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

Doctor Strange Gets a Director

Doctor Strange Gets a Director

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Strange Tales 110 Doctor Strange-smallI’ve been getting cranky waiting for progress on Marvel’s Doctor Strange movie, and as the wait has stretched out, I’ve been getting progressively more pessimistic (see my March post, Hurry Up With That Doctor Strange Movie, Marvel.)

The property has enormous potential to be something completely original in the superhero genre — namely a faithful rendition of Steve Ditko’s playful (and totally bonkers) inter-dimensional setting, which is what first blew away so many readers of Doctor Strange in the 1960s. A hero whose adventures routinely took him to gorgeous, bizarre, imaginative, and frequently monster-filled realms where normal concepts of space and distance were useless was something totally new, and readers thrilled to it — and it took Ditko’s unique genius to really make it work.

However, Marvel Studios took a huge step forward this week, announcing that they had selected a director for the film: Scott Derrickson, writer/director of the terrific little horror film Sinister, perhaps the best horror flick of 2012. Derrickson has an impressive resume as a writer/director, including The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) and the upcoming Deliver Us from Evil (July 2014). He was also the director of the 2008 remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still.

If you’re getting a strong horror vibe off  Derrickson’s resume, you’re not alone. Matt D. Wilson at Comics Alliance did a fine job of articulating my own feelings on the announcement yesterday:

Seriously, though, that’s pretty interesting, considering that Doctor Strange has never been what I’d call a horror character, despite his many dealings with supernatural forces, demons, dark magic, and so forth. But his stories have always tended to be more fantastical, while other Marvel characters, such as Son of Satan, Werewolf By Night, and, you know, Dracula, have tended to be more horror-focused. The decision perhaps suggests a tone that won’t necessarily please Doctor Strange fans, but may be very palatable to general movie audiences, who made the low-budget Sinister a surprise hit back in 2012.

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Jay Lake, June 6, 1964 – June 1, 2014

Jay Lake, June 6, 1964 – June 1, 2014

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Jay LakeJay Lake’s website, jlake.com, is reporting that Jay passed away this morning.

Jay’s first published story was “The Courtesy of Guests” in the Bruce Holland Rogers anthology Bones of the World in September 2001. I first encountered him in the Black Gate slush pile a few months later. His stories were wildly original, astonishingly varied, and frequently brilliant.

I purchased two, the enigmatic “Fat Jack and the Spider Clown” (BG 8), and the vividly original “Devil on the Wind” (BG 14, co-written with Michael Jasper). It was while working with Jay on the first that I discovered just how much hidden meaning there is in a Jay Lake story, and how carefully constructed they are.

Jay was diagnosed with colon cancer in April 2008 and he reported on the progress of the disease and his tireless efforts to combat it with brutal honesty on his blog. For years after his diagnosis Jay continued writing tirelessly, producing three major series: The City Imperishable (Trial of Flowers, Madness of Flowers, and the forthcoming Reign of Flowers, all from Night Shade), Mainspring (Mainspring, Escapement, Pinion, published by Tor), and three novels in the Green universe (Green, Endurance, and Kalimpura, all from Tor).

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The Top 50 Black Gate Posts in April

The Top 50 Black Gate Posts in April

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lolani 3We published 107 blog posts in April. And they were all fantastic.

But, as they say, some were more fantastic than others. And you sure liked some more than the rest. For example, if it concerned Star Trek, you were all over it: Howard Andrew Jones’s enthusiastic review of the latest episode of Star Trek Continues was our top article for the month, and by a tidy margin.

Bob Byrne’s new column The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes continues to win over new readers; his post on Dirk Gently, Holistic Detective, was the second most read article last month.

Rounding out the Top Three was Sean McLachlan’s engrossing photo-essay on The Waterloo Panorama. (You skimmed the article and just looked at the gorgeous pics, didn’t you? It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone.)

The complete Top 50 Black Gate posts in April were:

  1. Star Trek Continues with “Lolani” and Soars to Warp Eight
  2. The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes: Dirk Gently, Holistic Detective
  3. The Waterloo Panorama: An Epic Example of Military Art
  4. Descend Into the Depths of the Earth in Forgotten Realms: Underdark
  5. Kirkus Looks at The Meteoric Rise and Fall of Gnome Press

    6. …

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The Top 20 Black Gate Fiction Posts in April

The Top 20 Black Gate Fiction Posts in April

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tea-makers-task2There’s a new sheriff in town. And he has a cat.

Gallery Hunters Gloren Avericci and Yr Neh, last seen in “The Daughter’s Dowry” (published here October 2012) and “The Sealord’s Successor” (March 2013), accept a dangerous commission to investigate a deadly island in Aaron Bradford Starr’s compelling fantasy mystery, “The Tea-Maker’s Task,” which vaulted to the very top of our fiction charts last month. Louis West at Tangent Online called it:

An entertaining, tongue-in-cheek fantasy… Their adventures take them from the rancid food of Burrow Deep Lane in the city of Ravanon to the workshop of a Tea-Making master then through the forests of Candelon, wherein lurks the Walker of the Woods, until they finally reach the ruined city of Vandelon. All the while, Gloren and the cat engage in constant, silent banter, much like two brothers or war buddies… I wanted more.

Steven H Silver’s tale of the strange astral adventures of Hoggar the Cremator, “The Cremator’s Tale,” extended its run at the top of the charts, taking second place this month.

Next was Mark Rigney’s adventure fantasy, “The Find,” the second part of the tale of Gemen the Antiques Dealer.

Also making the list were exciting stories by Janet Morris and Chris Morris, Joe Bonadonna, Martha Wells, Peter Cakebread, E.E. Knight, Gregory Bierly, Dave Gross, Ryan Harvey, Jason E. Thummel, C.S.E. Cooney, Jon Sprunk, Michael Shea, Harry Connolly, John C. Hocking, Tara Cardinal and Alex Bledsoe, and John R. Fultz.

If you haven’t sampled the free adventure fantasy stories offered through our Black Gate Online Fiction line, you’re missing out. Here are the Top Twenty most-read stories in April.

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Vintage Treasures: Feather Stroke by Sydney J. Van Scyoc

Vintage Treasures: Feather Stroke by Sydney J. Van Scyoc

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Feather Stroke Sydney Van Scyoc-smallMy sister-in-law Mary Dechene passed away unexpectedly two weeks ago. She was 52, never married, and lived alone in a small apartment in Madison, Wisconsin. She was also a Black Gate reader and I’ll miss the letters she used to send me after she read each issue cover to cover.

Her funeral was Saturday. Afterwards came the sad duty of parceling out her belongings to various siblings, nieces, and nephews as the family packed up and cleaned out her apartment. Mary was a dedicated fantasy fan — really, it was all she read — and she left behind thousands of fantasy paperbacks dating from the late 80s and on, packed in dozens of boxes. I think many folks assumed I would want them, but I’m already pretty well stocked in fantasy paperbacks from that era and thought it made more sense for them to go to her sister Marty, so I gallantly waved away any claim to them.

At least until I casually peeked in the first box. I discovered that Mary was surprisingly widely read, and in addition to a virtually complete collection of Terry Brooks, David Eddings, Mercedes Lackey, Robin Hobb, and other bestselling fantasy, she had several surprises. In fact, she had dozens of books I never even knew existed. And trust me when I tell you, that doesn’t happen to me very often.

In a matter of minutes, I was secluded in the garage, digging through box after box. While the rest of the family divided Mary’s jewelry and appliances, I was stacking hundreds of paperbacks in neat rows. In addition to being a completest, Mary was also a very careful reader — the books were in great shape. It really was a treasure trove, far more fantasy novels than I’d seen virtually anywhere. And I’ve been in some of the best book stores on the planet.

In the end, I made it through less than half the boxes. I felt a little guilty about pillaging Mary’s collection anyway, especially after her sister had already laid claim to it, but Marty didn’t seem to mind. I didn’t find anything really valuable, but I did fill a great many holes in my collection, and brought home one very nearly full box of Mary’s delightful collection. I settled back with the first one tonight —  Sydney J. Van Scyoc’s Feather Stroke, a standalone 1989 fantasy from Avon with a terrific Keith Parkinson cover.

Written on the first page, in her famously cramped script, are the words Mary Dechene. A reminder of where they came from. Thank you, Mary. We shared a passion for fantasy, and I’m glad fate brought us together for a short time. I’ll treasure these books, and they will always remind me of you. Rest in peace.

Vintage Treasures: Two Decades of Interzone

Vintage Treasures: Two Decades of Interzone

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Interzone 108-small Interzone 119-small Interzone 138-small

Interzone is the leading British science fiction magazine and has been for over 30 years. It was founded in 1982 and editor David Pringle remained at the helm for 193 issues, until he stepped down in 2004. Since then, it has been part of the TTA Press stable, with the capable Andy Cox as editor; their latest issue — Interzone 252, May–June 2014 — arrived earlier this month. In fact,the only thing not marvelous about Interzone is that it’s so hard to come by here in the US. Barnes & Noble imports issues every two months (although at the prohibitively high price tag of $11.95), but back issues are almost impossible to find. Even eBay isn’t much help.

Enter 2013 Windy City Pulp & Paper last month. I made some terrific purchases at the show, and I’ll be telling you about them over the next few weeks. But hands down, my best find of the weekend was a vast collection of fanzines and assorted 70s and 80s fantasy magazines in a $1 bin at the Adventure House booth — including 64 issues of Interzone, most of them unread. I ended up buying all of them… by far the largest collection of Interzone I’ve ever purchased. I bought about 30 recent issues from a UK seller a few years ago, but these were much older, and much less expensive: a beautiful assortment of issues between 75 and 191, with original fiction from Michael Bishop, Paul Di Filippo, Michael Moorcock, Tony Ballantyne, Paul Park, Thomas M. Disch, Eric Brown, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Geoff Ryman, Tanith Lee, Ian Watson, Richard Calder, and many, many others.

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2013 Nebula Award Winners Announced

2013 Nebula Award Winners Announced

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Ancillary Justice Ann Leckie-smallThe 2013 Nebula Awards were presented yesterday at a solemn SFWA ceremony in downtown San Jose. Folklore tells us these events occur at carefully planned intervals every year, but I suspect the truth is that Nebula Awards erupt spontaneously whenever a critical mass of science fiction and fantasy writers gather together. Like bar fights and flash mobs.

Here’s the complete list of winners.

Novel

Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie (Orbit)

Novella

“The Weight of the Sunrise,” Vylar Kaftan (Asimov’s SF, February 2013)

Novelette

“The Waiting Stars,” Aliette de Bodard (The Other Half of the Sky, Candlemark & Gleam)

Short Story

“If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love,” Rachel Swirsky (Apex, March 2013)

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New Treasures: The Dark Rites of Cthulhu edited by Brian M. Sammons

New Treasures: The Dark Rites of Cthulhu edited by Brian M. Sammons

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The Dark Rites of Cthulhu-smallI first met Neil Baker over a decade ago and was surprised by how much we had in common, including our shared love of genre films. He told vastly more entertaining stories than I did — especially his tales of the British film industry, and working on films like Lifeforce. So I wasn’t at all surprised when he told me late last year that he was joining the noble and distinguished brotherhood of small press publishers.

In an article for Black Gate last month, Neil told us that his first release, The Dark Rites of Cthulhu, was a collection of stories dealing with “the more magical aspects of Lovecraft’s tales, smaller, more intimate stories that explored the consequences of humans meddling in powers beyond their understanding.” In a marketplace crowded with a multitude of Cthulhu volumes, this one stands out, with terrific reviews, fabulous design, and excellent interior art by Neil himself. Here’s the book description.

For centuries, students of the forbidden arts have probed the inky recesses of the spaces inbetween. Hapless mortals have invoked monstrous entities from beyond through foul magicks, incantations and rituals. When will they learn that there can be no profit nor joy to be gained through relations with the insidious old ones? These sixteen tales of depravity, sorcery and madness may offer some illumination, but ultimately there can be no salvation for those who dabble in The Dark Rites of Cthulhu.

Featuring terrifying new stories by Glynn Owen Barrass, Edward M. Erdelac, John Goodrich, Scott T. Goudsward, T. E. Grau, C.J. Henderson, Tom Lynch, William Meikle, Christine Morgan, Robert M. Price, Pete Rawlik, Josh Reynolds, Brian M. Sammons, Sam Stone, Jeffrey Thomas and Don Webb and edited by Brian M. Sammons, The Dark Rites of Cthulhu shares cautionary tales set in a multiverse of jealousy, greed, desperation and naivety and is guaranteed to delight students of the Dark Arts and followers of the Great Old Ones alike.

The Dark Rites of Cthulhu was edited by Brian M. Sammons and published by April Moon Books on March 28, 2014. It is 224 pages, priced at $18.99 in trade paperback and just $2.99 for the digital version. Buy it directly from the April Moon website. It gets our highest recommendation.

A Ride Along with the Thought Police: John C. Wright, Foz Meadows, and Rachel Aaron

A Ride Along with the Thought Police: John C. Wright, Foz Meadows, and Rachel Aaron

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the-legend-of-eli-monpress2There’s been a lively and far-ranging debate that’s arisen out of the 2014 Hugo nominations, recent turmoil inside SFWA, and even the lingering controversy over WisCon withdrawing Elizabeth Moon’s Guest of Honor invitation back in 2010. It began earlier this week with author John C. Wright drawing the threads of these (and other) issues together to illuminate a broad conspiracy to silence conservative writers, in his article Heinlein, Hugos, and Hogwash:

The lamps of the intellect were put out one by one, first in society at large, then in literature, then in our little corner called science fiction. What we have now instead is a smothering fog of caution, of silence, of an unwillingness to speak for fear of offending the perpetually hypersensitive. Science fiction is under the control of the thought police…

When Larry Correia was nominated for a Hugo Award, the gossips reacted with astonishing venom, vocal enough to be mentioned in the Washington Post and USA Today. He was accused of the typical menu of thought crimes. You know the selection: racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, insensitivity, fascism… The lunatic Left planned and struggled for years, decades, to achieve their cultural influence. Let us imitate their perseverance, and retake our lost home one mind, one institution, at a time. Start by praying.

Black Gate blogger Foz Meadows posted a thoughtful (and frequently very funny) response, “Silence Is Not Synonymous With Uproar: A Response To John C. Wright,” in which she ably disputes John C. Wright’s complaints point by point. Here’s an example:

You cannot state, as your opening premise, that SFF fandom is being handicapped by silence and an unwillingness to speak out, and then support that premise by stating the exact polar opposite: that there has, in your own words, been vocal uproar. Doubtless, what Wright meant to imply is that the persons against whom the uproar is directed are being silenced by it – that he, and others like him, such as Larry Correia and Theodore Beale, are now suffering under the burden of enforced quietude. But given that all three men are still writing publicly and vocally, not just about the issues Wright raises, but about any number of other topics, the idea that their output is being curtailed by their own “unwillingness to speak for fear of offending” is patently false.

In her post “The Loudest Sound in the World is a Bigot Screaming That he’s Being Silenced,” Rachel Aaron, author of the The Legend of Eli Monpress and, under the name Rachel Bach, the military SF series Fortune’s Pawn, presents the radical idea that having readers react strongly to your ideas isn’t the same thing as being a victim of “thought police” — it’s something called criticism, a vital part of a free society.

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Baen Announces 2014 Fantasy Adventure Award

Baen Announces 2014 Fantasy Adventure Award

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Baen Books logoAll right, all you aspiring fantasy writers. Here’s your chance to make a splash.

Baen Books has announced a new short story contest for the best original fantasy adventure tale under 8,000 words. They’re accepting entries in all categories of fantasy, including sword and sorcery, epic fantasy, heroic fantasy, urban fantasy, etc. Here’s the official announcement:

Baen Books is proud to announce the inaugural Baen Fantasy Adventure Award, to be given at this year’s Gen Con to the best piece of original short fiction that captures the spirit and tradition of such great storytellers as Larry Correia, Robert E. Howard, Mercedes Lackey, Elizabeth Moon, Andre Norton, J.R.R. Tolkien, David Weber and Marion Zimmer Bradley.

There’s no entry fee, but you’re limited to one entry per person. The story has to be original and not a reprint.

Only entries in English will be considered. Poetry or licensed fiction set in some else’s sandbox (such as Pathfinder, Star Wars, Doctor Who, or Twilight fanfic) will not be considered.

All submissions must be by e-mail. The contest is now open and entries must be submitted by June 30, 2014. A single winner will be announced at this year’s Gen Con.

Complete submission instructions are at the Baen website. Read them carefully, as they include very specific instructions.

Good luck!