Search Results for: New Edge Sword

Fantasia 2017, Day 11: Finding Forms (The H-Man, Bastard Swordsman, and Gintama)

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Sunday, July 23, I was down at Fantasia’s De Sève Theatre before noon to see a screening of the 1958 film The H-Man (Bijo To Ekatai-Ningen). I intended to follow that up with another vintage movie, the Shaw Brothers–produced 1983 film Bastard Swordsman (Tian can bian). Finally, I’d wrap up the day with a contemporary movie, the manga adaptation Gintama, which promised a mix of action and comedy. I liked the variety the films seemed to represent, and I was…

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Playing Child Friendly OneDice Fantasy on the Edge of the World

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Isle of Harris, Scottish Hebrides. Still bleeding from the last trap, the wounded warrior positions himself against the wall on the hinge side of the door, leans out and turns the handle. SLAM! The door swings open with surprising force and whacks him like a fly swat. And outside the window, the dark clouds sweep in from the Atlantic. Rain rattles on the glass. Yes, we’re playing OneDice Fantasy on the Isle of Harris, practically the  edge of the world. Step out…

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Even More Metal on Metal: Swords of Steel Volume III

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For the third time in two years, Dave Ritzlin has gathered metal musicians and gotten them to turn their talents toward full-throttle swords & sorcery. (My reviews of the previous two volumes are here and here). Unlike last year’s installment, which too often wandered astray, the brand new Swords of Steel Volume III is almost all S&S. Serious, skull-splitting, blood-spilling, adrenaline-pumping S&S. Following a short introduction by Mark “The Shark” Shelton (Manilla Road/Hellwell/Riddlemaster), the book kicks off with its best story…

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The Poison Apple: Have Long Sword Will Battle, An Interview with Martin Page

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Martin Page demonstrating German Longsword at Compulsion Martin Page is a regular contributor to Black Gate and writes novels, such as the alternate history mash-up Swords versus Tanks and non-fiction books like Storyteller Tools, under the pen name, M. Harold Page. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland and teaches Medieval German longsword at Edinburgh’s Dawn Duellists Society. Martin, what have you been working on? I’ve been taken a break from blogging while working on a space opera series. I’ll shortly return…

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Battles with Blades and Bows, and Creatures Charming and Terrifying: Journeys, edited by Teresa Edgerton

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I admit it. As both a writer and a reader, I’m a sucker for a good themed anthology. The writer in me loves responding creatively to a prompt, finding inspiration in the unexpected. The reader in me is always fascinated to see the range of tales a collection of talented, thoughtful authors can tease from a shared basic notion. Journeys, an epic fantasy anthology, edited by Teresa Edgerton and published by Nathan Hystad’s imprint, Woodbridge Press, hits the cybershelves on…

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Modular: The New Mongoose Traveller RPG #0: Transported by Free Trader Beowulf!

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This is Free Trader Beowulf, calling anyone… Mayday, Mayday… we are under attack… main drive is gone… turret number one not responding… Mayday… losing cabin pressure fast… calling anyone… please help… This is Free Trader Beowulf… Mayday…. 35 years and those words still send a chill run down my spine. I can even see the shelf in the now defunct gaming shop on Edinburgh’s Forest Road. I was there to pick up Chivalry and Sorcery. Even at thirteen, I was a…

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The Poison Apple: The Paintbrush is as Mighty as the Sword — An Interview With Lissanne Lake

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Cover for Hammer of the Gods, photo by E. Crowens Lissanne Lake is a Sword and Sorcery fantasy illustrator with an artistic career spanning over thirty years. A New Jersey resident, she’s designed everything from book jacket and magazine covers to tarot cards, games and wall murals for public art projects and has also worked with famous authors such as Sir Terry Pratchett. On the side, she’s a fencing instructor, a re-enactor, and is learning to speak Japanese. Crowens: Were…

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Goth Chick News: Polish Up the Sword and Buff the Leather, Blade is (Maybe) Back

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For years now fans have been waiting for something to come of all the rumors regarding the Wesley Snipes, day-walking, bad-ass known as Blade. In case you haven’t been keeping track, we last left the story back in 2004 with Blade Trinity, where personally I first learned to appreciate Ryan Reynolds on many levels, not to mention Dominic Purcell. Add in a fairly good storyline, an awesome soundtrack and a strong female character in the form of Jessica Biel laying waste with her compound…

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Heavy Metal Lyrics, Sword & Sorcery Fantasy and Video Games: A Cultural Synergy by Dr. Fred Adams

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Last year, Dr Fred C. Adams, Ph.D., joined our parade of writers in the Discovering Robert E. Howard series with an entry on Esau Cairn, REH’s classic science fiction character. Dr. Adams is back for another guest post here at Black Gate. Put on your headphones and go! The parallel (and almost simultaneous) ascensions of heavy metal music, video game technology (which later migrated to personal computers), and sword and sorcery fantasy to mass popularity from the early 1970s forward…

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The Conclusion to a Grand Adventure: Hobgoblin Night by Teresa Edgerton

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Hobgoblin Night (2015) is an e-book rerelease (and revision, and repackaging, along with three previously published short stories) of The Gnome’s Engine (1991), Teresa Edgerton’s charming follow-up to Goblin Moon (1991). In it, the adventures of brave Sera Vorder and dashing Francis Skelbrooke, and the evil machinations of the faerie-human hybrid, the Duchess of Zar-Wildungen, continue. In my Black Gate review of Goblin Moon, I wrote, Goblin Moon is a model of what light entertainment can be. It’s not going to change your…

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