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Category: Future Treasures

Future Treasures: Word Puppets by Mary Robinette Kowal

Future Treasures: Word Puppets by Mary Robinette Kowal

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Word Puppets Mary Robinette Kowal-smallIn the last few years Mary Robinette Kowal has built a name for herself as a master of historical fantasy with her Glamourist series, which began with the Nebula nominee Shades of Milk and Honey in 2010. But she’s also known for her acclaimed short fiction, and in fact in 2008 she won the Campbell Award for Best New Writer based solely on the strength of her superb short stories — no easy feat in a field where most of the acclaim (and the awards) go to emerging novelists. She’s been nominated for the Hugo Award three times (for “Evil Robot Monkey,” “For Want of a Nail,” and “The Lady Astronaut of Mars”), and won twice.

In addition to writing, Mary is also an accomplished pupeteer who has performed for Jim Henson Pictures, the Center for Puppetry Arts, and other fine institutions. She brings her two careers together with her second short story collection, Word Puppets, which goes on sale from Prime Books on November 5.

Celebrated as the author of five acclaimed historical fantasy novels in the Glamourist series, Mary Robinette Kowal is also well known as an award-winning author of short science fiction and fantasy. Her stories encompass a wide range of themes, a covey of indelible characters, and settings that span from Earth’s past to its near and far futures as well as even farther futures beyond. Alternative history, fairy tales, adventure, fables, science fiction (both hard and soft), fantasy (both epic and cozy) — nothing is beyond the reach of her unique talent. Word Puppets — the first comprehensive collection of Kowal’s extraordinary fiction — includes her two Hugo-winning stories, a Hugo nominee, an original story set in the world of “The Lady Astronaut of Mars,” and fourteen other show-stopping tales.

Word Puppets features an introduction by Patrick Rothfuss

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Victorian Horror: Rippers Resurrected

Victorian Horror: Rippers Resurrected

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rippers 1rippers 2I’ve been waiting for this Kickstarter for years. You see, more than a decade ago, when Savage Worlds was newly launched, one of their very first expansions was a setting called Rippers, where brave heroes in Victorian times fought those things-man-was-not-meant-to-know. Those especially daring, or foolish, could harvest the organs or powers of the creatures of the night in the fight against them. These were the Rippers.

It’s only been available as a PDF or (very) expensive used book. I picked it up as a PDF and loved it, both for the setting and included adventures, and for the system. And I’ve been waiting for the an update, rumors of which have been swirling for ages.

I’ve become quite the fan of Savage Worlds because it really is, as advertised, Fast, Furious, and Fun. Savage Worlds places a premium on being streamlined and cinematic so that players and GM can worry about the story and not about the rules.

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Future Treasures: The Complete Short Fiction of Clifford D. Simak, Volumes 1-3

Future Treasures: The Complete Short Fiction of Clifford D. Simak, Volumes 1-3

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I Am Crying All Inside And Other Stories-small The Big Front Yard and Other Stories-small The Ghost of a Model T And Other Stories-small

Clifford D. Simak is one of my favorite writers. He wrote over 100 short stories in his lifetime, and published more than 20 collections, but even to this day not all of his short fiction has been collected. Especially neglected is much of his early pulp work, written for magazines like Wonder Stories, Astounding, and Thrilling Wonder in the 1930s.

The lack of a complete collection of Clifford D. Simak’s short stories has been keenly felt among many old-school fans. So as you can imagine, I was delighted to discover that Open Road Media has undertaken the first comprehensive collection of all of Simak’s short stories — including his science fiction, fantasy, and western fiction. The first three books, I Am Crying All Inside, The Big Front Yard, and The Ghost of a Model T, go on sale later this month.

All three, like all six volumes announced so far, are edited by David W. Wixon, the Executor of Simak’s Literary Estate. Wixon, a close friend of Simak, contributes an introduction to each volume, and short intros to each story, providing a little background on its publishing history and other interesting tidbits.

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Future Treasures: Year’s Best Weird Fiction, Volume 2, edited by Kathy Koja and Michael Kelly

Future Treasures: Year’s Best Weird Fiction, Volume 2, edited by Kathy Koja and Michael Kelly

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Year's Best Weird Fiction Volume Two wrap-small

The first volume of Year’s Best Weird Fiction appeared last October, and was a complete success. Edited by Michael Kelly and guest editor Laird Barron, it gathered the very best weird fantasy of the year, from John R. Fultz, Jeffrey Ford, John Langan, Sofia Samatar, Simon Strantzas, Paul Tremblay, Jeff VanderMeer, and many others (see the complete TOC here.)

I’ve been highly anticipating the second volume, and I’m not the only one. The one is edited by Kelly and Kathe Koja, and the Table of Contents looks just as stellar. According to publisher Undertow Publications, it will be available November 1st. The cover art is by Tomasz Alen Kopera.

The cover price for the print edition is $18.99, but Undertow currently has a bundle special — get Year’s Best Weird Fiction, Volume 2 and their acclaimed annual anthology Shadows & Tall Trees 5 (regular price $14) for just $25 — including shipping, anywhere in the world. That’s a hard offer to refuse. Check out the details here.

Future Treasures: A Borrowed Man by Gene Wolfe

Future Treasures: A Borrowed Man by Gene Wolfe

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A Borrowed Man-smallA new novel by Gene Wolfe is always an event. He has been honored with virtually every award our field has to offer, including the Rhysling Award, BSFA Award, August Derleth Award, Campbell Award, two Nebula Awards, four World Fantasy awards, and six Locus Awards. He has received eighteen Nebula award nominations and eight Hugo Award nominations.

His latest, A Borrowed Man, is a new science fiction novel arriving in hardcover from Tor on October 20.

It is perhaps a hundred years in the future, our civilization is gone, and another is in place in North America, but it retains many familiar things and structures. Although the population is now small, there is advanced technology, there are robots, and there are clones.

E. A. Smithe is a borrowed person. He is a clone who lives on a third-tier shelf in a public library, and his personality is an uploaded recording of a deceased mystery writer. Smithe is a piece of property, not a legal human.

A wealthy patron, Colette Coldbrook, takes him from the library because he is the surviving personality of the author of Murder on Mars. A physical copy of that book was in the possession of her murdered father, and it contains an important secret, the key to immense family wealth. It is lost, and Colette is afraid of the police. She borrows Smithe to help her find the book and to find out what the secret is. And then the plot gets complicated.

If I had a dime for every time someone said “And then the plot gets complicated” with regards to a Gene Wolfe novel, I’d have a supertanker full of dimes.

A Borrowed Man will be published by Tor Books on October 20, 2015. It is 304 pages, priced at $25.99 in hardcover, and $12.99 for the digital edition. You can read an excerpt in the eBook edition of the latest issue of Lightspeed magazine.

Future Treasures: King of Shards by Matthew Kressel

Future Treasures: King of Shards by Matthew Kressel

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King of Shards-small

Matthew Kressel has had an impressive career over the past decade. He started publishing fiction in his own magazine, Sybil’s Garage, and quickly branched out to Electric Velocipede, Interzone, Lightspeed, Clarkesworld, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. He received his first Nebula Nomination for “The Sounds of Old Earth” in 2013, and his second for “The Meeker and the All-Seeing Eye” earlier this year. He has also been nominated for the World Fantasy Award, for editing Sybil’s Garage.

King of Shards is his debut novel. It will be published by Arche Press, a quality small press who this year have also produced Marguerite Reed’s Archangel, and The End of the End of Everything by Dale Bailey. It is the first novel in The Worldmender Trilogy, and N.K. Jemisin called it “A surreal and exotic adventure in a unique mythological setting. Scary, exhilarating fun!” It follows Daniel Fisher, abducted on his wedding day by the demon king, Ashmedai, who been supplanted by the demon Mashit. Daniel and Ashmedai must work together to stop Mashit, before she destroys all of existence.

King of Shards will be published by Arche Press on October 13, 2015. It is 320 pages, priced at $17 in trade paperback. The striking cover is by Leon Tukker (click the image above for a bigger version). Read more at Matthew’s website.

Future Treasures: Gold Throne in Shadow by M.C. Planck

Future Treasures: Gold Throne in Shadow by M.C. Planck

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Gold Throne in Shadow-smallIn her review of the first book in M.C. Planck’s new series, Sarah Avery said “Sword of the Bright Lady deals in surprising juxtapositions of familiar tropes… This is a fun book.” She also said it “ends just a breath beyond a cliff-hanger… I want to see Crazy Pater Christopher get even crazier. I want to gawk like a peasant at what he comes up with next.”

Now she’ll finally get the chance, as the second volume, Gold Throne in Shadow, will be released in trade paperback by Pry Books next week.

Christopher Sinclair was a mechanical engineer — until he stepped into a world where magic works and no one has heard of a pistol. Now he’s a priest of war, raised from the dead and promoted to take command of the army regiment he trained and equipped. Sent south to an allegedly easy posting, he finds himself in the way of several thousand rabid dog-men. Guns and fortifications turn back the horde, but Christopher’s troubles are only beginning.

Lalania is a bard with a connection to a mysterious group of scholars Christopher hopes can help him find his way back to his wife and home. But the journey to the scholars is long, and Lalania’s motivations are too murky for him to truly trust her.

Christopher has problems that connot be solved with mere firepower: a wicked assassin, hostile clergymen, dubious allies, and worst of all his own impolite tongue. But all of these pale to mere distractions once he discovers that the true enemy is hidden and is playing the kingdom like a puppet master’s stage. Lalania claims she can help — but will it be enough? And will it get him any closer to returning to our world?

Gold Throne in Shadow will be published by Pyr Books on October 13, 2015. It is 315 pages, priced at $17 in trade paperback and $11.99 for the digital version. The cover is by Gene Mollica.

Future Treasures: She Walks in Shadows, edited by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Paula R. Stiles

Future Treasures: She Walks in Shadows, edited by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Paula R. Stiles

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She Walks in Shadows-small She Walks in Shadows-back-small

Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Paula R. Stiles were the editors of the marvelous Innsmouth Magazine, which released its last issue last summer. But they haven’t been resting in the interim — if anything, in fact, it seems like they’ve revved their engines, releasing the Swords & Sorcery/Cthulhu anthology Sword & Mythos, and this brand new collection of Lovecraftian fiction and art from women creators.

She Walks in Shadow ships next week, and includes 25 short stories by Gemma Files, Penelope Love, Angela Slatter, Molly Tanzer, E. Catherine Tobler, Mary Turzillo, Wendy N. Wagner, and many others.

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Win a Copy of Carter & Lovecraft by Jonathan L. Howard

Win a Copy of Carter & Lovecraft by Jonathan L. Howard

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Carter & Lovecraft-smallJonathan L. Howard, author of the Kyth stories (BG 13 and 15) and the Johannes Cabal novels, is well know to Black Gate readers. We gave you a peek at his upcoming dark fantasy novel Carter and Lovecraft a few months ago.

Daniel Carter, ex-homicide detective, teams up with Emily Lovecraft, last known descendant of H.P. Lovecraft, to investigate a series of impossible deaths — and discovers the truth behind Lovecraft’s fiction, and horrors that make the terrible things he witnessed chasing a serial killer years ago seem very tame, indeed.

Now, with the generous support of the book’s publisher, Thomas Dunne Books, we’d like to offer you a lot more than just a peek at Carter & Lovecraft. We have a pair of advance review copies to give away to two lucky readers.

How do you enter? Just send an e-mail to john@blackgate.com with the subject “Carter & Lovecraft,” and a one-sentence suggestion for the ideal Lovecraft team-up — and what dark horrors your dream team should investigate. We’ll announce the winners the week before the novel is released, and present some of the best entries here.

Two winners will be drawn at random from all qualifying entries. All entries become the property of New Epoch Press. No purchase necessary. Must be 12 or older. Decisions of the judges (capricious as they may be) are final. Not valid where prohibited by law, or anywhere postage for a hefty trade paperback is more than, like, 10 bucks (practically, that means US and Canada).

Carter & Lovecraft will be published by Thomas Dunne Books on October 20, 2015. It is 320 pages, priced at $25.99 in hardcover and $12.99 for the digital edition.

Talking Over the Drowning City: An Interview with Christopher Golden, Co-Author of Joe Golem, Occult Detective

Talking Over the Drowning City: An Interview with Christopher Golden, Co-Author of Joe Golem, Occult Detective

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Joe Golem Occult Detective-smallI’ve been e-interviewing different comics creators (indie comics guys Mirror Comics and graphic novelist-turned-TV producer Jay Odjick) as well as comic book editors (Xander Jarowey, Heather Antos, Jake Thomas, and Daniel Ketchum, all from Marvel Comics).

This time out, I wanted to chat with Christopher Golden, a best-selling author and one half of the writing team (along with Mike Mignola) on the 5-issue series Joe Golem: Occult Detective, from Dark Horse. Issue #1 comes out in November, but Dark Horse was kind enough to share an advanced view with Black Gate for this interview 🙂

Click on any of the artwork in this article for bigger versions.

Hey Christopher. Thanks for the chance to chat. I read a review copy of Joe Golem, Occult Detective, and really enjoyed it. I hadn’t seen the world of the Drowning City before, but it was compelling.

Glad you dug it. Mike and I spent a lot of time crafting this world, making sure all the weird pieces fit, so I’m really looking forward to seeing what readers think.

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