Excursions from the Citadel

Excursions from the Citadel Issue 4: Eldritch Voices

Do you exist? Do the facts related to this existence ever fill you with apprehension or fear? Did the works of H.P. Lovecraft, August Derleth or Robert W. Chambers speak to you? Then you may have experienced existential dread. If you enjoyed that then you should read Excursions From the Citadel Issue 4: Eldritch Voices. Each issue of Excursions from the Citadel attempts to tackle a different topic. In this issue we have a collection of horror stories that reach beyond the point of physical terror and tap into the cosmic horror inherent in existence. To protect your sanity we suggest you read these stories with a friend.

Excursions from the Citadel Issue 3: Steeds

The theme for this third issue of Excursions From the Citadel is Steeds. Now if you are a literal person, like myself, than the only thing you can think of when you hear the word Steed is a horse (or a kitsch 1960s spy show). But the term horse doesn’t do the word justice. The definition of Steed is meant not to indicate just any old pony, but a “spirited horse, specifically for riding”. In speculative fiction the concept of a spirited mount rises beyond the idea of just a horse. Jack Holliday conveys the concept behind the Steeds issue perfectly via his wonderful cover art. In this issue we have stories of horses, giant serpents and incredibly stylish flying machines. I hope that you will take a look and enjoy it.

Excursions from the Citadel Issue 2: Wizards

All the stories in an issue of Excursions seek to explore a single theme or topic common to speculative fiction. Issue 1 tackled shape-shifters, metamorphosis and transcendence. Issue 2 offers you a half dozen stories and poems that beg the questions: What the &#%@ is a wizard? What will I do if meet one? The stories of Wizards in this issue are varied in their answers. In these pages there are self-described Wizards traveling via spaceships and cyberspace, misunderstood necromancers and guitar playing country boy wizards just looking for a good cup of coffee. We hope you will enjoy.

Excursions from the Citadel: Issue 1: Shifts in Shape

Excursions from the Citadel is an anthology series of speculative fiction, poetry and art. We aim to present our readers with a selection of fantasy and science fiction that ranges from fun and pulpy to challenging and experimental. In this, our first issue, we offer six stories that are tied together by a theme we call Shifts in Shape. The story Atop a Pine Covered Mountain, tells a tale of adventure in which an East Coast academic gets in over his head studying a mystical cult. Labour of an Empress lays out the story of a young monarch struggling to find herself while crafting a magical weapon, and Grey chronicles the trials of a father who’s sanity is pushed to the brink as he cares for a son with supernatural abilities. These are stories of metamorphosis and transcendence in which physical change mirrors and accompanies the path of the characters.

While we promise you characters, we don’t promise you heroes. In addition, to the tales mentioned above, The Lady Down the Hall introduces us to a lecherous and indulgent wizard who refuse any act of love he hasn’t paid for. A Thread of Chance will acquaint you with Christine Ku’s fictional China and a powerful magic user named Zhang that has abandoned all responsibility seemingly on a whim. The first story of our anthology, Winged Invasion, follows the adventure of a nameless man who’s loyalties are torn between a homeland that treated him like a criminal and the horde of ruthless shape-shifters that have invaded it.