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Relive the Glory Days of BattleTech with Shrapnel Magazine

Relive the Glory Days of BattleTech with Shrapnel Magazine

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Shrapnel magazine, issues 4-6 (InMediaRes Productions, March, June & September 2021).
Covers by Florian Mellies (left) and Ken Coleman (middle and right)

I bought a few issues of the new Warhammer paperback magazine Inferno! last year, and was impressed enough to start looking around for similar publications. It wasn’t long before I found Shrapnel, the Official BattleTech Magazine published by InMediaRes Productions, and I picked up the first three issues.

Shrapnel is edited by John Helfers and Philip A. Lee, and published four times a year. In many ways it’s a spiritual successor to the old BattleTechnology print mag from the early 90s, edited by William H. Keith, Jr. and Hillary Edith Ayer. Shrapnel began life as a stretch goal for Catalyst Games’ 2019 Clan Invasion Kickstarter; organizers committed to four issues if they hit the goal. The campaign raised a whopping $2,580,000, and Shrapnel has been with us ever since.

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The Big 50! Heroic Fantasy Quarterly Issue #50

The Big 50! Heroic Fantasy Quarterly Issue #50

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Heroic Fantasy Quarterly’s big 50th issue hit the world in early November and we’ve already had two rounds of great reviews! Tangent Online delves into our five fiction works, then Quick Sip Reviews follows it up reviewing both fiction and poetry

The pieces range but do manage a pretty good thematic cohesion, with issues of inheritance and theft being front and center in almost all of them. This might take the shape of a Shakespearean tragedy, an uncle usurping a throne, or might be more of a romping heist, but whatever the case, the stories keep things moving quickly, with plenty of action, a bit of humor, and a touch of heart. The poems nicely round out the offerings, and it’s a very strong issue worth checking out, and a wonderful celebration for a publication reaching its fiftieth issue! Cheers!

-Charles Paysuer, Quick Sip Reviews

With those accolades, I’m eager to point you in the direction of our offerings!

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Intelligent Lizards, Asteroid Mining, and Hardboiled Noir: November/December 2021 Print SF Magazines

Intelligent Lizards, Asteroid Mining, and Hardboiled Noir: November/December 2021 Print SF Magazines

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November/December 2021 issues of Asimov’s Science Fiction, Analog Science Fiction & Fact, and The Magazine
of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Cover art by Maurizio Manzieri, Shutterstock, and Maurizio Manzieri (again)

The November/December print magazines have an impressive list of contributors, including Jack McDevitt, Nalo Hopkinson, Robert Reed, Eleanor Arnason, David Gerrold, Megan Lindholm, Bill Pronzini & Barry N. Malzberg, Jack Skillingstead, Sandra McDonald, Sheila Finch, R. Garcia y Robertson, Ray Nayler, Gregory Feeley, Shane Tourtellotte, Alice Towey, and many others.

Sam Tomaino at SFRevu has been covering science fiction magazines for over a decade. Here’s a few of his thoughts on the latest Analog.

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Retro-Review: The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Summer 1950

Retro-Review: The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Summer 1950

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The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Summer 1950. Cover by George Salter

This was the third issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, though only the second under that name. (The first issue, Autumn 1949, was titled The Magazine of Fantasy.) Here we see it in the classic form of its early years… Whimsical fantasies… reprints from the 19th and early 20th Century, often by prominent writers … modest essays into not very hard SF… a real attempt to find good SF and Fantasy from writers in other genres.

And, I might add, covers by George Salter. Salter (born Georg Salter in Bremen, Germany, October 5, 1897 (so I share a birthday with him!) contributed 9 covers in the first two years of F&SF, then 2 more (in 1955 and 1966) — his illustrations were very much in the spirit of the early F&SF, somewhat whimsical, semi-abstract, clever. I like them a lot, though I know that taste isn’t shared by everyone.

Early F&SF was light on features. This issue featured only one… “Recommended Reading,” by the editors (Anthony Boucher and J. Francis McComas.) This was published just as genre SF was beginning to be widely published in book form. The recommendations include two Heinlein books (Sixth Column from Gnome, and Waldo and Magic, Inc. from Doubleday), as well as an anthology from Judith Merril, a couple of books from outside the genre, and more… if I am to be honest, none of the books mentioned are really all that memorable, save perhaps the Heinleins — and those more because they are Heinlein books, rather than because they are particularly outstanding.

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Galaxy Science Fiction, December 1954: A Retro-Review

Galaxy Science Fiction, December 1954: A Retro-Review

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Galaxy Science Fiction, December 1954. Cover by Emsh

At the time I’m writing this article, we’re approaching the holiday season, just as people were when Galaxy’s December, 1954 issue arrived. And what could usher in the Yuletide spirit better than some festive, science-fiction artwork by Ed Emshwiller? That’s right. Nothing.

“Skulking Permit” by Robert Sheckley – The colony on the forested planet of New Delaware has been isolated from Earth for 200 years. It operates as a peaceful, small town, where the residents are harmonious, and crime doesn’t exist. When their ancient radio becomes active again, a person from Earth tells the mayor that an inspector is coming in two weeks to determine if the colony conforms to the “customs, institutions, and traditions of Earth.” The mayor takes action, determined to uphold those customs, institutions, and traditions. The colony builds a schoolhouse, a church, and a jail. And the mayor assigns new roles to people, such as Postman and Police Chief.

Tom Fisher wants to enjoy his vacation, but the mayor assigns Tom an important role – the Criminal.

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Weird Tales Deep Read: February 1936

Weird Tales Deep Read: February 1936

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This installment of the Weird Tales Deep Read continues our examination of 1936 with the February issue, which would have ranked among the best ever if not for a terrible cover story that dragged the rating down to a still very respectable 2.1, making it the year’s second best issue. We see some very familiar authors, including C. L. Moore, Paul Ernst, Robert E. Howard (who managed to appear in ten of the eleven ‘36 issues, largely because of two serials), and H.P. Lovecraft (with a reprint).

The best of issue once again comes down to Howard and Moore, and Howard again gets the nod by a hair. Of the 11 stories eight (73%) are set in the United States, and one each (9%) on Mars and an unnamed Jovian moon, China and other Asian territories, and in a fictitious realm. Eight (73%) are set in contemporary times, two in the past (18%) and one (9%) in the future.

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Weirdbook Annual #3: Zombies: Available now!

Weirdbook Annual #3: Zombies: Available now!

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Cover by Fotolia

Wildside Press, ‎ 295 pages. ISBN 978-1479463312

(US Amazon prices: $3.99 Kindle/ $15.00 Paperback/  $29.99 Hardcover)

Zombies! Available now for your Halloween needs!

In 2015, Douglas Draa resurrected Weirdbook with issue #31 (the weird fiction magazine had been dormant since 1997). Fast forward to 2021, and issue #44 is now available. In addition to the core issues, there are themed anthologies spawning. Annual #1 Witches came out in 2017; and Annual #2: Cthulhu appeared in 2019 (discussed on Black Gate).

This year, for Annual #3, Weirdbook challenged authors to come up with memorable takes on zombies. The result is this fantastic collection of 34 new stories. Draa looked for tales that were fun, entertaining and scary. He also wanted fresh meat (i.e., he didn’t want to serve up a bunch of Romeroesque, plague zombies).
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Nazi A-Bombs, Alien Invasions, and Monsters Under the Bed: September/October 2021 Print SF Magazines

Nazi A-Bombs, Alien Invasions, and Monsters Under the Bed: September/October 2021 Print SF Magazines

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September/October 2021 issues of Asimov’s Science Fiction, Analog Science Fiction & Fact, and The Magazine
of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Cover art by Eldar Zakirov, Kurt Huggins, and David A. Hardy

The September/October print magazines are still on sale for a few more days, which means there’s still time to grab them before the November/December issues push them off shelves. Here’s a few reasons to do that. We’ll start with Victoria Silverwolf’s Tangent Online review of the current Asimov’s.

“Sleep and the Soul” by Greg Egan takes place in the United States in the first half of the Nineteenth Century. In this version of the past, however, people do not sleep, and any form of unconsciousness is considered to be equivalent to death. The protagonist is knocked out in an accident and is buried. He manages to escape from his coffin, but finds out that his parents think of him as a demon wearing their dead son’s body. He leaves his home with the woman he loves, taking on a new identity in an attempt to avoid the mobs who would destroy him as a monster. He goes on to become involved with a showman and a dentist experimenting with anesthesia…

The narrator of “Shooting at Warner’s Bay” by Michèle Laframboise is an actress, with a role in a monster movie being filmed on a remote, uninhabited island. The place turns out to have its own weird dangers. This story about making a cheap horror film is, itself, similar to a B movie…

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Tales From the Magician’s Skull #6: Available Now; and Skull TV Announces a Kickstarter

Tales From the Magician’s Skull #6: Available Now; and Skull TV Announces a Kickstarter

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Doug Kovacs cover art

Published by Goodman-Games. Paperback, PDF, eBook (80pages). ISBN 9781950783816.

Announcing the availability and contents of the Tales From the Magician’s Skull #6, a magazine of all-new swords & sorcery fiction! Issue #6 features cover art by Doug Kovacs of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.

Yes, mortal dogs, you read that correctly. The Skull brings readers a new series of stories set in Fritz Leiber’s Lankhmar! Licensed by Leiber’s estate, the forthcoming stories and novellas faithfully expand upon the legendary tales of Lankhmar’s most famous duo.

Issue #6 is available at the publisher’s website Goodman-Games, in Paperback, eBook, and PDF (PDF’s are also available on DriveThru RPG). In the future, expect the paperback of issue#6 available from Amazon, like many of the previous issues.

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Weird Tales Deep Read: January 1936

Weird Tales Deep Read: January 1936

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Another Brundage Pastel

I’m going to change the focus of the Weird Tales deep read slightly, to hopefully give a somewhat more coherent view of the magazine by focusing on a particular year, while still maintaining the month-at-a time format. First up is January 1936, followed by the ten subsequent issues published that year. (One issue was bi-monthly, and I’ve already covered the July issue, so you can just check that particular installment in the link provided below if you’re so inclined).

The January ‘36 WT is full of familiar names. Seabury Quinn, August Derleth, Paul Ernst, C. L. Moore, Robert E. Howard, and H. P. Lovecraft (with a reprint) all appear in the line up. The issue grades out to a respectable 2.44, largely avoiding poor stories but also scoring only a few outstanding ones. The two vying for best of issue were Moore’s Jirel and Howard’s Conan, the second installment of the longest Conan tale he was to write. Howard gets the nod on a toss-up.

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