Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #2

Back in August I wrote a review of the debut issue of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, and declared it a zine to keep an eye on. Issue Two of HFQ appeared at the end of September, and I’ll admit I’ve been way too busy to dig in to it. Finally, however, with my reviewer responsibilities for Black Gate (nearly) fulfilled, I’ve had the time to stop by and see how the second issue of this burgeoning ezine stacks up to the first. Each issue contains three shorts, and two poems — as usual I’ve confined my review to fiction.

This issue opens with Euan Harvey’s “The Hand of Afaz,” a story about justice, fanaticism, and corruption. It concerns a kind of judicial enforcer, Farid, who brings in a suspected parricide for execution. The story has a Near Eastern feel, and great world-building details (though I found the use of actual historical dynastic names such as the Umayads and Abasids inappropriate and confusing in a secondary world fantasy) such as the evocative names of gods and their aspects — ‘Ahret as Devouring Maw,’ ‘Hormuz Greatest and Best.’ It is in an aspect of the god of justice and punishment, ‘Afaz in His Aspect of Axe and Lash,’ that Farid must act, choosing between the letter of his duty and his loyalty to his superiors. A nice story with an appealing moral dimension.

William Gerke’s “Monster in the Mountains” begins with Gowther, a man of beast-like appearance and strength, journeying through a blizzard on a mountain. Sheltering at an isolated holding, Gowther is attacked by his hosts, and soon learns that the family who tried to waylay him are themselves victims of a controlling evil. Gowther, bestial in appearance, is heroic in action — unlike the humans he sets out to save. A good story, where not every monster is as it appears.

In “The Waking of Angantyr” Marie Brennan gives us a tale of inheritance and vengeance. Hervor, a fighting woman of low birth, has been summoned to a remote isle, and the barrow mound of thirteen murdered warriors. Based on the saga legend of the cursed sword Tyrfing, Brennan uses poetic language to achieve a moving tale of familial responsibility and destiny. Another winner.

Overall some great reading for fans of adventure fantasy, with three very different takes on secondary world Heroic Fantasy. And not only is it great to see Heroic Fantasy and Sword & Sorcery represented in the short form, but it’s nice to see a market that caters to longer works of short fiction. So many magazines and even ezines these days are lowering their word counts on stories — so that 4,000 word tales are almost the new standard, and 3,000 or even 2,000 word caps are not uncommon. So, even if said market was friendly toward secondary world adventure fantasy (a big if!), the word caps alone would preclude the sorts of traditional tales the genre was known for, stories that offer a fuller plot and take the time to proceed through multiple, often action-oriented scenes. You can’t really have those sorts of stories coming in at under 4,000 words.

When you’re done reading HFQ#2, be sure to head over to The Cimmerian to check out an interview with Adrian Simmons and David Farney, the guys behind Heroic Fantasy Quarterly.