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The Top 50 Black Gate Posts in February

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Scott Taylor’s massive survey of the top artists working in the role playing industry since its birth — the latest in his popular Art of the Genre series — was our most popular article last month. In second and third place were our reports on the latest fan turmoil inside the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA), including a series of ugly personal attacks on ex-SFWA Vice President Mary Robinette Kowal. Fourth was the first installment of Jon Sprunk’s Firefly…

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The Top 20 Black Gate Fiction Posts in February

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Mark Rigney’s “The Find,” part of his perennially popular Tales of Gemen series, maintained  the top spot last month, holding off a stiff challenge from Jon Sprunk’s hit novel Blood and Iron. “The Find” is actually Part II of the series. It began with “The Trade,” which Tangent Online called a “Marvelous tale.” Read all three tales in their entirety right here. Jon Sprunk’s Blood and Iron, Book One of The Book of the Black Earth, was released this month by Pyr…

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The Top 50 Black Gate Posts in January

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We dove into the politics of fantasy in January, with articles from M Harold Page (“Why Medieval Fantasy is not Inherently Conservative,”) and Derek Kunsken (“Is Fantasy Inherently not Political?”) — both of which cracked the Top Five for the month. We didn’t steer clear of controversy on the rest of the chart, either. Nick Ozment dissected the latest Peter Jackson pic, with a little help from friends Frederic S. Durbin and Gabe Dybing, in “Inkjetlings Round eTable: Jackson’s Desolation…

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The Top 20 Black Gate Fiction Posts in January

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Mark Rigney’s “The Find,” part of his perennially popular Tales of Gemen series, hit the top of the fiction charts this month. “The Find” is actually Part II of the series, which began with “The Trade,” which Tangent Online called a “Marvelous tale. Can’t wait for the next part.” Next on the list was E.E. Knight’s sword & sorcery epic “The Terror of the Vale,” the second in the Blue Pilgrim sequence, following “That of the Pit.” Third was Martha Wells’ complete novel, the Nebula nominee…

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The Top 20 Black Gate Fiction Posts in December

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E.E. Knight’s sword & sorcery epic “The Terror of the Vale” vaulted to the top of our Fiction list in December — doubtless buoyed by the publication of the first story in the Blue Pilgrim sequence, “That of the Pit,” right here on December 8th. We’re proud to be able to offer both stories to our readers for the first time. Mark Rigney’s “The Find,” part of his perennially popular Tales of Gemen series, was in second place, followed by Vaughn Heppner’s brand new…

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The Top 20 Black Gate Fiction Posts in November

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For the second month in a row, our exclusive excerpt from Mike Allen’s dark fantasy novel The Black Fire Concerto tops our fiction charts. Those interested in more from the book can listen to our own C.S.E. Cooney read from Chapter One, in a lengthy podcast at HauntedStars.com. Last month’s third place holder, Dave Gross’ Pathfinder Tales: King of Chaos, moved on up into second place this month. You folks certainly enjoy novel excerpts. In third place was Mark Rigney’s “The Find,”…

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“This is the Real Thing for S&S Fans”: Charles R. Rutledge on “Vestments of Pestilence”

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Novelist and columnist Charles R. Rutledge weighed in on John C. Hocking’s newest Archivist tale last month, saying: Do you like sword and sorcery? The real stuff, I mean, where sorcery is something dark and dangerous and people get hurt when they fight with sharp edged weapons? Something that’s a little exotic and makes you think of Robert E. Howard and Fritz Leiber, but still is very much its own thing? Then boy have I got a story for you. “Vestments…

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The Top 20 Black Gate Fiction Posts in October

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Our exclusive excerpt from Mike Allen’s dark fantasy novel The Black Fire Concerto was our most popular work of fiction in October, its first month at the top of the charts. John R. Fultz called it “A post-apocalyptic melody played on strings of Terror and Sorcery,” and apparently word is getting around. Joe Bonadonna’s “The Moonstones of Sor Lunarum,” in the number 2 slot, has been steadily creeping up the charts since we posted it last December. It is without a…

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Black Gate Online Fiction: “Draugr Stonemaker” by Vaughn Heppner

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The young warrior Lod, last seen here in “The Oracle of Gog” (Black Gate 15), “The Pit Slave,” and “The Serpent of Thep” returns in a fast-paced tale of giants in the earth… and a crypt that holds a terrible secret. “What’s that?” whispered Herrek. Lod almost missed it because he expected a giant to rise up out of the earth. Then he saw whiteness out of place with the bulrushes and the green grass. The whiteness was low, planted in the…

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The Art of Magic

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Growing up, Halloween was my favorite holiday. Christmas is great for the presents and Thanksgiving for the feast, but Halloween has a connection with the supernatural that always enthralled me. Ghosts, demons, undead, witches — these were (and are) my meat and mead. When it comes to fantasy stories, magic is what calls to me. In some stories, the magic is subtle. In others, it’s loud and proud. Here are some of my favorite uses of magic in fantasy. The…

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