Just The Axe, Ma'am #3
A monthly curated newsletter of new and notable Sword & Sorcery
Happy Halloween!
Our lead story:
SWORDS IN THE SHADOWS ed. Cullen Bunn, Outland Entertainment
From its origin within Weird Tales, horror has always been a considerable element of Sword & Sorcery. Cullen Bunn (The Sixth Gun, Harrow County) has rounded up a murderer’s row of top horror talent to do their twists on the genre. The Table of Contents read as the following:
THE ATOLL OF SYRASH, Wile E. Young
THE SHADOW IN THE SWAMP, Brian Keene
RED ROSE REIGN, Glen Parris
THE PRINCE OF DUST AND SHADOWS, Jonathan Maberry
WOLFEN DIVINE, Hailey Piper
THE SEVENTH QUEEN, Heath Amodio
THE 19th LEGION, Josh Roberts
PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN, Allison Pang
DOBROGOST, Jonathan Janz
THE SUTURE KINGS, Mary SanGiovanni
THE CASTLE CAUCHEMAR, L.C. Mortimer
THE BEAST OF BEL’HAMI, Mike Oliveri
SHADES OF RUIN, Scott Schmidt
BONES AND ALL, Jimmy Z Johnston
THE DOG IN THE CORNER, Stephen Graham Jones
OSANOBUA’S GARDEN, Justin C. Key
THE SHADOW FROM THE VAULTS, Charles R. Rutledge
THE GOD OF ROT, James A. Moore
THE WAYFARING STRANGER, Steven L. Shrewsbury
TIGER CLAWS AND CROCODILE JAWS, Rena Mason
THE SCORPION AND THE CROW, Aaron Conaway
WRENCH AND SORCERY, Joe R. Lansdale
Swords in the Shadows had a successful Kickstarter earlier this year, allowing for backers to have advance copies, which is one of the reasons New Edge Sword & Sorcery was able to do a discussion of Stephen Graham Jones’ “Dog in the Corner” last month for their Story Chat. However, as of October 24, it is now released (or perhaps more seasonally appropriate, unleashed) upon the general public from Outland Entertainment.
Speaking of Stephen Graham Jones, Robin Marx interviewed him for Grimdark Magazine on both horror and sword & sorcery. You can read it here.
The City of Marble and Blood, by Howard Andrew Jones, Baen Books
The City of Marble and Blood is the second novel in the Chronicles of Hanuvar, whose first book, Lord of a Shattered Land, we spotlighted just two months ago in issue #1. (Yes, the first two books in the projected five-book series are only being released two months apart, with the third set for early next year.) Released on October 17, It already has this review from Robin Marx, which you can read here.
CONAN: Black Starlight by John C. Hocking, Heroic Legends
According to Robert E. Howard fans, the 1990s was a dark time when the original Howard stories had fallen out of print, and Conan continuation novels being put out by Tor books were of varying quality and/or faithfulness to the original conception of the character.
What those fans unanimously agreed was the high water mark for both quality and faithfulness to the character was John C. Hocking’s Conan and the Emerald Lotus, as its reputation grew, driving up used edition prices (perhaps too much so, as Hocking has remarked self-deprecatingly).
Written initially from Hocking’s dissatisfaction with the Conan pastiches of the time. Hocking would in the years since, work on a sequel, titled Conan and the Living Plague (as well as having several stories featuring his creation, The Archivist, in Tales From The Magician’s Skull). Titan Books will be releasing an edition combining both the original Emerald Lotus and the sequel.
In the meantime, as part of the Heroic Legends Series, we are seeing a reprint of Hocking’s “Conan: Black Starlight,” which originally was published as the backmatter of Marvel Comics’ Conan the Barbarian ran 12 issues in 2019 and takes place in between the two novels.
While waiting for the Titan Books release of the two Hocking novels, you can read the story that was released on October 17 to online retailers, and if you are looking for reviews, James Reasoner reviews it over here.
In Other News
This touching tribute by political cartoonist Michael de Adder to the late great Charles Saunders appeared in the Washington Post and is worth checking out.
M. Daniel McDowell, as part of the New Edge community, had been hard at work on their debut novel, Bringer of the Scourge, which is finally revealed.
Gilead, the artist, is currently having a Kickstarter for a book of Sword & Sorcery clip art, which is an affordable option for RPGs, self-published novels, and perhaps even sword & sorcery newsletters (ahem).
Scattered Stories of Swords & Sorcery Found Elsewhere
Seize The Press
“Caravanserai” by Gabriella Officer-Narvasa
Only the lost found the city at the caravan’s end. The poorest of the salt miners crept through its streets, dragging their pickaxes behind them with work-roughened hands and faces kept oddly young by the restorative properties of their saline surroundings. Camel drivers led their burdened beasts through arid courtyards dotted with date palms, looking…
Prismatica Press
”With Such Stars to Guide Us” by Rick Hollon
On the first day of winter, an angel’s heart fell beating from a clear sky. Mother Wyna lofted it before us in the abbey’s courtyard and announced the world had begun its end.
Podcasts on Parade
The Cromcast, for this spooky month, has an interview with John Langan (The Fisherman) that we wish to spotlight.
The New Edge Sword & Sorcery Story Chat looked at T. A. Markitan’s “The Wolves of Winter Road” hosted by NESS Editor Oliver Brackenbury, with special guests editor Jay Wolf and Strange Horizons critic Matt Holder. You can listen to the episode here. The story appeared in this year’s Book of Blades vol. 2 as put out by the Rogues in the House.
Speaking of the Rogues, they released a new episode looking back at M. J. Bassett’s Solomon Kane movie from 2009. You can listen to it here.
This Month in Sword & Sorcery Magazines:
Heroic Fantasy Quarterly: Nothing new this month, but in the meantime, you can read their August issue online.
New Edge Sword & Sorcery: As they ramp up for a November release, the magazine has revealed the cover of their issue #1, by Caterina Gerbasi, a homage to Frank Frazetta’s “Against The Gods,” which you can see here at The Frazetta Girls.
Editor Oliver Brackenbury goes into more detail about the concept behind the painting here.
Brackenbury also sat down with Jan to discuss the magazine for this interview. Jan’s interviews reward watching just as much as listening as he uses various images to illustrate what is discussed. Watch the interview here:
In the meantime, advance reviews of the first issue are beginning to come in. First are these spoiler-free reviews of Issue #1 and #2 from Liam’s Lyceum
Then there is this 5-Starburst (!) review from UK’s Starburst Magazine.
Old Moon Quarterly: OMQ is gearing up for their Kickstarter for the issues of 2024! They have begun to roll out their contributors, among them new stories from E. Catherine Tobler, James Enge, Hailey Piper, Scott Oden, John Langan, and Laird Barron with new art from the likes of Daniel Vega, Simon Underwood, Mark Jarrell, Morgan King, Senkai Yami, and Darko Stojanovic.
Their Kickstarter begins November 1! Sign on for notifications here!
As well, Charles Gramlich breaks down the stories and poems of the most recent issue at his Razored Zen blog here.
Swords & Sorcery: Issue #141 is now here with “Tales of Dark Autumn Nights.” The stories for this month are
“The Guild’s Share,” by Nyki Blatchley
“Under a Green Moon,” by M. R. Timson
“Brexit 409 AD”, by George S. Walker
Tales from The Magician’s Skull: in 2021, the Magician’s Skull decreed it was The Day of Might, a celebration of Sword & Sorcery! For 2023, The Skull sat down with Howard Andrew Jones to discuss what he’s reading and writing, and you can see it all on Skull TV!
Whetstone: The Amateur Magazine of Sword & Sorcery sent out notifications to all who have been accepted for their next issue (coming out in Dec 2023). In the meantime, the editorial staff of Spiral Tower Press put out the third issue of their related magazine, Witch House: The Amateur Magazine of Cosmic Horror. You can read the issue for free at this link, with a special introduction from John Langan.
Submission Calls
The following are markets that are dedicated to or are specified to accept sword & sorcery.
+ BFS Horizons, put out by The British Fantasy Society, is always open. 500 - 5000 Words. Remuneration £20. Submission Guidelines.
+ Hexagon SF Magazine specifies that they accept sword & sorcery submissions among other subgenres. They open on November 1! Check out their submission guidelines here.
+ Indie Bites, a non-profit fantasy anthology series put out by Silversun Books, is available on Kindle Unlimited and is looking for stories for its upcoming Royals & Rogues-themed issue. Deadline Dec 31, 2023. Accepts up to 7500 Words. Honorarium £5. Submission Guidelines.
+ I Want That Twink OBLITERATED! from Bona Books. Pulp with non-trad masculinity. Kickstarter funded. Open for subs Oct 13 - Dec 17, 6 spots in addition to the invites. 8 cents per word. Stories inspired by the pulps that centre 'non-traditional masculine queer heroes and villains'’ Submission Guidelines.
+ Swords & Sorcery is always open. Takes up to 10k words. Payment: $25 USD. Submission Guidelines.
Thank you for reading!
What are you excited about that’s covered in this newsletter?