Fantasy means different things to different people, so when a new ‘fantasy’ magazine is announced to the world it could mean everything from retold fairy tales and urban slipsteam to emo vampires and soft sci-fi. But what it ought to at least feature, damn it, is secondary world fantasy — tales of fantasy that take place in a world other than our own. That any magazine out there (and there are plenty) has the stones to call themselves a fantasy publication and yet not accept secondary world fantasy only shows how muddy the definition of the genre has become.
Well, Beneath Ceaseless Skies is a market that gets it, that ONLY wants secondary world fantasy, and is aiming to prove that such stories can be entertaining on many levels and written with sophistication — those very qualities that the urban fantasy snobs think can only exist in their narrow, magical realist definition of fantasy. Beneath Ceaseless Skies’ inaugural issue is a warning shot fired over the bows of all those boring pro-rate magazines that have done nothing but publish lit-fic stories bound so tightly to our own, contemporary world that they barely qualify as speculative in the first place.
That’s right, Beneath Ceaseless Skies is a pro-rate market and, as if that wasn’t enough good news, it’s bi-weekly! And if today’s debut issue is any indication, it’s going to be tough waiting two weeks between servings.
The first story in today’s issue, “The Sword of Loving Kindness, Part I” is a great, Vancian romp through a rich world of the unexpected and strange. Author Chris Willrich deftly balances intellect with adventure in this tale of Imago Bone and Persimmon Gaunt, companions in love, thievery, and black humor. The sense of wonder is palpable, the characters well-drawn and immediately appealing, and the central conceit of the story — that the most dangerous weapon in the world is actually an artifact of ‘loving kindness’ — is both cynically plausible and an excellent hook to have me wondering what the author will be doing with it in the second installment. In the mean time there is always Willrich’s Bone and Gaunt tale in the Flashing Swords Special Summer Edition to tide me over.
David D. Levine’s “Sun Magic, Earth Magic” is a great example of original storytelling that could only be accomplished in a secondary world fantasy. It concerns a Sun-Sorceress, Shira, whose holy office is an appendage of a conquering empire. Assigned to a village where the Earth Mother is revered, Shira must use her powers — and, finally, use her wisdom and compassion to see a compromise — to rescue a boy trapped in a mine. No swordplay, no impossible cities or hideous monsters, but a story that expresses universal human truths through the potent magic of metaphor.
With two stories as good as these coming out twice a month, you can bet Beneath Ceaseless Skies is primed to make a big splash.
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I’ve been waiting on the launch of Beneath Ceaseless Skies for months and I was not disappointed. I am also not a fan of Urban Fantasy and it tickles me to no end that the stories will be secondary world fantasy!
I read “Sun Magic, Earth Magic” today (I subscribe to Beneath Ceaseless Skies); it is a great story, well told. I have been a fan of Levine for the better part of a year now; he has a clear, straight-forward style that I enjoy and his story-telling is top notch (”Titanium Mike Saves the Day ” is my favorite; it’s a science fiction short story that reminds me a lot of Larry Niven’s early stuff. It was nominated for the 2008 Nebula Award).
As to BCS, I am showing my age, but in the sixties and seventies, a new publication that presented quality speculative fiction would have been great news, regardless of the type of story it focused upon.