Every week, the Castalia House Blog spotlights some of the many new releases in independent, pulp, and web novel-influenced science fiction and fantasy.

By This Axe – presented by Autarch

By This Axe: The Cyclopedia of Dwarven Civilization reveals the secrets of the great and proud race of dwarves, compiled, codified, and curated for use in your favorite old-school fantasy role-playing game. With the Cyclopedia, you get:

•  270 pages of lore and rules bounded in a stitch-bound hardcover and PDF edition
• A full-color painted cover by Michael Syrigos
• A full-color interior layout with full- and half-page art
• Compatibility with Old School Renaissance RPGs such as ACKS, OSE, LL, and LOTFP

Constant Sorrow (Backyard Starship #15) – J. N. Chaney and Terry Maggert

Humans have been in the stars far longer than Van originally thought, and they’ve been busy.

But not every visitor to or from Earth has good intentions, and the Peacemakers are faced with an uncomfortable reality. The Earth is about to meet aliens. Some of the aliens are bringing goods to trade. And among those items—are weapons.

When a secret cabal of humans who want to exploit the Earth is revealed, Van has to decide how and where to fight this threat. Along the way, he reveals a secret history that began in the Great War—and ends with mass chaos on his home planet.

Van won’t let that happen—at least not without a fight, and to hold back the gears of war, he’s going to need a lot of help. With Torina at his side, the crew faces a decision that will change the future of the stars themselves, and challenge the Guild, the Earth, and the Equal Grasp as the universe gets smaller with each contact between humans and aliens.

How can Van manage the clash, save earth, and deliver peace?

If he can, what will it cost him?

Privateers & Pandemonium (Salvage Treasure #3) – Nick Steverson and Melissa Olthoff

Have you ever wanted to hunt down the galaxy’s worst pirates? To stand up for what’s right and honorable?

Reggie and his small clan didn’t set out to be privateers. They set out to find the lost pirate ship of Captain Pordobel. When they hit a dead-end in their hunt, though, they contacted their old pirate buddies for help. After all, Pordobel was not only the galaxy’s most fearsome pirate, he was also the galaxy’s richest pirate. If the group can find his lost flagship, there will be more than enough treasure to go around.

But not everything goes according to plan.

If any pirate ever matched Pordobel’s bloodthirsty atrocities, it would be Captain Parson and his Predators. And they’re expanding their reach.

Armed with a writ from Emperor Dahkal, the clan sets out to put a stop Parson once and for all. But Parson is no ordinary pirate. He’s the head of the pirate council and commands an entire armada.

Will they stop Parson and end his rampage? Will they ever find the lost pirate ship of Captain Pordobel? Will Maddy ever get her umbrellas?

One thing is certain—there will be pandemonium.

The World According to Dragons #3 – Harmon Cooper

Armed with Arcane Cards and a fresh comprehension of dragon essence, Twillo is better equipped than ever to challenge Jecha, the formidable God of Carnage. However, the challenge doesn’t end there: a race against time and foe alike to unlock the last of the ziggurats, which hold the key to resurrecting dragons in the Four Kingdoms of the Sagaland.

Venturing towards the sun-drenched southern desert, Twillo is joined by an old friend thought lost to time. This newly forged alliance, however, will face challenges at every turn. From monstrous adversaries to former mentors twisted by spite, danger abounds on their path to Twillo’s ultimate goal.

Will Twillo free the imprisoned dragons before Jecha can seize control? Can he reclaim his name and fulfill his legacy? An epic adventure full of peril, camaraderie, and earth-shattering revelations awaits.

Read More

Every week, the Castalia House Blog spotlights some of the many new releases in independent, pulp, and web novel-influenced science fiction and fantasy.

Below Us – Nathan Hystaad

Forget the stars, the real threat is below us.

After a rough break up, Wyatt moves to New York City, eager to prove himself while working on Wall Street. When he’s asked to visit his ex-girlfriend’s father, a billionaire tycoon, his fate is sealed.

The revolutionary company, Nu-En, launches a radical innovation, an energy that will allow every person on the planet access to power. Only it doesn’t perform as anticipated.

Harnessing the ocean has consequences, and highly dangerous creatures emerge from the depths. Soon, the Earth is fracturing, and the world will never be the same.

Wyatt teams with Luna, a clever journalist, to escape the treacherous city with the ultimate prize: a robot capable of saving the world.

Their journey won’t be easy, but they meet others along the way that share the same determination.

Time is running out, and nothing can prepare them for what’s coming…

The Bizarchives #5 – edited by Dave Martel

On the abysmal fringes of sanity itself lies a repository of tales from realms untold. The Bizarchives: Weird Tales of Monsters, Magic and Machines holds secrets of far flung galaxies, haunted dimensions, and fantastical heroes.

Inspired by the works of HP Lovecraft and Robert E Howard, this compilation of short stories takes the listener through all things strange and exhilarating. With 15 stories written by lifelong enthusiasts of the sci-fi, fantasy, and horror genres, The Bizarchives is an unapologetic homage to the golden era of pulp fiction. If you love Conan, Cthulhu, and everything in-between, you won’t want to miss this.

The Bizarchives RETURNS!

With another odd array of weird tales from Jim Bonner, A. Cuthbertson, C.P. Webster and many more! A dozen yarns of fantasy, science fiction and supernatural horror as well as comic strips, weird poetry and MUCH MORE. A fresh collection of pulp strangeness for you reading pleasure.

Blood Shaper – WillPowah

What his enemies don’t know will bleed them dry…

Kay’s life takes an unexpected turn when he is transported to a mysterious world brimming with unfamiliar Skills, Classes, and a System. As he struggles to comprehend his new reality, he discovers a unique Class that’s never been seen before—a powerful new form of blood magic that allows him to shape and manipulate the life force coursing through his veins.

But the powers that be view Kay as a threat to their authority and dominance and are more than happy to eliminate him to maintain the status quo. Outnumbered and underpowered, if Kay has any hope of survival, he’ll need to level up his Skills, harness the power of his unique Class, and decipher the ever-shifting schemes of his enemies—all while keeping his true potential under wraps.

With a host of deadly new abilities at his disposal, Kay’s going to show them that they should have left him bloody well alone!

A Fistful of Mechs – Jake Bible

Just a man, the Wasteland, and his Battle Mech.

The Bloody Conflict is long over.The lands are now controlled by despots, crooked cattle barons, energy hoarders, and anyone with enough might to keep the local folks under control.

For Clay MacAulay, none of that matters. He roams the land in a war machine from a time gone by. He wants nothing to do with small desert towns or brutal dictators. He only has his sights set on a new life.

Unfortunately for Clay, too many ruthless people want the war machine he pilots. The battle mech that shouldn’t exist anymore.

But they will have to pry Clay’s cold, dead body out of that pilot’s seat to get it. Read More

Long ago, in ages past… there were men who travelled the world, seeking adventure. Fighting injustice, defending the weak and the helpless, looking to right wrongs wherever they are found: these were the Mighty Sons of Hercules!

Wherever righteousness must have a champion, there you will find the Mighty Sons of Hercules! Whenever there is need and no mortal man can suffice, a Mighty Son of Hercules shall appear!

In addition to its namesake magazine of thrilling adventure and daring suspense, Cirsova Publishing is known for ambitious and eclectic projects such as turning pulp classics into light novels and reviving out-of-print adventures written by now-obscure authors. Now, Cirsova sets its eyes on stories of strongmen champions striving against trials worthy of Hercules himself with its new Kickstarter campaign for THE MIGHTY SONS OF HERCULES.

P. Alexander, Cirsova editor, graciously agreed to answer questions about the strongman genre and his upcoming The Mighty Sons of Hercules anthology.

What is the strongman genre, also known as peplum? How did you discover it and what drew you to the genre?

This really goes back to the 19^th century and the circus strongman. You had these musclebound performers who would wow audiences with amazing feats of strength: bending iron bars, being able to take any punch, lifting someone sitting on a chair one-handed. In fact, this type of performer was one of the archetypes upon which the Superhero grew out of.

With the advent of cinema, you had a new medium in which to showcase these feats. It was only natural that you’d come up with some sort of narrative reason for the strongman to be doing what he did, and rescuing people, especially damsels in distress, was a perfect justification.

In 1914, one of the earliest film superhero franchises launched with Gabriele D’Annunzio’s Cabiria. Maciste, the strongman slave character in this historical epic about the Punic Wars became a breakout sensation in silent Italian cinema. Played by former stevedore Bartolomeo Pagano, Maciste would go on to be the main character of over two dozen silent films showcasing his physical acting from 1914 to 1927.

In the pulp era, you also had the rise of bodybuilders becoming international superstars in their own right. Even growing up as a kid in the 90s, I still saw endless references to Charles Atlas who had advertisements in every comic book and pulp zine back in the 1940s & 50s.

The 1950s also saw a huge boom in costume epics set in antiquity. Ben-Hur and The Ten Commandments are probably two of the most well-known and famous. But between these two, in 1958, there was a Hercules movie starring bodybuilder Steve Reeves, which was an international break-out sensation. This is what really kicked off the modern mid-20^th century strongman boom. In its wake, you had hundreds of movies about Hercules and other mythic heroes from antiquity. Among these were another 26 Maciste movies, all made from 1960 through 1964.

Peplum and Sword & Sandal go hand-in-hand with the strongman genre, though not exclusively so. There are plenty of other movies that fit the bill that don’t feature a heroic strongman, but Maciste and Hercules-type characters are the ones that spring to mind most often when talking about the genre.

As for how I got into it, these movies were still available to networks for [probably very cheap] syndication packages and were frequently shown on Saturday mornings or as mid-day matinees well into the 90s. A few even made it to MST3K.

There was awhile that they kind of disappeared, but thanks to YouTube, it’s a lot easier to see these old movies again. Read More

Every week, the Castalia House Blog spotlights some of the many new releases in independent, pulp, and web novel-influenced science fiction and fantasy.

Quantum Chaos (Quantum #5) – Douglas Phillips

Chaos. Where the universe ends, and reality begins.

Everyone knows that Chitzas are masters of spatial compression, routinely exploring distant places across the Milky Way in their wedge-shaped scout ships. But rumors abound of even greater accomplishments. Some say these intrepid explorers have reached beyond the galaxy.

When a distress signal is received from deep space, making sense of the emergency becomes a personal matter for Daniel Rice. His wife is onboard that ship. Has it been destroyed? No one knows, but searching for survivors won’t be Daniel’s only problem. The distress signal comes from a region so remote that light itself has not had time to reach our eyes. The Chitzas may have ventured beyond the cosmic horizon.

Compelled to seek the truth, Daniel must follow the Chitzas’ path across vast reaches of space to a mysterious planet in an unusual galaxy. What he learns will take him even further from home—to a place ruled by chaos.

Savage Skies – Nicholas Sansbury Smith

A hostile world that will doom the human race … or save it, if a few survivors can unlock its secrets …

After waking up with no memories in an underground facility, a squad of elite soldiers and scientists must try to recall what their mission is. But first, it’s a race against the clock to escape their collapsing bunker before it becomes a tomb. Topside, an even more dangerous world of fiery skies and desolate terrain awaits.

As they venture out to explore their strange new surroundings, bits of memory begin to return, though nothing can prepare them for the strange forces protecting this bleak landscape. Worse, it seems that not everyone on the team wants the mission—whatever it is—to succeed. One thing is certain: the world they remember is gone, destroyed by war or natural disaster. Soon, they will learn that they must unlock the past if they are to have any hope of ever seeing the future.

Shades of Magic (Restriction #2) – D. K. Holmberg

Torian Ranth is no longer the struggling student he once was.

Now a skilled sahir to be reckoned with, Torian arrives at the devastated university. It still stands amid the remnants of the Rusav onslaught.

Torian dives deep into the study of sahir magic, trying to wield his valsahir power by grasping the nuances of the conventional sahir elements. However, the university is not the sanctuary he had hoped for, as it remains under the constant threat of the Rusav and their deadly creatures.

Behind the chaos, an unexpected person pulls the strings, orchestrating the attacks that could lead to the final fall of the university and the destruction of all that Torian holds dear. His new-found power may be the only hope.

Can he unravel the secrets of his valsahir magic in time to stand against the shadows that threaten to engulf the one place that withstood the last attack? The weight of magic presses heavily upon him, but failure is not an option.

Torian must learn to master the shades of his magic or watch his world crumble into ruins. Read More