Category Archives: Heroic Fantasy Quarterly

A Look at Heroic Fantasy Quarterly 37

It’s been out for a while, but some of you may have missed it.  The latest issue of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly has a solid lineup of great fiction.

Before we get to that, though. allow me remind you that HFQ has a Patreon page where you can support the publication.  If you enjoy what you find there, show them a little tangible appreciation.

Now on to the fiction.

The first story is “Paladin of Golata” by P. Djeli Clark.  Teffe is an orphan who survives by scavenging the dead on battlefields.  One day he chances upon a dying paladin who has one final battle to fight.  Teffe becomes a reluctant recruit and discovers there’s a life possible for him beyond his wildest dreams.

Christopher Chupik is a writer to watch.  His story here, “The Forest of Bones“, concerns a wandering knight who has to face a giant protected by sorcery who is preying on the nearby countryside.  Solid adventure fantasy about a hero who isn’t afraid to put himself at risk to protect others.

In “The Blitz of Din Barham“, Cameron Johnston gives us dragons.  Not just one or two, but a whole family of them intent on devastating a city.  When the all the practitioners of magic fail to come up with a successful strategy, it falls to the apprentice of one to think outside the box.

Adrian Simmons gives us “What Clev Yun Would Want to Tell”.  This is a little different than what we usually see in HFQ, but it packs a powerful punch about people who aren’t willing to change in order to survive.

There are also poems by Adele Gardner, David Barber, and Ngo Binh Anh Khoa.

All in all, a solid issue of fantasy entertainment.

Heroic Fantasy Quarterly Patreon

Heroic Fantasy Quarterly is running a Patreon.If you’ve been a reader of this blog for very long, you know I review the publication on a regular basis.  In fact, their new issue recently dropped, and I’ve got a review planned to run later in the week.  (Adrian, I apologize for not getting it up sooner.  Things have been…interesting.  But that’s the subject of tomorrow’s post.)

When you think about it, HFQ has really pulled off something amazing.  For over a decade now, they’ve provided three stories plus poetry and art every quarter.  If they’ve missed an issue, I’m not aware of it.

And the really amazing thing is that they’ve done it for free.  All the issues are archived.  They don’t charge a thing.  I wish they would make ebook editions available so that I could download them to whichever ereader I’m using.  I would gladly pay for such a thing.

If you enjoy HFQ, consider pledging.  If the enjoyment you get from reading has value to you, show that in a tangible way.

 

A Double Dose of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly

One of the top publications for adventure fantasy is Heroic Fantasy Quarterly.  I’d gotten behind in my reading of it, so I spent last weekend getting caught up.  If you’ve not read the last two issues, here’s what you’ve missed. Continue reading

A Look at Heroic Fantasy Quarterly 33

The latest issue of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly (issue 33 for those who are counting) went live a few weeks ago.  Let’s take a look at it, shall we?

This is a standard issue of HFQ, in that there are three pieces of fiction and three poems.  I’ll review the fiction and mention the poems.  I’m not sure I can keep my comments shorter than the poetry, and since I’m not sure what purpose that would serve, I’ll keep my trap shut for once.  Two of the three stories take place in Central America, and all of them have female protagonists (although in one story, the viewpoint starts out female and changes to a male after another character enters the scene).  I don’t know if there is an unofficial theme at work, or if things just turned out that way.  Not that it matters. What counts is if the fiction is any good. Continue reading

A Look at Two Issues of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Plus a Kickstarter

If I could have one superpower, I think it would be the ability to split myself into multiple bodies.  That way, maybe I wouldn’t be so far behind on reading, writing, and review.  You know, the important stuff.

Anyway I promised Adrian Simmons, the editor of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, a review for both the previous and current issues.  Both are strong issues. Continue reading

A Look at Heroic Fantasy Quarterly 29 & 30

In case you haven’t noticed, we’re big fans of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly around here.  Schedules have been hectic enough that I’ve gotten a bit behind on reading it.  Not that that’s anything unusual.

Issue 29 (see art by Vok Kostic here) has the first of a two-part epic poem, so I’ll start with issue 29 and use the poem as a bridge to my comments on issue 30.  Both issues had short poems, which I’ll not discuss as they aren’t particularly long.  The poems in Issue 29 were “Wench” by Scott Hutchison and “The Persuaders” by Colleen Anderson.  Issue 30 gave us another poem by Colleen Anderson, “Garuda’s Gambit” as well as “The Night Before Yule” by Daniel Stride. Continue reading

The Latest From Heroic Fantasy Quarterly

timthumb.php (2)The latest issue of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly (#28) has been out for a little while.  I’m playing catch up after traveling for a great deal of the past month, so apologies for this being a little late.

As I stated the last time I reviewed HFQ, there were two serials in the previous issue that I would deal with here.  There are also two poems (by Mary Soon Lee and David Sklar) and two more short stories in the current issue.  Let’s deal with the short stories first. Continue reading

A Review and an Apology

HFQbestcover1Back in February, I was home sick with the flu.  Being well-medicated, I spent most of the day asleep.  At one point early in the afternoon, I woke up and got out of bed for a little while.  I checked email since I hadn’t looked at it all day.  There was an email from Adrian Simmons informing me that the new issues of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly was live and a request for a review.  I responded in the affirmative and went back to bed and pharmaceutical induced slumber.

And completely forgot about the email.

So, first, Adrian, I owe you an apology for dropping the ball.  A huge apology.  I’m usually not this careless.  I apologize for not getting the review up sooner.

When I looked the other day at the website, I saw that two of the four fiction pieces were the first of two parts.  i’m going to hold off reading those until the next issue goes live.  I’ll review the stories in their intirety then. Continue reading

A Review of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly 26

Heroic Fantasy Quarterly–Q26Heroic Fantasy Quarterly 26 is now online.  This issue contains three pieces of fiction as well as three poems.  I found this particular issue to be one of the more enjoyable issues of HFQ in quite a while.  The stories are certainly among the best HFQ has published. Continue reading

A Review of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly 25

The latest issue of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly has been out for a while.  I’m just now getting to it, but I’m old and slow.

If there’s one things I’ve come to expect from HFQ, it’s consistency.  The editorial team there has done a good job of selecting some of the best S&S around these days.  This is issue is no exception.  In addition to two poems, “The Harrowed Hall” by Cullen Groves and “Dragonslayer” by Mary Soon Lee, there are three fiction pieces, Continue reading