HEROIC FANTASY QUARTERLY – ISSUE 2

Hello and welcome to the second issue of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly! We’ve found three more outstanding short stories and two great poems to share with the world. You can find links to all of them right here in our Featured Articles section.

As with our first issue, once again we’d like to thank all the great writers and artists who have submitted their work to HFQ. We also want to thank the readers who are talking about, linking to, and reviewing HFQ. Thanks to your efforts, more and more people are discovering the joy of being caught up in a story well told. The response has been humbling.

Here’s what you’ll find inside Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Issue 2:

Fiction Contents

THE HAND OF AFAZ, by Euan Harvey
A perhaps cautionary tale of the dangers of non-secular government. We think you’ll love Farid, a hero who must correct the injustices of his religious masters but do so without turning his back on Afaz — the god both Farid and his masters claim to serve.

MONSTER IN THE MOUNTAINS, byWilliam Gerke
This is why you don’t open the door to strangers. Especially if you’re stranger than the stranger.

THE WAKING OF ANGANTYR, by Marie Brennan
Ancient magics, old secrets, and new fates meld in this retelling of an old Norse poem. HFQ has found its first female hero!

Poetry Contents

THE LAY OF CUTHRED KING, by Joshua Hampton
A shining example of epic poetry by a contemporary writer. How the heck could we be the first outfit to discover this guy? Go Josh, go!

COURAGE, by Teel James Glenn
A spearman’s last thoughts before the battle is joined. Another reminder of why most of us prefer adventures of the mind to adventures in the field.

We’d like to (again!) acknowledge David Clark for his invaluable assistance in getting the HFQ website up and running. Now if only its editors worked as efficiently! (Submitters: our response time is currently about 75 days; we’ll get to within 30 days in the coming weeks.)

Last but certainly not least, we’d like to thank Norimichi Tanaka for this issue’s artwork. Perfect. Nori lives in Japan and speaks much better English than he’s willing to admit. You can check out his website here.

Enjoy!

David Farney & Adrian Simmons
Co-proprietors/Editors, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly