Heroic Fantasy Quarterly–Q46

Happy November!  With the cruel summer behind us, and the welcoming cool of the fall and the cold of winter on the way, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly is here to help you thread the transitions.   We bring you three stories, one poem, with art and audio.

Fiction

Weights and Measures, by Benjamin C. Kinney with art by Gary McClusky.  Agnella, a high-ranking priestess of the Church of The Trader, has come to Senvosk in the north to investigate and settle the accounts of a murder.  Her ally in this effort is a local novice of the Trader God, whose knowledge of the local politics is beyond question, but her allegiance is not.

The Diamond Stars, by Robert Zoltan, with audio by Timothy Menzel.   A routine bodyguard venture goes bad for the two adventurers Dareon Vin and Blue, leading them into the theater district of the city of Merth and the secrets that slumber there.   You want more?  Darion and Blue have other adventures in “The Blue Lamp” and “A Night in the Library”.

Sathano the Slayer, by Jeremy Farkas, with artwork by Miguel Santos and Audio by Karen Bovenmyer and Timothy Menzel.   Sathano, long torn from his jungle home of Xoultan and long benumbed to the life of slaughter and terror in the gladiatorial pits of Al Subakh, finds himself a living pawn in the games of the mighty.  Intrigues and monsters in the city of Al Subakh with Sathano caught in the middle.  An excellent tale!

Poetry

The Sea Sings Back, by Dawn Vogel.  The sea!  People have been drawn to it, to its dangers, to its promises and secrets.  Delve deep into the depths with this outstanding work.

Artwork

Jereme Peabody is back with a piece appropriate for the upcoming winter:  Sometimes you gotta mount your giant horned lizard and get the lay of the land!   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:  Moves higher and higher in the hierarchy.

Adrian Simmons:  Adrian not only has a story in Tales from the Magician’s Skull # 5, he has THE COVER!  And not just any cover, but a Sanjulián cover!  He has also been out hiking in the woods, and had to camp out in his own house when an ice storm cut the power for a week—thus the delay in getting this issue out!  He also got wrapped up in a strange confluence of vintage books, whales, and shades of cosmic horror, which he wrote about for Black Gate Magazine:  Moby Dick, a Side-Quest, and HP Lovecraft.

Sub-editors James Rowe and Arien Skiba were, after years of working remotely for HFQ, easily able to transition to remote work at their respective jobs.

Tales From Around the Fire

A shameless plug for Tales from the Magician’s Skull #5!   This outstanding magazine doesn’t just have Adrian Simmons’ story in it, but works by James Enge, Adrian Cole, and John Hocking.  Read a preview of Adrian’s story here.

Need more Sword and Sorcery?  Who doesn’t?  After you’ve pursued HFQ #46, feast your eyes on Weirdbook #43.

We wrapped up Heroic Fantasy Quarterly Best-of Volume III, in both hardcopy and kindle versions.  With an introduction by Darrell Schweitzer, and illustrations for each story and poem.  Click on the ad at the right, or here and get your copy!

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!

“Diamond Stars” author Robert Zoltan has had his talented hands full with an assist on Ryan Harvey’s Turn Over the Moon  kickstarter and his own sf/f venture Sexy Fantastic magazine.

Mark Finn continues to put out his outstanding Monty Haul game supplements and your campaign will never be the same—in a good way!  Click the ad below to get in on it!