Heroic Fantasy Quarterly brings three stories and two poems in their latest issue, and the works mix fast action, wrenching tragedy, and a pervasive grimness. The stories are by and large dark, exploring situations ripe with death and danger, with damage and hard decisions. The characters are out to do violence, to put an end to their enemies. But somehow it doesn’t work out how they thought. Something interferes, or their victory is stolen from them, turns to ash and blood in their mouths. Whatever the case, the stories and poems each introduce carefully built and interestingly imagined worlds to explore, and it’s a very strong issue. To the reviews!
Another issue of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly is about and it's full of works that look at tricks and cheats. At attempts to cut corners and find magical ways to avoid hard decisions. Hard situations. The stories by and large take a look at the morality of violence and trickery when it comes to conflicts both large and small, national and personal. The stories show characters seeking to bargain their ways through situations. To save themselves. To save those things they care about. It…doesn't often work out, but these works show the many ways people can hope to cheat fate and circumstance, to use power to make up for misfortune. Time to review!
The latest issue of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly is out and represents the first full issue I'm reviewing of the publication. There's certainly a nice mix of prose and poetry, with almost more poetry words than fiction ones thanks to an epic poem that's at least novelette-length (though only the first part is available this issue). The poetry examines classics in fantasy, from knights to death to barmaids. And the fiction…well, the fiction is certainly an interesting collection of elements that twist expectations. Shadows and swords, ships and subterfuge, and…shit balance out the short stories and make for a memorable experience. So let's get to the reviews!
