Heroic Fantasy Quarterly–Q61

**9/14/24 update– We’ve uploaded page 12 of Gary McClusky’s comic “Spear and Fang” based on the Robert E. Howard story of the same name.  Check  it out here!**

Summer is in full swing in our neck of the woods, and Heroic Fantasy Quarterly issue #61 is here to get you through that last, hottest, month.  We come with a full pack of three stories and two poems, with illustrations pending for each one.  Enjoy!

Fiction Contents

The Wailing Keep, by Tim Hanlon.  Few people spend much energy thinking about Foscari the Gate-Keep—an old soldier far past his prime.  But when sorcery and violence force their way into the tiny circle of people he cares about, Foscari, takes on the challenge of getting to the heart of the matter.  An outstanding tale!

The Physician’s Tale, by Jonathan Duckworth.  The lands groan under a supernatural blight, and ghouls prowl the night for victims.  Jorgos the minstrel risks travel and gets caught up in the affairs of a famous healer and her bodyguard.  Travel forms bonds, and the three journey deep into the heart of the blight.

The Scepter of Aram Nahzar, by Dariel R. A. Quiogue.  With a nod to the classic Sinbad tales, Dariel brings us the Philospher Wali, currently cursed and transmogrified from man to monkey, must use all his skills and cunning to keep his current owner, Captain Khalid, in one piece as they battle pirates and blood-feuds and ancient curses.   Adventure awaits!

 

Poetry Contents

The Latest Attempt, by Devan Barlow.  The vagaries of memory are the focus of this outstanding poem.

The Elder’s Lullaby, by Ngô Bình Anh Khoa.  We end the issue with a longer narrative poem; a wandering knight recounts the events that have shaped him, and in so doing it may lead to his undoing.

 

Ongoing Graphic Adventure Spear and Fang!

We’ve uploaded page 11 of Gary McClusky’s interpretation of Robert E. Howard’s first published story “Spear and Fang”.  We’ll be updating once a month until the tale is told!  Want early access?  Support us on Patreon and you’ll get it!

 

Artwork

Jereme Peabody offers us “Hill Giant Attack”—the first of his new series “Against the Giants” series.

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

The big news is that we have finally released Heroic Fantasy Quarterly Best-of 4, the best work from 2015-2017.

Our S&S ezine is going to take a momentary sci-fi departure to say that former HFQ editor William Ledbetter’s book Level Seven is out in audio.  Check it out!

Tales From Around the Fire

Adrian Simmons:  Adrian has sunk most of his time into HFQ Best-of 4, and then turned around in time to get HFQ #61 put together.  He’s got the last of his quatro-decadal reviews for 1989 up at Black Gate (Weird Tales, November 1989).  He’s got some short stories under consideration at other venues, and is grinding away on a new novel.

Eric de Roulet:  Eric has had several essays and reviews published, including “Finding Space for the “Literary” in Fantasy: A Reflection on A Woman of the Sword” at Typebar, a short essay on horror and general writing at Word Works magazine, and a short story, “Aloof Stars and Their Distant Answers” in Indie Bites Magazine.