Heroic Fantasy Quarterly–Q49
As we drift into the 20th month of the Dark Year 2020, your editors have taken time out from force-feeding Jörmungandr his own tail, to bring you the 49th issue of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly. What you need? We’ve got it! What you want? We supply it! An inexplicable need for double Scythian action? We fulfil it! We’ll get you over the hot hump of the summer with three great stories, two poems, audio, and artwork aplenty.
Fiction
A Song of Pictish Kings, by Adrian Cole, artwork by Andrea Alemanno and Gary McClusky. Elak of Atlantis returns to our electronic pages! Generations of Pictish raiding along the Atlantean coast comes to a sudden halt and a bold Chieftain of the Picts requests the aid of the Atlanteans against a mutual supernatural enemy. Or is it a trap? Or is it both? Thrill to the adventure of young King Elak as he unthreads the mystery!
Old Ghosts, by Greg Mele, artwork by Justin Pfiel. Mele returns with another tale set in his alternate history Meso-American Azatlán world. Few living men would dare to cross seasoned warrior Nopaltzin Seven-Reed, but the dead play by different rules and have different goals. Even the greatest warrior cannot live without sleep and Nopaltzin must take the fight into the world of the dead. A phenomenal tale!
The Pass, by Nick Mazolillo, artwork by Andrea Alemanno. Young Strand has nearly finished his training guarding the world from Otherworld. But the Otherworld has its own rules and logic and young Strand’s difficult apprenticeship is coming to a difficult end. A great, dreamy work that drifts into nightmare.
Poetry
Recompense, by Gerri Leen, artwork by K Karolína Wellartová. An unnamed Scythian ruminates on the boon companion he just lost in battle. A gorgeous poem.
Among the Scythians, by Deborah Davitt, with artwork by Simon Walpole and audio by the author. Davitt delves back into the misty bronze-age The tradition of raid and counter-raid takes a sudden turn and the fallout has just begun.
Artwork
Jereme Peabody puts the sorcery into Sword & Sorcery with “Secrets Revealed”. 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.
Goings On
David Farney: Consolidates his grip on power.
Adrian Simmons: Barely off the high from the release of his story “The Guardian of Nalsir-fel” in Tales from the Magician’s Skull #5, Adrian gets two more hits! One from Metastellar which reprinted his story “How I Came to be Raised by Balinwan the Fool”, and his new story “A Column Rises In the Salt Plains” from Savage Realms.
On the non-fiction side, he’s continued his Quatro-Decadal Review of the classic SF magazines with a review of the 1988 Amazing Stories, and whipped out a review on the oddly soothing book that is James Hogan’s Inherit the Stars.
Sub-editors James Rowe and Arien Skiba continue to hold the line.
Tales From Around the Fire
Still hungry for more? Sink your teeth into Weirdbook #44
“Diamond Stars” author Robert Zoltan has released issue 2 and issue 3 of Sexy Fantastic Magazine AND fully funded issue #4—a special Swords and Shadows issue, get issue #4 here.
John R. Fultz has released a book of his short fiction: Worlds Beyond Worlds
Frequent poetry contributor Mary Soon Lee has collected her poems featuring young Prince Xau in The Sign of the Dragon. If you’ve been following her work here at HFQ, you need to get this book and get the whole story!
HFQ alum Benjiman Kinney, who wowed us with his story “Weights and Measures” has a new story set in that same fascinating world. Check out “I Would” in Fantasy Magazine.
Heroic Fantasy Quarterly will be open for submissions in September. Chomping at the bit? You can send your work to Swords and Sorceries from now to October.
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