OLD MOON QUARTERLY ISSUE V REVIEW PLUS A KICKSTARTER FOR VII AND VIII
OLD MOON QUARTERLY ISSUE V REVIEW PLUS A KICKSTARTER FOR VII AND VIII
Simulcast on Black Gate magazine Nov 6th, 2023.
Old MoonQuarterly is a magazine of dark fantasy and weirdsword-and-sorcery. In the tradition of Clark Ashton Smith, Tanith Lee and KarlEdward Wagner, it contains stories of strange vistas, eldritch beings, and thebloody dispute thereof by both swordsmen and swordswomen. Old MoonQuarterly emerged in 2022 led by Editor-in-Chief Julian Barona,flanked by Assistant Editors Caitlyn Emily Wilcox and Graham ThomasWilcox. This May 2023, Black Gate reviewedIssue #3 (with an overview of #1 and #2). True to what theeditors promise, the magazine consistently delivers strong doses of weird Sword& Sorcery.
This post reviews OldMoon Quarterly Issue V; shared below is the table ofcontents with summaries of each story and excerpts (these were selected toavoid spoilers while conveying the feel of each). As with previousissues, expect stories that push the boundaries of uniqueness, blending poeticwriting with horror and adventure. If you read tropes they’ll lean toward thetwisted or bizarre.
But first a quick call out to the ongoing Kickstarterfor Issues VII & VIII; This campaign runs now through Nov31st, 2023 and, if successful, would fund two more issues paying contributorsprofessional rates!
Here is a key blurb from and about the Old Moon Quarterly crew.
Old Moon Quarterly is an award-winning print anddigital magazine of sword-and-sorcery and dark fantasy fiction, featuring over20,000 words of original fiction as well as poetry and original nonfiction.We’ve a love for the classics of the genre and a desire to push for some new,strange takes on our old favorites. And of course, the magazine is made with aparticular love and affinity for the eldritch aesthetics and weird storytellingof Berserk, Bloodborne and Dark Souls.
We’ve published five issues so far, with a sixth issue onthe way. Since our inception in June 2022, we’ve increased our pay for authorsfrom 5c a word to 8c a word, making us the only sword-and-sorcery focusedfantasy magazine that pays what the SFWA considers a “professional” rate. Wefirmly believe that dark fantasy and sword-and-sorcery authors deserve a venuewhere they can receive fair pay for stories that are often very difficult toplace in other venues. We started Old Moon Quarterly to giveauthors that venue.
With the funding from this Kickstarter, we’ll be able tomaintain that payrate for issues 7 and 8, which will release in 2024. And notonly will we be able to maintain that payrate, we’ll be able to increase theamount of fiction in each issue from 20,000 to 30,000+; we’ll be able toinclude (for the first time) interior artwork in a classic black-and-whitestyle!
OldMoon Quarterly Issue V: Stories and Poems
1) “Together Under the Wing” by Jonathan Olfert
The perspective and scale of this story are simply huge: theprotagonists are mammoths, and they pale in size versus their giantantagonist! Epic duels drive this revengetale. Walks-like-a-Rockslide seeks revenge for the death of his mother (Grass-Wisper)by the hands of the ancient Giant King.
The matriarch Grass-Whisper had lived in a grove in thehills, now stomped flat by vast human-like footprints. Her carved tusks lay incracked-off chunks; they and the blood were all that remained—that, and thehuge flint used to skin her before eating. A flint five times the size of thequartz blades bound to his tusks… (p11)
2) Champions Against the Maggot King by K.H. Vaughn
Get ready for some Warhammer/Grimdark-Tolkien fare. Thesoldier Grath narrates this tale. He details an epic battle against the MaggotKing. The titular, heroic champions lead an army of >60 thousand that ridein landships made from living stone, armed with canons, and fueled by elementalsorcery. The champions include the Dwarf Ko Mon who has a lengthymorning-star-like prosthetic, the sword-wielding elf-who-never-smiles lIhar,and their demoness leader Sergeant, the female Sorrow Mai.
A wave of wild men break against the ship. They arepathetic. Pale and soft, but secure in their sense of power, waving theirgenitals at us as they come. They howl in impotent rage as they die, mowed downby arrows and lances. The ship rolls over them and churns their corpses intodirt. No one will find their bones or mourn their deaths. Where does the MaggotKing find them? There must be thousands of them in the dim light ofsubterranean caves, thinking nothing but their eventual victory. (p49)
3) “The King’s Two Bodies” poem by Joe Koch
I enjoyed this so much, I read it three times to soak in thewords. It is beautiful, but too cryptic to understand on its initialpass. Two souls with liquid properties are contained within one body. Onemay exit the vessel via a ritual of exiting the body and filling a cup.
4) “The Origin of Boghounds” by Amelia Gorman
Samphire is a female bounty hunter searching out a snake-oilsalesman at the edges of Sichel, the stained city that radiates a New Orleansswamp vibe. She’s not the only bounty hunter seeking a payout. Several otherhunters stumble into her and boghounds as they track down their prey whileunearthing mysteries and monsters.
Samphire blows out her candle and sips into the dark cornerbetween the headboard and wall. She disappears into the dark sod and crouchesdown in a knot in the tiny crawlspace, barely fitting with her giant pack ofunguents and vinegars. [A boghound] hops silently off the straw, pads over toher and crawls under the bed, looking up at her with those affectionate goldeneyes like two stars in the dirty dark. As the dark obscured their faces,Samphire catches voices she’s butted against time and again. (p56)
5) “Well Met at the Gates of Hell” by David K. Henrickson
An amoral warrior arrives in Hell and is met at the entranceby three antagonists (two humanoids, one not) seeking to duel. Lots ofbanter makes this more of a light-hearted read.
In that moment, the newcomer skims the plate he has finallyfreed from his armor toward the giant’s eyes and throws himself in a roll.
Automatically, the giant flinches away from the spinningmetal. ‘Faithless!” he cries out, aiming a blow at the tumbling figure as itdives past.
The newcomer is already inside and below the other’s guard.His blade flashes out in a backhand swing, shearing through the giant’s thighjust above the greave. (p73)
6) “A Warning Agaynste Woldes” poem by Zachary Bos
As the title suggests, this poem has an Old Shakespearetone. It is cryptic like the previous poem. It conveys that nature, and itsforests, are a type of temple or church. Be wary of entering the forest, sinceit is full of fear, faith, and spirits.
7) “The Skull of Ghosts” by Charles Gramlich
Confession: I’m a huge Gramlich fan and frequently seek outhis Krieg stories (Iinterviewed him for Black Gate in 2019, and wediscussed his Krieg character). Here the sorcerer-warrior receives ahaunting call from “Amma”, so he seeks out his old acquaintance (of the samename) in a plagued city. An evil sorcerer is seeking bodies to possess, and asKrieg starts to put an end to the madness, he learns he’s jumped into a trap.
Krieg slipped to one side, caught the swordman’s hand andtwisted. A raw shriek burst from the man’s lips; bones ground audibly togetheras his blade turned inevitably upward to point at his face.
The assailant’s hood fell back, revealing swarthy skinmarked by plague skulls. A topknot of greasy reddish hair invited a hold. Krieggrabbed it, slammed the man’s face forward onto the sword. Once, twice, thrice.Wiping his hand on the man’s cloak, the black-eyed warrior let the body falllike a burden he’d grown tired of… (p87)
8) “The Headsman’s Melancholy” by Joseph Andre Thomas
This could easily be a Twilight Zone episodewritten by Edgar Allen Poe. Executioner Jack meets a robber multiple times onthe chopping block. Written as a series of journal entries. The ending isemotive, and a bit abstract, as Jack seeks peace by stopping his profession,leaving town, or pursuing other options. Loved this.
The man screeched laughter as he eviscerated himself, Hisblood poured down my face, into my mouth. It seeped between my teeth andbeneath my tongue.
I screamed.
His smile was no longer cocky, but overjoyed. He reachedinto his chest cavity and grabbed hold of something, pulled it out. His heart,I realized, still attached to whatever tubes and capillaries govern theviscera. He hung it out above me with one hand… (p129)
