark Fate). I’d been doing some work for Tim’s Blur Studios for a few months, writing story ideas for upcoming streaming projects, with a pool of talented authors that included John Scalzi, Tamsin Muir, and others. Tim had just been hired to help develop an ambitious property set in the Inhabitants Universe owned by the NFT company Pixel Vault, and he was looking for a writer to dive into the project.

Tim had first reached out to me after reading my first novel The Robots of Gotham, published under the name Todd McAulty in 2018, and we’d become friends over the years. I ended up doing a bunch of work on the Inhabitants project for Tim, and when he left the project in June, Pixel Vault put me on a weekly retainer, mostly to assist with creating background lore. When I was fired from my day job in November, Pixel Vault offered me an 8-month contract to write a series of linked stories set in their colorful Inhabitants Universe.

The first was Package Blue, written as a web-novel and published online in weekly installments. Illustrated by the talented team at Pixel Vault, Package Blue is the tale of a team transporting a mysterious cargo through a raging Iowa snowstorm that loses contact with the rest of their convoy, and discovers they’re being pursued by something inhuman. Each of its 12 Acts is meant to be read in 10-15 minutes. Total length is 42,000 words.

You can read the whole thing here. I’m already halfway done with the second book, which we hope to launch online in September. I hope you’ll give it a try, and let us know what you think!

GW Thomas on Interplanetary Graveyards, Cemetery Worlds, and Junkyard Planets

GW Thomas on Interplanetary Graveyards, Cemetery Worlds, and Junkyard Planets

Comments 1 comment

Art by Chris Foss

GW Thomas’s Dark Worlds is one of the better blogs out there, at least for fans of classic SF, comics and pulps. In just the last few weeks he’s discussed Sword & Sorcery at Warren (Part 10: 1980), Bronze Age DC Werewolves (Parts 1, 2, and 3) and Golden Age Plant Monsters.

No one else is doing scholarship on plant monsters, and Thomas clearly deserves an award for that alone. But my favorite recent piece was his 2-part article on interplanetary graveyards, cemetery worlds, and junkyard planets in comics and pulps.

…

Read More Read More

Knowing the Rules, and Choosing to Break Them: An Interview with K.B. Wagers

Knowing the Rules, and Choosing to Break Them: An Interview with K.B. Wagers

Comments 0 Comment


The NeoG trilogy, published by Harper Voyager: A Pale Light in the Black
(March 2020), Hold Fast Through the Fire (July 2021), and The Ghosts of Trappist
(June 27, 2023). Covers by Vadim Sadovski and Reginald Polynice

K.B. Wagers is one of the most exciting of the new crop of space opera writers. Their first novel, Behind the Throne, appeared in 2016 from Orbit Books, and it kicked off what eventually became a popular six-volume series featuring Hail Bristol, a runaway princess who becomes one of the most fearsome gunrunners in the galaxy. Packed with alien gods, centuries-long conflicts, treasonous plots, interstellar civilizations, invasions, intrigue, diplomatic missions, a spaceship with a motley crew, and full-scale galactic war, the Hail Bristol universe is terrific rest stop for anyone who enjoys space opera and political intrigue.

K.B.’s new NeoG series, set in our own solar system, follows the adventure of the Near-Earth Orbital Guard, a military force patrolling and protecting space. The first two volumes, A Pale Light in the Black and Hold Fast Through the Fire, will be followed by The Ghosts of Trappist, arriving in hardcover from Harper Voyager on June 27, 2023. Lara Báez, the Publicity Manager at HarperCollins, was kind enough to arrange an interview with K.B. before the release of the new book. The complete text of our email discussion, which took place between May 31 and June 5th of this year, is below. It has been lightly edited for clarity, and to correct the worst of my spelling mistakes.

…

Read More Read More

Lawrence Ellsworth’s Cinema of Swords Arrives Next Week

Lawrence Ellsworth’s Cinema of Swords Arrives Next Week

Comments 1 comment

Cinema of Swords by Lawrence Ellsworth (Applause, June 15, 2023)

Next Thursday is a big day in the Black Gate offices, as the most anticipated book of the year finally arrives: the hardcover edition of Lawrence Ellsworth’s monumental Cinema of Swords.

What’s in this great beast of a book? Every one of Lawrence’s informative and entertaining Cinema of Swords columns from Black Gate — Over four hundred movies and television shows featuring swashbucklers: knights, pirates, samurai, Vikings, gladiators, outlaw heroes like Zorro and Robin Hood, and anyone else who lives by the blade and solves their problems with the point of a sword — pus full-color stills, poster reproductions, a handy index (both Title and Subject), and plenty of fascinating sidebar articles by Lawrence, covering topics like The First British Invasion (50s swashbuckling TV series from ITV) to Wholesome Buccaneers (family-friendly pirate ) and Mighty Maciste (the roving strongman of two dozen films of the 60s-era post-Hercules peplum craze).

…

Read More Read More

Total Pulp Victory: Windy City Pulp & Paper Convention 2023, Part II

Total Pulp Victory: Windy City Pulp & Paper Convention 2023, Part II

Comments 5 comments

David C. Smith and Steven H Silver find priceless treasures in the Dealers Room at Windy City Pulp & Paper

A month ago I wrote a short convention report on the 2023 Windy City Pulp & Paper Show, which took place Friday April 21st to Sunday, April 23rd in Lombard, Illinois. In that article I mostly rubber-necked at the gorgeous Weird Tales pulps and other rare magazines sold during the evening auctions, and took covetous pictures of the pre-auction displays.

Here in Part II, I’ll share a few more photos of the vendors and personalities I met, and showcase a few of the many treasures I dragged home in seven heavy boxes — including vintage comics, science fiction digests, graphic novels, new releases, and of course lots of great old paperbacks. Assuming you enjoy cautionary tales of disastrous self control, it should be an entertaining read.

…

Read More Read More

The Legacy of a Legendary Collector: Denny Lien, September 26, 1945 – April 15, 2023

The Legacy of a Legendary Collector: Denny Lien, September 26, 1945 – April 15, 2023

Comments 22 comments


A handful of items from Denny Lien’s incredible collection I was able to save from the dumpster

On Wednesday May 3, I drove 379 miles from St. Charles to Minneapolis, to help clean out the last of the legendary collection of the late Denny Lien. I’d been reliably informed that it was the final week his estate would have access to the house; the following Monday, Habitat for Humanity would take possession, and everything left would go in the dumpster.

Denny had the most incredible collection of magazines I’ve ever seen. During the scant few hours I had in the house I found virtually complete runs of Amazing Stories, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Worlds of If, Galaxy, Fantastic, Astounding/Analog, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Locus, Cemetery Dance, and many, many more — far more than I could ever pack and fit in the minivan I’d rented for the trip. Most were unread, in pristine condition.

…

Read More Read More