Old Moon Quarterly: Issue 1; Summer 2022

by Old Moon Quarterly, Carys Crossen, Paula Hammond

Old Moon Quarterly is a magazine of weird sword-and-sorcery fantasy. In the tradition of Clark Ashton Smith, Tanith Lee and Karl Edward Wagner, it contains stories of strange vistas, eldritch beings, and the bloody dispute thereof by swordsmen and swordswomen both.

Issue 1 contains the following

"A Town Called Trepidation" by Paula Hammond.
"Stella Splendens" by Graham Thomas Wilcox.
"The Questing Beast" by Carys Crossen.
"Brightstar" by Mob.

Genres: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Short Stories, Horror, Anthologies

39 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Albert Marsden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Questing beast!

[Bryn Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard there's a story from the point-of-view of the Questing Beast, so I'm in. King Pellinore and his Beast are sentimental favourites of mine in The Once and Future King, and this story clove to the essentials of their characterisations there, so I was happy.

Four fiction pieces, all worth reading. Paula Hammond's concerns not-so-Ancient Egypt in the New World, while 'Stella Splendens' has a nice touch of style.

[Jim Reddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first issue of Old Moon Quarterly consists of four short stories.

A Town Called Trepidation by Paula Hammond (3/5)
A bounty hunter/sorceress chases down troublemakers in an interesting world based on ancient Egypt.

Stella Splendens by Graham Thomas Wilcox (3/5)
The ending seemed abrupt, but I enjoyed the prose and dream/nightmare-like atmosphere.

The Questing Beast by Carys Crossen (5/5)
A creatively told story of Pellinore of Camelot narrated by the Questing Beast that had me hooked from the beginning.

Brightstar by Mob (3/5)
An atmospheric and dark Viking horror story.

An interesting mix of stories. Looking forward to reading more issues.

[Paulo "paper books only" · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four short stories and I mean short (10 pages each)
Some I would consider Sword & Sorcery others I would not. To be fair, the terminology Sword and sorcery can have multiple interpretations

"A Town Called Trepidation" by Paula Hammond - this is a tale about a bounty hunter with a dragon trying to get her bounty in a alternative fantasy/history world. The ending was a bit rushed and confusing. I believe this one, probably was indented as a mini-story for a book as it develops a lot of world without being necessary. 2/5

"Stella Splendens" by Graham Thomas Wilcox - This is the smaller one with a tale on a medieval world and a single battle unfolds with few lines. Death is all around us. No doubt the image in the front cover depicts this story. 3/5

"The Questing Beast" by Carys Crossen - this is a very entertaining story about King Pellinore (You know from king arthur?) and the questing Beast. It's a reimaged tale on the perspective of the Beast and another take on the all quest and Pellinore. I believe it can be pretty good if you know your arthurian legends 4/5

"Brightstar" by Mob - this is the biggest one and it's also set in Europe (medieval - probably before that) and it reads like a Viking Horror story. 3/5

Overall, a solid 3.
I have the second volume and I will read in the following days. If I enjoy I may buy more.

[Michael Sigler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old Moon volume 1
3/5

"A Town Called Trepidation" by Paula Hammond, 2/5
"Stella Spendens" by Graham Thomas Wilcox, 3.5/5
"The Questing Beast" by Carys Crossen, 3.5/5
"Brightstar" by Mob, 3/5

A new Sword & Sorcery indie mag with a bitching cover and loads of potential...
Unfortunately, there's literally zero preamble or words from the editor, but are thrown directly into a fairly weak story immediately... I guess I was hoping for more of an introduction into this Sword & Sorcery project, as others of this style do, but this project doesn't even have an editor listed let alone let's them talk...
Also, small pet peeve, but the page formatting is atrociously left uncleaned up and it looks like a book report from 5th grade.

[Jim Kuenzli · Rating 3 out of 5]

You always have to love a new S & S magazine. This tends to be more on the side of weird dark fiction with fantasy and sword and sorcery elements. 4 short stories with something to offer to any fan of the weird fantastic. Only 52 pages. A quick read. I am hoping for more to my liking out of the second volume. Overall a good start.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover of this collection is a picture of two knights in black armor trying to murder each other while a bunch of Ray Harryhausen type skeletons dance around them and sometimes it’s ok to go ahead and judge a book by its cover.

[Micah Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great atmospheric fantasy. Wonderful mag.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will certainly be reading more of this magazine going forward.

And hopefully, one day, be submitting to it.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4 stars.

A collection of four weird sword-and-sorcery tales.

"A Town Called Trepidation" is the most fantastical, with the kind of world-building I'm sure the author could easily write a novel around. "Stella Splendens" is very effectively brutal and short. "The Questing Beast" was my personal favourite, retelling an Arthurian story for a fun, clever perspective. And "Brightstar" rounds us out with some good ol' Viking horror.

I'm looking forward to reading more of what Old Moon Quarterly has to offer.

[Luana · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Questing Beast" is the clear standout in this short collection of dark fantasy tales, an inverted bit of Arthuriana with a multiple-personality narrator who makes up a very amusing collection of voices.

It's unfortunate that the less-successful stories make up the first half of the issue, but every new mag surely has growing pains. I'll be looking forward to catching up!

[Faith Hakimian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stories

I'm so glad I ran across this collection. All four stories were very well done, but I particularly enjoyed The Questing Beast. I'm definitely interested in seeing what weird stories come out next time.

[Oliver Brackenbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very happy to a see new S&S magazine out in the world, and with such an evocative cover! You should read the whole thing, folks, but I'll highlight the final story, "Brightstar" by Mob, as my personal fav of this issue.

[Sara Fergadiotti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This pocket sized novella contains 4 short stories that will have you wanting the get the next issue. If you’re into dark, medieval type fantasy this is for you. Truly enjoyed the storytelling from each author. Minus 1 star because the first story wasn’t the best.

[Nathan Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting start to some very weird medieval/sns horror stories. As a whole I’d give it a 3.5 but the first story never quite grabbed me, the rest are all very interesting and every story is still excellently written.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty cool sword and sorcery magazine. Majority of these stories have a dark, almost horror spin. And all of them were pretty entertaining.
My favourites were Brightstar and Stella Splendens.

[ada · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.25☆'s) GONNA BE BINGEING THE REST OF THESE VOLUMES STAT !!

[erini · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 / 5