Joshua Reynolds's Blog, page 91
October 21, 2012
HAMMER & BOLTER # 26 TOC Announced
Black Library have posted the table of contents for issue 26 of Hammer & Bolter, which includes my story, “Fangs of the Asp”. Complete TOC and cover below cut.
Gilead’s Curse, Chapter 12: The riddle of the sands is revealed and Gilead and his small band of allies make their last stand. As the legions of the Tomb Kings close in, will any of them survive in this final instalment of the novel by Dan Abnett and Nik Vincent?
Kovos Falls: Mark Latham makes his Black Library debut. A squad of elite storm troopers land in the traitor-filled city of Kovos Rising to perform a vital mission. But an evil darker and more terrible than mere rebels lurks in the depths of the hive…
The Siege of Castellax: A clash of evils begins as the Iron Warriors factory world of Castellax is invaded by an ork Waaagh! An exclusive extract from C L Werner’s first Space Marine Battles novel.
Emperor’s Deliverance: On Armageddon, Sister Athena tends to the wounded and traumatised. But a conflict with the Marines Malevolent shows Athena that not all of the planet’s defenders believe in the Emperor’s Deliverance. A short story by Nick Kyme.
Fangs of the Asp: Long ago, Queen Neferata of Lahmia fought and killed her rival, and friend, Khalida. But the past never stays buried… The two queens clash again in a new Time of Legends short story by Josh Reynolds.
“Fangs of the Asp”, for those wondering, is neither a prequel nor a sequel to Neferata: Blood of Nagash. It is, in fact, something of a ‘behind the scenes’ excerpt. The story takes place between chapters 12 and 13, for future reference. Just in case you were wondering. The issue will be out in November.
October 20, 2012
Join me on Goodreads…
…should you feel like it, obviously. This is not a command, nor is it a request. Instead, it’s merely a friendly invitation to join my EVER-GROWING LEGION OF FOLLOWERS IN WORSHIP OF MY SQUAMOUS AND INCOMPREHENSIBLE MAGNIFICENCE! GAZE UPON MY INHUMAN VISAGE AND WEEP! WEEP AND TREMBLE IN FEAR BEFORE HIM WHO IS THE DOOM OF ALL MANKIND!
Ahem.
Y’know, if you’re into that sort of thing. Courtesy of the talented Sydney Colvin, without whom I would not have actually remembered that I had a Goodreads profile, let alone an author’s page.
October 18, 2012
LOVECRAFT EZINE #18 Now Available
Issue 18 of the Lovecraft eZine is now available! The issue, a tribute to the late, great Roger Zelazny and his novel, A Night in the Lonesome October, includes “The Gotterdammerung Gavotte”, which sees Charles St. Cyprian and his plucky (yet vicious) assistant, Ebe Gallowglass join forces with five other occult detectives–including Algernon Blackwood’s John Silence and HP Lovecraft’s Harley Warren–to confront the horrors of the Great Old Ones in London in 1921.
The story is also available in audio format, ably read by Vincent LaRosa. Accompanying artwork by Stjepan Lukac. To read the story, click HERE.
And after you’re done reading “The Gotterdammerung Gavotte”, be sure to check out the other stories in the issue, including William Meikle’s “Carnacki: The Parliament of Owls”!
LOVECRAFT EZINE #18 Now Available!
Issue 18 of the Lovecraft eZine is now available! The issue, a tribute to the late, great Roger Zelazny and his novel, A Night in the Lonesome October, includes “The Gotterdammerung Gavotte”, which sees Charles St. Cyprian and his plucky (yet vicious) assistant, Ebe Gallowglass join forces with five other occult detectives–including Algernon Blackwood’s John Silence and HP Lovecraft’s Harley Warren–to confront the horrors of the Great Old Ones in London in 1921.
The story is also available in audio format, ably read by Vincent LaRosa. Accompanying artwork by Stjepan Lukac. To read the story, click HERE.
And after you’re done reading “The Gotterdammerung Gavotte”, be sure to check out the other stories in the issue, including William Meikle’s “Carnacki: The Parliament of Owls”!
October 15, 2012
Counting Down from Nineteen…Eighteen…Seventeen…
I’ve mentioned the BLACK LIBRARY WEEKENDER before, but since there are (as of today) only about fifty tickets left, I thought I might do so again, if only briefly.
As events go, this is going to be a fairly big one, at least from my (admittedly limited) perspective. I mean, two days? That’s a long time. That’s forty-eight hours during which I have to restrain my mighty lizard-brain from engaging in atavistic hunting rituals in the hotel lobby or at the breakfast buffet. That’s not as easy as my cherubic demeanour would lead you to believe, folks.
I’m going to be ever-so slightly stressed out, is what I’m saying. Still, all in all, I think I’m looking forward to it. Games Day was relatively painless, and while the Weekender is a different sort of beast entirely, I think it’ll be a joy and a delight.
Or not. But hey, I’ve got a story in one of the extra-special, event-only chapbooks, so that’s good, right?
Yeah.
Anyway, more as we get closer to the day.
October 14, 2012
WIP at the Weekend, Yet Again
From time to time, I like to give a bit of a head’s up on what I’m working on, just to remind the folks who stumble on this site that I have modes other than ‘Have Written’. So if you’re not in the least curious what I’m working on at the moment, feel free not to peek below the cut…
With Gotrek & Felix: Road of Skulls on it’s way to the printers, my attentions have turned fully to the sequel to Neferata: Blood of Nagash. Tentatively, we’re going with ‘Master of Death’ for the title. It’s got a nice ring to it, I think. Last week I paid a visit to Mordor (i.e. the offices of Black Library) to talk over some plot points with my editor, as well as other projects with various other editors. Of the latter, I can say nothing, save that I’m finally getting to do something I’ve been looking forward to for a few months now.
Speaking of things I’ve been looking forward to–The Vril Agenda. I haven’t mentioned this before, but I intend to correct that here and now. The Vril Agenda is a New Pulp novel I’m working on with co-author Derrick Ferguson, and it’s nearing completion. I’ll write more about it in the coming months, but suffice to say, I’m quite looking forward to it.
I’ve also made a number of short fiction submissions in the past few weeks, including subs to the Urban Green Man anthology, a themed issue of the Lovecraft eZine, as well as Lore and Tales to Terrify. At the moment, besides the aforementioned projects for Black Library, I’m working on this year’s free Advent short story, “Feast of Fools”, which will appear in the Pulpwork Press 2012 Christmas Special. “Feast of Fools” sees the Royal Occultist, Charles St. Cyprian, and his assistant Ebe Gallowglass, tackle the sinister Saturn Society during a boozy Boxing Day celebration.
And that’s the run-down on what I’m working on at the moment.
October 11, 2012
LOVECRAFT EZINE #18 Cover Sneak-Peek
Mike Davis, editor of Lovecraft eZine, has revealed the stunning cover for issue 18, which contains my story, “The Gotterdammerung Gavotte”, featuring the Royal Occultist Charles St. Cyprian and his plucky (yet vicious) assistant, Ebe Gallowglass. Image below cut.
The issue is a tribute to the late Roger Zelazny, and his wonderful novel, A Night in the Lonesome October. The full TOC can be found HERE. The issue will be released sometime in October. I spoke a bit about my contribution HERE and HERE. For more information about the adventures of St. Cyprian and Gallowglass, or the world of the Royal Occultist, why not visit http://royaloccultist.wordpress.com/ And if you like what you see there, be sure to visit the Royal Occultist Facebook page!
October 8, 2012
The Nightmare Men: “Master by Name, Master by Number”
As I mentioned yesterday, there’s more to come. And without further ado, here it is.
‘He was impossible to miss. Tall in his dark suit, with his leonine head and imposing looks, he would have seemed prominent in any crowd…’ Such is the description of Titus Crow, delivered by his amanuensis and friend, Henri-Laurent De Marigny in the opening pages of the 1977 story, “The Viking’s Stone”. Created in 1971 by author Brian Lumley, the character was crafted in the tradition of other occult investigators, such as John Silence or Carnacki; Crow was an avowed agent of good, his struggles all the more impressive for occurring as they did in the harsh, nihilistic universe created by HP Lovecraft.
“Titus Crow?” said Arnold. “Yes, well, we’ve all had reason to fear him in our time…”
-Geoffrey Arnold, “The Black Recalled” (1983)
Titus Crow first appeared in Lumley’s 1971 story, “The Caller of the Black”. Crow’s credentials as a psychic sleuth and occult investigator are impressively vetted in the story, as he defeats both mortal and immortal enemies through the cunning application of the standard Lovecraftian eldritch lore, a shower faucet and a window pole. From the outset, it is clear that Crow inhabits the same deadly universe as Inspector Legrasse or John Kirowan, where elder entities prey on an mostly unaware human population; but unlike the former, Crow is well-armed against such entities and, unlike the latter, he’s quite happy to test himself against their machinations out of simple heroism.
To read more, visit …
Who Are…THE NIGHTMARE MEN?
The vast majority of my time is spent writing. And the vast majority of that writing is fiction. However, occasionally, I try my hand at non-fiction. Normally that takes the form of book reviews, but sometimes it’s essays about a favourite subject of mine.
Namely, occult detectives.
What is an occult detective, I hear you ask? Well, Occult detective fiction has been around for a good long while, and like ever sub-sub-genre, it’s had its peaks and valleys of popularity. Combining the tropes of detective fiction with that of supernatural fiction (though often it has more of one than the other), the stories generally (though not always) revolve around a central, reoccurring investigator as well as the occasional side-kick or three. Sometimes it’s monsters or ghosts or ghost-monsters or Old Man Ferguson in his ghost-monster costume, but the implication of a supernatural occurrence always looms large in the investigation.
I’ve always enjoyed reading it, and I enjoy writing it, so I thought why not write about it? Hence, ‘The Nightmare Men’, an irregular series of essays, each focusing on a different occult detective in literature, hosted by the good folks at the Black Gate Magazine blog. The current essays are listed below and individually linked for your edu-tainment, with more to follow in the near future:
‘A Doctor, Darkly’-Dr. Martin Hesselius
‘Physician Extraordinary’-John Silence
‘The Ghost-Finder’-Thomas Carnacki
‘The Judge’-Judge Keith Hilary Pursuivant
‘The Supernatural Sleuth’-Anton Zarnak
‘The Haunted Wanderer’-John Kirowan
‘The Enemy of Evil’-John Thunstone
‘God’s Madman’-Abraham Van Helsing
‘The Good Inspector’-Inspector Legrasse
If you enjoy them, why not drop a comment or three, either here or at BGM? And if you really enjoyed them, feel free to RT, Share and or Google + them to your heart’s content.
October 3, 2012
HILLS OF FIRE Available for Pre-Order
Hills of Fire: Bare Knuckle Yarns of Appalachia is now available for pre-order via the publisher’s website! 
A full TOC for the anthology can be found HERE. I’ve talked a bit about my story, “Saxon and the Stand Down” HERE. The book is set for a late October release.
