Heroic Fantasy Quarterly–Q31
Well, the Skelos Chicken Fried Cthulhu anthology fought the good fight, but in the end didn’t make it. Ah, but what gives victory its sweetness but the bitterness of defeat?
May we point out that, if southwest Mythos action is what you are craving, Raphael Ordoñez’ story “Heart of Tashyas” has got you covered!
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After the brutal beatings doled out to us by 2016, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly 31 is here to do its best to help you get your feet back under you and get back in the ring for 2017. We’ve got four stories, two poems, and tons of artwork!
On to the issue!
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Fiction Contents
Thokmay, by Dennis Mombauer. We start this issue off with some great weird fiction. There is foul magic at work within the walls of the monasteries hidden in the bleak mountains of a fantasy Tibet. Dennis is a returning alum, with is story Melting Gold and Ashes in issue 24.
The Thing Without Color, by Aidan Doyle. Were the bleak mountains of Tibet not enough for you? Fine! We’ll journey to the glacial realm at the far edge of Japanese Mirror Emperor’s realm and join aging demon-hunter Akamiko on a routine fetch-and-carry mission that goes horribly awry.
Heart of Tashyas, by Raphael Ordoñez. From the mountains of the far east we venture to the desert of the Tejas wasteland to join vagabond conquistador Francisco Carvajal y Lopez as he faces the mind-blasting horrors hidden within that endless and changeless land.
Bonus Story! The Price of Mockery in Dallium, by James Rowe. HFQ editor James Rowe returns with a short tale that hinges on a mighty philosophical riddle.
Poetry Contents
Undercurrents, by Jennifer Crow. Poetry so good you’d crash your boat on the rocks for more!
Seventeenth Lesson, by Mary Soon Lee. Ms. Lee returns with another poem in her Sign of the Dragon cycle.
Artwork
Jereme Peabody returns with another remarkable landscape: “Dangerous Journey”. Jereme is a software engineer in the DC area and is also a freelance concept artist working mostly on video games and books. He started his artistic career dabbling with sculpting, pencils, and even still-life oil painting. As tablets became available, he crossed over from traditional art to digital by first digitally painting still-lifes, then through experimentation and practice, transitioned to landscapes and fantasy.
Samuel Dillon brings the weirdness of “Thokmay” to life.
Skye Hembre returns with illustrations for “Thing Without Color”.
Raphael Ordoñez multitasks by illustrating his own story “Heart of Tashyas”.
Goings On
David Farney: At great expense and personal risk, an intrepid photographer sent us this picture of David Farney in his natural habitat, actually working on his own writing!
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Adrian Simmons: After the publication of his story “Seven Moves” in HFQ #30, Adrian Simmons has been laying low, drafting more stories and holding forth on the occasional 80s sci-fi musical. And the occasional 60s sci-fi book.
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William Ledbetter: Since issue 30, he had a story called “Tethers” come out at Baen.com and a story called “The One and the Many” at Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores. He has a story, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name”, pending at Daily Science Fiction. He’s also had a story accepted to the No Sh!t There I Was anthology, “Steal from the Sun”
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James Rowe: Between teachin’ philosophy and trying to get work done around the house, James hasn’t had too much to report. He continues to see regular publication in Songs of Eretz Poetry Review, with Skinshed, I Have Rid Myself of the Best of Me, Blue Mosque, and By Cherry Green Ensorcelled gracing the review’s pages. As a frequent contributor at Songs of Eretz, he’s also proud to invite all HFQ readers to consider entering the third annual Songs of Eretz Poetry Contest which begins September 1st. Information on this contest can be found here. .
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Barbara Barrett: While at the Windy City Pulp Con in April, Barbara was invited to Doug Ellis’ home and with his permission took many photos of his extensive pulp art collection. These photos have appeared on Two Gun Raconteur website in a three part “An Amazing Collection of Pulp and Fantasy Art” written by Damon Sasser. All four parts are now online.
Her review of the outstanding 1991 HBO movie “Cast a Deadly Spell” was posted at Black Gate Magazine September 15th.
Her 3 part series “The Ships of Hy-Brasil”, which highlights the vessels Robert E. Howard uses in his poem “The Isle of Hy-Brasil”, appear on Todd Vick’s On an Underwood 5” website. Check out parts 1 , 2 , and 3 .
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SKELOS ISSUE 2.
The number of S&S/Weird Fiction/Historical Fiction magazines that Heroic Fantasy Quarterly has outlasted cannot be easily counted. When rumors reached us about Skelos , we, as is our wont, laughed at it from our Mountain of Power. Well, now we are forced to wonder if we were a bit over-eager in our mirth. Skelos is proving to be a worthy ally/competitor in the field!
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