Sunday Castle Festival (2025 - 17): fantasy, science fiction and horror
The Knight of the Golden Armour is already finished (after correction and proofreading) for the Anthology, an original idea by
. You can find The Anthology’s information here:It will be titled, “Steelhearts Heroic Fantasy Anthology”:
From the imaginations of five contributors to the fantasy fiction community on Substack come tales of wonder, terror, love, and courage, whether in the face of overwhelming odds or fear of the unknown:
A young man bereft of kin and hope braves subterranean horrors and ancient evils in the fae world.
The lords of humanity's last refuge plunge into battle against an infinite horde of ravenous orcs.
Two brothers stalk winged fiends through the primitive jungle in a hunt for vengeance.
A young woman must choose between her life of protected seclusion and the perils of love and prophecy.
The fate of a treachery-ridden kingdom falls on a young country duke and an old wizard.
Every page of Steelhearted will stir the blood in your veins—and inspire you, too, to take up the swords of valor and truth in the face of evil.
If you don’t get the entire mail, click here to read it. Believe me, this mail is really long…
A) Fiction:
I) Fantasy:
The Brothers Krynn, aka the Great Brothers of Substack, have written a piece about Heracles vs the Hydra: “Certainly his uncle had been sorely wounded in spirit, and had been very firm in telling him he could not accompany him, Iolaus mused in a dark mood. However, the more he thought the matter over as he watched as his uncle made for the south the youth thought back to what his father might well have done”.
has published Ch 36 of his great mythological epic, The Haunting of Guaritori Dolco: “I felt the pressure increasing again and knew that Erebus intended to crush me. But instead of reacting, I froze at first. After all, he surrounded everyone, including Zeus, who had to be preserved—and my son. If I resisted, would he end up crushing them as well?”
The story of Pedro Sangre by
has also continued with the Ch 24, titled “The Devil’s Bargain”: ““I’ve worked far too hard to get you this dead town, Doctor,” Lucas said with a casual, meaningless wave at Westmere. “So the last thing I want is to see some idiot with more sword than sense run you through. I should know, since I’ve a lot of those idiots at my disposal.””
We have a new story in town:
has begun a new serial titled Those who return, whose first chapter is “And She left with the night”. He considers it his attempt to write an American fantasy: “Confusion deepened, lingering with the ache in his head. Funny, that. He’d always assumed the pain of being shot through the head would be sharper. Instead, Paul found it dull and cold. Slowly it throbbed through his scalp, brow, neck, and nape; blooming, then receding. It came in time with the bleeding of his wounds, fast when the blood spilled, slowing as it oozed, all but vanishing as it trickled.”
I am now reading ch 7 of
‘s Eathel the Bastard (last chapter published…, (th is in draft only, not published), The Wasted of the Clericy: ““To our—heretofore—loyal servant Sir Haldric ad Seanë, General in the Army of the Duchy of Tera, we, the Most Noble Earl of Darren and incumbent High Marshal of the Duchy of Tera, do hereby decree and ordain: thou art commanded to tender unto thine august Earl, who beareth the dignity of a Lord, one or more fitting anecdotes, upon peril of the gallows shouldst thou fail to comply.””
This week
has published ch 17 of her fantasy romance One Hundred Refusals, The Caged Starling: “Lord Trouser could not have chosen a smaller carriage; Gema was sure he did it on purpose. Although Gema was fuming with rage, she could not stay mad at the sweet old man. Oh, no! All her fury was aimed at Ash, sitting close to her in the narrow carriage, while their belongings took up the opposite seat. The two hadn’t been speaking for days. Truth be told, Ash was speaking to the closed door of Gema’s chamber, while all she granted him was an angry snort, and nothing more”. has also published Ch 26 of his Lives of Velnin, “Desperate Measures”. The situation they are in is really desperate: “To this one captain booed, then spoke up—Adeimantus, from a kingdom west of the Isthmus. "My friends," he said, "we stand addressed by one who does not even have a kingdom—his lays in ashes. Should he even have leave to speak, among those still fighting to defend their own people? Let the ruins of his capital tell us what good his advice has brought. Nay, let him find himself a kingdom before contributing his useless ideas, and let the rest of us see to our own."“
The universe of the Mordreigiau Chronicles is expanding:
has began a new serial based in the same world titled Obsidian and Flame, whose first chapter, Sunless, can be read already: “As Arddun expected, the newly handfasted couple had little time for her once they returned from their night of dragon dancing. To occupy herself, she roamed the halls, exploring. Yet too many people looked at her like they knew she didn’t belong there. She abandoned the palace’s scrutiny for its sunken gardens.”
I have also been reading ch. 4 of Thrain, the fantasy story written by
, Tyler: “As the evening shadows lengthened, the villagers gradually departed, leaving Tyler alone in the ruins of his home. The bowl of stew lay untouched beside him. Several had urged him to accompany them, but he was not reasonable, and soon all efforts ended. Eventually the night took him, and he fell asleep next to ash and stone. The night would be cold, but Tyler welcomed it and hoped for death”. has written a story titled A Daughter who Never Was: “Once Connor finished, he let the torch fall and its flame wither, then stepped up behind Saorla. She kept her body and gaze faced towards the druid. A small black circle formed around Saorla’s feet as she stood in the light. Connor looked to the druid; his fingers wrapped tighter around the haft of his club.” has written a new story titled The Tree: “The woman stood before the tree, eyes looking up at the tempting fruit hanging from its branches, like rubies”.
My contribution for this edition is What awaits us in The Legend of Sinardia III (scroll down for English translation): “having the story in my head and not in a paper or in a computer has a very serious danger, which is that I might forget something fundamental, but it has an advantage: I can always come up with something that's even better than the previous story, based precisely on the history and behaviour of each character. Malaban's refusal to use magic isn't the same as his acceptance of it: his behaviour can’t be the same, because he goes from being someone afraid of himself, to someone else (as we saw in Book II) who accepts the need to use magic if he wants to save those in danger”.
B) Science fiction and horror:
has continued his new serial, Lost Numbers. I am reading now ch 3, Shadows and Dust: “Number 815165 lay hidden among those who had long since been unalived. Nigh a corpse himself, not a single muscle twitching, limb moving, nor a loud breath escaped his gas mask. The child soldier looked deep into the bony eyes of a fallen brother and his soul smiled with calm abandon. For all Avern’a in this present day death world of theirs, the bunker was where they were born, their home, and their tomb.”
I have also read Ch 7 of the
’s serial, Moon Sea Marauders: “After the break we set off again, and found another tunnel heading out of the hall on its far side. Here too we found fresh signs of the French, for we discovered a wooden cart in a side chamber, cluttered with the remnants of the iron pails in which the stolen daedricium had been stored. Of the looted crystals themselves there was no sign except for small fragments and dust, and we could not fathom what the French might have done with their stolen cargo.”
The sci-fi novella The Lightbreakers of Orpheus by
is also going forward. I have read Ch 17 this week: “Mark got the med bots, and a stretcher. They transported Sophie to the Vulture’s old operation room 1. Since the death of the Vulture’s resident doctor, the operation rooms had been collecting dust, yet they were still usable. The old med bots clinked and screeched but did their job despite of the rust. Doc Benton disinfected his hands hurriedly, and got to work, assisted by the bots, in the bright light provided by the emergency generators of the operation rooms”.We can continue reading
’s story Sugar and Spice and all things nice, chapter 2: “Squads of six-years planted baskets of bulbs, Second Gardener and his assistants overseeing. They unfolded from the garden bed, curtseying to the mentist and kneeling again with their trowels. Leaning on a hoe, Second Gardener tipped his conical felt cap. Some of the six-years knew her ten-year charge. Faint voices piped, “Sister Andromache, sister Andromache!””
I am also reading the sci-fi story written by
, Now on Ch 3: “Galina had heard their babbling cries, and their words, like invading armies, had laid siege to her mind. She made the unilateral decision to medically deepen their comas, a decision the other heads quickly supported. What she’d heard of their suffering haunted her, and others might have kept the victims silent for as long as they lived, but each word left a question that would never be answered if they weren’t brave enough to hear.” has continued to her serial The Silent Fleet, with Ch 4.5 Approach: “The communications system activated automatically, and a sound unlike anything Montoya had ever heard filled the command deck. Harmonics and tonalities that seemed to shift between audible frequencies, almost painful yet hauntingly beautiful”.
Other link rounds you should check:
has written a piece about Molly Weasley, from the Harry Potter novels: “She’s resourceful and headstrong, a real powerhouse. You sort of need to be when you’re raising that many kids on a tight budget. But she never lets it rattle her. She’s a kind soul, always willing to do whatever it takes, but she’s also not afraid of confrontation if it’s necessary. She has quiet bravery, not shy, merely reserved”.: Gargantuan Victories!: On the Final Day of May.: The Wandering Thoughts of Turtles and The Turtles of Alchemy Library of Stories.
You should also check the notes of Asteria Geisterblum, who recommends every Sunday interesting readings for all of us.
Some music:
Buy me a coffee. ☕️
Thank you so much, like always, for the mention of Dr. Sangre and Death Whispers!
I always appreciate the mentions here!