Monthly Archives: August 2017

The Battle of Castle Itter

Hey, remember that time when a bunch of high ranking French prisoners of war allied with their friend, the SS officer, and asked for help from a Wehrmacht officer in command of a handful of men and the local Austrian Resistance? They knew THEY didn’t have enough manpower to hold off a couple hundred Waffen-SS troops, so they joined forces with 14 American GIs, and holed up in an old castle to keep the prisoners safe.

It’s the damnedest thing. And it actually happened. I can’t believe no one’s turned it into a film. Even the little details make for great reading, like the French tennis star who sneaked through enemy lines to get word to the Americans.

If you’ve never heard of it, you should check it out. And even if you HAVE heard of it, short of a book on the battle, this is the most in-depth account of it I’ve seen. You should read it.

I like tales about heroes, and this is a good one.

Magician’s Skull Table of Contents

Sword-and-Sorcery Kickstarter

So here’s a cool thing. This probably isn’t the Kickstarter you expected me to announce (that one’s still a couple of weeks out) but it’s good news nonetheless. Earlier in the year I was asked if I wanted to write a story for a new sword-and-sorcery anthology from Zombies Need Brains. I said yes, and now the Kickstarter is live, which means sooner or later my story will be in print along with those written by some other fine folks. You can find all the details in the official press release below. And here’s the link.

Begin hereafter the press release:

The latest Kickstarter from Zombies Need Brains is now live! We have three new anthologies–THE RAZOR’S EDGE, GUILDS & GLAIVES, and SECOND ROUND: A RETURN TO THE UR-BAR–with some stunning anchor authors, special reward level, stellar early backer and high backer incentives, and a bunch of stretch goals that we’d really like to reach ASAP. Keep in mind that as soon as the Kickstarter funds, we’ll do an open call for submissions to all three of the anthologies for all of you writers out there! Check it out, choose a reward level that works for you, and then BACK THE PROJECT! Featuring Troy Bucher, SC Butler, Patricia Bray, Gerald Brandt, William C. Dietz, Db Jackson, Chris Kennedy, Kay Kenyon, Sharon Lee, Steve Miller, Steve Perry, Seanan McGuire, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Jacey Bedford, Gini Koch, Juliet E McKenna, C.E. Murphy, Kristine Smith, Kari Sperring, David Farland, David B. Coe, James Enge, Esther Friesnerr, Howard Andrew Jones, and Violette Malan.

 

Editorial Sneak Peek

Today I thought I’d provide a sneak peek at the editorial I’m drafting for the first issue of Tales From The Magician’s Skull, which is a behind-the-scenes look at how it came together and what it’s all about.

First, though, is a video of all the cool stuff Joseph Goodman had at the Goodman Games GenCon booth. There were treasures galore, and not just for gamers. You should have seen all those old fantasy paperbacks! Joseph’s love for Appendix N fiction was behind Dungeon Crawl Classics from the start, and he’s trying to get that fiction much easier to find for all interested parties… and, as this magazine shows, devoted to trying to get more fiction in print inspired by similar sources.

Now, the editorial.

Appendix N and Fantasy Exploration

While I’d been introduced to fantasy fiction when my mom read me The Hobbit, it was Dungeons & Dragons that sent me exploring for more of it. Appendix N lay at the very back of The Dungeon Master’s Guide, and there were treasures within. The problem was that the library didn’t HAVE most of those treasures. I’ve sometimes wondered how my writing and reading life would have differed if the library had actually held any Robert E. Howard books, not to mention a whole bunch of other things Appendix N said were must reads. The library DID have the Amber series, but the first few books were checked out for months.

Fortunately there were used bookstores in town. And even more fortunately I found a great copy of Swords Against Death by some guy that Appendix N recommended highly, Fritz Leiber. The first story wasn’t much of a thing, kind of an intro. But from there… wow. I knew I’d found something really good. It remains one of the finest sword-and-sorcery collections I’ve ever read, and my favorite of all the Lankhmar books. Sure, there are other great Lankhmar stories, but I don’t think any other Lankhmar book is as consistently excellent.

Tales From The Magician’s Skull

A gong shivers…

The mists part to reveal a grisly object lying upon a mound of rubble, a browned and ancient head with one glowing, malefic eye…

It speaks, in a voice of cold command: “Silence, mortal dogs! It is time now for

TALES FROM THE MAGICIAN’S SKULL!

In just a few weeks, Goodman Games will launch the Kickstarter for the exciting new sword-and-sorcery magazine inspired by Appendix N. I am mightily pleased to be the magazine’s editor, and I’ve had a blast assembling it with Joseph Goodman. We’ve been working together for almost a year, and I’ve got to tell you that the result is GLORIOUS.  Just check out that Jim Pavalec cover.

I’ll provide details soon about the contents but if the cover excites you, believe me, the contents will as well. Issue 1 is full up and I have nearly everyone invited for issue 2.

GenCon 2017

Early this afternoon I’m driving off to GenCon 2017. I’ve been looking forward to it all year. I’ll get to connect with writer friends I rarely see, interact with fans, and bask in the glow of all of my favorite forms of nerdery. I’ll get to wander the great hall of treasure, examining scores of wonderful products. Even if I don’t actually intend to buy any but a tiny percentage of what I see, it’s fun to look it all over.

And then there’s the section of artists and writers, which I’ll be visiting as well, both to say hello to some writer friends and to check out the work of the professional and semi-professional artists. You can find some amazing things.

I haven’t decided yet if I’ll do a daily blog of my adventures, as I’ve sometimes done in the past. I’ve never been able to gauge how interested people actually are in hearing about conventions they themselves don’t attend. I’ll be busy on a number of panels each day. (You can see most of my schedule here.)

But I can say this — come Saturday night I’ll finally reveal the secret sword-and-sorcery project I’ve been working on. I can hardly wait to share the news, but I will hold on for just a little longer…

Vargr

For my birthday my friend Brad got me a copy of the newish James Bond graphic novel, Vargr, and it proved just as excellent as the mighty Hocking had led me to believe.

Every frame is made to count. There are numerous panels where there is no dialogue but plenty of story, and via them we can see exactly HOW Bond cleverly defeats a henchman or takes on a warehouse full of killers, or what have you (I hesitate to say more for fear of spoiling the excitement). Bond has time for a clever quip or aside, but he’s not hokey jokey. He’s quick on his feet, smart, and lethal, and just a delight to see in action. I should pause, as well, to praise the excellence of the dialogue, which just crackles with comments revealing of character without front loading a whole bunch of character exposition. It’s masterful, revealing much with minimal words.

Absence

Sometimes it’s difficult to believe my father’s been gone 17 years, and then I remember that the terrible hammer blow of his death is no longer the ache that it was, and hasn’t been for a long time. That’s fortunate, because I couldn’t have endured for long with that much daily pain. It faded, as it must, and now sometimes days and even weeks might pass without me thinking about him.

He was a good man. He wasn’t without his flaws, but few of us are. At one point, after I realized he wasn’t perfect, I felt a weird sense of betrayal and tended to downgrade him a little, for which I still feel ashamed. Then, much later than I should have, I realized his part in the world was much more than just “dad” to me and my sisters. And as I’ve aged and had teenagers of my own I’ve come to understand him a little better. Many’s been the time that I’ve wish I could have asked him for advice, although I’ve become so used to not having it now that I don’t think about it much any more.

Alchemical Storytelling

As my wife and son began re-watching this series today, I thought I’d repost this review here from its original appearance in 2012 over at Black Gate. I should add that since I wrote this article I’ve tried a number of well-recommended anime series and I’ve yet to find one that so fully fulfilled and exceeded its promise. After five years I still think of it quite highly and I think it may well be a masterpiece. Anyway, here’s what I wrote in 2012:

I haven’t watched much anime in my time. Frankly I haven’t gotten a lot out of the shows I’ve seen, many of which seem to consist of posing in the midst of fights and shouting at opponents. But I chanced upon something a few weeks back that began with potential and then delivered on it episode after episode. I found fabulous world building and strong character arcs.  I watched half hour after half hour the way I devour chapter after chapter in a great fantasy novel, poised on the edge of my seat wondering how things would resolve.