Weird book time again, with the classic, the speculative and the psychological. Today we have the Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of H G Wells anthology, the unfinished work of Philip Jose Farmer finished in A Hole in Wednesday, and Knucklebones by Marni Scofidio. And a quick offer from Matthew Wingett, whose excellent book The Snow Witch we covered recently – (https://greydogtales.com/blog/the-snow-witch/
Or “Sighthounds, my arse!” Our confession today is that we have never, ever, had lurchers who sniffed things so much as the two we have at the moment, Django and Chilli. Never in the field of canine endeavour have so many supposedly brisk walks turned into an hour of standing there looking stupid while the Sniffing is underway.
Today, a treat- a first taste of eerie and powerful fantasy in ‘The Makurian’ from Milton Davis. Yes, we should be out running the lurchers in the snow, but we’re also trying to get through our reading pile. We’re currently on two books we’ll say more about another time – Charles R Saunders’ Nyumbani Tales, and a forthcoming anthology Terminus: Urban Fantasy from the ATL, both from MVMedia.
Charles R Saunders is, of course, a legend whose work goes right back to the seventies. The first of his Imaro stories was included in Lin Carter’s Year’s Best Fantasy Stories in 1975, and he’s still active. Seen now as the founder of Sword and Soul, fantasy based on African cultures rather than European medievalism, we can say that Nyumbani Tales is a treat (links at end).
Milton Davis, who is MVMedia, not only writes and publishes Sword and Soul (amongst other things) but recently mentioned a new concept of his own, The Makurian, which had our attention immediately. Normally we lead in with trivia and background information, but this time we think it best to share the vision, and add a few notes afterwards. These extracts are provided with Milton’s kind permission.
‘I hunt them with the skills God granted me and the weapons the priest gave me. I do it not for honor, but as penance. One by one I stalk them and kill them, but I know their terror will not cease until I find the one who creates them and destroy him. I’m aware that in doing so I may lose my life as well, but it is a small price to pay for forgiveness of my own sins. Long ago I was no better than those that I hunt. The only peace for me is that which is eternal.’
He came alone. We expected at least a squad; we hoped for a brigade. An army would have been a blessing. Yet only one man was sent from Dongolo as an answer to our plea for help. And he was not a man that instilled hope. Yes, he was tall and ebony-skinned, but his body was lankly like that of a boy just beyond initiation rights. His blue kapok fitted loosely on him, his helmet snug. A quiver of arrows hung from his waist, the bow stored on his saddle. He carried a simple lance and shield. As he rode through our village we despaired. The demon would claim this one just like the others. We were sure of it.
He rode into our village, stopping at my shop.
“I am the Makurian,” he said. “Where is the demon?”
I pointed to the wooded hills.
“It resides within,” I said. “But you will need more help.”
“I won’t,” he replied. “God is with me.”
“God was with the others,” I replied. “And now they rest in His bosom.”
The man stared at me in a way that caused my throat to dry. Then he turned his steed and headed for the hills.
Three weeks passed and there was no sign of the Makurian. But neither was there sign of the demon. It was a late afternoon when I heard the shouting. Thinking it was the demon, I ran into my house and secured the door. Gathering my wife and children, we sat in quiet fear, expecting the worst. Instead there was a knock at my door. My wife begged me not to answer, but my curiosity overwhelmed my good sense.
“Who is it?” I said.
“The Makurian.”
I crept to the door, holding my rusted sword in my left hand. I unbolted the door, opened it and screamed. The Makurian stood before me, his face bruised, his left eye barely open. His kapok was ripped; a dent marred his helmet. There were no arrows in his quiver. He held a war club in his left hand, and in his right hand was his shield.
“You live!” I exclaimed.
“Yes, I do.”
His response puzzled me for he seemed disappointed.
“You need help,” I said. “I’ll fetch the healer.”
“No. I must return to Dongolo.”
He trudged back to his horse then mounted. There was a bag tied to the saddle which he untied the tossed toward me. The bottom of the bag was soaked with blood.
“Your demon is no more.”
With that he turned his horse and rode away.
I never gained the courage to open the bag, neither did anyone in our village. We built a bonfire and burned it. Afterwards we celebrated, giving our praises to God. We were not sure if the demon was dead, but we never saw it or the Makurian again. I hope to God it remains so.
The Makurian, coming 2018. Text copyright 2017 Milton Davis
Something to look forward to, we feel.
We’re not a history channel, but you should look Makuria up, as its background is really interesting. A black Christian kingdom in Nubia, around Northern Sudan, proud and independent for centuries, which developed religious links to the Coptic church in Egypt.
In a quite unusual turn of events, Makuria resisted the advances of Arab expansion, and managed to throw Egyptian Arab armies back. One of the reasons that Makuria is sometimes overlooked seems to be the lack of monumental remains – they had a rich culture, but simply didn’t build massive structures or grave-monuments.
“By the end of the 6th century (Makuria) had converted to Christianity, but in the 7th century Egypt was conquered by the Islamic armies, and Nubia was cut off from the rest of Christendom. In 651 an Arab army invaded, but it was repulsed and a treaty known as the baqt was signed creating a relative peace between the two sides that lasted until the 13th century. Makuria expanded, annexing its northern neighbour Nobatia either at the time of the Arab conquest or during the reign of King Merkurios. The period from roughly 750 to 1150 saw the kingdom stable and prosperous, in what has been called the “Golden Age”. Increased aggression from Egypt, and internal discord led to the state’s collapse in the 14th century.” Wikipedia
Makuria (as Dongola) is mentioned in the Libro del Conosçimiento de todos los rregnos or Book of Knowledge of All Kingdoms. This is an anonymous Castilian book of geographical and armorial details which has been dated to around 1385. While it is fanciful, it also contains a lot of fascinating details. It was written as an imaginary autobiographical travelogue of a Castilian mendicant friar, as he travelled the world recording local kingdoms and their flags.
Thence I went to another kingdom called DONGOLA marching with the deserts of EGIPTO, and the river NILUS. The river forms two courses, the greater, flowing to the westward, called the RIO DEL ORO. On its banks is the kingdom of GUYNOA. The other part flows through the deserts of EGIPTO and enters the Mediterranean Sea at DAM IATA. Between these two branches of the river is the kingdom of DONGOLA, a country well peopled with Christians from NUBIA…
You can read more about Nyumbani Tales at Black Gate: https://www.blackgate.com/2017/05/30/stories-from-a-ss-griot-nyumbani-tales-by-charles-r-saunders/
And the book is available here:
Terminus: Urban Fantasy from the ATL will be out in 2018. In the meantime, you can visit MVMedia to browse a wide range of their speculative publications. http://mvmediaatl.com/index.html
That’s your lot for today, dear listener. Do remember to subscribe for free by email (top left) if you want to be kept up to date with what we cover, and we look forward to seeing you again…
Well now. Normal service next week with weird and lurchery stuff, but here, quickly, is good news for readers. Occult Detective Quarterly Presents, is Green for Go, and so there’s more to announce – a chance of free books from the folk at April Moon Books and 18thWall Productions. Edited by John Linwood Grant and published by Electric Pentacle Press, this should be a fine looking anthology.
Thanks to the many supportive backers out there, the book is full funded. The fiction and a major classic essay on psychic sleuths are in hand, and the illustrators have started work. Eight stories now rather than seven, adding up to around one hundred and thirty thousand words, with each story having a full page commissioned illustration.
You can still back the campaign, either for the extra rewards, or using it effectively as a pre-order for the eformat or print version of the anthology (link at the bottom) . All backers already get a free standalone novelette by Willie Meikle, epub or Kindle, produced especilly for ODQ. And when the campaign is over, greydogtales and the ODQ FB Group will be holding a draw where every reward backer’s name will be entered. So everyone will be eligible for a chance to win some extras.
April Moon Books have provided a print copy each of three fabulous books for the draw:
Bond Unknown – Two all-new James Bond stories set in the time of the original novels, with a unique cosmic horror twist. Fans of the original, hard-drinking, hard smoking, violent OO agent will thoroughly enjoy the stories written by acclaimed authors William Meikle and Edward M. Erdelac. Their affection and respect for the character oozes from each page, and their knowledge of the Mythos brings an extraordinary element to the adventures.
The Stars at My Door – Featuring fifteen new stories from some of today’s hottest writers including William Meikle, Christine Morgan, John Linwood Grant, David Conyers, Glynn Owen Barrass and many more, these stories celebrate the optimism of old-school science fiction, but with a twist.
A Tear in the Veil – The debut novel from Patrick Loveland – the mind-bending story of Felix Brewer, a young man with a dark past, who, through the use of some utterly bewildering technology, is afforded the gift of true sight. That is, Felix can now see the flora and fauna that live in symbiosis with our dimension, albeit surreptitiously. However, his new-found wonderment comes at a price as his reality begins to shift, and dark forces target him for brutal extinction.
Or if you don’t want to wait, you can buy these three marvels by checking out the April Moon site right now:
https://www.aprilmoonbooks.com/
18thWall Productions have generously offered a number of great ebooks, including:
Cryptid Clash 5 – By Nikki Nelson-Hicks. Something has gone wrong in Mongolia. Morgan Industrial Technologies’ natural gas station has gone dark. No communication in or out, it seems, and the satellite imaging shows the station wrecked. Wrecked as though everything has descended into a warzone. Which perhaps it has. The station may have been working on more than natural gas. Mongolian Death Worms, the olgoi khorkhoi of lore, have attacked this base–ripping up anything on the sands…
Speakeasies and Spiritualists – Eight stories inspired by Rose Mackenberg and the spiritualists Jazz Age milieu. Psychic investigators on the trail of the trail of a jazz musician who seems to have crawled from the grave. Amateur, living-room seances going very wrong when mixed with grief for those who died in the war. Strange men warning out of Florida storms. Dream Demons stalking Chicago, feeding off bar-dwellers, and floors painted with mystic stars.
You can see and order the whole Cryptid Clash range, and all of 18thWall’s other books, here:
The draw will be held in January 2018, and as mentioned above, all reward backers will be eligible to win something from the above. Many thanks to the above publishers for their support.
If you want to book your copy of ODQ Presents, then here’s the link:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/280674519/occult-detective-quarterly-presents?ref=card
http://amzn.eu/jjVOiJI