Sunday Castle Festival (2025 - 19): fantasy, science fiction and horror
The “Steelhearts Heroic Fantasy Anthology”, by The Brothers Krynn and M. B. Heywood, continues on Kirkstarter, so you can still get one of the offers or just contribute to the project…
If you don’t get the entire mail, click here to read it. Believe me, this mail is really long…
A) Fiction:
I) Fantasy: (in alphabetical order)
, the first of today’s first participants in the SCF, surprises us with the tale titled Three Naughty Dwarfs and their dirty secret: a captive maiden: “In the center of the room, staring up at Brand with wide, angry eyes, was a beautiful girl, short but well-formed. She wore oversized, dark-red breeches, tied off at the knees, revealing tanned calves. Her feet were planted shoulder-width apart in ridiculously large, brown shoes with big, gray-colored, rounded toes. She wore a baggy white shirt with the sleeves cut off, revealing tanned and strong—but not unwomanly—arms. A brown silk sash was tied tightly around her waist into a complicated knot on her left hip, leaving a long tassel hanging at her side”.
This week I have also been reading part 6 of Thrain, the story written by
, who is now on #14 Rising in Fiction (Congratulations!). This part is titled Njalor: “He knelt at the furnace and placed his hand on the Rune etched into the stone. What little energy he had left fled into the rock, and then the three logs within roared to life. Groaning, he all but fell backwards, then crawled on his elbows to the bed. Sleep caught him like an arrow in the back, and he passed on into terrible dreams with an arm and a leg still hanging off the low cot.” has already published chapter 8 of his now classical in this list, The Haunting of Guaritori Dolco, titled "Condemned to repeat history?”: “I’d seldom faced a more hopeless situation. I knew I couldn’t stop Iskios now even if I wanted to. And as I watched him work, I doubted he’d thank me if I stopped him. He wasn’t exactly smiling as he created a new dungeon, but the light in his eyes suggested that he enjoyed having a purpose, a sense that he was part of the universe rather than an annoying aberration in it. That sense of belonging might be almost as important to him as his new body”. What a surprising development!
We can also read ch 28 of
’s The Lives of Velnin, The Battle of Soppressatas (really good name!): “Fundamentally, the Dark Empire's side never recovered from our initial charge. We had crippled their frontline in one blow, at which point our undamaged ships near the island shores vastly outnumbered theirs. Their great reserves of fresh ships counted for naught, as their fresh ships would continually get snarled with retreating Imperial ships while rushing in, then, after weaving in between all the damaged vessels of their side to face us, would face two or more of our undamaged ships, ramming them with our underwater iron beaks or sending boarding parties to kill their officers”. And a very good result!
I’m beginning a new serial and I am linking it here: it’s
‘s Chains of the Demigod, Chapter 1: “They splashed into icy water, the battlefield crossing into a glacial river. The young mind had never seen water, knew not its complicated nature as both a source of sustenance and danger. The young mind knew only hatred and fear; it knew only the desire to act on its anger in avoidance of the terror. It jumped at its victim, hammered at it with its fists, bit at it, snorting blood and muck. The water grew deeper, swifter, corpses of the slain and injured bobbing, swirling, grasping, tripping those who still stood”. has opened his “Law and Order” and everone can read it. So, I’m reading and linking chapter 1, titled “The Arrival of the Moon Touched”: “The Captain looked up from the orb and met the Elemental’s black eyes. “It looks like the snow is melting. I hope it didn’t damage the landing cradles.” But that’s was his problem to worry about, it would be the concern of the dock master of the local militaries supply depot. His only concern was reaching the fortified town of Eola and having his two guests disembark.” has also continued her story One Hundred Refusals. It’s now on Ch 19, titled “For Aven!”: ““Oh, may the Foreverold take mercy upon me!” Ash exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. He rushed into the crowd, and before Val and Pearl had disappeared into the orchard kissing, Ash was back, pulling along a very drunk Ceremony Master. Ash convinced him this was a matter of life and death, and the good man indeed carried out a humble wedding ceremony for Val and Pearl, right there in the orchard, underneath the velvet-soft leaves rustling in the nighttime winds, and the stars smiling down on them. Ash witnessed the ceremony, and even he had to smile at the tears of love shining in Val’s eyes, as he put the ring on Pearl’s finger”. Well, looks like it’s going to have a loving end for all! Ermmm… no… 😈
I have also began reading
’s An Inheritance. Its chapter 1 is titled The Story of Isocrates: “Nearly four-meters from tip to tip, a griffon’s wingspan more than doubled the height of the average man. They had tawny bodies, with tow-colored heads, and fearsomely hooked beaks, of a straw hue. With crop fully gorged, a female griffon shrieked, and nipped angrily at a nearby cinereous – a simple display of dominance. The other bird shrieked in return, then leaped away cowed. Satisfied, the griffon vulture spread its wings, and launched itself upwards”. has now written ch 26 of his Death Whispers’s story, titled The Bait: ““One of those ingredients was that necrotic nightmare from the warehouse,” I explained, while we continued. “I’ve an idea how Lucas made that, but I’m not entirely sure. So, I’ll need to experiment a little. Hopefully, I won’t poison myself.” Hopefully! has written ch 3 of her new serial, Obsidian and Flame, from her world of the Mordreigau Chronicles, titled Ebony: “Curiosity drew her through the arch and into the square, joining the throng who surrounded Panawr and his opponent. She stood on tiptoe and considered swimming upward in order to see, but none of the guards had dared, so she remained on the ground.” The woman couldn’t stay away from watching the fight… Curiosity killed the cat, we say in Spain. Hopefully, that is not what happens to her. had written a piece with both poetry and narrative titled Wyrd Tales: The Cult of the Black Pillars, in which there is a very particular name mentioned: “The voice that spoke up, uttered its words in the same tongue as that of Leonid which was to say the language of Zolus. Though where Leonid was himself a Zolusian, the other man was a Tigrun from the lands of Hespanya so that when he spoke the Zolusian tongue it was with a thick accent”. has written part 2 of the chapter published the past week, no. 17, which belongs to the story Jarl’s Son. The chapter is titled as The Twin Pendants: “Its breaking was as a stone smashing through the surface of a frozen lake. As Marten ripped the pendant free, the outer edges of the barrier’s web of splinters were flung outwards with a rush of force that felt less like wind than it did the push of something behind that broken veil. Meanwhile the shards in the center, ground to splinters by the turning of the pendant, were pulled inward by that same force, swirling in the same direction that Marten twisted them.”
My contribution this week is the summary of this last year: “Coming to Substack was pretty decisive in my starting to consider publishing it: it was an added burden and a responsibility because you can stop publishing a blog, especially if it's free, but starting a saga and not finishing it seems to me to leave the reader in a "hold on to the paintbrush, because I’m taking the ladder away" moment. With all the characters in a "what do we do now?" position.”
II) Sci-fi and horror:
has returned strongly with a sci-fi story, Blood and Glass: “She had never killed anyone, though. That might give her a chance. Or maybe, that would give her the high she wanted. She quickly pushed the idea away as distasteful. Plus, even though most things were legal here, including slavery and gladiator fights, murder would likely put her in jail. Course, she laughed dryly, with her world about to end, she wouldn’t be caught before she flickered out of existence”. has finished this week his serial, Moon Sea Marauders, with Ch 9: “My ruminations almost made me miss the shout of excitement from the leading scouts, who returned briefly to the main body of the column before racing ahead again. Lady Jessica had been spotted! The scouts claimed that they had seen a figure, clad in a green dress and with long blonde hair in the midst of the French column - matching the description we received at Absolution Point from Lord Gainsley’s household - and this news served to energize the men and officers for the final rush. Ahead of us lay a small hill over which the French had disappeared, and beyond that the masts of the Daphne were waiting”.
Great ending!
this time has posted a crime short story about the alternative one man faces and its options in “Between a Rock and a Hard Place”: “I love the thrill of sitting in the betting shop on the estate, choosing a team, horse, greyhound or sportsman to win. The anticipation of whether they’ll win or lose. The thrill of the event and the win, there was no feeling like it. However I lose more then I win so it’s become a bit of a problem. I’m now in debt to Mr Powell, a local gangster, but the problem is I haven’t got a pot to piss in let alone three fucking grand”. has humoured us with a new chapter of her serial The Lightbreakers of Orpheus, no 19: “Are you fully aware what this means?” Doc asked. “You will lose your vision again. The biomechanics will become your only way of communicating with the world outside. You might experience pain, and confusion at first. If this operation is successful, you’ll go on a suicidal mission, and…”
I have begun reading
’s The Art of Darkness from its beginning. Chapter 1 is titled “One harrowing encounter in the name of education.”: “As I followed him up the grand staircase, I watched how he moved in the moonlight. More than graceful, it was elegant beyond words. A perfectly tuned machine. And dangerous, don't forget that one. Reaching the top of the stairs, he guided me into a room down the hall, closing the door behind me. It was dark, lit only by the moon from one window, and a floor lamp in the corner. Bookshelves lined an entire wall, each one filled with books. A library. I carefully took a book from the shelf, brushing a layer of dust from its cover and bringing into my nose the musty scent.” That vampire… is very dangerousssss… has written a very interesting piece, The Bone Garden: “At first, Tyler thought it was wind through the cedars. Gradually the sounds resolved into something like voices. Not words exactly. More a murmuring that felt like conversation just beyond his ability to understand. The headstones seemed to lean toward each other, as if sharing secrets. The mausoleums wheezed and sighed like old men settling into comfortable chairs. As if, the place accepted him so much, they relaxed into their old ways”.
We can continue reading
’s Sugar and Spice and all things nice. I am reading this week ch 4: ““So this snip of a human, instead of sweeping and mopping my office, gets on my terminal—with your logins!—and starts fishing inside her records. I badly wish to understand how she learned to do this. You may guess I’m curious to know how she’s able to do this. No tank-girl should be able to conceive of the idea, much less act on it. Stop blubbering, you!””
Last week I read ch 4 of
‘s Warp and Wood, so this week I’m reading ch 5, “With a chuckle, she pushed herself to her knees. Long tufts of grass clung to her like wires connected to an unseen machine until, one by one, they broke free. She jumped to her feet and reached out for him to follow, saying, “The hypothesis remains. Everything else waits until the study’s complete.” writes a great story in his Ch 6 of his epic sci-fi story Lost Numbers: “Avern’a did not wonder how or why their Jaern foes allied themselves with the Vaugn Matriarchy. His bunker’s oldest Loresingers once told him that “All degenerates smell alike”. If the Jaern were his people’s most hated enemy, the disgusting Vaugn Matriarchs took the second place, for they had performed experiments upon countless millions, in order to advance their so called “science”. Most of what the Jaern were supplied with, be it cybertech or gene-grafts, all came from the labs of the Matriarchs. Everything else, including light arms, tanks, and combat grav-vehicles, it was provided by the slithering Taz’aran “merchants”, who often demanded payment in flesh”.
III) Other links:
writes about Worldbuilding: “The rising use (and overuse) of the term led to a brief literary dustup in 2017 prompted by Lincoln Michel’s provocative essay Against Worldbuilding. Michel argues that worldbuilding is only useful in some very specific science fiction/fantasy secondary world contexts, and that an over-reliance on top-down, nuts-and-bolts fictional universe engineering is tedious and unnecessary in the vast majority of cases. Instead, he argues convincingly for something he calls world-conjuring, which is the light-handed use of evocative details that allows the reader’s imagination to fill in the logic of a fictional world”.
IV) Other link rounds you should check:
: you should check this note about more stories., as every Sunday, recommends every Sunday interesting readings for all of us: Sword & Saturday Seventy-Fifth Edition 2025-6-14: Howard Day Edition!: Robert E. Howard Days, 2025.To end this Festival, I am posting this video of Spanish Guitar Music… But don’t drive, cut anything or any other dangerous activity, playing this music because it’s relaxing.
Have a great week!
Buy me a coffee. ☕️
Thanks for including my story-much appreciated.
Thank you for the read!