“The Magical Power of Art” - Foreword and Interview for The Revelations of Zang
Black Gate simulcast Link: THE REVELATIONS OF ZANG BY JOHN R. FULTZ RELEASED BY ROGUES IN THE HOUSE: READ THE FOREWORD AND INTERVIEW (Jan 2024)
The Revelations of Zang by John R. Fultz. The Rogues in theHouse Podcast (2023). John Molinero cover art.
The Rogues in the House Podcast, publishers ofthe Sword & Sorcery anthologies A Book of Blades Vol I and Vol II, now bring us a re-release of John R.Fultz's The Revelations of Zang (available now in Kindle, Paperback, and Hardcover).John R. Fultz is no stranger to Black Gate having published in thehardcopy magazine and hosting his Skulls graphic story and two of hisshort stories on the website. We recently highlighted a 2017 interview with theauthor on his approach to creating weird worlds that are both beautiful anddark (reposted on Black Gate Dec. 2023).I was honored to provide the Foreword and Interview for the re-release, andprovided those here to reveal what you should expect, and why you should read, TheRevelations of Zang!
John R. Fultz has a burgeoning library. His published novels include SevenPrinces (2012), Seven Kings (2013), and Seven Sorcerers (2013),as well as The Testament of Tall Eagle (2015) and Son of Tall Eagle(2017). His short stories have appeared in Year’s Best Weird Fiction,Weird Tales, Black Gate, Weirdbook, That Is Not Dead, Shattered Shields,Lightspeed, Way of the Wizard, Cthulhu’s Reign, and plenty of other strangeplaces. His story collections include World Beyond Worlds (2021), DarkerThan Weird (2023), and The Revelations of Zang (re-released now,2023)! Now, we will reveal to you the secret arcana of thatlast volume...
“The Magical Powerof Art” - Foreword and Interview for The Revelations of Zang
The uninitiated may ask: who the hell is Zang? What is s/he going toreveal to me? Well, Zang is not human. It is the larger portion of the‘Continent,’ a forest mostly; but the land is so rich in character, it might aswell be sentient. This foreword reveals what to expect in The Revelations ofZang collection, avoiding spoilers, and it showcases the behind-the-scenescontext of the stories and the author’s rich history with creating illustratedand fantastical worlds.
If Karl Edward Wagner rewrote The Worm Ourborus (E.R. Edison,1922) for fans of The Dark Crystal (Jim Henson, Frank Oz, 1982) you’dget the Zang Cycle experience. It is tough to blend action-packed adventurewith weird milieus, with doses of royal intrigue and epic, elder lore. Wagnerdelivered this well with his Kane character; i.e., in Darkness Weaves(1978), and “Lynortis Reprise (1961). Fultz excels at this too. TheRevelations of Zang is an epic fantasy delivered in pulpy bites. Allepisodes share a single, coherent story-arc; each successive tale unearths alayer of Zang’s history with a single primary protagonist who performs as alone-wolf or general in a world war. Each sortie radiates heroic-fiction vibes.Indeed, seven of the twelve were written as standalone stories and published inesteemed journals such as Weird Tales and Black Gate printmagazines. Each episode delivers a wondrous ‘wow’, so expect twelve climaxes,not one (as one would with a novel).
This collection follows this tradition with seven of its twelve talespublished in magazines. Conversely, there are five tales that are onlyavailable in the collection and the sequence is greater than the sum of itsparts. The pages are saturated with sorcery and fantastical elements, but do notexpect classic tropes likes orcs and elves. The creatures here are freshlycrafted, often from corpses or alchemical elements. Lending awe to the world’sgods and monsters is Fultz’s style, which portrays them with accessible, poeticflare–descriptions reminiscent of Tanith Lee or Clark Ashton Smith. The pacingis rapid, akin to Michael Moorcock’s Elric tales, who had a knack for creatingnovels out of his short stories with his Eternal Champion cycles; Sword &Sorcery readers will sense echoes of the Melnibonéans’ adventures as Quill andTaizo, the two main protagonists, journey across the Continent. Incidentally,there are some powerful, ancient jewels herein that reminded me of Elric’s“Jade Man’s Eyes” (1973) journey, or even Kane’s titular Bloodstone adventure—hencethe call out to The Dark Crystal above. You’ll learn more about themystery of sacred, divine gems soon enough.
In The Revelations of Zang, Artifice the Quill (writer of the Endof Sorcery) and Taizo (a thief of weird renown) are your tour guides, bothdepicted by cover artist Josh Finney for the first publication of thiscollection (2013, Fantastic Books). For this 2023 edition from Rogues in theHouse Podcast, cover artist John Molinero focuses on Quill and beautifullyamplifies the demonic conflict the book delivers on. Meta-themes on how art(theater and books) can affect the outcome of warring civilizations arespotlighted–but don’t expect any less bloodshed and horror that one would getwhile reading Robert E. Howard. As Don Webb notes in his hilarious foreword toFultz’s Darker Than Weird - Fourteen Tales of Horror (2022) where heterms the Fultzian approach as being a one-two punch combination: “Come for thehorror, leave with deeper questions about history and metaphysics”, expect thesame from Fultz’s Zang Cycle.
The back cover blurb hints at the deep undercurrents: “The exiled author[Quill]… learns the magical power of art and the art of magical power.” In theopening chapter, the royal sorcerers arrest Artifice the Quill because of hisbook The End of Sorcery by sending out their Vizarchs (humanoids withsilver masks reminiscent of Fultz’s Skulls graphic novel 2010 Black Gatewebsite). Then characters in “The Liberation of Lady Veronique” storyexplain the power of the written word; first, Veronique explains: “What is thepower of a mere fiction that it can inspire such hatred among the powerful andsuch passion among the powerless”; and Arfos adds later, “The book [The Endof Sorcery]… is a tool… to free mens’ minds. To wake them from the falsedream woven about their hearts and minds.” Literally, both speak of Quill’sbanned tome, but figuratively the fourth wall is breached: by reading TheRevelation of Zang we are promised access to arcane secrets.
Well, it would be evil to disclose actual spoilers ahead of the stories,but we can gain a larger appreciation of the muses motivating the tales, andperhaps enjoy the stories even more, knowing context. As I prepared for thisForeword, I took notes with journalistic fervor, reading this collection, anddelving into my 2017 interview-with-Fultz and my review of his World BeyondWorlds. Instead of reporting those notes directly, I used that material tocraft intense questions and re-interview the author. We’ll have the embodimentof Artifice the Quill, Fultz himself, disclose over a dozen secrets:
Kent Burles' illustration for BlackGate's presentation of "Return of the Quill" depicts a performance ofArtifice the Quill's Glimmer Faire, an event that prepares the City of Narr fora mystical rebirth.
SEL: Let’s discuss the origins of theZang Cycle. The story “The Persecution of Artifice the Quill” (Weird Tales#340, 2006) opens the Zang Cycle. In our 2017 interview (link), when asked about your ‘Weird Fiction rolemodels’, we learned this story catalyzed your publishing journey. Witnessingthe Zang Cycle, and your portfolio, grow is exhilarating. Please share insightsabout this catalyst.
JRF: “The Persecution of Artifice the Quill,” which begins this book, wasmy first professional sale. Not only did the story appear in Weird Tales#340, but I’m pretty sure it got the cover illustration. A dark and menacingpiece by the great Les Edwards, which seems to capture the look of the undeadVizarchs chasing after Artifice in his debut story. So, it’s a milestone storyfor me. I had been trying for many years to sell a story to Weird Tales,so mission accomplished. They bought two more Zang stories before the mag’smanagement changed, and the next two were not published there after all.Luckily, I moved the Zang series to John O’Neil’s Black Gate, where hepublished several more stories. About half the stories in The Revelations ofZang were never published outside of its pages—they were new to the volumewhen it was first released ten years ago. That includes the climactic novella,“Spilling the Blood of the World,” which winds up thematic threads sewn intothe first ten stories. I’m forever grateful that I got to be a part of WeirdTales magazine, even if it was only a single story. It opened a gateway tothe rest of my career as a writer.
SEL: Is ‘Zang proper’ just the forest,or the whole Continent? I initially interpreted it as the latter, but I wantedto be sure.
JRF: Zang is one half of a mega-continent, and this half is largelydominated by the ancient Zang Forest (hence the name). The other half, Zin,lies beyond the north/south running mountain range known as the Spine. Theremay be one or more sleeping gods lying beneath those mountains…but no spoilers.Heh-heh. Most of the stories in The Revelations of Zang take place inthe Zang area of “The Continent”—but when Artifice travels abroad with theGlimmer Faire, they do a nice tour of the Zin regions. Only one story inRevelations takes place in Zin, and that is “The Bountiful Essence of theEmpty Hand.” RoZ focuses mainly on what’s happening in Zang, includingthe mystical advance and expansion of the Zang Forest. [However, there is onemore story set in Zin, “Where the White Lotus Grows,” and it appears in the WorldsBeyond Worlds collection.]
SEL: To follow that, is “Yael ofthe Strings” (2014, Shattered Shields; 2021, Worlds Beyond Worlds) aZang Cycle tale?
JRF: Well, it is a tale set in the World of Zang. So is “The Penitence ofthe Blade” in that same collection. Neither of these Zang tales is related to TheRevelations of Zang story-cycle, they simply share the same world oruniverse. And you could also consider “Where the White Lotus Grows” to be aZang tale, although it’s set on the other side of the Continent in Zin (as Imentioned above).
SEL: Sticking with digginginto origins, let’s hit on the bonus tale: “The Vintages of Dream” (firstpublished in Black Gate #15, 2011). This twelfth story is the only onenot explicitly in chronological order or even part of the canonical Zang Cycle;it is a fun piece that reveals how elements of Zang (i.e., carnivorous flowers,thievery of magical potions, etc.) developed. It is dedicated to BrianMcNaughton (Throne of Bones, WordFantasy Award-winning book, 1997) whom you must have corresponded with. Canyou explain your interaction with him?
JRF: I’m sure I’ve told this story before, but let me just say that Brianwas a huge fan of this story. After reading his World Fantasy Award-winningcollection The Throne of Bones, I became an instant super-fan. At somepoint I tried to get “Vintages” published but nobody wanted it. I ended upsending it to Brian, and he even called one mag’s publisher and asked them tobuy my story. It didn’t work, but I was astounded that he spoke up on mybehalf. Brian said my writing reminded him of Robert E. Howard, which was ahuge compliment for a young writer just getting started. When you’re firststarting out, you run on pure enthusiasm, and a kind word from an establishedwriter can really keep you going. Such was the case with Brian’s championing of“Vintages.” It would be many years later when the story finally saw the lightof day in Black Gate. I really wish Brian had lived a few decades longerso he could give us more stories of his wonderfully weird world Seelura. He wasa true modern master of the weird tale.
SEL: McNaughton’s Throne of Bones sequenceis ostensibly ghoul-focused but has omnipresent themes regardingbeing-an-abject-person and misunderstood-artist (perhaps offering moredepressing versions of your Quill who instead leans toward being an actionhero). As an artist yourself, creating protagonists who are also artists,please discuss how you see artists as heroes?
JRF: Great question. Artists ARE heroes. Like heroes, they have fans.Like heroes, they perform feats of wonder, courage, and bravery. My heroes havealways been Artists. (Sorry, Cowboys!) With the Zang stories, I wanted toexplore the link between Art and Sorcery. I believe that writing IS magic—Iteach writing, and I tell my students the same thing—I believe that all artforms have the capability of altering reality in significant ways that wemostly take for granted. Whether it’s a great novel sweeping you away toanother world, a film that transports you somewhere you’ve never been, orsimply a painting you could stare at all day, Art is a form of magic. It’s nocoincidence that when you write, you have to “spell” each word out. It’s nocoincidence that wizards “sing” their spells because music is a power all onits own. Writing itself may be the Original Magic, so wizards draw runes andsigils to concentrate their power. In the Zang stories, Artifice transitionsfrom an ivory-tower “scribe” to a wandering playwright whose sorcery manifestsin the transformational performances of the Glimmer Faire. I believe in thepower of Art to rewrite reality—to make it better—to transcend the mundane, theorganic, and the commonplace. To instill wonder, evoke awe, and elevate humanexistence. Stop me before I get too deep… Heh-heh. I also have to mention thatthe other “main” protagonist in Revelations is Taizo of Narr, who is notan artist but a smuggler and a thief. At least that’s how he starts…but again,no spoilers.
SEL: McNaughton intentionally avoidedmaking a map for his Seelura milieu; there was no map for the ZangCycle/Continent in its first two printings, but there was for your Books ofthe Shaper trilogy. Given your artistic skills and creativity, you arelikely to have had one. Did you have a map of the Continent? If so, do you havethoughts on sharing maps for fantasy worlds?
JRF: Nice of you to point that out! I hadn’t realized it, but I guess Idid the same thing that Brian did with Seelura: no map. I have this “mentalmap” of the World of Zang in my head, but I’ve never drawn it out on paper.With the Books of the Shaper trilogy, the publisher (Orbit) asked me ifI wanted to do a map for the novels, so I did a rough and they hired aprofessional artist to do the final version. It looked great. But I don’t thinka map is actually needed for Zang. As Brian said of Seelura, the lack of a mapkeeps the invented world more mysterious. It’s more like wandering through adark and shimmering dream without any guideposts or direction. I dig that.
"Oblivion Is the SweetestWine" introduced the Zang series secondary lead, a clever thief namedTaizo. Black Gate magazine commissioned two great interior pieces by Mark Evansto accompany the story. (left) Syyra, Taizo's erstwhile love interest. (right)The catacombs beneath the spider-worshipping city of Ghoth.
SEL: I’m curious about inspirationsfor the story “When the Glimmer Faire Came to the City of the Lonely Eye” (BlackGate.com2013, available online) that involves Quill adventuring with atroupe of powerful, weird actors led by the stage master & sorcererMordeau; they venture into a haunted city with lofty goals and the reactionfrom the crowd/world is beyond epic. Loved this story. The last time I remembera troupe in adventure fiction would be the Grillards featured in James Silke’s FrankFrazetta’s Death Dealer novels (Old Brown John being the stage master);note, the Glimmer Faire is magnitudes more powerful and exciting than theGrillards. Anyway, can you discuss your motivations/muses for creating atheatrical group of heroes?
JRF: As mentioned previously, I wanted to explore the link between Artand Sorcery. So, when Artifice learns to be a playwright (and simultaneously, asorcerer), it allowed me to explore how the magical power of Drama canliterally change the world. I’ve always been a big fan of Shakespeare, and I’dhave to say one of the influences for The Glimmer Faire was A MidsummerNight’s Dream. The parallels are obvious, what with the Woodfolk musiciansbeing part of the troupe. I wish I could remember more about what inspired theLonely Eye concept, but I think the title came first, then the plot. I can’trecall anything beyond that, except that I wanted this story to really show howthe Faire’s performance could work miracles and wonders—how their High Arttransforms an entire community. But in my ongoing quest to avoid spoilers, Iwill say no more. Except this: Right around the same time I came up with theGlimmer Faire concept (2003), I saw an excellent historical-drama film called TheReckoning that sort of confirmed and inspired my approach. It stars WillemDafoe and Paul Bettany as members of a medieval troupe of traveling actors.Fascinating movie. highly recommend it.
SEL: In your World Beyond Worlds collection,you have a story dedicated to Kung Fu actor David Carridine, “Where theWhite Lotus Grows” (Monk Punk, 2011), that harmonizes demon-killing with theambiance of TV series. In the Zang Cycle, “The Bountiful Essence of the EmptyHand” features a culture seemingly inspired by Kung Fu too. Any connectionthere? Do you have martial art muses?
JRF: Absolutely. I grew up watching Kung Fu in the 70s. Revisitedit in the 90s, and eventually collected all three seasons on DVD in the 2000s.Immensely inspiring show, and it introduced my young mind to Easternphilosophy. It’s still one of my all-time favorite TV shows. I do sometimeswonder how different it would have been if Bruce Lee (who co-created the show)had been allowed to play the main role. That went to Carradine instead, but heknocked it out of the park and became one of the biggest TV stars in the worldduring the 70s. The tragedy is that David walked away from the show afterseason three, when its popularity was white-hot, and he would never find thatkind of widespread audience again. At least not until 2004, when QuentinTarantino cast him as “Bill” in KILL BILL. But I also love old-school ShawBrothers Kung Fu films, and many other directors in the genre. The FiveDeadly Venoms has always been a favorite, and a few years back I discoveredthe seminal genius of Come Drink With Me. I could go on and on aboutmartial arts cinema, but I prefer the movies that are set deep in the past.They could very well be fantasy films set in alternate worlds, and they inspireme in that way. In “Bountiful Essence” I got to explore the Zin side of TheContinent, and I wanted to explore a culture somewhat akin to the Shaolin monksof ancient China, but not be limited to historical accuracy or concepts. So,the residents of the Invisible City in “Bountiful Essence” are visited by theGlimmer Faire in its tour of the eastern realms. Later, I wanted to explore thefate of Kantoh, one of the monks introduced in “Bountiful Essence,” so Ireturned to Zin and wrote “Where the White Lotus Grows.” It only seemed rightto dedicate the story to David Carradine, since he inspired me at such an earlyage with his portrayal of Kwai Chang Caine. I love the martial arts films ofZhang Yimou, Ang Lee, and Yang Lu. I also find the show Warrior to befantastically good and totally inspiring. It’s almost like an answer to myabove question since it’s produced by Bruce Lee’s daughter and based on hiswritings. I can confidently say it’s the best martial arts show since theoriginal Kung Fu, and it’s set in the same time period. Great stuff.
SEL: There seem to be crossovers ortie-ins, such as the Ghothian spiders (that have a dominant focus in “OblivionIs the Sweetest Wine (Black Gate #12, 2008), but also appear in World BeyondWorlds - ‘Yael of the Strings” (originally published in ShatteredShields (2014)). Less explicitly, the nine Sorcerer Kings and DivineCouncil of the Zang Cycle seems to resonate with the Seven Sorcerer Kings fromthe Books of the Shaper trilogy. Does the Zang Cycle spill over to other FultzUniverses?
JRF: No, no—very different concepts, and very different stories. Thekings in the novel Seven Kings are not all sorcerers. In fact, only acouple of them are sorcerers if I recall correctly; they are the kings ofvarious nations allied and/or divided by a coming war. That book is acompletely different universe, totally unrelated to Zang in any way—except thatI wrote both of them. In The Revelations of Zang, there are nineSorcerer Kings who rule a single city (Narr the Golden) and its surroundingempire. They are “the enemy” of our protagonists because long ago they castdown the Gods of Zang and all their temples, replacing the worship of gods withthe worship of themselves. They even refer to themselves as the Divine Council.So, a part of the journey in RoZ is the idea that you can’t really killthe gods, so what if they decide to come back? That’s the kind of thing we callan apocalypse…
SEL: Your Moroquin creatures remind meof fleshy versions of the Garthim (Jim Henson and Frank Oz’s 1982 DarkCrystal movie) which are giant clawed, exoskeletal elite guards/warriorsserving the antagonists. Did the Garthim inspire the Moroquin?
JRF: No, but I do enjoy the original Dark Crystal film. At thetime there was nothing else like it. I just wanted the Moroquin to beabsolutely disgusting brutes—the tools of blind fascism and decadent sorcery.Grotesque and demonic.
SEL: You are an accomplishedillustrator. Early in your storytelling career you wrote Primordia forArchaia Studios Press and wrote/illustrated the graphic novel Necromancy/SKULLS,available on Black Gate.com (table of contents here: link). Have you ever drawn Moroquin, Vizarchs, oranything else for the Zang Cycle? Please discuss how drawing informs yourwriting now. If you have illustrations, can we share?
JRF: Well, thanks for the kind words, but actually I’m an amateurillustrator. I don’t have the skill to do professional illustration, but I’vealways loved to draw. So, I indulge that fancy sometimes. In the case ofPrimordia, I got the great Roel Wielinga to draw it and he did an amazingjob. In the case of Skulls, that was back when I was trying to breakinto the comics industry and got tired of artists bailing out on pitches andprojects. So, I started drawing and inking myself. I learned a lot from doingthat, and I think my inking worked better than my pencils. Later, Ire-envisioned that story as a web comic and repurposed it to run at BlackGate. I don’t really draw comics anymore. I’d love to write them,however, if the opportunity arises.
SEL: Any other behind-the-scenescontext you’d like to share about the Zang Cycle?
JRF: Just that I’m so grateful that the Rogues in the HousePodcast crew have decided to publish this second edition of Revelations ofZang. It’s been out of print for several years, so it will be great to makeit available again for new readers. The Rogues also found a terrific artist,John Molinero, to paint a brand-new cover for the new edition. It rocks!
SEL: We hope that this collection canbe an entry into published Fultz works, or perhaps future ones. On socialmedia, there was a tease about two new novels called the Scalebornseries. Can you discuss future Fultz endeavors?
JRF: All I can say at this point is that the Scaleborn series islooking for a home, and I’ve got the first two books already completed. I’mhoping it will find a publisher before too much longer.
#WeirdBeauty Interviews on Black Gate
Darrel Schweitzer THE BEAUTY IN HORROR AND SADNESS: AN INTERVIEW WITH DARRELL SCHWEITZER 2018 Sebastian Jones THE BEAUTY IN LIFE AND DEATH: AN INTERVIEW WITH SEBASTIAN JONES 2018 Charles Gramlich THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE REPELLENT: AN INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES A. GRAMLICH 2019 Anna Smith Spark DISGUST AND DESIRE: AN INTERVIEW WITH ANNA SMITH SPARK 2019 Carol Berg ACCESSIBLE DARK FANTASY: AN INTERVIEW WITH CAROL BERG 2019 Byron Leavitt GOD, DARKNESS, & WONDER: AN INTERVIEW WITH BYRON LEAVITT 2021 Philip Emery THE AESTHETICS OF SWORD & SORCERY: AN INTERVIEW WITH PHILIP EMERY 2021 C. Dean Andersson DEAN ANDERSSON TRIBUTE INTERVIEW AND TOUR GUIDE OF HEL: BLOODSONG AND FREEDOM! (2021 repost of 2014) Jason Ray Carney SUBLIME, CRUEL BEAUTY: AN INTERVIEW WITH JASON RAY CARNEY (2021) Stephen Leigh IMMORTAL MUSE BY STEPHEN LEIGH: REVIEW, INTERVIEW, AND PRELUDE TO A SECRET CHAPTER (2021) John C. Hocking BEAUTIFUL PLAGUES: AN INTERVIEW WITH JOHN C. HOCKING (2022) Matt Stern BEAUTIFUL AND REPULSIVE BUTTERFLIES: AN INTERVIEW WITH M. STERN (2022) Joe Bonadonna MAKING WEIRD FICTION FUN: GRILLING DORGO THE DOWSER! (2022) C.S. Friedman. BEAUTY AND NIGHTMARES ON ALIENS WORLDS: INTERVIEWING C. S. FRIEDMAN (2023) John R Fultz BEAUTIFUL DARK WORLDS: AN INTERVIEW WITH JOHN R. FULTZ (2023 report of 2017 interview) John R Fultz “The Magical Power of Art” – Foreword and Interview for The Revelations of Zang (2024 Interview) interviews prior 2018 (i.e., with Janet E. Morris, Richard Lee Byers, Aliya Whitely …and many more) are on S.E. Lindberg’s websiteS.E. Lindberg is a Managing Editor at Black Gate, regularlyreviewing books and interviewingauthors on the topic of “Beauty & Art inWeird-Fantasy Fiction.” He is also the lead moderator of the Goodreads Sword & Sorcery Group andan intern for Tales from the Magician’s Skull magazine. Asfor crafting stories, he has contributed six entries across Perseid Press’s Heroes in Hell and Heroika series,has an entry in Weirdbook Annual #3: Zombies He independentlypublishes novels under the banner Dyscrasia Fiction; short stories ofDyscrasia Fiction have appeared in Whetstone, Swords & Sorcery online magazine,Rogues In the House Podcast’s A Book of Blades Vol I and Vol II,DMR’s Terra Incognita, and the 9th issue of Tales From theMagician’s Skull. For several years he has played leading organizationalroles for the Gen Con Writers’ Symposium.
