A press release from Ian Randal Strock’s Fantastic Books:

Fantastic Books is thrilled to publish The Revelations of Zang: Twelve Tales of the Continent by John R. Fultz. This collection of dark fantasy tales with a metaphysical edge is full of grotesque wonders and weird splendor.

Artifice the Quill flees from tyrant sorcerers into a world of strange magic, ancient gods, and exotic kingdoms. The exiled author joins a traveling troupe of performers known as the Glimmer Faire, where he learns the magical power of art and the art of magical power. These Twelve Tales of the Continent alternate between the exploits of Artifice and the adventures of Taizo the Rogue, a master of skullduggery who sparks a rebellion in the name of bloody vengeance.

The Lost Gods of Narr were displaced a century ago by the Sorcerer Kings, a council of dictators who rule the Golden City with necromancy, alchemy, and terror. The mysterious folk of the Red Isle foster dissension in Narr by smuggling their enchanted goods into the city, while the ancient Zang Forest expands itself across the lands of men, devouring farms and towns as it reaches to smother the wicked city. Now that the Lost Gods are returning to destroy the world, only Artifice, Taizo, and a small band of rebels have any hope of preventing the apocalypse.

Four of the included stories first appeared in Black Gate magazine, after Fultz debuted the series with “The Persecution of Artifice the Quill” (which appeared in Weird Tales in 2006), but seven of these interrelated stories are brand new in this volume. They include “Spilling the Blood of the World,” the novelette which brings the entire Zang Cycle to a staggering finale.

All Fantastic Books titles are available through major online retailers, distributed by Ingram, and available to specialty shops directly from the publisher. See www.FantasticBooks.biz for our complete catalog.

The Revelations of Zang: Twelve Tales of the Continent
by John R. Fultz
$14.99, 254 pages, ISBN: 978-1-61720-941-3

Praise for the Zang Cycle stories:

“Fultz tells us a wonderful tale in ‘The Persecution of Artifice the Quill.’ Artifice is a writer in a city dominated by sorcerers. He runs afoul of them because he wrote a book called ‘The End of Sorcery.’ In just 12 pages, Fultz tells us what we need to know about this world and also provides a good story, quite an accomplishment.” —SFRevu

“In this dark, sparkling little fantasy [‘The Vintages of Dream’], a thief sets out to rob a sorcerer who possesses a large number of expensive glass bottles in which he has captured his dreams.” —SF Site

“When the Glimmer Faire Came to the City of the Lonely Eye” is “a prosaic piece, filled with vivid descriptions that make it easy to imagine the characters, their surroundings, and… the words here are carefully chosen so as to maximize their effectiveness while minimizing the attention they draw to themselves. At its simplest, this is an enjoyable adventure that reveals the power of art and artists.” —Tangent Online

“The real interest [in ‘Glimmer Faire’] is not so much in Artifice himself as in the head of the troupe, Mordeau, whose sorcery enhances the stagecraft and effects, so that even a god can be moved.” —Locus

“Fultz begins ‘Return of the Quill’ with a terrific opening scene… Treachery and clever intrigue follow as Fultz cleverly works out his dark tale’s rewarding conclusion.” —Tangent Online

“…a powerful tale filled with imaginative and satisfying S&S goodness; meanwhile, Fultz never loses sight of the fact that even necromantic geeks have feelings. [‘Return of the Quill’] was my favorite story of the issue.” —SF Site

Praise for the novels of John R. Fultz (Seven Princes and Seven Kings):

“Fultz’s debut novel is flawless… Seven Princes is as good as it gets.” —Paul Goat Allen, Barnes & Noble Book Club

“A richly detailed background history filled with the legends of many cultures lends depth to a stand-out fantasy series from an author with an exceptional talent for characterization and world building.” —The Library Journal

“Book two in Fultz’s imaginative visionary tale is the epitome of fantasy. His world-building is in a class by itself. His battle scenes explode with inconceivable actions, his imagery and descriptive narrative gives voice and life to his awe-inspiring characters and his heroes and nightmarish creatures give face to his epic tale.” —RT Book Reviews

“Tarantino and Tolkien have a literary love child and his name is John R. Fultz. [He] creates filmic mind-pictures with few words, contrasting scenes of beauty, devastation and spectacular battles. He can extract strong emotions with only a few words…” —Ani Johnson, The Bookbag

Seven Kings “confirms Fultz as the master of fantasy characterization and plot. Epic fantasy on a grand scale.” —Books Monthly

“An unabashed, over-the-top fantasy epic… There’s a determined rejection of the epic fantasy ethos of deferred gratification. The whole book contains about 10 books’ worth of story ideas and plot twists, in under 500 pages… You sort of wish Frazetta was still alive, just so he could illustrate some scenes from this book.” —Charlie Jane Anders, io9.com