Swords & Dark Magic - Best Heroic Fantasy of 2010

Larry Nolen has posted his list of the Best Heroic Fantasy of 2010, a list of seven novels and two anthologies. I'm very proud to see Swords & Dark Magic, which I co-edited with Jonathan Strahan for Eos books, place at #7, while Pyr author Adrian Tchaikovsky's Salute the Dark came in at #8.

Speaking of Swords & Dark Magic, Larry writes:

Caitlín R. Kiernan’s “The Sea-Troll’s Daughter” brilliantly subverts the ugly/evil, handsome/good stereotypes embedded in so many tales, as the hero becomes more the villain and the presumed villain takes on heroic qualities that are the inverse of those presented in more traditional tales. Gene Wolfe’s “Bloodsport” is perhaps one of his better short fictions in recent years, as he still manages to confound and entrap the reader with the metaphysical qualities of the first-person narrator and his possible unreliability. These two stories alone, combined with several solid if not spectacular contributions from the likes of Steven Erikson and Michael Moorcock, help make Swords & Dark Magic a recommended anthology of heroic fantasy.

Of Salute the Dark he says:

The narrative arc that concludes in the fourth volume, Salute the Dark, is sharp, with little sense of extraneous detail thrown in to create a false sense of ponderousness. Tchaikovsky also weaves in elements from other subgenres such as steampunk to create a setting that feels different from traditional heroic fantasies. Combined with his quasi-magical totemic use of insects (beetles, wasps, bees, spiders, moths, mantis, ants, etc.), the atmosphere feels fresh. Tchaikovsky’s characters are complex and yet direct, which allows the author to develop and transform their personalities and actions as necessary. By the time the introductory plot arc concludes with Salute the Dark, the reader will have found herself wondering just where from here Tchaikovsky is heading with his overall series, considering how well he concludes several character and subplot arcs.

Hard to Argue With This

" Empire in Black and Gold is a stunning debut, original in setting, peopled with interesting characters, and plot that moves quickly and excitingly. I highly recommend this novel to epic fantasy readers looking for something new and unusual, sword and sorcery readers who love a good fight scene, fans of character driven fantasy, and anyone look for a fresh and innovative take on an age-old narrative." Grasping for the Wind

The Agony Column: A Conversation with Lou Anders : New Fantasy Triangle, Steampunk and Illuxcon II

Artist Dave Seely at Illuxcon II

I'm up in Rick Kleffel's latest Agony Column Podcast: 


12-11-09: A Conversation with Lou Anders : New Fantasy Triangle, Steampunk and Illuxcon II

Rick says, "That was, of course, my first question when we started talking. And indeed, I'd tend to agree that the three writers do sort of triangulate on the new aesthetic for fantasy fiction, the post-Perdido world of gritty and weird fiction. But that was only the starting point for our conversation.

We jumped next to a discussion of a barrel-full of Steampunk novels that are forthcoming from Pyr, including a French novel, the first in a series that is described as "Dumas with dragons." And we talked about Lou's experience at Illuxon II , an intriguing invite-only meeting of artists and art directors. You can hear a fascinating look at contemporary science fiction from a variety of angles by following this link to the MP3 audio file."