Review of Tales From the Magician's Skull No. 11, Edited by Howard Andrew Jones with Cover Art by SanJulian
I'm finally reviewing of TMS #11 which I finished reading several weeks ago but neglected to post. While I remain unabashedly bias towards TMS, this anthology magazine continues to impress me with a riveting collection of S&S short fiction. HAJ leads with his Editor's Introduction as usual and SanJulian provides yet another fantastic cover painting depicting a short story contained within the issue.
*Test of the Runeweaver* by H.T. Grossen commences the action and remains my favorite story in the issue. This riveting tale details the story of a shaman for a Viking-esque raiding party and the coming of age for his apprentice. Great stuff and again I find TMS capturing my imagination with a protagonist other than the usual fighter class I generally gravitate towards. This story inspires SanJulian's magnificent cover.
Demon slaying Shintaro Oba follows in *Lady of Frost* by C.L. Werner and again provides a scintillating read. As previously stated in other posts, I fervently wish Werner would release a compilation of all his Oba stories.
*Eyes of Rath Kanon* by Bill Pearce tells a tale of possession by a demonic mask and I thought it a solid and entertaining tale.
Caias Ward's *Ghostwise* introduces a ghostbusting mystic existing in multiple realms and provided me with an entertaining introduction to the writer.
*Melkart and the Whore of Babylon* by Mark Mellon, despite the title, chronicles an ambassador saving a priestess from a corrupt hedonistic king of Babylon.
*Kick in the Door and Improvise* by Dawn Vogel details a rogue in a heist to seize the crown of a usurped and return it to the "rightful" ruler in exile.
Daniel Amatiello's *The Lens of Being* tells of an pirate queen who ends up saving a village while questing to retrieve a stolen item and kill the thief. Very solid story.
*Bound in Brass and Iron* by Mathew Gomez pits a blood mage against shapeshifting demons and an awakened ancient goddess seeking to rise again in power in this engrossing short story.
While initially disappointed the only story featuring a recurring character is Werner's Oba tale, I tremendously enjoyed all the stories by authors I've never before read. HAJ successfully continued finding talented writers and fascinating stories for this issue.