Where’s the year gone? I’ve been in a sort of reverse hibernation, staying inside for most of the summer and having an impromptu slowdown with anything work related. There was some rearranging of priorities, some shuffling, and I stepped down from reading submissions for Grimdark Magazine. The lovely and capable Cheresse Burke has taken over and has an exceptional eye for great stories, so look out for future issues from the best and bloodiest ezine this side of the known universe.
Here’s a pilfered paragraph + quick rundown of what readers can expect from issue #5:
“Grimdark Magazine issue #5 is chock full of grimdark goodness. We’ve pushed the genre boundaries of grimdark a bit more in this issue, with zombie apocalypses and cold-hearted near-future sci-fi to go with the three fantasy pieces, which include a Dominion of the Fallen short story by Aliette de Bodard.”
Short fiction:
- Against the Encroaching Darkness by Aliette de Bodard, a Dominion of the Fallen short story.
- First They Came for the Pigs by Chadwick Ginther.
- Boomer Hunter by Sean Patrick Hazlett
- The Right Hand of Decay by David Annandale
- Lessons of Necessity by T.C. Powell
Articles:
- Who is the Grimdark Hero by C.T. Phipps
Reviews:
- The Liar’s Key by Mark Lawrence (review by Tom Smith)
- The Mechanical by Ian Tregellis (review by Malrubius)
- The Witcher 3 (review by C.T. Phipps)
Interviews:
- James A. Moore
- Peter Orullian
Excerpts
- The Dinosaur Lords by Victor Milan (Chapter 1)
Elsewhere, Halloween is fast approaching and limbs must be gathered from boxes and costumes de-fluffed for a friend’s party. We’re working on turning Empty Oaks into an ebook before issue #2 is out. Lots of learning curves and swearing, naturally, but fingers crossed it’ll be all right on the night (i.e. when I press the ‘publish’ button…), we’ve called in the Great Beta Reader to perform feats on social media and she’ll be live tweeting the upcoming Bristol Horror Con on 17th October. We’ll be there too, not at a stall or anything. Just mooching around, trying to work up the nerve to talk to cool people…
