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Black Gate Magazine #15
Black Gate 15 - Spring 2011
The theme of our massive 15th issue, captured beautifully by Donato Giancola’s striking cover, is Warrior Women. Eight authors — Jonathan L. Howard, Maria V. Snyder, Frederic S. Durbin, Sarah Avery, Paula R. Stiles, Emily Mah, S. Hutson Blount, and Brian Dolton — contribute delightful tales of female warriors, wizards, weather witches, thieves, and other brave women as they face deadly tombs, sinister gods, unquiet ghosts, and much more.
386 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2011
About the author
John O'Neill
16 books1 followerJohn O'Neill is an Ottawa, Ontario, Canada born writer, founder, editor and publisher of Black Gate magazine, a quarterly fantasy magazine first published in 2000. O'Neill holds a doctorate in Chemical Engineering and continued to work in the high technology area. He developed a passion for science fiction and fantasy at an early age and has continued to actively promote this literature genre. He was one of the founders of SF Site, a popular science fiction webzine, before leaving to found New Epoch Press in 2000. New Epoch Press publishes the fantasy adventure magazine Black Gate.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 26, 2024
I spoke with editor John O'Neill about this issue of Black Gate at Wiscon this Spring (incidentally, John may be one of the nicest people you'll meet in the industry - a real gentleman and scholar and nerd, which is meant in only the most complimentary of ways). He told me that his intention for this issue was to compile as many stories written by women that he could. That failing, he wanted to present as many stories that featured female characters, both protagonists and supporting cast-members, as possible. What? Women in Sword and Sorcery that serve some role other than modelling chainmail bikinis and wrapping dragon tails around their hips in suggestive poses?
You betcha!
The opening story, "A River Through Darkness and Light," by John C. Hocking, was a great, if predictable story about the Archivist and his friend Lucella. I absolutely loved both characters, Lucella for her non-chalance and matronly patience with the Archivist, and the Archivist himself for his vulnerability and likeability.
I was also impressed by "The Lions of Karthagar," by Chris Willrich. The main characters in this tale, the Weatherworkers Blim the Damp and Miy Who Sing Storms, whose friendship develops against the background of an invasion of an incredibly rich country by their armies, each of which seeks to take possession of the golden land. Poetic and even touching, this story tugged at my emotions like most Sword and Sorcery does not.
My favorite piece of fiction in the volume was "The Shuttered Temple," by Jonathan L. Howard (author of Johannes Cabal the Necromancer, among others). Kyth the Taker, a brilliant and rather glib thief, is the heroine here. This was a very clever story whose strongest point is less the adventure than the philosophical underpinnings that drive Kyth and Tonsett, her foil. Witty, funny, and thought provoking, I found this the best of this excellent volume.
I have to admit, though, that a piece of non-fiction overshadowed all the fiction in the volume. "Art Evolution," by Scott Taylor, is an epic article that touched a soft spot in my heart and made me wax nostalgic for role-playing days of old. This was as thoroughly-researched an article on the subject of fantasy-art in role-playing as I've ever seen. Of course, I'm hard pressed to think of other articles that have even endeavored such an undertaking. From Jeff Dee to Matthew D. Wilson, Taylor traces the history of art in role-playing. It's an incredible journey that is worth the price of the issue alone.
If you like your Sword and Sorcery in short, smart doses, look no further than Black Gate.
You betcha!
The opening story, "A River Through Darkness and Light," by John C. Hocking, was a great, if predictable story about the Archivist and his friend Lucella. I absolutely loved both characters, Lucella for her non-chalance and matronly patience with the Archivist, and the Archivist himself for his vulnerability and likeability.
I was also impressed by "The Lions of Karthagar," by Chris Willrich. The main characters in this tale, the Weatherworkers Blim the Damp and Miy Who Sing Storms, whose friendship develops against the background of an invasion of an incredibly rich country by their armies, each of which seeks to take possession of the golden land. Poetic and even touching, this story tugged at my emotions like most Sword and Sorcery does not.
My favorite piece of fiction in the volume was "The Shuttered Temple," by Jonathan L. Howard (author of Johannes Cabal the Necromancer, among others). Kyth the Taker, a brilliant and rather glib thief, is the heroine here. This was a very clever story whose strongest point is less the adventure than the philosophical underpinnings that drive Kyth and Tonsett, her foil. Witty, funny, and thought provoking, I found this the best of this excellent volume.
I have to admit, though, that a piece of non-fiction overshadowed all the fiction in the volume. "Art Evolution," by Scott Taylor, is an epic article that touched a soft spot in my heart and made me wax nostalgic for role-playing days of old. This was as thoroughly-researched an article on the subject of fantasy-art in role-playing as I've ever seen. Of course, I'm hard pressed to think of other articles that have even endeavored such an undertaking. From Jeff Dee to Matthew D. Wilson, Taylor traces the history of art in role-playing. It's an incredible journey that is worth the price of the issue alone.
If you like your Sword and Sorcery in short, smart doses, look no further than Black Gate.
December 27, 2011
Almost four hundred pages of (mostly) sword-and-sorcery goodness, now available on Kindle. As always with anthologies, it's a bit of a mixed bag -- some I enjoyed more than others, but I was quite pleased overall. Several of the stories seemed reminiscent of Lord Dunsany or Clark Ashton Smith, which struck me as a good thing. Highlights included "Into the Gathering Dark" by Darrell Schweitzer -- a sequel of sorts to the Thomas the Rhymer ballad; "The Oracle of Gog" by Vaughn Heppner; "World's End" by Frederic S. Durbin (good to see something new by him); and "The Lions of Karthagar" by Chris Willrich. Add in some lengthy review columns (both books and game supplements) and it's hard to go wrong.
(n.b. The only thing in here I didn't read was the excerpt of The Desert of Souls by Howard Andrew Jones and the only reason I didn't read the excerpt is because I plan to get the full book in the very near future. I do love me some Arabian Nights adventures and we don't seem to get much of that these days.)
(n.b. The only thing in here I didn't read was the excerpt of The Desert of Souls by Howard Andrew Jones and the only reason I didn't read the excerpt is because I plan to get the full book in the very near future. I do love me some Arabian Nights adventures and we don't seem to get much of that these days.)
January 23, 2016
Another excellent issue of fantasy short stories. My favorites this issue were John C. Hocking's "A River Through Darkness and Light", Kyth the thief in Jonathan L. Howard's "The Shuttered Temple" and Harry Connelly's "Eating Venom. Great magazine to sample new fantasy stories and writers. Very recommended
January 31, 2016
A very good collection of short stories.
Possibly a bit more than I ever really wanted to know about various role-playing games--but that part certainly also appears to be very well done, for those who might like to know.
Possibly a bit more than I ever really wanted to know about various role-playing games--but that part certainly also appears to be very well done, for those who might like to know.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews