Some happy news, some sad, some outcasts, and a chance to get together.

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First, the sad: We regret to announce that Fantastic Books author Damien Broderick has passed away, days before his 81st birthday. He had been suffering from vascular dementia for the last several years. An author, critic, and scholar, he was the recipient of four Ditmar and four Aurealis Awards, the  IAFA Distinguished Scholarship award (2005), and the A. Bertram Chandler Memorial Award (2010), which is given by the Australian SF Foundation for outstanding achievement in Australian SF.

 

His extensive Encyclopedia of Science Fiction article is at https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/broderick_damien . His Fantastic Books titles include Uncle Bones, The Qualia Engine, and (co-written with Rory Barnes) Dark Gray.

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We grieve with his family and friends.

 

Story Bundle

 

There are just a few days left to grab the fourteen wonderful books in the Outcasts Story Bundle for next-to-nothing. Curated by Danielle Ackley-McPhail, this bundle includes the Fantastic Books contribution The Favored by Morgan J. Bolt.

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The description of this bundle: Outsiders. Rebels. Free-Thinkers. Who doesn't love an underdog? Deep inside, most of us identify with those who are a little—or a lot—different. Those who choose their own path, or for whom fate chooses for them. Sometime in our lives, we’ve felt like we didn’t quite fit in. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Forging your own way builds strength, and makes for a damn good story!

 

Story Bundle is a pay-what-you-want opportunity to grab three main titles (in this case, The Favored, Amaskan’s Blood by Raven Oak, and Three Chords of Chaos by James Chambers), with another eleven available for those paying at least $20. To grab these books before they’re gone—before April 25—click https://storybundle.com/outcasts

 

Fantastic Books has just acquired a debut novel by an exciting new author you’re sure to love: Ron Kaiser’s Mystralhaven is a sweeping epic with a desperate struggle against mystical forces.

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The coming of Baz, the Mossbringer, has been foretold: she has powers far beyond those of even the most gifted around her. Had her mother lived, she certainly would have been able to guide Baz through her dawning awareness of her abilities.

 

But even if she learns how to control and use those powers, it may not be enough to save the monks who want to use her, the Borderforges who want to enslave her, or the people who fear her. Can she trust Rendwyll—who is more sand than person—to guide her into her new awareness? With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, can she afford not to?

 

Look for it this summer.

 

 

And finally, a brief appearance announcement: Fantastic Books and I will be at Ravencon in Richmond, Virginia, the weekend of April 25. We’ll have a table in the dealers’ room, and I’ll be on several panels throughout the weekend. For details, see https://www.ravencon.com/.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to share this newsletter far and wide.

Ian Randal Strock
Publisher