Further Thoughts on Marvin Kaye and Weird Tales, Plus Some Suggestions

Last fall I wrote a detailed review about the first issue of the latest version of Weird Tales.  One of the commenters, Chap O'Keefe, said he had sold a pair of stories that were scheduled to come out in subsequent issues.

Since then, there's been little news about when those issues would appear.  At least until last Monday (June 24).  Mr. O'Keefe updated the status of his submissions in a follow-up comment.  I'm reproducing it in its entirety: 

In Defense of Marvin Kaye: A Review of Weird Tales # 360

Weird Tales # 360
print $7.95, various ebook formats $2.99 available here
edited by Marvin Kaye

There was a great deal of bitchin' and moanin' wailing and gnashing of teeth last year when it was announced that Marvin Kaye was buying Weird Tales and replacing editor Ann Vandermeer with himself.  The way some people carried on, you would have thought Sauron had managed to get his claws on the One Ring. 

When Kaye announced, and later retracted, his plans to publish an excerpt of the science fiction novel Save the Pearls, a book many considered to be racist, I expected to see reports of mobs marching on Kaye's location with torches and pitchforks.  Haivng read a number of Kaye's anthologies for the SFBC, and portions of others, I have great respect for him as an editor, but I have to say this was not one of his better choices.  Nor was his essay defending that choice well conceived.  I didn't bother to give this particular novel much attention; the descriptions of it, even if they were only half accurate, made it clear to me the novel was not a good thing to serialize in the magazine.

Outrage was so great that Mary Robinette Kowal subsidized Shimmer magazine so that publication would be able to pay pro rates.  Editor-in-Chief Beth Wodzinski stated on the magazine's blog that she wanted to continue in the vein Ann Vandermeer.

Why am I going into this bit of recent history?  Because the situation as I see it is this:  Expectations on Kaye to succeed are extremely high, so high that it can be argued he'll never be able to meet those expectations.  Furthermore, there are those who are waiting with sharpened knives for him to stumble, or if you prefer, stumble again after the Save the Pearls debacle. 

Well, now the first issue edited by Kaye is out, and it has the theme of The Elder Gods.  Kaye is taking the magazine back to its roots.  This was part of what caused the controversy when he replaced Vandermeer as edtior.  Many saw this as a step backwards.  It's become fashionable in some circles to bash Lovecraft for a variety of reasons, and a number of those reasons showed up in the vitriol that followed the announcement.

So, let's look at the stories, and then I'll attempt to answer the question of whether or not Kaye succeeding in getting his incarnation of The Unique Magazine off the ground. 

Ann and Jeff VanderMeer Launch Weird Fiction Review

I'm not sure how long the news about this has been out, but I just saw it in a post from yesterday and thought I would pass it along to you.  Ann and Jeff AnderMeer have launched a new online venue called Weird Fiction Review, billed as "Your Non-Demoninational Source for the Weird."  Ann, as most of you know, is the former editor of Weird Tales.  The new site has fiction, essays, comics, reviews, and other items.  It also is not to be confused with the print journal The Weird Fiction Review edited by S. T. Joshi, and published by Centipede Press.  The site apparently only went live a few weeks ago, but there's plenty of stuff already up.  I don't recognize the names of the authors, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.  I'll try to check it out sometime in the next few weeks.

Marvin Kaye Buys Weird Tales, Replaces Ann Vandermeer as Editor

This was announced earlier today, so many, if not most, of you have probably seen it, but I wanted to post it anyway.  (It's been one of those days.  Power was out over most of the campus for most of the day and classes start tomorrow.)  Marvin Kaye has bought Weird Tales from publisher John Betancourt.  He is replacing the entire editorial staff, including editor Ann Vandermeer.  Vandermeer's final issue will be #359, which will be published next February.  (The current issue, #358 is shown at right.)  Kaye, who has edited anthologies related to Weird Tales and the now defunct H. P. Lovecraft's Magazine of Horror, intends to edit the magazine himself.  His first issue, #360, will be a special Cthulhu themed issue.  Stories bought by Vandermeer that aren't included in #359 will be published in future issues.  Further details can be found in Ann Vandermeer's farewell post.  Black Gate editor John O'Neill has written a commentary here.