Over at the BG today I posted a quick link to an interesting article at Tor.com from Michael Moorcock, all about the origins of his Hawkmoon series against the backdrop of change in the sixties. I highly recommend Moorcock fans check it out.

Now I have to seriously fight the urge to go reread these when I should be doing other things. . . .

Over at Black Gate today (yes, I’ve been slacking over there, what’s it to ya?) I’ve posted a notice of the news that has been going around lately about a Dorsai! television series, based on the first novel of Gordon R. Dickson’s unfinished Child Cycle. A surprising and potentially great choice for some original programming, one somewhat marred by the possibility that it might be aimed mostly at kids? That’s according to one press release at the dorsai.tv site for the project, and may be nothing to worry about.

Have a look at the Black Gate article for more.

Over at Black Gate today I posted a quick notice about the rumors that have been swirling around about a film sequel to HBO’s rather awesome Rome series, which ran for two seasons. While a Rome movie has been more or less an open secret for some time, it’s nice to see it back in the news and apparently moving forward in all good haste. I’m certainly looking forward to catching up with Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo when the day arrives, and may actually brave the idiocy and wanton rudeness of the local cineplex to see this movie.

For those of you who might be using the mafia/farm management simulator known as Facebook, Black Gate now has its very own page, which I’ve invited everyone to join in this week’s BG post. Why would you add BG to your already swollen list of fan pages, especially if there aren’t any weapons caches or pieces of agricultural equipment to be had? Well, aside from the perennial reason of “I said so,” the Black Gate fan page will be a chance for BG’s broad fanbase to get together and talk about the blog and the magazine in a more immediate way.

Plus, it will get you away from Farmville which, frankly, someone your age really shouldn’t be spending so much time on . . .

Read more breaking news in this week’s Black Gate post.

Glimmercloud says Redskull hurt ties by meeting Pondsteel Steelrock

Glimmercloud accused King Redskull of damaging ties by meeting the Pondsteel Steelrock and said it was up to Silkrain to repair relations between the two global powers, while stopping short of threats of retaliation.

Headline courtesy of Fantasy World News

As part of a birthday salute to the bard of Cross Plains, many of Black Gate’s bloggers have posted their personal recollections of reading Robert E. Howard — how they came to his fiction, what they like best about it, and why they keep coming back. I wrote my own short piece, Encountering Howard, but be while you are over there be sure to check out the great stuff Ryan Harvey, Howard Andrew Jones, and John R. Fultz have said about the father of Sword & Sorcery.

Anyone following this blog knows I’m absolutely bananas for a relatively new series called the Oathsworn Saga, from author Robert Low. The Oathsworn is a pitch-perfect historical adventure following a group of far-faring Vikings through the 10th century. I’ve had the pleasure of reading and reviewing the first three books in this projected four-volume series for Black Gate, and I’ve just posted my review for book two, The Wolf Sea, over at the site.

You should read my review of The Whale Road first if you’ve never heard of the series. For those of you following it, my look at book three, The White Raven, will be appearing in the next massive issue of Black Gate, number fourteen.

Over at the big BG today I posted a brief write-up that looks at a relatively new line of chapbook novellas from small press Blackwyrm. Focusing on stories that skew genre conventions, the Blackwyrm line has a lot of personality, and it’s great to see a publisher — whether big or small — taking the chance on short books like this once again. From military fantasy series to genre mashups, Blackwyrm seems to be casting the net wide to come up with a nice variety of styles, voices, and approaches.

In the age of fat fantasy series, doorstop thrillers, and historical epics it’s often impossible to find a short, satisfying read. Gone are the days of the 60,000 word science fiction novel, or even the novella doubles series Ace once put out. Long a standard of genre fiction — both the worlds of SF and of fantasy having a host of renowned novellas and short novels considered classics in their respective fields — these short, sharp stories are increasingly ignored for multi-book works of massive length. But, sometimes, it’s nice to get a book done in a day or two, it’s nice to explore an idea, premise, or setting without committing to dozens or hundreds of hours with it.